Highwayman Rye Whiskey

[WhiskeyRebellion]

Made my 1st batch of all grain. It came out pretty good. Nice rye spice with a little earthy taste.

I have 1/2 of it in a small barrel now, we will see how it ages over a few months.

Just mashed in another batch today that I will be putting in a bad motivator barrel for long term aging.

recipe
40% flaked rye
30% malted rye
15% flaked corn
10% malted 6 row barley
5% flaked oats

in 7.5 gallon buckets

4 lbs flaked rye
3 lbs malted rye
1.5 lbs flaked corn
1 lb malted 6 row barley
.5 lb flaked oats

5 gallons of water.

I put the flaked corn and rye in a bucket, get 3.5 gallons of water up to temp (160) and poured over grain. stirred and did iodine test to check for starch.

when temp was down to 155 I added malted grains, let sit for 90 minutes and did iodine test to check conversion.

added rice hulls stirred and when it got down to temp pitched some yeast nutrient and DADY yeast.

Let ferment on the grain, strain and let sit overnight to settle before charging still.

did 4 batches as stripping runs (8 buckets total) and from the spirit run blend ended up with 2 gallons proofed down to 120

[Corn Cracker]

How'd it taste? I tried to use rye but i don't think i used enough to taste the difference

[WhiskeyRebellion]

How'd it taste? I tried to use rye but i don't think i used enough to taste the difference

pretty good. it is earthy on the front, I assume from the malt, and was spicy on the finish making my tongue tingle. Have some in a small oak barrel now, we'll see how it is after being oaked.

[WhiskeyRebellion]

Have a 3 litter barrel of this sitting in the garage the last 3 weeks, tried it tonight and it is tasting very good. spice and sweet, good mouth feel and a nice lasting tingling finish.

[Deplorable]

Sounds delicious, I put up a Badmo Barrel of 74% corn/21% rye malt/55Marris Otter in February that I fermented with a Belgian yeast. I haven't sipped what's in the BM, but the 1.5 quarts I have in glass on oak fingers is pretty spicey and fruity. The Badmo will sit in the rafters for a couple years I think.

[WhiskeyRebellion]

Sounds delicious, I put up a Badmo Barrel of 74% corn/21% rye malt/55Marris Otter in February that I fermented with a Belgian yeast. I haven't sipped what's in the BM, but the 1.5 quarts I have in glass on oak fingers is pretty spicey and fruity. The Badmo will sit in the rafters for a couple years I think.

I barreled some of this in a badmo as well. plan to let it sit 3 years before I try it.

The 3 litter I figure should be done in 2 or 3 months

[WhiskeyRebellion]

Said barrels

[warx]

I've seen recipes call for yogurt/cheese making culture for lactobacillus when using raw rye. Is it not needed if you ferment quickly with DADY?

[OtisT]

I've seen recipes call for yogurt/cheese making culture for lactobacillus when using raw rye. Is it not needed if you ferment quickly with DADY?

What is the infection for? I know it’s not necessary for fermenting raw rye.

I have a 3 month old batch of 100% raw rye sitting in jars with oak sticks and it sure is tasty.

Otis

[warx]

What is the infection for? I know it’s not necessary for fermenting raw rye.

I think the idea is so that the good stuff (lactobacillus) would have a head-start and dominate any bad stuff carried by the berries. Opinions seem mixed and perhaps if you distill it as soon as it attenuates there's no need. I've no personal experience as I've always included a boil (actual beer - distilled).

[OtisT]

What is the infection for? I know it’s not necessary for fermenting raw rye.

I think the idea is so that the good stuff (lactobacillus) would have a head-start and dominate any bad stuff carried by the berries. Opinions seem mixed and perhaps if you distill it as soon as it attenuates there's no need. I've no personal experience as I've always included a boil (actual beer - distilled).

Interesting approach. I’ve never had much of a problem with infections (knock on wood) and I don’t have a brewers background, so my cleaning protocol most of the time is a simple wipe down and a rinse. My recent all raw rye ferment sat for over 5 weeks with no infection before I striped it, though I did maintain a co2 cap the whole time.

[Deplorable]

Interesting approach. I’ve never had much of a problem with infections (knock on wood) and I don’t have a brewers background, so my cleaning protocol most of the time is a simple wipe down and a rinse. My recent all raw rye ferment sat for over 5 weeks with no infection before I striped it, though I did maintain a co2 cap the whole time.

This sounds like my cleaning process, but I get a lacto almost every time in secondary while its clearing and waiting to be run. I could employ my CO2 tank and charge the clearing buckets with a layer of CO2 when I put the lids on, but I don't mind the lacto. I haven't found the end product to be adversely impacted.

[WhiskeyRebellion]

I aged some of this recipe in a 5 litter barrel for 6 weeks. I recently sent a sample to a friend who drinks high end bourbon and rye without telling him what it was, just that it was a rye I wanted him to try. He liked it pretty well. I have a badmo barrel filled and sitting that I will crack in 3 or 4 years.