Dale DeGroff 10th Anniversary Single Barrel Ragtime Rye Selection Makes Good
It’s hard to believe it’s only been a decade since the New York Distilling Company sprang to life in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. It feels, at least to this New Yorker, like the distillery, its adjoining bar, The Shanty, and its top-notch spirits like Dorothy Parker American Gin and Ragtime Rye have been mainstays of the city for far longer. But ten years as a going concern is cause for celebration, and NYDC is celebrating the milestone with a limited-edition single-barrel bottling of its Ragtime Rye, the barrel in question having been selected by legendary bartender/author/bon vivant Dale DeGroff. Each of the 170 numbered bottles of the Dale DeGroff 10th Anniversary Single Barrel Ragtime Rye Selection, as it’s officially called, is signed by DeGroff as well, which is the drinks equivalent of having a copy of the New Testament signed by the Pope.
A Decade-Old… And Already An Elder Statesman
The New York Distilling Co. officially opened for business on Repeal Day, December 5, in 2011, which oddly enough makes it one of the oldest distilleries in New York. What was going on before then? Until the Farm Distillery Act became law in New York in 2007, the financial threshold for starting a distillery in the state was impossibly high for virtually all would-be distillers. That threshold was lowered drastically, provided the distilleries use 75% New York-sourced grain in all their mash bills. After the law was passed — thanks in large part to lobbying by Ralph Erenzo, the founder of Hudson Valley-based Tuthilltown Spirits — the craft distilling movement throughout New York State exploded, with NYDC, Kings County, Finger Lakes Distilling, and a few others leading the charge. In 2015, a group of distilleries including Tuthilltown and NYDC formed the Empire Rye Association, which mandated, among other things, that Empire rye whiskeys be distilled from a mash bill of at least 75% New York-grown rye.
Picking Single Barrels Pandemic Style
Ragtime Rye debuted in 2015 as a three-year-old whiskey; today, it’s a blend aged between three and six years. “I wouldn't call our whiskey in its infancy any longer,” Katz says, “but we're firmly in adolescence." The Anniversary Selection is aged almost 6 1/2 years, and bottled at a cask strength of 56% ABV. Times being what they are, the barrel selection process was done remotely, with Katz sending DeGroff eight barrel samples. “The single barrel selections are the most fun for me because it's one person's perspective,” Katz says. “And Dale has been a major influence on my life, my livelihood, and not just my growth as a person involved in spirits and cocktails, but how I think about drink individually and as part of an ongoing culture, specifically as a New Yorker.” The barrel that he wound up picking is described by DeGroff (on the NYDC website) as having “a lovely balance of fruit and spice.” Of course, this being Dale DeGroff, he wasn’t about to let its high ABV dissuade him from mixing it. “As you might imagine, Dale, I-don't-care-what-the-proof-is, is going to experiment with these samples in cocktails,” Katz says. “So it's not just what is it like on its own, but even at 112 proof, what's going to stand up and stand out in a Manhattan.” You can find DeGroff’s Manhattan recipe at the NYDC site.
Drink A Great Rye, Support A Great Cause
Picking up a bottle won’t just benefit your whiskey collection. Part of the proceeds from each bottle sold are going to the Helen David Relief Fund, established in 2010 by another cocktail legend, Tony Abou-Ganim. Helen David, Abou-Ganim’s cousin and a major influence on his career path, was a bartender and the owner of the venerable Brass Rail bar in Port Huron, Michigan, which she opened in 1937 and ran until her death in 2006. David was a two-time breast cancer survivor, and the HDRF is dedicated to providing financial aid to members of the bar industry fighting cancer. The knowledge that each bottle helps a good cause should make it easier to spend the $75 it costs to purchase one of the 170 bottles available. Or better yet, buy one to display and one to drink.