Tincup introduces an instantly likable rye.
Tincup American Whisky was founded with a mission: Make whiskey approachable for all. Now, the brand has a rye that lives up to that promise.
Typically, ryes are considered whiskey 2.0. They are spicier, drier, and pack a bite, hence best appreciated by a more advanced palate. Whiskey and bourbon, on the other hand, are made mostly from corn mash, which yields a high sugar content that makes them easier to drink. “We wanted to make a rye that you don’t have to learn to like,” says Tincup’s cowboy-founder Jess Graber, who also founded Stranahan’s Whiskey in 2002.
EO had a chance to try the new label at a recent tasting in Tincup, Colorado, the mining town that inspired the brand, and found it to be easy drinking, indeed. We picked out flavors of wood and leather and a finish of apricot and pepper, and found it had a bit of sweetness to mellow out the heat. Rather than the horse-kick finish characteristic of most ryes. “Tincup gives you a little love bite that lets you know you’re still alive,” says Graber in his characteristic salt-of-the-earth style.
Graber attributes the drinkability to the “best water in the world,” sourced from Colorado’s Eldorado Springs, and the charred American white oak barrels it’s aged in for three years.
The barrels extract impurities, lend a sweet caramel flavor, and tame down the kick, he says.
“I’m not a rocket scientist,” Graber adds. “We just make good whiskey.”
