What Are the Regional Styles of American Rye?

The history of American rye whiskey dates back to the 18th century. And there are plenty of historical reasons why that colonial era still influences the rye you’re drinking today.

Rye developed regionally. As the late whiskey distiller Dave Pickerell noted, there were thousands of small-grain distilleries in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland in the late 1700s and early 1800s, and rye was the most prevalent grain. Meanwhile, corn was really only grown south of the Mason-Dixon line.

From those simple truths and an early lack of interstate commerce grew the first regional split in whiskey: Pennsylvania (or Monongahela-style) rye in the north and Maryland-style rye in the south. The former had no corn. The latter, however, saw a mellower and sweeter mashbill that featured a healthy dose of corn.  

Today, you’ll see those styles relatively intact, but a whole crop (pun intended) of new rye styles are slowly making their mark across the United States as the popularity of rye whiskey once again skyrockets.