Clay Risen’s blogsite is up at clayrisen.com. He’ll be chronicling our work together on the forthcoming American Whiskey, Bourbon, and Rye and other alcohol related matters. Check it out for the good stuff and bad. Scott & Nix

***Update*** Vince Gilligan, the writer and creator of Breaking Bad gives it up for Whistlepig on the BB Insider Podcast 502. He put it in because it’s his favorite rye. “I go through two or three a day.” Ha.

Back in May, we spent the evening with four fine rye whiskies (it so happens we often spend the evening with rye) including the truly delicious Whistlepig Straight (100 proof).

Last night on AMC’s Breaking Bad (aired July 22, 2012) at the ABQ DEA, they were pouring Whistlepig into coffee mugs. Henry “Hank” Schrader (Dean Norris), Steven Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada), and Assistant Special Agent in Charge George Merkert (Michael Shamus Wiles) commiserated over the deceptive meth kingpin Gustavo “Gus” Fring (played by the astounding Giancarlo Esposito). That is seriously good product placement. And for once, it’s for a seriously good product.

Four high test whiskies made the scene at our Tuesday tasting: Fighting Cock [we’re not kidding] (103 proof), Baker’s 7 year old (107 proof), Noah’s Mill (114.3 proof), and Booker’s 7 years 4 months old (129.1 proof). 

Some background: By law, American whiskey must have the “proof” printed on its label. It’s a statement of what percentage of the liquid contains alcohol. For example, an 80 proof whiskey is 40 percent alcohol by volume (often abbreviated as ABV). Simply put, the ABV is half the proof statement.

So, why use the term “proof” at all and not just state the ABV? Tradition, I suppose. If you know better, please tell us. In the USA, whiskey must be a minimum of 80 proof (40 percent ABV) and less than 160 proof (80 percent ABV). Some makers dilute their whiskey with water after aging, some sell their hooch as cask strength at the proof it comes out of the barrel. 

Most brands print both the proof and the ABV, so you don’t need to figure out the math after a glass or two. Whiskey helps most things in life, but definitely not others. Arithmetic and surgery come to mind. 

The whiskies at the tasting last night were definitely all on the upper high end for proof, and it so happens that a few were absolutely delicious. Concentrated fruit and wood mixed with honey, butter, and toffee. Very spicy, too. Cut with a little cool water, they shined even more. Value for money. More delicious complex booze needing less water for less cash. What’s not to like?

We’ve devoted quite a few of our Tuesday tastings to rye whiskey this year. Turns out there are many rye whiskey brands out there from both large producers and smaller boutique distilleries.

Rye whiskey tends to be much drier and lighter bodied than “bourbon.” We chose four ryes last evening: Old Overholt, Pikesville Supreme, Copper Fox, and Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye.

Most American whiskey is distilled from corn mixed with other grains, such as wheat, malted barley, and, of course, rye. How much the makers use and in what proportion varies a good deal. A few distillers even make a 100 percent rye, like Whistlepig from Vermont or in the case of Copper Fox, they use 75 percent rye and 25 percent malted barley. Hadn’t heard of this proportion before.

Rye can really brings those “high and dry” and floral flavors to whiskey that corn and wheat mixtures can’t on their own. The whiskies last night had a nice range of “rye-ness” to them. 

We poured four single barrel bourbon whiskies at our Tuesday tasting: Evan Williams (86.6 proof), Wathen’s (94 proof), Rock Hill Farms (100 proof), and Knob Creek Reserve 9 year-old (120 proof).

Many wood-aged whiskies are drawn and bottled from multiple barrels. Single barrel is considered a premium and implies that you’re drinking a more full-bodied and flavorful whiskey. We can’t say that this was not the case with these four single barrel bourbons. Big-time flavor from all four and in different ways: stewed fruit, oatmeal cookie, vanilla, toffee, even chocolate and tangerine. Depth is what single barrel promises and they delivered. Excellent value for money going on here, too. We like that.

We poured four whiskies from three Tennessee distilleries at our Tuesday tasting last eve: George Dickel No. 8 (80 proof), George Dickel No. 12 (90 proof), Prichard’s (80 proof), and Jack Daniels Old No. 7 (80 proof).

No huge surprises with these selections: plenty of sweetness and oak wood, cherry, slight citrus, and honey corn. Few high floral notes on any of these whiskies. The Dickel No. 12 at 90 proof had good depth and complexity. 

Interesting night. Fun to try Jack Daniels after so many weeks of whiskies from all over the country. Millions and millions of cases come out of Lynchburg every year and Jack stays pretty much Jack: the most popular whiskey in the USA…maybe the world?   

Our mid-week tasting featured four familiar whiskies at a mellow 80 proof each: Heaven Hill, Early Times, Evan Williams (Green), and Virginia Gentleman. These are all very reasonably priced bottles and I didn’t know what to expect when stacked against one another. Clay said, “I think you’ll be surprised.” Smooth. Classic mash flavor profiles: a little citrus, wood, honey sweetness, even barley. Each quite different…and good. Clay called one “session whiskey”; when you plan to make a whole night of it. I like that.

Last night’s Tuesday tasting brought four rye whiskies to the table—Templeton Rye (80 proof), Masterson’s 10-Year-Old Straight Rye (90 proof), Hudson Manhattan Rye <4-Year-Old (92 proof), and Whistlepig 10-Year-Old Straight Rye (100 proof). A few weeks ago, we tasted another collection of rye whiskies and the group last night was equally diverse.

We always begin our tastings with the lower proof and work our way up to the stronger stuff. The difference between an 80 and a 100 proof drink can be significant, especially when you’re taking a big whiff.  We do a nose without water, write notes, then add some cool delicious NYC tap, nose again, write notes, and then finally get a taste.

The two older bottles last eve were big favorites and full of the qualities you want in a rye whiskey. In the case of Whistlepig, 100% percent rye, a first for many of us. Tons of orange blossom, orchid, very slight woodiness. Delicious stuff.

Pitchaya, one of our regular tasters, makes his own bitters and we plan to do a rye cocktail evening soon. The virtues of this or that rye as a cocktail mixer were pondered a good while. A few of the whiskies are so good (and not cheap), it’s hard to imagine adding anything but a bit of cold water and maybe a nice chunk of fresh ice. But rye is the base of so many classic cocktails, it will be fun to see how they hold up.

We did a whiskey Wednesday tasting, this week, as well as our Tuesday night flight.  Two tastings in one week?  Hard work for us means an excellent book for you next year.

Three uncommon whiskeys hit the dance floor last night: Smooth Ambler Yearling (92 proof), Buck 8-year-old (90 proof), and John B. Stetson Straight (84 proof).  They had little in common across the board. One was musky and tasted of Cheerios, one was full of caramel and roses, while the other was somewhat thin and flowery.

Going into this project, we actually wondered sometimes if there would be quite enough b r e a d t h  in the variety of American whiskey. Wrong, knuckleheads!  We’re 40-odd whiskeys into this thing and the variety is staggering.