“The complexity of what makes a good whiskey…means that there is no perfect formula. Whiskey will always be a bit of a science and a bit of an art. And that’s where so much of the interest comes.” 

Dylan Heuer: Tell me about your introduction to the craft spirits industry. 

Nicole Austin: I didn’t think I was going to get into this industry. It wasn’t a long term plan of mine. I went to school for chemical engineering thinking I was going to go into the environmental field and I did. I went and worked for a big environmental engineering firm out of college and the biggest thing they did was wastewater treatment; very glamorous, right? I was standing in a wastewater treatment plant in Queens, thinking ‘is this what I went to school for?’ I knew I wanted to do something different and was looking around, trying to figure out what that was. I was living in Brooklyn at the time and really building up this passion for food and for whiskey. A bartender happened to mention a particular whiskey and how it was distilled. I just had this really simple, ‘oh shit’ moment. I literally went to school to study how to distill things and it hadn’t really occurred to me that was a job I could do with whiskey.

This was more than 10 years ago now. And at that time, I didn’t have the right last name to work in Kentucky and I didn’t have the right degree to work in Scotland. The industry was feeling very closed. The craft whiskey industry was only just getting off the ground and I had been getting a bit frustrated trying to figure out where an opportunity might be. I read that Kings County had just become the first distillery to be licensed to produce whiskey in New York since prohibition. So I basically showed up at their door like, ‘I’m a chemical engineer. You’re welcome, I will work here now.’ They were sort of like, ‘great ’cause we have no idea what we’re doing; we don’t even know if this is a viable business or if this is just going to be a hobby.’ Honestly we didn’t even know, would anybody buy bourbon that wasn’t made in Kentucky? At that time it was a very small operation, 5 five-gallon stills – basically a glorified closet in Bushwick. But that’s what got me into the industry. Them taking me on – they didn’t have any money, but to make me a partner cut me in with sweat equity. 

We all kept our day jobs at the beginning when we were trying to figure out, was this a viable career? What really made the difference for us was proving, yes, people were interested. I remember the first time we opened our doors to sales. We had expected maybe 100 people and we had lines out the door. I had my entire family visiting me for the holidays and rather than being out on the town in Manhattan, I had my mom and two of my aunts working furiously to bottle more so that we could sell it. That was the big turning point of asking ourselves, ‘can I quit my day job and make this a full time career?’

“At that time it was a very small operation, 5 five-gallon stills – basically a glorified closet in Bushwick. But that’s what got me into the industry. ”

Dylan Heuer: And in the past decade, how have you witnessed this industry change and grow?

Nicole Austin: I got lucky on timing. Between 2009 and now, 10 years later, it’s quite obvious that craft whiskey is something, that there’s a lot of value there. Having had the good fortune to be coming into it right when the industry was getting going and have the opportunity to get to know all those people and kind of learn simultaneously with all of them – that’s really opened up all the opportunity for me now.

A lot of what kind of fed into that was the boring but critical work of changing laws to allow the creativity and passion that people have to become commercially viable. You know, part of building a sustainable business, is there has to be opportunity for it to grow. And alcohol is such a historically heavily regulated industry. It made it so hard to make anything get off the ground. The states that start to modernize their laws  you know, and allow small distilleries to do things like sell to consumers at their visitor centers or sell directly to retailers – as soon as they start to modernize those laws, you can see the industry start to grow right away. 

There’s this curiosity about spirits that we didn’t have a long time ago, that’s really helped fuel the fire of this industry. All those things were there and they just needed the opportunity to come out. To make that happen is a lot of just boring, grinding, legislative work. There’s a lot of unsung heroes behind this industry that no one will ever know about. 

Dylan Heuer: During the last decade you have worked at distilleries in New York, Ireland, and now Tennessee. For most people, only a couple of places – and only a couple styles – come to mind when they think of whiskey. What is something you’ve learned about the diversity of this spirit?

