can you pick between rye and bourbon?

[Ken Gargett]

i'll start by saying i would not have a chance. this is an interesting piece from the munchies website.

i do remember a mate who sold top end spirits once hosting a blind tasting between cognac, malts and armagnacs. a number of serious spirit lovers came along and they were all convinced the differences would be obvious. no one got close.

i suspect that things like islay malts would stand out but top spirits are far more similar than we realise or would like to admit.

Study Says No One Can Really Tell the Difference Between Rye and Bourbon

BY ALEX SWERDLOFF

April 25, 2016

Never Miss A Story

You don’t have to be the scion of a wealthy Kentucky dynasty to know that whisky lovers tend to have strong feelings about the differences between the various types of distilled alcoholic beverages made from fermented grain mashes. Rye, they say, is dry and hard-edged, while bourbon tastes of caramel and has a creamier flavor. Bourbon is clearly for Old Fashioneds, whiskey sours, and mint juleps, according to the received wisdom. Rye? Make it a Manhattan.

But a new study out of Drexel University says the average person can’t tell the difference between the two types of whiskey, at least when it comes to the American blends. And there’s a reason for that. Bourbon and rye are—save for a few crucial differences—basically the same thing. As small as a 2 percent difference in the two types of alcohol can tip one from being called “rye” to “bourbon” or vice versa.

READ MORE: Will Whiskey Drinkers Be Down with Bourbon-Flavored Vodka?

The legal difference between rye and bourbon comes from something called their “mash bill“—the composition of the mash of fermented grain they’re made from.” The mash that makes bourbon bourbon is largely corn. Rye’s mash comes from the grain of the same name—rye. But all other requirements for making the two are identical and just a slight difference in the mash can change the label.

All of this means the average consumer is completely unable to discriminate between the two flavors, as the recent study reveals.

Jacob Lahne, an assistant professor in the Center for Hospitality and Sport Management at Drexel asked 21 study participants to evaluate a tray of 10 unlabeled American whiskeys. Five were bourbons and five ryes. The participants were instructed to smell but not taste the alcohol and then organize the whiskeys into no fewer than two and no more than nine groups. Later, the same whiskeys were presented and the participants were asked to sort the whiskeys into groups again.

READ MORE: This Man Is Making Kimchi Taste Like Bourbon

A statistical analysis revealed that the subjects did not separate the whiskeys based on whether they were bourbon or rye, but instead on other characteristics like alcohol content, age, and brand. For instance, the participants tended to group together Jim Beam whiskeys—they could detect a “house” flavor—but couldn’t tell whether they were bourbons or ryes. The results of the study are being published in the Journal of Food Science this month.

“There is definitely a tendency for bartenders to talk about how some drinks should absolutely be made with bourbon or rye, and I think it’s clear now that there is more flexibility,” Lahne said. “In a way it’s fun and exciting—it gives you a bigger universe to play with.”

The perceived differences between bourbon and rye may come from back in the day when the mash bill differences between the two whiskeys were more pronounced, Lahne said. Today, though, American bourbons and ryes are very closely related. Bottom line: you probably shouldn’t be all that afraid the next time some Southern dandy wearing only seersucker tries to cajole you into a blind taste test with his kilt-wearing buddy.

[ThePolskiOgorki]

Interesting post Ken. And I think it is true. I don't think I could tell the difference between the two when it comes to the majority of bourbons and ryes. Especially when it comes to ryes made in the US. Like the article suggests I think given the mash bill requirements of at least 51% corn for bourbon or 51% rye for rye it leaves a lot of room to make the two whiskeys taste pretty darn similar. Add other ingredients into the mix with cocktails and no doubt there isn't a great deal of identifiable differences if any. Now the exception to this is if you take some of the 100% rye whiskeys being produced in Canada (not sure if there are any in the US or elsewhere presently) like Alberta Springs 10 year or even the Canadian Club 100% rye. You don't need a great palate to detect the difference.

[PapaDisco]

What Polski said. Why is this even a surprise, let alone worthy of publication, that regular Joe's have trouble discerning 49-51% content differences? Not shocking at all. I'm more surprised that they were able to get the 'house flavor' grouped correctly.

[Phinz]

Interesting read, thanks!

I find that aging rye tends to "soften" it, so I could certainly see an aged rye being almost identical in taste to a younger bourbon. I'm fairly confident I could pick out Willett 2yr (my go-to rye) from a lineup, but I'm sure I couldn't do the same with other ryes.

[Fugu]

What Polski said. Why is this even a surprise, let alone worthy of publication, that regular Joe's have trouble discerning 49-51% content differences? Not shocking at all. I'm more surprised that they were able to get the 'house flavor' grouped correctly.

Exactly. And apart from the mash bill requirements, the taste differences are not at all (directly) related to the source of the carbohydrate substrate, i.e. the grain (despite it's being told and marketed that way).

Corn, rye, wheat, barley, oat - the taste profile essentially derives from the malting and kiln-drying process (if done), the particular fermenting-cultures, the fermentation parameters (mash temp./pH/duration), the destillation and lastly from the barrel. So, no surprise at all.

[Mattygukas]

In short, hell no!

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[spicycorona]

I think you(pl) make things markedly more difficult when you bring Canadian ryes into the conversation. Their flavoring laws are odd, to say the least.

I can understand a comparison of 100% american ryes and bourbons.

I don't understand the author's point though. Average consumers aren't the ones interested in the difference between the two. I bet almost all of them don't know the laws. Which makes me want to put up a big "who gives a ****" sign to them.

An above average consumer would probably know, or at least speculate what the mash bill is, understand that it could be anything within the laws stated above, and that the booze type on the bottle represents a law that was put into place to keep things in order.

For the record I would have been lost most likely. But I'm 100% sure the Beam products would have been dumped on the floor.

[TM-US]

The 95% rye mashbill from LDI/MGPI is very distinctive and found in lots of rye today- WFE, Redemption, some Whistlepigs, etc. The lower rye mashbill rye are harder to distinguish, but you can usually tell. Most bourbons don't have that distinct rye spice.

I'll admit that Rittenhouse 21 and VWFRR do not stand out as rye, taste more like bourbon. Same with the original HW16.

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