When Life Gives You Lemons Make Whiskey Sours

On Saturday, May 19, kick up your feet and celebrate World Whiskey Day the right way with Slow & Low Rock and Rye, Lock Stock & Barrel 18 Year, Templeton Rye, and Woodford Reserve whiskey cocktails.

Hochstadter’s Family Reserve ($199.99): Hochstadter’s Family Reserve is made from 100 percent farm-grown rye grain and aged 16 years in newly charred American Oak Barrels. Sourced from Alberta Distillers Limited, this rare and bold offering is bottled at barrel proof in Philadelphia, PA. The end result is unfiltered, undiluted and full-flavored, delivering an intense explosion of robust rye flavor. This powerful expression comes showcased in a classic whiskey bottle silhouette, elegantly appointed with a gold foil detailed label and a custom cork branded with the Hochstadter’s insignia.

Lock Stock & Barrel 18 Year ($229.99): Lock Stock & Barrel 18 Year, one of the finest, most complex straight ryes available today, was just awarded the 2018 Double Gold Medal from the world-renowned San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It is clean and bold, yet smooth and flavorful, and is one of the oldest straight rye whiskeys to ever be introduced as 18 is the oldest age statement to be given to a straight rye whiskey. The striking matte black glass bottle, embossed label and wood cork closure, exudes luxury and richness while paying homage to the bygone era of illicit saloons and bootleggers of frontier America.

Slow & Low Rock and Rye 6 Year: Slow & Low is based on America’s original bottled cocktail — “rock and rye” — and takes its inspiration from the Hochstadter label’s pre-prohibition era recipe. Union made by the local 500 in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia, Slow & Low is committed to sourcing the finest ingredients, combining straight rye whiskey, air-dried navel oranges from Florida, 100 percent raw honey from Western Pennsylvania, Angostura Bitters and a small dose of rock candy. Slow & Low is best enjoyed straight from the bottle — Savor it neat, over ice for an instant Old Fashioned, or paired with a beer, as a shot.

Templeton Rye Aged 6 Years ($49.99): Templeton Rye Whiskey was one of the first rye whiskeys, being introduced legally in 2006 and quickly becoming a benchmark name in the rye category. In 2010, key barrels were set aside for longer aging that are now ready to be enjoyed. Templeton Rye 6 Year has more complex rye notes for the true enthusiast.

Woodford Reserve Releases Master’s Collection with Cherry Wood Smoked Barley ($99.99): This is one of the first Kentucky Bourbons to use malted barley that has been exposed to cherry wood smoke. With 30% malt content, the Cherry Wood Smoked mash bill has a higher concentration of malt than a traditional bourbon. The new release marries the brand’s innovation with the industry’s historic roots by paying tribute to the craftsmanship and vision of past distillery industry leaders Oscar Pepper and James Crow. A complex mingling of deep caramel, brown sugar and dark chocolate covered in a layer of cherry jam and nutty crumbles dusted with wood spice.

Cocktail Recipes

Slow and Low Whiskey Sour

2 oz Slow & Low Rock and Rye

1 oz Fresh squeezed lemon

.5 oz Simple Syrup

Egg white

Dash of Scrappy’s Aromatic bitters

Method: In cocktail shaker dry shake the Egg white. Fill with ice and other ingredients, shake again. Poor up in coupe glass and add bitters

Inside Out — Created by Natasha David

2.5 oz Carpano Antica Formula

1 oz Templeton Rye

1 tsp. Brancamenta

1 dash of Absinthe

Method: Stir, Strain in a Cocktail Coup or V-Martini glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Slow & Low Julep

3 oz of Slow & Low Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz of Simple Syrup, Preferably Demerara
10 springs Mint (Reserve 1 sprig for garnish)
Crushed Ice

Method: Muddle whiskey and mint in a mix glass. Add 1 large cube of ice. Stir, but not so much as to dilute — a baker’s dozen revolutions. Add liberal amounts of crushed ice to more than fill the tin cup. Fine strain contents of mix into a glass over crushed ice. Garnish with six mint leaves.

Woodford Spire

1. 5 oz Woodford Reserve
2. 2 oz lemonade
3. 1 oz cranberry
4. Crushed ice (to fill the cup)

Method: Build all ingredients in a copper cup, add crushed ice until the top of the cup is filled & garnish with a lemon twist.