Nicole Austin: There have been hundreds and hundreds of dissertations written on the whiskey industry. We have this great and sophisticated understanding. But still, the complexity of what makes a good whiskey – the fact that our ingredients come out of the ground and not out of a lab; this sort of esoteric element of time and seasons; and the complexity of people’s sensory experiences, how they put different smells together and interpret them – means that there is no perfect formula. Whiskey will always be a bit of a science and a bit of an art. And that’s where so much of the interest comes. You know, we’re not making widgets. And I think what’s so exciting about this industry.

“You can’t just stay in a lab and make a beautiful liquid and never go and talk to people about it. That’s something I’ve really come to understand –  that the experience of whiskey is so much more than just the good liquid.”

Dylan Heuer: Tell me more about your current role and what it exactly it means to be a master blender. 

Nicole Austin: My title now is General Manager and Distiller, which means that I am the blender, but I also have many other jobs. And I really wouldn’t have it any other way. It means that the buck stops with me for decisions about everything, from how this whiskey is produced to how it’s sold. I’m a bit of a control freak, but I think to truly be impactful in the industry, every aspect of the consumer experience is a part of that. You can’t just stay in a lab and make a beautiful liquid and never go and talk to people about it. That’s something I’ve really come to understand –  that the experience of whiskey is so much more than just the good liquid.

So I appreciate the opportunity to kind of touch every part of the business. But of course, my passion is still in the blending and the whiskeys themselves. And that job is about a thousand times more boring than people expect. So many people are constantly offering to me, like ‘if you be ever need another nose, I’ll come work with you.’ And then they realize what that entails is sitting in the lab for like six hours and not actually drinking a single drop of whiskey, but just smelling all of them, and also not talking. Actually that’s pretty grueling, teasing out the minutiae of, ‘is that a pineapple or is it more of a mango smell?’ There’s not a lot of folks in the world that really want to dig into the minutiae of that. But that’s where you go from good to great. 

Dylan Heuer: How can we all become better consumers and tasters by honing our skills of smell and taste? 

Nicole Austin: Again, my answer is going to be so much more boring than people would want it to be. But I think the best way to get better is to read, having an expanded vocabulary about how to talk about whiskey. All of our noses work, you know. There’s a certain amount of sensory training and sheer practice that makes you good. But realistically, if I told you what to look for, most people could smell the difference between mango and pineapple. It’s just a matter of giving your brain an expanded list of what it can look for. So reading tasting notes I think is actually the best way to become a more educated whiskey taster.

“From the outset, we always knew the intent was to create a whiskey category that would hopefully outlast us by hundreds of years.”

Dylan Heuer: Turning to NY Rye Week, what was your role in founding Empire Rye?

Nicole Austin: I was definitely a part of the group that founded it, but the real credit for getting all of us together and pushing this idea forward came from Christopher Williams from Coppersea. But six of us got together and I think we all really thought a lot about the gravity of what we were creating. From the outset, we always knew the intent was to create a whiskey category that would hopefully outlast us by hundreds of years. And we took that quite seriously, to think about how should we do that responsibly? What might that look like? What are the key elements of making something that allows for creativity, but also the kind of quality control that would help the whole category be distinguished in the market? It was an incredible thought exercise. And I feel really proud of what we came up with, and also that we were all willing to be flexible in service of those goals. 

Dylan Heuer: And how did you work to craft Kings County Empire Rye?

Nicole Austin: The more important thing that we did was use a pretty high percentage of rye, higher than was required. And then also we launched it with small barrels. Using small barrels was a way to take this broader category of Empire Rye and then put Kings County’s style onto it. I always believed, especially for a smaller distillery, that the best way for us to make something that was very high quality was using the small barrels to give you – from the same relatively small volume of liquid – more things to blend with. Take the same 50 gallons of whiskey, and if you put it in one barrel, that’s only one kind of sensory note you get out of it. If you take 50 gallons of whiskey and you put it in 10 different five-gallon barrels, well now you have 10 different notes to write your song with. 

“This was really the first time in history that the federal excise tax on distilled spirits has been reduced…Overnight, basically it took thousands of distilleries from being not profitable to being profitable.”

