Rock and Rye

Rock and Rye is a term (both generically and brand names) for a bottled liqueur or mixed cocktail composed of rye whiskey and rock candy (crystallized sugar).[1][2]

As early as 1914, United States government publications discuss disputes regarding beverages labeled "rock and rye", including a case of a beverage so marketed which was found by the Bureau of Chemistry to consist of "water, sugar, glucose, and artificial coloring matters, sold in imitation of a rock and rye cordial".[3]

Among non-alcoholic beverages, Rock and Rye continues to be a popular flavor of the Faygo brand of soda pop.[4]

Related products mentioned in the early 20th century include Rock and Rum and Rock and Gin.[5]

In media

Mississippi Half Step Uptown Todeloo by The Grateful Dead, lyrics by Robert Hunter references Rock and Rye in the lyrics. “Half a cup of rock and rye /Farewell to you old southern sky / I'm on my way”[6]

Rock and Rye has long been supposed to be a cure for various types of cold and flu. Damon Runyon mentions the belief in one of his tales of Prohibition New York, “The Three Wise Guys”:

...I step into Good Time Charley's on the afternoon in question, I am feeling as if maybe I have a touch of grippe coming on, and Good Time Charley tells me that there is nothing in this world as good for a touch of grippe as rock candy and rye whisky, as it assassinates the germs at once.

It seems that Good Time Charley always keeps a stock of rock candy and rye whisky on hand for touches of the grippe, and he gives me a few doses immediately, and in fact Charley takes a few doses with me, as he says there is no telling but what I am scattering germs of my touch of the grippe all around the joint, and he must safeguard his health.”

References
  1. A.J. Rathbun (12 September 2007). Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 130–. ISBN 1-55832-336-8.
  2. "This is How to Bring Rock and Rye Back from the Dead". Liquor.com. 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  3. United States. Bureau of chemistry (1914). Service and Regulatory Announcements. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 74.
  4. Lawrence L. Rouch (2003). The Vernor's Story: From Gnomes to Now. University of Michigan Press. pp. 34–. ISBN 0-472-06697-8.
  5. American Import & Export Bulletin. North American Publishing Company. 1937. p. 171.
  6. David Dodd, 1997 (1997-01-01). "The Annotated "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo"". UCSC. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
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