Tag: Rye

Jersey City Whiskey Festival 2025

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On February 1st, I attended the Jersey City Whiskey Festival. The event was open to the public.

The festival was one of a series of similar events that are held in the tri state area and are run by the same company. This one was held at the Harborside event space located at 210 Hudson Street, New Jersey. The venue is just steps from the Exchange Place PATH rail station which is the first stop into New Jersey from the World Trade Center rail hub. It’s along the New Jersey waterfront so you get an exceptional view of the Manhattan skyline.

They advertised over “100 styles of whiskey and spirits” with whiskies from the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Japan and India. For the non purists, they did have vodka, rum, tequila and cordials on hand to sample.

Most of the producers bottled more than one type of whiskey with variations depending on the mash bill, aging, proof, type of barrels, etc. I’m partial to Rye whiskey and many of the producers had a Rye or high Rye whiskey to sample.

The event was open to the consumer. In the past they had two sessions, but at this time there was only one evening session which made for a crowded venue, especially at the popular whiskey producers, though the space was large enough to get away from the crowd.

Some producers I sampled:

Asbury Park Distilling Co.Yellowstone
BardstownBulleit
Uncle NearestDoc Holliday
All Points WestSyndicate
Crown RoyalLiberties
Dead RabbitFighting 69th
GlencadamUsquaebach
Buchanan’s DeluxeTomintoul
BoondocksMartingale
Veja de CaldasBronx Bull

Whisky Advocate’s New York Whisky Fest 2024

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Last November 20th, Whisky Advocate magazine held their annual New York Whisky Fest which was held at the Marriott Marquis hotel located at 1535 Broadway in Times Square, Manhattan.

It was a night of over 280 whiskies from the United States, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Japan and India with a couple of tables of tequila thrown in for good measure.

Simply put, whisky is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Every country has its own regulations for how its whisky is labeled.

This was a huge event taking up a whole floor in the hotel. So as usual in these mega tastings, I focused my efforts. When I have a whiskey cocktail such as a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned, I prefer Rye whisky, so I prioritized sampling rye whisky at the start of the tasting.

I’m always on the lookout for a new product so I kept my eye out for any label that I wasn’t familiar with. Since the distillers had more than one than one version of their whiskey on hand to pour, even the usual mass market distillers showed something new or rare since they experimented with different alcohol levels, mash bills and with the type of barrels that the whiskies were aged in.

With a Glencairn in hand, these were some of the brands I sampled:

Heaven HillJacob’s Pardon
WestlandBalcones
AmadorMiddlewest
Bookers Minden Mill
Little RestSagamore
Basil HaydenJefferson’s
Jim BeamKnob Creek
RedemptionOld Grand Dad
BulletRabbit Hole
PraedictumRedbreast
BuskerDrumshanbo

The WOW Tasting Experience

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On August 10th, I attended the WOW (Wonders of Whisky) tasting experience.

It was a curated, “journey around the world through spirits” tasting of over 100 whiskies and spirits.

The event was held at The Bordone event space located in an industrial section of Long Island City, New York at 43-10 9th Street. The building was a couple of blocks from the east river and the event was held on the rooftop terrace of the building which gave us a magnificent view of the Queensborough bridge and the Manhattan skyline, even more so when the sun went down, and the lights of the city turned on.

There were mostly brown spirits being poured but gin, rum and tequila were available to sample as well.

With the brown spirits, there was a strong presence of single malt Scotch on hand but there were still plenty of Bourbon and Rye as well as Irish whiskey, Japanese whisky, Cognac and brown rum to sample.

Scotch is not usually my go to spirit but if you’re pouring a Johhny Walker Blue Label or some other nicely aged single malt, I’ll give it a try. But I do like a nice cognac, so I was happy that they poured Hennessy XO to sample.

They had two sets of live music with all women musicians performing on string instruments.

Some of what I sampled:


Wyoming Whiskey Bourbon

Brother’s Bond Rye/Bourbon
Woodinville Rye/Bourbon, 8yrWhistlepig 10yr Rye, 12yr Rye
Hakata Japanese 10yrKeeper’s Hand Irish/Am Whiskey
Glenmorangie 18yrJohhny Walker Green, 18yr
Rum Clement VSOPBarcelo Rum Anejo, Imperial

Bourbon On Derby Day

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The first Saturday in May is a good party day. There are many Cinco de Mayo parities celebrated that day, and it is also Derby Day which is another reason to throw a party.