Dylan Heuer: Since leaving New York, you have continued to advocate on behalf of the craft spirits industry as a founding board member of the American Craft Spirits Association. How are you working to support growth in this industry? 

Nicole Austin: I’m no longer a voting member of that organization because my distillery is not independent. But I remain an affiliate member and I continue to serve as co-chair of the legislative committee with Mark Shilling. The two of us and the entire legislative committee have been really working hard on passing an extension for the federal excise tax reduction. This biggest thing that I’ve accomplished, in maybe in my entire career in this industry, was in 2017 we passed the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which was a joint effort across all six industry groups of beer, wine and spirits. This was really the first time in history that the federal excise tax on distilled spirits has been reduced, and it created an 80% reduction in that federal excise tax for small producers. Overnight, basically it took thousands of distilleries from being not profitable to being profitable.

And that was just a massive, massive impact. Mark and I actually got a tattoo together to celebrate that accomplishment. So both of us have a tattoo on her arm that says 2017, then the initials of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act. If that doesn’t tell you how committed we were, I don’t know what would. But when that was passed it had a two year sunset. That means that by the end of 2019, if we didn’t get an extension pass, it is going to go away. And it has the potential to put a lot of distilleries out of business or force them to seriously scale back their operations. So we’re working really hard to try and get that extended and hopefully, eventually made permanent. 

Dylan Heuer: Is New York Rye Week a good model that other places may use to support craft distillers and local farmers? 

Nicole Austin: The thing that’s so exciting about New York Rye Week, and also about just Empire Rye as an idea, is that it really returns to this idea that the whole industry is what matters. The group is bigger than any of the individuals, the sum of the whole is larger than its individual parts. That collaboration of New York producers and that understanding that the more people they get interested in New York rye style will help us all grow – that the rising tide really does raise all boats – is what made New York rye successful. You look around the world at places like Scotland and Scotch whiskey – any one of them on their own wouldn’t have been able to accomplish nearly what’s been accomplished for Scotch whiskey as an entire category. And we really looked to that and learn from that and I think that’s the strength of New York Rye Week. 

The post Rye Week Featured Interview: Nicole Austin, General Manager and Distiller at Cascade Hollow Distilling Company first appeared on Brisket King.

Food Karma Projects presents Pastrami on Rye, a featured event of New York’s Third Annual Rye Week! On October 16th, join us to sample the world of rye with rye whiskey, farm beers, breads, and more! Plus, as the producers of Pig Island and Brisket King NYC, when we think rye, we think pastrami!

Get Tickets Here!

Pastrami on Rye Will be an All-Inclusive Food & Drink Tasting Featuring:

Welcome Rye Whiskey Cocktails for Every Guest!

Old Forester Old Fashioned Cocktails

Pastrami Tasting from Featured Chefs

East Village Meat Market & Happy Valley Meat

Morgan’s Brooklyn BBQ

Randall’s Barbecue

Nestor Laracuente da bklyn_pit_rat

Roni-Sue’s Chocolate-Covered Pastrami

Rye Whiskey from Featured Distilleries 

New York Distilling, Brooklyn NY

Van Brunt Stillhouse, Brooklyn NY

Finger Lakes Distilling, Burdett NY

Honeoye Falls Distillery, Honeoye Falls NY

Hudson Whiskey, Tuthilltown Distillery, Gardiner, NY

Gunpowder Rye Whyskey, New England Distilling, Portland ME

Woodford Reserve, KY

Rye Bread, Grain Salad, and More!

Moonrise Bakehouse

She Wolf Bakery

River Valley Community Grains

Amy Halloran’s Cornmeal Rye Pancakes

Szechuan Black Vinegar Pickles Japanese Miso BBQ Slaw, Just Add Beer Sauce

Consider Bardwell Cheese

Cheese and Hot Sauce, Rocket Fuel

Craft Beer made with Local Grains and Malts

Empire Farm Brewery

Pastrami on Rye is proud to work with Grow NYC Grains, who will be featured at the event

Pastrami on Rye is Proud to Host:

Lew Bryson has been writing about beer and spirits full-time since 1995. He was the managing editor of Whisky Advocate from 1996 through 2015. He is currently a Senior Drinks Writer for the Daily Beast, and also writes for ScotchWhisky.com, Artisan Spirit, and Bourbon+. Bryson is also the author of Whiskey Master Class as well as Tasting Whiskey.

