Long before bourbon dominated the liquor market, rye whiskey reigned supreme. Today, a Midwestern distiller is teaming up with scientists to bring back a long-gone type of grain and turn it into spicy, bold whiskey. The source is the wooden schooner named the James R. Bentley, which sank in Lake Huron in 1878 after hitting a shoal. Remarkably, all the crew members were rescued, yet the ship still contains the remnants of the rye grain it was transporting.
Chad Munger, founder of Mammoth Distilling, shared his excitement about reviving this rare variety, which he calls