The Kentucky Derby is run on that day at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. Called “the greatest two minutes in sports”, it is a tradition that began in 1875.

What better way to celebrate an iconic sporting event than with America’s iconic spirit, Bourbon.

That afternoon the Bourbon at Belmont event was held at Belmont Park racetrack located at 2150 Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont.

It’s a reoccurring event that features over 30 Bourbon with live horse racing and a simulcast of the Kentucky Derby.

It makes for an usual venue and for an old school experience. The event took place on the 4th floor clubhouse which gave us access to the outdoor grandstand overlooking the racetrack. If you wanted to, you could have placed a bet on a race, purchased a cigar from one of the vendors at the event and sat in the grandstand with a bourbon in one hand, a cigar in the other and cheered your horse on to victory.

All of the Bourbon producers have several renditions of the spirit on hand to pour as well as a bottled rye. These were a few of the producers I sampled:

BardstownHeaven’s Door
RedemptionCooperstown Select
Widow JanePenelope
Whipper SnapperCalumet
Hudson WhiskeyTunney
Great JonesGreen River
PinhookDogfish Head

Bourbon, Brew & BBQ 2021

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Back in June, Route 66 Smokehouse restaurant located at 46 Stone Street in the Financial District of lower Manhattan threw its annual Bourbon, Brew & BBQ event .

Not surprisingly, last years event was cancelled. Normally it was held indoors but this year they decided to hold the event outdoors on the cobblestone streets which are lined with many restaurants and taverns. It made for a festive atmosphere.

Stone Street is in an historic district just down the block from the historic Fraunces Tavern which itself is one of the oldest restaurants in New York City and the site of George Washington’s farewell address to his officers. Stone Street is also one of the oldest streets in New York and in 1658 it became the first cobbled stone street in New Amsterdam.

The event featured several whiskeys, beer, cider, small bites and games. It had a good crowd of people out to socialize and enjoy in pre pandemic conditions.

Whiskey & Barrel Nite 2021

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The Covid restrictions in New York were finally lifted on June 16th which meant the return of in-person wine and spirit events.

The Whiskey & Barrel Nite tasting event was held on June 17th. It was a night to sample from a choice of dozens of worldwide whiskey though most were American Whiskey which included Rye, Bourbon and blended whiskey. The countries of Scotland, Ireland, France, Australia, Japan and India were represented as well and a handful of brandy, rum, gin and vodka were on hand for those who got tired of whiskey.

The event was held at the Metropolitan Pavilion, a well known event space located at 125 West 18th Street in Manhattan.

To keep people busy while they were sipping on spirits a live Jazz Band was in hand and a buffet to feed the hungry. There was also a separate “VIP Experience” room for VIP ticket holders that poured some extra special spirits.

It was a great night to finally experience a pre pandemic event and the event space was so large that the room never became overcrowded though I have to think that the organizers might have limited thicket sales to keep the crowd down or that many people were still skittish about attending a public event. Probably a little of both.

There was an excellent selection of spirits to try, I’m not a fan of Scotch so I didn’t sample very many of those but I am a fan of Rye so I did sample quite a few of those.

I was able to sample a couple of wheated Bourbon from the cult status Weller, their Full Proof and their Special Reserve which I thought was quite smooth.

Another interesting whisky was a trio of single farm origin Irish whisky from Waterford, Dunmore, Rathclogh and Organic Gaia. They all had uncharacteristic notes of the terroir of where they were produced.

There was a nice limited release Bourbon from Booker’s, some interesting Rye’s from Dad’s Hat, the nice Private Select from Maker’s Mark, and Whistle Pig’s 18 year which were just a few of the whiskey I sampled this evening.

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Fest 2020

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The 10th annual Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival was held on Saturday January 18th.  It was a change of venue this year with the event moving from The Tunnel in Manhattan to the Brooklyn Expo Center at 72 Noble Street in Greenpoint.