From Lew: “If you look at historical periods like the 1950s to the 1960s, or even the 1890s to the 1900s, rye was a much more prominent drink. We believe it can be once again. I do believe a new generation are that key demographic.”

Celebrate 500+ episodes of Beer Sessions Radio

Food Karma’s founder, Jimmy Carbone will also be celebrating 500 episodes of his podcast, Beer Sessions Radio at the event! Join us and the team at the event to raise a glass to 10 years of food radio!

More About Beer Sessions Radio:
Through discussions with beer industry insiders and knowledgeable beer fans from across the country, this audio ale salon explores every aspect of the brewer’s craft from grains to pint glass and tasting to toasting.
Listen here!

Get Tickets Here

All-inclusive Tickets: $55

Date: October 16, 2019

Time: 6:00pm-9:30pm

Location: Biba of Williamsburg, 110 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11249

21 and over event.

No Refunds.

More About NY Rye Week

“This ancient grain has an important place in New York’s history beginning with its cultivation in the both the Dutch and English colonial eras. Used for making rye flour, rye beer, and rye whiskey, the versatile grain thrived in New York’s glacial soil and northern climate. For hundreds of years it enjoyed a prominent place in New York agriculture.

In recent decades, its popularity waned. Consumer tastes shifted to lighter breads and beer. Bourbon became more fashionable than rye whiskey, and historic cocktails originally developed for rye whiskey began to be made with corn whiskey instead. New York farmers still grew rye as a winter cover crop but lacked a strong commercial market to sell into.

As consumer tastes shift once again, now toward spicier and more characterful products, rye is enjoying a renaissance.”

Learn more about New York Rye Week here.

Learn More about the Intersection of Rye Whiskey, Farm Beer, and Grains:

From Jimmy Carbone on CulEpi

From the Experts on Beer Sessions Radio on Episode 409: NY State Grains & Rye

More About New York Rye Week

The post Pastrami on Rye 2019 first appeared on Brisket King.

If Martin Scorsese ever made a movie that focused on the real people that make up New York’s food empire, we’d like to think our friend Jimmy Carbone would inspire a character. If you’re a longtime supporter of meat and beer, or just new to the game, Jimmy’s name should immediately register a smile on your face. As the owner of Jimmy’s No. 43, a dearly departed East Village cavern that shaped New York City’s beer scene for decades to come, Jimmy’s passion for bringing people together was on full display. From cassoulet contests to comedy shows, I’m not even able to explain in words how absolutely cool and unique this place was. However, like a true New Yorker, Jimmy has side hustles, including serving as the founder of Food Karma NYC and host of Beer Sessions Radio on the Heritage Radio Network

We spoke to Jimmy about his newest event Pastrami on Rye taking place Wednesday October 16th during the Third Annual NY Rye Week, which runs from October 12-20th, 2019.

Jimmy Carbone, host for Pastrami on Rye. Photo: Miguel Rivas Photography/Instagram

Jimmy, You’re known for some of New York’s best food events. Where did the idea for Rye Week come from?

I’ve been a supporter of the regional heritage grains revival for many years. I’ve partnered up with the Grow NYC Grains project in the past and have focused several events – and radio episodes – on the rise of local malts in beer. In 2017, Tom Potter of New York Distilling Company reached out. Several New York State distilleries had created the Empire Rye Whiskey project and were launching. It made sense to me – supported the use of a grain, rye, that grows well in the Northeast, by making a product that sells, rye whiskey! That year (2017) I hosted a radio show, and a rye tasting at Roberta’s pizza during the first annual NY Rye Week, which was a precursor to this event.

