Cocktails with Rye whiskey
Rye whiskey is American whiskey from a mash of at least 51% rye, aged in new charred oak. Dry and peppery where bourbon is sweet and round.
ABV40%Is the legal minimum; most sit at 40–50%, and cask-strength ryes run past 60%. For a stirred Manhattan or Sazerac a rye at 45–50% (or bottled-in-bond at 50%) keeps its spine, where a 40% one goes soft.
How it's used
Rye is the classic base for stirred, spirit-forward drinks — the Sazerac, the Old Fashioned, the Brooklyn and the Manhattan (originally made with rye) — where its dry spice keeps the drink from going soft. It shakes well too, in a Whiskey Sour or a Scofflaw. At 40% it can lose its structure when stirred, so a 45–50% rye holds up better.
Substitutes for Rye whiskey
If you have another rye, use it one for one. Otherwise bourbon comes closest, measure for measure: the drink turns sweeter and softer, without rye's pepper. A high-rye bourbon keeps more of that spice. Canadian whisky also works one for one, but it is lighter and softer than bourbon, with little rye character.
At least 51% corn in the mash, where American rye has at least 51% rye.
In Canada "rye whisky" is simply another official name for Canadian whisky, and the standard sets no minimum share of rye.