The motto of the festival was “Brew it. Taste it. Sip it. Pork it”. It was an all afternoon event of “southern fried good time” consisting of whiskey, beer and BBQ. At the event there was a “Beast Cage” serving exotic meats and a “Shrine to Swine” for whole pork worship. Various seminars were held throughout the afternoon. 

Since this is one of the only real BBQ events in the city, the impending snowstorm didn’t stop the barbecue connoisseurs from lining up outside the venue to get in. I was able to sample a wide range of ‘cue including ribs, brisket, pastrami, wings and pulled pork sliders.

It was an all-American whiskey list with most producers pouring a Bourbon and a Rye though I felt not as many as in past events. Craft beers and hard ciders rounded out the beverage list. I was able to attend the Bulleit seminar. My favorite whiskey of the afternoon was Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye, it was bold and smooth. 

 

Producers I sampled from:

Bulleit Maker’s Mark
Elijah Craig Larceny
Four Roses Knob Creek
Basil Hayden’s Koval
George Dickel I.W. Harper
Deadwood Balcones

 

 

Rye & Cider

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This past weekend of December 7-8th I was able to attend a couple of Holiday beverage events.

On Saturday afternoon I attended the Brooklyn Whiskey and Spirits Festival which was held at the Brooklyn Expo Center at 72 Noble Street in Greenpoint Brooklyn. The event offered over 100 styles of whiskey and spirits.

I have to admit, that these spirits events are more or less cookie cutter events with many of the same purveyors in attendance, I’m getting to recognize many of the people pouring (and they’re recognize me!). I have to say though that this event had a better selection of spirits than the last whiskey fest I attended a couple of weeks ago.

Most American whiskey producers make several styles of whiskey including Bourbon, Rye and Blends. At this tasting I decided to focus on Rye whiskey for the afternoon and was able to sample a few nice ones. As an outlier I tasted a few aged rums which I enjoy. I particularly enjoyed the X.O. and V.S.O.P. rhum agrigole from Clement Rhum in Martinique. Rhum agricole is made from fresh cane juice instead of from molasses and makes for a more polished drink, the type that you sip on its own.

On Sunday afternoon I attended the Fruit & Grain beer and cider festival. The event was a benefit for Raices, a nonprofit agency and was held at the Second event space at 849 6th Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

The theme of the room was 1960’s “Flower Power” complete with the requisite groovy, psychedelic art poster. They poured mostly local craft beer from 30+ brewers, ciders from 12+ New York State cideries and a handful of spirits. My focus this afternoon was on ciders and they had some familiar labels as well as ciders from small, “mom & pop” cideries. An interesting outlier was a local distillery based in Brooklyn, St. Agrestis that makes amaros and a prepackaged Negroni.

 

Whiskey Fest Rye

Catoctin Creek Rye 80°, 92° Pinhook Rye Humor Cask Strength 97°
Taconic Distillery Straight Rye 95° Uncle Nearest 1856 100°
Deadwood Rye 83° Minor Case Straight Rye 90°
Coppersea Straight Malt Rye 96° Koval Single Barrel Rye 80°
Cutwater Whiskey American Rye 90° Duke Founders Reserve Rye 98°
Sagamore Spirit Double Oaked Straight Rye 112°  

Fruit & Grain Cider

Sündtrom Cider: Sauer, Sponti Wildarc Farms: Blackbird, Kitchen Sink
Eve’s Cidery: Albee hill ’18, Darling Creek ’18, Beckhorn Hollow ’18 Bad Seed: Old Elmer Barrel Aged, Bourbon Barrel Aged
Metal House Cider: Ammir, Arista Angry Orchard: Magril
Floral Torrantes: Suburban Maraines Descendant Cider Co.: Succesion
Rootstock Cider Works: Dry, Original, Dry Hopped Graft Cidery: Farm Flor, Forest & Flor, Amber City
Nine Pin Cider Works: Signature, Ginger Westwind Orchard: Russety Russet, Classic
Orchard Hill Cider Mill: Verde, Pommeau  

 

 

Bourbon at Belmont

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On Saturday May 4th I attended the Bourbon at Belmont whiskey festival.

