J. Rieger & Co. In the News

May 10, 2018
Circulation: 13,310,000

This Coffee Liqueur is Better than Whatever You Are Drinking

Noah Kaufman

Amari are just not the sorts of spirits that inspire
a broad-based deep, abiding love. They’re bitter
and herbal—some taste like cough medicine,
some taste like spoiled licorice, some taste like
loneliness. None of this is to say that amari do
not make great drinks. The world would be a
sad place without Negronis and Aperol
Spritzes (although we might be okay
without Jäger Bombs), but because amari’s
flavors are so potent and so polarizing, they are
usually better experienced within the
ecosystem of a cocktail.

That is not the case with Caffé Amaro from
Kansas City’s J. Rieger and Co. J. Rieger is one
of the oldest names in Midwestern whiskey, and before Prohibition, the brand claimed to be the largest mail
order alcohol business in the country. But, as with most pre-Prohibition success stories, it vanished after
the 18th Amendment passed. In recent years though, J. Rieger has gone through a rebirth thanks to Kansas
City bartender, bar owner and new partner in J. Rieger, Ryan Maybee. Not long after Maybee
opened Manifesto in 2009, which appears on every shortlist for best cocktail bar in the city, he entered
discussions with Andy Rieger about restarting the distillery. Rieger (the only living member of the Rieger
line at the time) agreed, and by 2016 the reinvigorated J. Rieger and Co. had filled its product line with an
entirely new style of whiskey—Kansas City whiskey, blended with sherry—a vodka, a gin and the Caffé
Amaro.

Rieger head distiller Nathan Perry guided the development of the amaro and its unique flavor profile that
balances bitter and sweet. It’s made with traditional Italian amaro ingredients like gentian, orange peel and
cardamom before getting a hefty addition of cold brew coffee. The cold brew provides all the rich coffee
flavor without any of the bitterness that comes with other brewing methods. Finally, they finish the amaro
with sugar cane syrup that makes it one of the most palatable amari for straight sipping out there right now.
We love it poured over a big ice cube. On the nose you get powerful wafts of licorice tempered by subtle
coffee undercurrents. But upon sipping, the cold brew and sweetness of the cane syrup really push through,
as does a bright bite of citrus. And at 62 proof, it creeps close enough to a full proof spirit to satisfy people
looking for a bit of a buzz as well. However, it’s also astonishingly versatile for a coffee spirit. It makes the
best damn White Russian you’ll ever have (duh), but also works as a Highball—a little better with tonic than
soda, but whichever you prefer—and plays well with whiskey and rum.

“It’s a pain in the ass to make,” Perry says, because it has to be transferred between tanks and barrels 10
times, but that pain in the ass has paid off. Go get yourself a bottle and pop it open. We promise not to tell
if you pour a little in your morning coffee.





2016
Circulation: 141,000

Midwestern Premium Vodka

October 03, 2018
Circulation: 2,460,000

6 vodka recommendations from a fancy vodka shopgirl

Allison Shoemaker

Previously, on recommendations from a fancy [insert spirit here] shopgirl, Allison Shoemaker suggested six
whiskeys (mostly bourbons) and then five ryes. But lest you thought the fancy whiskey shop at which she
moonlights sells only whiskey, she will now move on to other corners of the spirits world. Yes, she will
eventually do Scotch.

We drink a lot of vodka. A lot. In 2017, vodka was the best-selling spirit in the United States by a sizable
margin, accounting for roughly a third of all spirits sold by volume, $6.2 billion dollars in revenue, and a total
volume sold that has risen year after year. Its virtue, we’re told, is that it disappears. Vodka and orange
juice tastes like alcoholic orange juice. Vodka and cranberry juice, the same. Vodka, vermouth, and olives
tastes like heaven, but not like vodka. Not really.

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t good vodkas and bad vodkas, however. In 2016, a Slate piece called
craft vodka “a silly sham,” citing the fact that the government defines the spirit as “Neutral spirits distilled or
treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials so as to be without distinctive character, aroma,
taste or color” (U.S. Department of the Treasury). But anyone who’s ever pulled a plastic handle of vodka
from the very bottom of the shelf at the end of a long row of grocery store booze knows that being without
distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color doesn’t mean it can’t taste like shit. If a vodka is bad enough,
and you want a drink that’s even sort of strong, no amount of cranberry juice can mask that terrible taste.
Enter these six vodkas—two under $30, two over $30, two flavored. Each and every one, excepting the
flavored vodkas, would make a good martini and won’t need to be hidden behind generously poured, sugary
mixers. If you want them to disappear, they will. If you want something you can sip, these will do the trick,
though the two over $30 options would be better.

As always, a few caveats. My preferences are my own; what’s appealing to me may not speak to your
palate at all. I focus primarily on smaller distilleries, so there’s no Tito’s on this list; that said, I’ve tried to
pick vodkas distributed in at least a few major markets. And while I’d love to travel the country tasting booze,
it’s more than likely that the super-local vodka you love has not made its way to me yet. But I’d still love to
hear about it.

Under $30
For cocktails, with or without flavorful mixers.
The Dutchess (New Holland Artisan Spirits, Michigan), around $23
Distilled from organic wheat. Very smooth and clean. This is the disappearing-est of all the vodkas on this
list. Bonus: It comes in a gorgeous bottle.

If you can’t find this one: Chicago Spirit (Illinois), Aloo Vodka(Washington)

Rieger’s Premium Wheat Vodka (J. Rieger & Co., Missouri), around $26
My go-to martini vodka. Double-distilled and carbon-filtered, with a big, soft mouthfeel and barely discernible
sweetness. Not as crisp as the New Holland but also tastier on its own.

If you can’t find this one: Crater Lake (Oregon), Koval (Illinois)

March 1, 2019
Circulation: 8,750,000

Bartenders Tell Us Which Vodkas to Pour on National Moscow Mule
Day

Christopher Osburn

No masterwork in history has quite summed up the importance of the end of the work week like
Loverboy’s “Working For The Weekend.” The stresses of our 9-5 jobs fade away the second the time
comes to head home on Fridays. Weekends are designed as a respite from the anxiety and fatigue of the
week — it’s time to unwind with a glass of wine, a frosty beer, or a delicious cocktail.

The only thing that could make the weekend better is a food and drink-related holiday. This Sunday
(March 3) is National Moscow Mule Day. To celebrate, we asked some of our favorite bartenders to tell us
their favorite vodkas to add to the famed combination of ginger beer and lime.

J. Rieger & Co Midwestern Premium Vodka
Brock Schulte, bar director at The Monarch in Kansas City
“What’s my favorite vodka to add to a Moscow Mule? J. Rieger & Co Midwestern Premium Vodka. It’s
smooth, local, and the perfect addition to a Moscow Mule.”