Mammoth Distilling’s Northern Rye

Bottoms Up

By Lynda Wheatley | Aug. 1, 2020

If you’re among the lot that likes your chardonnay “unoaked” yet find yourself thirsty for something that’ll sprout hair on your chest long before it lifts your pinky, consider the equally elegant but considerably harder (and, happily, hardly fast) Northern Rye.

The latest from Mammoth Distilling has spent the last nine years in two different American oak barrels — at least seven served in a second-fill oak barrel and just a portion of that spirit in a new oak barrel for the remaining months. The result is what Mammoth Founder Chad Munger calls a brighter, more versatile whiskey than your usual oak-dominated straight rye whiskey.

The flavor of its grains — mostly rye with just a wee bit of corn and barley, but each distilled separately, then blended — outshines any oaky notes with hints of vanilla, pear, cherry, and a lingering ginger spice we found especially refreshing over ice and downright fantastic in an Old Fashioned. Find a recipe for a classic Old Fashioned, made with Mammoth’s not-so-traditional Northern Rye, at www.mammothdistilling.com; find yourself a bottle where Imperial Beverages are sold. (Not available in Mammoth’s tasting rooms.)