The event was held at Belmont Park which is located at 2150 Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont, just over the New York City border in Nassau County. Belmont Park is one of the remaining thoroughbred horse racing facilities in the New York City area that at one time had several. The raceway was opened in 1905 and hosts the Belmont Stakes which is the 3rd leg of the Triple Crown. The first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby was held on this Saturday.

The festival was held in the Grand Stand overlooking the racetrack and featured over 30 whiskey.  Though advertised as a Bourbon event, it was an all-American (with one outlier, a Mexican distiller) whiskey event that featured many Rye and whiskey blends as well as Bourbon whiskey. In addition to whiskey, Bourbon barrel aged craft beer was served.

It was a “live” racing day with horseracing throughout the afternoon and a live simulcast of the Kentucky Derby later that afternoon. Of course while sipping on whiskey, you had the option to place a bet on any of the races.

There was a good selection of high end whiskey with a couple of new producers that I had never tried before.

Some of what I sampled:

 

Clyde May’s: Straight Rye, Straight Bourbon

Elijah Craig: Small Batch Bourbon

Finger Lakes Distilling: McKenzie Bourbon, McKenzie Bottled in Bond, McKenzie Wheated Bourbon

Hudson Whiskey: Baby Bourbon, Manhattan Rye, Maple Cask Rye

Hillrock Estate Distilling: Estate Single Malt, Solera Aged Bourbon

High West Distilling: American Prairie Bourbon, Double Rye, Campfire

Jefferson’s: Ocean Aged, Very Small Batch, Very Old Small Batch

Kings County Distilling: Straight Bourbon, Bottled in Bond

Larceny: Very Special Small Batch Bourbon

Montauk Hard Label: Original Whiskey

Russel’s Reserve: 10yr Straight Bourbon, Single Barrel Bourbon

Splinter Spirits: Slaughter House American Whiskey

Sierra Note Mexican Whiskey: Yellow, Black

Taconic Distilling: Dutchess Private Reserve, Barrel Strength Bourbon

Widow Jane Distilling: 10yr Bourbon, American Oak and Applewood Aged Rye

Whistle Pig Distilling: 10yr Straight Rye, 12yr Old World Cask Finish

Wild Turkey: Longbranch

 

 

Brooklyn Whiskey Fest Spring Edition 2019

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On Saturday March 30th I attended the Brooklyn Whiskey Festival which was held at an event space at the Brooklyn Navy Yard at 141 Flushing Avenue.

This was my first event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, an historical industrial zone that has been transformed into an industrial park with many commercial business that include a movie studio and a distillery.

The festival had an afternoon session and an evening session of which I attended. They served 100+ spirits, with a very nice selection of brown spirits such as Bourbon, Rye, American Whisky, Scotch and Irish whiskeys with some gin and vodka thrown in. Some of the usual big name and artisanal brands were in attendance pouring but I was also able to try some new brands as well. I enjoy a good Rye so I focused my attention on available Rye whiskey for the most part but sampled others as well.

Food vendors were on hand and a DJ provided the musical entertainment.

Some of what I sampled:

 

Black Button Distillery: Straight Bourbon, Citrus Forward Gin.

Brockmans: Gin.

Catoctin Creek: Single Barrel Rye.

Evan Williams: Single Barrel Vintage, 1783.

Endless West: Glyph Molecular Whiskey.

Four Roses: Small Batch Bourbon, Single Barrel Bourbon.

Glen Moray: Speyside Malt Scotch.

Hepple: Gin.

James F.C. Hyde: Sorgho Whiskey.

J.J. Corry: Irish Whiskey.

Pikesville: Straight Rye.

Red Saw: Rye, Bourbon.

Rittenhouse: Straight Rye.

Sagamore Spirit Distillery: Signature Rye, Double Oak Rye, Port Finish Rye.

Tommy Rotter Distillery: American Whisky, Gin.

Taconic Distillery: Founder’s Rye, Dutchess Private Reserve, Double Barrel Bourbon.

The Dubliner Irish Whiskey: Bourbon Cask Aged, Signature Reserve.

The Ambassador: Barrel Proof 12 year Rye.

The Senator: Barrel Proof 6 year Rye.

The Splinter Group: Whip Saw Rye, Straight Edge Bourbon, Slaughter House American Whisky.

Westland Single Malt Whiskey: American Oak, Sherry Wood, Peated Malt.