The real great replacement.

Three American whisky substitutes.

Trumpo the Clown is at it again, threatening 50% tariffs on products from the EU. Looks like it’s time we got serious about replacing our American whisky (as discussed recently) with products from friendlier countries. I got off to a bit of a faltering start when one of the promising bottles of Canadian whisky I bought turned out to be bottled and owned by a US company, proving that you need to do your research in advance. I try to pick spirits that are likely to be fairly available to my readers and in this case that’s a wee bit tricky but I reckon at least one of these should be available in your neck of the woods. Without further ado let’s look at this trio of post-American whiskies which, as an added bonus, all hail from countries which are in the upper tier for their respect for international law and human rights.

Jameson Black Barrel.

Let’s get straight out of the gate with my “almost everyone can get their hands on this” pick. And it might be a bit surprising. It certainly surprised me. My first thought for a bourbon replacement was to go Canadian but we run immediately into a couple of problems. As I alluded to above, a disappointing number of Canadian whiskies are US owned so, to save you the research, Seagram’s, Canadian Club and Black Velvet are out. Where I’m at those are by far the three most prevalent north-of-the-border options. Bugger. I plan to dip a bit further into Canada in due course but in the meantime I got a tip-off that there was a bourbon alternative close to home. From Ireland. I was suspicious but gave it a go. Jameson Black Barrel is named for its use of re-charred ex-bourbon barrels and thus closely mimics the bourbon ageing process despite the use of a different mix of grains (aka the “mash bill”). In the US various mixes of corn, wheat and rye are the raw materials whereas Ireland (and Scotland) stick pretty religiously to malted barley. This does not immediately sound ideal but we shall proceed undeterred. We observe a fairly standard looking Jameson bottle but with a nice wood topped cork which is certainly an  upgrade from their entry level whiskies. The black label looks nice and marks it as a part of their “reserve series” (whatever that means) as well as reflecting the use of those charred barrels. A mention of those barrels is found on the back label but there is scant other information besides the frankly disappointing “40% vol”. Meh. For the price, which we’ll get to in a bit, I expect it not to be watered down to the legal minimum. Just sayin’. I turn to the internet in search of more information but find out little more other than that it is a blend of pot still and grain whiskies with no age statement forthcoming. It’s not exactly encouraging, yet things improve considerably once we stop faffing about and actually open the bottle. While there isn’t a great deal happening on the nose it does indeed smell more like a bourbon than your typical Irish whisky (yes, I’m just going to continue to spell it the Scottish and Canadian way) which is good news for our intended use here. The gold colour suggests some age but for all we know it might also be caramel boosted. Talk to us Jameson. Talk. To. Us. When tasted I find it quite pleasant. Rounded and warming with flavours that bounce back and forth across the Atlantic from Cork*** to Kentucky. We have the familiar vanilla and caramel notes of bourbon but there is still a slight yet persistent Irish whiskey (oh, all right, just this once) flavour that I feel must be the barley calling. You know, this might just work. Tried in a few bourbon cocktails the Irishness fades back a little further and the cocktails drink just like they were bourbon based. Does it work as a bourbon sub? Yes, for sure. Is it a superb mixing whisky? Not particularly. It is also on the pricey side for a mixer – which to be fair was likely never Jameson’s intention – at about €37 for 700ml. However it is very widely available and might be the only game in town in some regions. It is also quite enjoyable to drink on it’s own so we certainly get some double duty out of it. So for some it can be a baseline US bourbon replacement. But some of us can – and will – do better.

Millstone rye 92.

Produced by Zuidam distillery which is (barely) in The Netherlands, Millstone Rye is our outlier in this group as it is not widely available. If you are not a BeNeLuxer you could skip this one but I think it gives an insight into what other ryes are out there. Unlike bourbon, rye whisky is free from geographical restrictions and as such there are a few ryes that are made in European countries. I think it is fair to say that Zuidam are a distillery that mainly focusses on jenever and liqueurs but they do like to dabble in a few other spirits. I am a big fan of their rye (rogge in Dutch) jenever so this was a logical place for me to turn to in my rye whisky quest. Production of their rye whisky appears to be tiny as evidenced by the label information. Each bottle is marked with a distillation date and a bottling date the gap between varying from 4 to 9 years from the bottles I’ve seen (my bottle was over 7 years between). This means we are looking at not even a “small batch” but “single barrel” product. And we pay accordingly, for this is not a cheap whisky coming in at about €40 for the 92 proof (46% abv) offering and €60 for the 100 proof (50%) version. Expensive but not outrageous considering the batch sizes and ageing. It comes in a traditional looking clear glass bottle with a perfectly fitting wood and synthetic cork. The label isn’t very sophisticated but is striking enough with the black, red and gold touches. I did prefer their older bottle which was more “modern” with a label that had more information on it* but I have gleaned that data from pictures of the older bottles online. There’s those specific distillation and bottling dates (happily still present on the newer labels) and mentions of the 100% locally produced rye mash bill milled by Dutch windmills, small copper pot still distillation and maturation in new American** oak. Let’s crack it! In the glass we observe a rich coppery-edging-into-bronze spirit which releases a massive spicy hit of rye when sniffed. The rye-forward punch carries through in the flavour. Intensely, intensely ryey but because of that other notes are somewhat subdued. This is very different from the American ryes we are familiar with and takes some getting used to. Considering the seven years in oak it feels less rounded and even a little thinner than I expected and while I enjoyed it well enough I felt it lacked complexity as a sipping whisky. But we are talking about a spirit from single barrel and must treat it as such. Without blending from multiple barrels we are getting a whisky that will inevitably have some variation between bottlings. However, we are here to evaluate its suitability as a mixing rye and this is where things get very interesting. Millstone’s rye flavours shoulder their way to the front in the classic cocktails I tried (Manhattan and Boulevardier) in the most delightful way. They were simply transformed into delicious rye delivery devices. In that sense we are getting our value for money here that we are not as a sipping whisky in my opinion. Clearly it is not for everyone but if, like me, you are a lover of such classics grab yourself a bottle of Millstone Rye 92 if you have the chance. In terms of the wider world of ryes I think this proves there are exciting European alternatives to be discovered.