This is the 3rd year of NY Rye Week and I wanted to host a complementary event to what distillers, brewers, and bars were planning in NYC. Of course, my event would include food. I’ve hosted innovative brisket and bbq events in the past, so pastrami came to mind. A few years ago I co-hosted a pastrami tasting night at WNYC’s Greene Space too.

 Photo: NY Distilling/Facebook

Can you give us a sneak peak at some of the food and drink creations that might guests experience during Rye Week?

The Pastrami Tasting: East Village Meat Market, Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue, Randall’s Barbecue, Nestor Laracuente da bklyn_pit_rat, and Chocolate Covered Pastrami by Roni-Sue’s Chocolates and Clay Gordon of The Chocolate Life.

Other Food: Rye Pancake from Amy Halloran, grain salads from River Valley Community Grains, rye bread from Moonrise bakehouse and other food like Consider Bardwell Cheese and Grilled Veggies by Just Add Beer Sauce. Plus we’ll have six distilleries and a welcome cocktail!

How do you come up with all of these creative events? Is there a process?

It takes hard work and good teams. Every time we host an event, the seed is planted for another. Rye has been on  my brain for four years. I had asked writer Lew Bryson. Author of “Tasting Whiskey” what he thought next cool event should focus on.he said “rye whiskey.” Later that year, Tom Potter at NY Distilling Company called me about Rye Week. I hosted a radio show and a whiskey tasting with pairings at Roberta’s Pizza. Roberta’s chef served whiskey mash fed roast pig, rye bread rolls, several side dishes with rye grains… working closely with grow NYC grains project. Seeds were planted.

I also hosted a Slow Grains event this past summer, NYC brewers choice, featuring beers made from local malt, so I’ve been connecting with grains people all year. Cynthia Lamb is opening a bakery in sunset park, she only use a regional grains, mills them herself, for her bread. She wolf bakery makes a killer sprouted rye bread. Amy Halloran will be cooking rye cornmeal pancakes.

What’s the hardest part of pulling off an epic food event?

Building a good team and having strong communications between chefs and producers. Ultimately we are CONNECTING food and beverage producers, most are craft or farm based, with consumers, the media, and the wider industry. The team is important. This year, there has been a solid stable of producers who have committed to full season of events this past year – Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue, Romilly Cider, Alewife, Spirits, NY Distilling Company, Just Add Beer and Rocket Fuel.

Photo: Justin Aharoni

If you could only eat pastrami sandwiches on rye or drink rye for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

I love the NYC food scene, especially traditions. Pastrami to me is the quintessential NYC meat. Not bacon, not burgers: pastrami. Reuben, a combo corned beef and pastrami, Katz’s Deli.

Rye Drink…20 years ago, I’d have said sazerac. Chelsea green publishing says Stone fence, rye whiskey and hard cider cocktail. Five years I made a point if exploring northeast craft rye whiskeys. I take mine neat. McKenzie Whiskeys from Finger Lakes Distilling, Rock & Rye from NY Distilling Company, and Raw Rye from Coppersea.

The post A Catcher of the Rye: Why Jimmy Carbone Wants to Eat Pastrami with You first appeared on Brisket King.

If you haven’t secured an invitation to Rye Week’s Pastrami on Rye, no amount of pumpkin creamed anythings is going to make up for the fact you’re missing out on the chance to drink a bit of New York State history in a glass. While it’s fun to put a modern spin on Fall’s best beverages, Pastrami on Rye is about reminding people of a time when people’s tastebuds weren’t determined by what they saw on Instagram. That time was pre-prohibition, when rye was the grain of choice for New Yorkers and pretty much any settlers who were living in the colonies that time. From flour to beer to whiskey, rye was everywhere, but

Rye Cocktail Recipes Adapted Courtesy of Pastrami on Rye Founder Jimmy Carbone and NY Distilling’s Master Distiller Allen Katz.

