"rye" news and stories

Xellent Swiss Vodka is 40% abv. / 80 proof and is distilled and bottled in Switzerland using pure glacier water. It's won numerous awards and mention over the past few years. Xellent is made from 100% Swiss, alpine grown rye.

I really enjoy rye based vodka. No matter how well rectified it is, the character of the grain comes through. The aroma is medium light, spicy, fragrant, with a hint of floral tones. Underneath you have a hint of grains and light bready notes. An interesting combination of warm and cool sensations in the nose. I find the aroma very enjoyable.

The taste is slightly spicy and breadlike, light, complex. It develops character as it sits on your tongue and smoothly trickles down your throat. This is one of the first vodkas I had where I said to myself "this actually has flavor to it!" Which led me to finally getting over my prejudice about vodka. Xellent works great straight cold in shots with dinner, on the rocks, and in cocktails of all types.

The season is changing, so how about trying a new variation on something old? The Reuben is a favorite and it inspired the following sandwich. Now, this isn't entry level finger food -- it's vegan, a bit sloppy, and most kids won't like it.

Ingredients:

• 1 cake extra firm tofu
• 1 cup sweet teriyaki marinade
• 2 tablespoons vegan mayo. I use nayonaise but any will do, probably even canola mayo
• 1 tablespoon relish
• 1 tablespoon hot pesto or chutney
• 1 small yellow squash (which is widely available this time of year)
• 2 slices light rye bread

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The recommended daily guidelines for Americans suggest that at least half of all the grains consumed during the day be whole grains, which comes out to be 3 -5 servings daily. Aside from whole grain breads, like those made from whole wheat flour instead of wheat flour, there are quite a few other foods that will let you get those servings in. The ten most popular sources of whole grains are whole wheat (flour), whole oats/oatmeal, whole-grain corn, popcorn, brown rice, whole rye, whole-grain barley, wild rice, buckwheat and triticale, and as they are the most popular, they are also the most readily available.

Oatmeal, corn, popcorn and both brown and wild rice are easy enough to add into your weekly diet, and barley can stand in for rice or potatoes at many meals. Rye and buckwheat can be found in many breads, most of which will make superb sandwiches during the week. To add them in at home, you can try buckwheat pancakes or a blueberry buckwheat bundt cake. Triticale is a hybrid of rye and wheat, found mostly at health food stores, and can also be incorporated into many recipes.

A great source for some whole-grain recipes online is Bob's Red Mill website, which covers recipes for all of the top 10 grains.

With St. Patrick's Day looming up ahead of us it's time to think - not about corned beef and cabbage and beer, which combined has always struck me as a gastric disaster waiting to happen - but rather about the real Irish diet, which is, of course, whiskey and a dash of water.

Everywhere I go I encounter confusion amongst the good and drunk people of this country as to what is the difference between Irish whiskey and "regular" whiskey. They also don't seem to know that bourbon is a whiskey, and yet whiskey is not always bourbon. And, here's an interesting one, Jack Daniels is NOT bourbon, because it's made in Tennessee. So I thought before you go embarrassing yourself in front of all those fireman and police at the bar this Friday, I'd share my encyclopedic knowledge of the subject.

Let's start with Scotch, just to get it out of the way. Coming as it does from Scotland, it's distilled from "malt" (sprouted barley, dried in a drum) and flavored with burnt peat moss as part of its distilling process, which since that moss is not to be found elsewhere makes Scotch its distinctive smoky self. 

 

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