As statements go, it takes some beating: “Rye whisky has so many different varieties and can be produced in so many different ways. It offers a whole new world of aromas to discover. In a few years I think rye can offer the same sort of quality and variety as Scottish single malt.”

The speaker is Frédéric Revol, manager at Domaine des Hautes Glaces in  France and the producer of Vulson White Rhino Rye, a fledgling rye spirit that is at the vanguard of what might well turn out to be a major trend in spirits over the next decade.

It should come as no surprise to anyone with their finger on the pulse of the whisky industry to see that two of the top five whiskies in the 2016 edition of The Whisky Bible were ryes – although one or two eyebrows were raised at the choice of Canada’s Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye, even in Canada.

Rye has been enjoying its place in the sun for some time now, and not just with good ol’ boys down at the levee. Demand has soared as bartenders and mixologists have been seduced by the lure of the spirit’s spiciness. What had for decades been something of a pariah spirit is now enjoying the sort of acclaim and popularity it hasn’t seen since way back in America’s pioneering days. Truth be told, though, there’s considerable ignorance as to what rye whisky actually is. And there are plenty of European distillers who are determined to show the grain off in a surprisingly diverse and unusual light.

When we talk about rye, two distinctive and very different styles of whisk(e)y come to mind. First we tend to think of the bland, uninspiring rye whiskies from Canada, consumed with dry ginger and ice, and the staple favourite of an ageing generation not noted for their adventurous tastes.

REVOLUTION

Such whiskies do a disservice to Canada, for several reasons. Firstly, because the country is in the grip of its own craft distilling revolution and, after decades of navel-gazing, is starting to get the world to sit up and take notice of some tasty and original whiskies. Second, because many of the famous ‘Canadian’ whiskies are owned by American corporations, which have been more than happy to service a demand for bland and uninspired whiskies.

And third, because many of them are named rye whiskies for traditional reasons but contain other grain whiskies and may not contain rye at all. Furthermore, under Canadian regulations producers are allowed to add a small amount of another liquid, including bourbon – made from a mash dominated by corn – and even fruit juice. The result is, therefore, a whisky that has little to do with the spicy, savoury quality of rye made south in the United States.

American rye has a history stretching back to the war of independence. The whiskey produced at the George Washington distillery at Mount Vernon is a rye, reflecting what would have been consumed at the time, and the harsh whiskeys featured in countless cowboy films would have been rye.

But the strong flavour of the spirit began to fall out of favour and was dealt a near-fatal blow by Prohibition. Now, with big flavours back in favour, rye has found a new audience.

American ryes tend to fall into two distinct categories: aged premium products such as Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year Old, Thomas H Handy and Sazerac 18 Year Old; and less expensive ‘fire water’ ryes that have taken centre stage in the world of cocktails. It doesn’t matter what sort of American rye you’re talking about, chances it won’t be easy to find much, such is the demand.

NEW FRONT

Now, though, the world of rye whisky is in the process of opening a new front – and it’s being driven by ‘new world’ whisky producers in countries such as France, the Netherlands, Australia and Austria. What’s more, the new kids on the block, some of them with many generations of distilling experience, are bringing myriad new flavours to the field of rye whisky. Monsieur Revol, it would seem, might be close to the mark when he talks of rye giving Scottish single malts a run for their money when it comes to variety – and perhaps the view that rye is to other grain whisky what Islay is to single malt isn’t so outlandish after all.

When it comes to quality and innovation there are few companies that can match Zuidam in the Netherlands. The family firm, now managed by the original founder’s grandson, Patrick Zuidam, makes no fewer than 600 drinks products, using the finest ingredients to make top-quality spirit and liqueurs.

Zuidam has something of a passion for whisky, though, and for a long time has pushed at its boundaries. Unsurprisingly, therefore, he was a European pioneer, alongside some Austrian distillers, when it came to making rye.

“I distilled it a few years ago and then left it to mature, but when I returned to it some time later it was awful,” he recalls. “I had to decide whether to tell my father that I had bought this expensive grain and had ruined it, or whether to keep quiet, leave it, and hope everyone would forget about it. So I left it. And a few years later it had turned into this amazing whisky. Now I wish I had made 100 times more rye than I did 10 years ago.”

Zuidam’s latest rye is called Millstone 100, and it has just picked up a gold medal in the International Spirits Challenge awards. It is called 100 because it is 100 months – more than eight years – old, it is 100 proof (50% abv) and it is made with 100% rye.

That last detail is important. There is a view that you can’t make a rye whisky just of rye and that a small amount of malted barley is necessary to kick-start the conversion of sugars and starches into alcohol. Not so, says Zuidam.

“You can produce a 100% rye whisky. You can use malted rye to do the starch conversion. It’s not really efficient or fast, but it gives a beautiful flavour.”

Revol at Le Domaine des Hautes Glaces agrees. “All our ryes are 100% rye, but actually they are made with 100% malted rye,” he says. “At the domaine we are malting all our grain to transform starch in to sugar. If you don’t do that you have to cook your mash and add enzymes or malted barley.”

It’s the approach to distillation, the type of still used, the way the grain is fermented, and the make up of the mash bill – the proportion of rye to other grains in the initial mix used to make the whisky – that is driving the increasingly diverse array of European rye whiskies. But according to Zuidam, it’s still early days.

EXTENSIVE TRIALS

“So far it has been difficult to get a clear image as to what differences there are between the variety of rye grain and the final whisky produced,” he says. “But we are planning some extensive trials with different varieties and older varieties to find the perfect rye for whisky. As for the finished rye whiskies, there are huge differences between the different countries. In the US and Canada you see the mash bill mostly consisting of 51% rye and then a lot of corn and some malted barley for the starch conversion.”

Over in Austria, spirits educator Arthur Nägele says that it is just a matter of time before a whole range of different rye whiskies will be produced across Europe.

“In countries such as Germany and Austria the distillers, many who have been creating spirits for centuries, are used to making spirits with different grains such as spelt, oats, wheat and rye,” he says.

“Whiskies from the alpine region, including rye whiskies, are improving very fast. The distillers have realised they have to adapt the way they distil genevers or beaux de vie to make good whisky and they are now bottling some very good whisky.”

With rye whisky it’s necessary to make major adjustments to the distillation process, and it takes considerable skill to produce any spirit at all, let alone a decent one. Rye goes gloopy like thick wallpaper paste and causes huge filtration problems. The carbon dioxide produced tends to burst out of the solution, so that it explodes and fires gloop all over the distillery. It’s not for the faint-hearted.

“From a production point of view rye is a disaster to work with,” says Zuidam. “The higher the rye content of your mash bill, the more difficult it is to work with. The problems are in all stages of the production. It is more difficult to mash in. This is because the rye makes for an extremely thick mash about the consistency of wallpaper paste that makes mixing it with the hot water more difficult. It is difficult to ferment. Because of the thick, glue-like nature of the mash it tends to foam a lot, so you need slow cool fermentation – up to eight days in our case. We distill it in a pot still. You can imagine that distilling wallpaper glue in a pot still places special demands on the pot stills and the distillers. You need careful, slow distillation, gentle heating, constant agitation.”

Zuidam believes that for this reason rye will not become as prevalent as other whisky styles, but he thinks a variety of rye whiskies will appeal to an increasing number of markets.

“I don’t think everybody will rush to start producing rye whisky. It is just too difficult a grain to work with,” he says. “But I think rye whisky is here to stay. It tastes different and has its own group of followers that will keep growing as more people taste it.”

No doubt about it – it’s a style of whisky on the ryes.