The Anarchist (Courtesy Jimmy Carbone)

Ever hear of a cocktail called The Godfather? It’s made with scotch and amaretto, usually Disaronno because that’s the one most liquor stores stock when it comes to almond flavored liquers. If that still doesn’t ring a bell, watch the video above for Disaronno’s catchphrase so will never leave your brain. Also, conventional bartender wisdom says a proper cocktail has at least three ingredients so big SPOILER ALERT: Disaronno on the rocks is not technically a cocktail, it’s a mixed drink.

Right, now that we’ve cleared that up, the Anarchist substitutes rye for scotch for a drink that’s just as easy to make but with a bit more kick..like the ending of the actual Godfather movie.

Ingredients

2.oz Rye Whiskey

1/4 oz. Amaretto

Tray of Ice Cubes

Mixing Glass

Swizzle Stick

Rocks Glass

Steps You Need to Take To Turn This Into a Drink

Fill up a mixing glass two-thirds of the way with ice cubes. Add rye and amaretto. Stir until the mixture is chilled. Strain into a rocks glass. Put on the Sex Pistols Anarchy in the UK and you now have yourself an exciting pre-game ahead of you.

Kings of Manhattan Courtesy Allen Katz and NY Distilling Co.

Ingredients

2 oz. NY Distilling’s Ragtime Rye

1/2 oz. Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth

1/2 oz Punt e Mes (An Italian Vermouth known for being half bitter and half sweet)

A dash of Angostura Bitters

A dash of Regan’s Orange Bitters

Tray of Ice Cubes

Mixing Glass

Swizzle Stick

Rocks Glass

Kings of Manhattan, a drink that makes you feel like it sounds. Photo: NY Distilling Co.

Steps You Need to Take To Turn This Into a Drink

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass that’s been filled two thirds of the way with ice until the mixture is chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, which you can make by simply putting a cocktail glass in your freezer but not near the meat or fish you’ve been keeping in there for months. Garnish glass with a brandied cherry on a toothpick or break all the rules and just drop the brandied cherry right into the glass. Otherwise you might be walking around with a toothpick all night. Here’s a reenactment of what could happen courtesy of Larry David, who we also think would love Rye on Pastrami but would obviously have some constructive criticism.

Buy Tickets to Pastrami on Rye Now.

The post Don’t Miss These Rye Week Recipes: The Anarchist & Kings of Manhattan first appeared on Brisket King.

Food Karma Projects presents Pastrami on Rye, a featured event of New York’s Third Annual Rye Week! On October 16th, join us to sample the world of rye with rye whiskey, farm beers, breads, and more! Plus, as the producers of Pig Island and Brisket King NYC, when we think rye, we think pastrami!

Get Tickets Here!

Pastrami on Rye Will be an All-Inclusive Food & Drink Tasting Featuring:

Welcome Rye Whiskey Cocktails for Every Guest!

Old Forester Old Fashioned Cocktails

Pastrami Tasting from Featured Chefs

East Village Meat Market & Happy Valley Meat

Morgan’s Brooklyn BBQ

Randall’s Barbecue

Nestor Laracuente da bklyn_pit_rat

Roni-Sue’s Chocolate-Covered Pastrami

Rye Whiskey from Featured Distilleries 

New York Distilling, Brooklyn NY

Van Brunt Stillhouse, Brooklyn NY

Finger Lakes Distilling, Burdett NY

Honeoye Falls Distillery, Honeoye Falls NY

Hudson Whiskey, Tuthilltown Distillery, Gardiner, NY

Gunpowder Rye Whyskey, New England Distilling, Portland ME

Woodford Reserve, KY

Rye Bread, Grain Salad, and More!

Moonrise Bakehouse

She Wolf Bakery

River Valley Community Grains

Amy Halloran’s Cornmeal Rye Pancakes

Szechuan Black Vinegar Pickles Japanese Miso BBQ Slaw, Just Add Beer Sauce

Consider Bardwell Cheese

Cheese and Hot Sauce, Rocket Fuel

Craft Beer made with Local Grains and Malts

Empire Farm Brewery

Pastrami on Rye is proud to work with Grow NYC Grains, who will be featured at the event

Pastrami on Rye is Proud to Host:

Lew Bryson has been writing about beer and spirits full-time since 1995. He was the managing editor of Whisky Advocate from 1996 through 2015. He is currently a Senior Drinks Writer for the Daily Beast, and also writes for ScotchWhisky.com, Artisan Spirit, and Bourbon+. Bryson is also the author of Whiskey Master Class as well as Tasting Whiskey.

