Rye Isn’t All That Spicy, Experts Say

Experts say yeast is most responsible for whiskey spice.

I know it’s shocking, but something cool happened on Facebook the other day—something helpful, educational, mind-opening and brilliantly collaborative. 

Whiskey historian Michael Veach’s post on Facebook (you’ll need to scroll down a bit) linked to a blog he wrote and titled, “What is Rye Spice?” which centered on whether rye is the source of “spice” in bourbon and rye whiskeys.

Veach teed it up this way:

“I frequently hear about rye grain giving Bourbon a spicy flavor, but I am not sure the spiciness of a whiskey necessarily comes from the rye grain. After all, if rye is the source of spice then why isn’t the 95% rye whiskey made at MGP, which is the source of many of the rye whiskeys on the market, not dominated by spicy flavors? These whiskeys should be very spicy due to the high amount of rye, but I don’t find them any spicier than many Bourbons with a third of the amount of rye.”