Lot 40 Canadian Rye.

I few weeks ago I used some Lot 40 – a properly Canadian rye – in my Fermi Paradox and while at the time I said I’d not review it I’ve decided to include it here as it seems to be a little more widely available than I first thought. Lot 40 is Canadian made whisky with majority French owners (Pernod-Ricard) so we are on safe ground with this one. It’s a stable-mate of the J.P Wiser brand of Canadian whiskies which we might get to in future. I love the bottle; tall, straight sided with a old line diagram of a still screen printed directly on the bottle and a diagonal paper label pasted on top. Classy. We have parts of that label in dark green which in the US has become pretty much the standard colour code for rye whisky. It is a clear bottle which I like because you can see the colour of the contents before you buy it. All three of our bottles here are clear and I applaud each of those the distilleries on their transparency. Again there is a nice wood topped cork that fits well. We see that it is small batch copper pot distilled from 100% rye and aged in new oak barrels for an indeterminate time (although I’ve read rumours of 6-8 years) before being bottled at an acceptable, if a touch light, 43%. In the glass we note a bright coppery hue that would be consistent with the rumoured age. The smell is much more reminiscent of a typical American rye (George Dickel for example) than I expected and indeed if I did not know better I might think this to be an American rye. The flavour continues in that vein too. Spicy, rounded, hints of wood and honey and a nice lingering finish. It is well balanced being dry but not bitter and I find myself really enjoying this delightful rye. It’s very familiar to the rye drinker and not the slap in the chops that our Dutch rye delivered. I’d be happy to sip on this of an evening but that is not why we are here is it? The cocktails! And, yes, and as by now you might have guessed it does the job very well indeed. Exactly what you’d expect from an American mixing rye without the punch through that Millstone delivers. Given that, it also has a second string to its bow. For I am of the opinion that almost any cocktail which uses bourbon as a base is even better with rye. If you agree with that then Lot 40 can be a bourbon replacement too in which case it certainly surpasses Jameson Black barrel for potentially a few less non-dollars. Ka-ching. The price and availability are variable but I was able to find a few online sources with prices broadly in line with comparable American ryes (I paid €36 for 700ml). As such it is pretty tempting to call “mission accomplished” but we’d better leave such thoughts to the:

Conclusion.

So we’ve tried our trio and found some interesting options which I hope might help the like-minded amongst you. I shall further pursue the quest whilst current chaotic conditions continue and post my findings as and when. In the interim I have predictably stocked up on the Lot 40 and keep a beady eye open for Millstone ryes on discount. The Jameson is there as a backup for those short of options. It would be nice to think some non-US distillers might consider creating new whiskies to fill this void but with 4+ years lead times we cannot hope to see anything very soon but of course we can hope that the situation in the USA might not last that long.

Note to my American readers.

I very much hope you understand that my reasons for my avoidance of US products come not from any hatred of you or your country. Quite the opposite in fact, as I myself am “half Americian” by marriage, have family there and have enjoyed more trips to the USA than I can count. On the other hand it should be understood that people in other countries dislike being threatened, lied about and disrespected by the current administration just as much as Americans do. A majority of those I talk with in the Netherlands have been actively avoiding US products in the last few months – and without any encouragement from me! If America puts its house in order and fully respects other nations and its own residents I will be first in line to buy a bottle of Wild Turkey 101, Peychaud’s bitters or George Dickel rye. Until then, as you can see, there are plenty of other options to plug the gap. I doubt those who find my stance objectionable are very numerous within my readership but if you find yourself offended please comfort yourself with the knowledge that I am simply exercising my free speech and freedom of choice as a consumer – values which I know are very important to you. Thank you for your attention on this matter.

*Having gone from describing production details to tasting notes. Which is disappointing as I can taste the contents by simply opening the bottle!

**Yeah, not much we can do about that as it happened years ago!

***It is distilled in their Midleton distillery rather than Dublin.