From Lew: “If you look at historical periods like the 1950s to the 1960s, or even the 1890s to the 1900s, rye was a much more prominent drink. We believe it can be once again. I do believe a new generation are that key demographic.”

Celebrate 500+ episodes of Beer Sessions Radio

Food Karma’s founder, Jimmy Carbone will also be celebrating 500 episodes of his podcast, Beer Sessions Radio at the event! Join us and the team at the event to raise a glass to 10 years of food radio!

More About Beer Sessions Radio:
Through discussions with beer industry insiders and knowledgeable beer fans from across the country, this audio ale salon explores every aspect of the brewer’s craft from grains to pint glass and tasting to toasting.
Listen here!

Get Tickets Here

All-inclusive Tickets: $55

Date: October 16, 2019

Time: 6:00pm-9:30pm

Location: Biba of Williamsburg, 110 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11249

21 and over event.

No Refunds.

More About NY Rye Week

“This ancient grain has an important place in New York’s history beginning with its cultivation in the both the Dutch and English colonial eras. Used for making rye flour, rye beer, and rye whiskey, the versatile grain thrived in New York’s glacial soil and northern climate. For hundreds of years it enjoyed a prominent place in New York agriculture.

In recent decades, its popularity waned. Consumer tastes shifted to lighter breads and beer. Bourbon became more fashionable than rye whiskey, and historic cocktails originally developed for rye whiskey began to be made with corn whiskey instead. New York farmers still grew rye as a winter cover crop but lacked a strong commercial market to sell into.

As consumer tastes shift once again, now toward spicier and more characterful products, rye is enjoying a renaissance.”

Learn more about New York Rye Week here.

Learn More about the Intersection of Rye Whiskey, Farm Beer, and Grains:

From Jimmy Carbone on CulEpi

From the Experts on Beer Sessions Radio on Episode 409: NY State Grains & Rye

More About New York Rye Week

Re-Cap 8th Annual Brisket King NYC 2019

Photographs by Justin Aharoni @jaharoni

AWARDS

The 2019 Brisket King: Juicy Lucy BBQ, featuring pitmaster Mauro Cheifari. 
Juicy Lucy BBQ is opening soon in Staten Island.
Mauro Cheifaro was formerly the pitmaster at Franklin BBQ in Austin, Texas and is ready to show New Yorkers his skills!

2nd Place & People’s Choice Award: Kimchi Smoke featuring Rob Cho

Judges’ Prizes 
Hometown Hero…#ForChefJeff Brisket Sandwich from Pig Beach featuring Matt Abdoo and Shane McBride

Best Creative Taco…Brisket Taco from Izzy’s Taqueria featuring Sruli Eidelman

Best Classic Texas BBQ…Brisket with Pickles from Hill Country Barbecue Market featuring Ash Fulk

Best BBQ Innovation…Brisket Tostada from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que featuring John Stage and Leland Avellino

If They Had Only Won the Revolutionary War…Brisket with Yorkshire Pudding and Horseraddish Cream from Quiet Waters Farm featuring John Gower and John Patterson

Next year, you can expect even more categories and prizes!

Judges with 2019 Brisket King Champion, Juicy Lucy BBQ
Photograph by Justin Aharoni @jaharoni

Keep Reading: From NYC BBQ “We were shocked by who won Brisket King NYC 2019”

Keep Watching: Check out this video from Nick Solares, Host of Meat Life

Keep up with Jimmy Carbone and Food Karma Projects as we head into summer!
@jimmypotsandpans
@foodkarmanyc
@jimmysno43

The post Pastrami on Rye 2019 – NY Rye Week first appeared on Brisket King.