PrintRye in the Sky
“It’s a whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry / If I don’t get rye whiskey, well I think I will die,” sang Tex Ritter of the spirit most commonly associated with the cowboys of the Old West. Unfortunately, Prohibition put an end to this distinctly American spirit, and by the time “The Noble Experiment” had ended, Americans had built a taste for the lighter libations smuggled in from abroad during the 14-year dry spell.
But courageous pioneers like High West Distillery proprietor David Perkins are working to revive this historical hooch. When the former biochemist decided to blend his passion for bourbon with his scientific know-how and open the first legal distillery in Utah since Prohibition, it only made sense that he began with rye. “We asked ourselves, ‘What did the cowboys and miners drink?’ ” says Perkins. “And we all have an image of Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western pulling a cork out of a bottle of rye whiskey.”
EnlargeIn the winter of 2007, Perkins opened High West Distillery and Saloon in a historic livery stable known as the “National Garage” at the bottom of the Quittin’ Time ski run in Park City, Utah, making it the first ski-in and ski-out distillery in the world. Throw in a tapas-style restaurant with a menu chock-full of creations conceived to complement the items on an equally enticing and far more elaborate drink menu, and you could not find a better destination to warm your weary bones after a long day cutting up the slopes.
Since it takes about four years to age a good batch of whiskey, you’ll have to wait awhile to enjoy booze that is born and raised entirely at High West. However, this hasn’t prevented the distillery from releasing the highly acclaimed Rendezvous Rye, a blend of two different batches of whiskey: one aged six years and one aged 16, both with unusually high amounts of unmalted rye for exceptionally rich flavor. This innovative combination of youthful intensity and matured sophistication fuses into a spicy, complex whiskey that will make you question why good rye isn’t found in every barroom in America.
FYI: 435.649.8300, www.highwestdistillery.com.
