Rock candy syrup is a syrup made by dissolving sugar in water to a concentration such that crystals will form, and candy sticks are made by leaving a wooden stick immersed in such a syrup.

Bottled rock and rye liqueurs range in strength from 24% alc./vol. (the minimum allowed by the TTB for such a liqueur) to 50% but most brands are 32 to 40% alc./vol..

In the late 1800s, rock and rye liqueurs were considered medicinal and widely available from American pharmacies, where it was sold as a cold remedy. It remained popular during Prohibition, with the sugar and fruit it is made with, helping mask poor-quality liquor.

The best-known brand of bottle rock & rye is/was Jacquin's Rock & Rye from Pennsylvania, distinctive for its wide-necked rectangular bottle and pieces of fruit mixed with the liqueur inside. Jacquin's Rock & Rye dates from 1884 but was not the first brand of rock and rye.

Rock and rye was a uniquely American liqueur and was fading from fashion and sale until Rob Cooper, the founder of St-Germain Liqueur, rediscovered and started promoting his family's product, Jacquin's Rock & Rye. His interest in the liqueur stemmed from an evening, around the time of the launch of St-German, when I was working with Rob on the launch. We were with his wife, sitting at the bar of a Manhattan restaurant, waiting for our table, when a bottle of Jacquin's Rock & Rye caught my eye. I asked Rob what it was, and he told me about the liqueur made at his family's distillery, Charles Jacquin et Cie in Pennsylvania, America's oldest liqueur producer. I loved the Rock & Rye name and the old-fashioned bottle and said he should promote it.

In 2006, I persuaded Ricky Agnew of Marblehead Brand Development to import a consignment of Jacquin's Rock & Rye into the UK, with the sugar reduced and the pieces of citrus fruit removed, as the chunks of fruit were viewed as a potential issue from a weights and measures perspective due to their impact on the liqueur's volume.

The next year, Rob created a new brand, Hochstadter's Slow and Low Rock & Rye, and the image at the top of the page is from Duffy & Partners, the packaging designers. The following is from an email he sent me on 16th of May 2007.

Simon,

I have radically changed the concept for Rock and Rye and I wanted to get your on going opinion.

The new Rock and Rye with have a totally new brand name, a new package, and a label that looks nothing like the Jacquins label.
It will draw from the pedigree and roots of Jacquins, but it will not be a direct version of the Jacquins brand.

It will be 100% Straight Rye-88-or maybe even barrel strength-92-96 proof...-ideally 5 years old, a light sweetness, and NO fruit in the bottle. The dominant flavors will be Cherry, Orange and Almond-the Almond flavor will come naturally from the pits of cherries and other stone fruits.

Due to this we are considering calling it: PA Standard, Stoned Rock and Rye. The "stoned" is for the pits of stone fruits that are macerated and then distilled with the rye whiskey.

We can say from 1884, we can talk about my grandfather and the history of Rock and Rye, but this product will be a new spin on the old dog.

Do you prefer this idea over the prior concept of Whiskey Jar –in the old bottle-but 88 proof?

R

Rob Cooper, email, 16.May.07

From questioning the unusual bottle on the back bar of a restaurant, I like to think I had some part to play in the fortunes of rock and rye.