Scotch Snapshot

Saturday night, as Hurricane Irene raged outside, I cozied up with a bottle of Ledaig.

Summer Whiskey Pick: Rye

The dog days of summer are not prime Scotch drinking weather, I’ll admit. So when it’s too hot for Scotch, why not try rye?

If Scotch is Sean Connery in Dr. No, then rye is James Dean in Giant. Distilled from at least 51 percent rye, American rye whiskey has traditionally been Scotch’s working-class American cousin. It’s been the workingman’s whiskey, the shot that grandpa and his pals took with their beers at the neighborhood bar after a long day at the factory.

But in Manhattan today, rye is no longer your granddad’s whiskey. It’s been making a comeback as of late in cocktails in fine eateries and watering holes all over the city. It’s in the Plum Cobbler at Perilla Restaurant (using Old Overholt Straight Rye; 9 Jones Street, NYC) and the 17th Street Sazerac at Rye House (using Whistlepig Straight Rye; 11 West 17th Street, NYC), and straight up at the Brandy Library (25 North Moore Street, NYC).

I love a good old American comeback story, don’t you?