Hochstadters Slow and Low Honey, Citrus Rock & Rye Whiskey

By the turn of the century, Rock & Rye blurred the line between refreshment and remedy. Pharmacists prescribed Rock & Rye to snuff out coughs, colds, sore throats, bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia " no ailment was too great or too small for Rock & Rye's therapeutic relief. In 1890, the Memphis Medicinal Monthly stated that when a man "gets within twenty yards of the door of the saloon he commences coughing, and he puts his hand over his chest with an agonized expression and slips in the door and takes some Rock and Rye." A drink made by sweetening straight rye whiskey with rock candy and citrus peels, Rock & Rye traces its history back to the 19th century, when stern-faced barkeeps would pour a shot of rye and let customers add their own honey or rock candy, creating a drink similar to an Old Fashioned.