Best George Washington Rye Clone Recipe

A Taste of History: Crafting George Washington's Rye Whiskey

There's something undeniably intriguing about sipping on a whiskey recipe that dates back to America's early days. Imagine the founding fathers gathering around a rustic hearth, toasting to the birth of a nation with a glass of rich, robust rye whiskey. Among the many spirits of the 18th century, George Washington’s Rye holds a special place. Crafted at Mount Vernon, this distinctive whiskey is a testament to the ingenuity and craftsmanship of its time.

I’m excited to share my clone recipe for George Washington’s Rye Whiskey, a blend that captures the spirit and tradition of the original. Join me as we explore its unique ingredients, and guide you through the meticulous process of bringing a piece of history to life in your own still.

George Washington Rye Mash Bill

The mash bill for this recipe is very simple

56% Rye (I use malted Rye)
34% Yellow corn
10% Malted Barley

Recipe for a 6 gallon Batch of George Washington Rye

For this tutorial I will use a 6 gallon batch. You can divide or multiply by what ever factor you need to get the size batch you want to make. I have also made a tutorial video for this batch.

George Washington Rye Whiskey Ingredients

Here are the ingredients for this clone recipe. You may also be interested in this complete ingredients kit offered by Still'n The Clear.

6 US gallons of water
7 lbs. of Malted Rye
1.5 lbs. of Malted Barley
15 mm of high temp alpha enzyme
10 mm of glucoamylase
1 oz. DADY yeast

george washington rye clone recipe ingredients kit

Mashing the George Washington Rye Clone Recipe

We designed this recipe and the ingredients kit to be specifically easy for new home distillers just getting into all-grain recipes. The traditional all grain mash process can be intimidating for new distillers. This is why we use liquid enzymes for this recipe. The use of high temp alpha and glucoamylase removes a couple target temps and hold times making it much easier for beginners. That said. this same recipe can be mashed using traditional mashing process for those who prefer it.

Step 1: Heating water and gelatinize the corn

Heat 4 gallons of water to 190 degrees. Then slowly stir in 4 lbs. of ground yellow corn. Hold this temperature and stir for 90 minutes or until the corn is fully gelatinized.

Step 2: High temp liquid alpha amylase

Once your corn is fully gelatinized it is time to start letting the mash col and add in the high temp liquid amylase. the amylase can be added to the corn at any temp between 140F and 190F. As you stir the amylase into the thick soupy corn you will see it thin out and get watery within seconds. This happens because the thick and sticky starches from the corn are being broken into long chain sugar by the alpha amylase. These long chain sugars will be broken down into fermentable sugars later.

Step 3: Adding malted grains

Let the mash cool down to 155F. Slowly stir in the 7 lbs. of malted rye and the 1.5 lbs. of malted barley. The natural enzymes in the malted grains will also work to convert the starches and sugars for the yeast. Let the mash sit for 1.5 hours while it continues to cool even more.

Step 4: Glucoamylase

Now, stir in the remaining 2 gallons of cool water. This will help to cool the mash down more. Once the temp is below 130F you can stir in the glucoamylase. The glucoamylase will break down any remaining long chain sugars into fermentable sugars for the yeast to consume.

Step 5: Pitching the yeast

Once the mash has cooled down to 90F you can pitch the DADY yeast. Transfer your mash into a fermenter and let it do it's thing. My favorite way to ferment is on-the-grain. I think this produces more flavor over off-the-grain fermenting. You can also sparge the mash and ferment off-the-grain. Check out this tutorial of how I built my on-the-grain fermenter that makes fermenting and separating the grains from the liquid a breeze.

Step 6: Fermentation

Depending on ambient temperatures, the fermentation will take 10 to 14 days. You will notice a "cap" of grain at the surface of the mash throughout the fermentation. This "cap" will fall near the end of the fermentation.

Step 7: Distillation

Once fermentation is complete you need to separate the solids from the mash. Now let the wash sit for 24 to 48 hours so any sediment in the wash can settle to the bottom.

Syphon or pour the wash into your still and distill it.

Traditionally George Washington Rye was not aged so you can bottle the distillate as is or you can also age it with oak for a smoother final product.