Forget the ice on the rink, my friends, because the only ice worth thinking about right now is chilling a glass. It's summer, and it's officially too hot for hockey! This isn't about stats or matchups; it's about surviving the heat with a strong, good drink. We're talking American Rye, baby, and I've got a couple of suggestions that are absolute game-changers for your summer sips. These aren't just good, they're "strong like bull," so you've been warned!
Uncorking Summer's Best Rye
First up, you gotta try Dillon's Rye. This stuff comes from a Niagara distillery, right down the road from John Chayka's hometown, if you can believe that. Now, I'm no pro whiskey reviewer, but if I were, half the rating would be about how easy it is to get that damn cork out! Thankfully, this whiskey *screams* RYE at you with big caps. It crashes into your house and just yells RYE at the top of its lungs. For any Canadians used to the big distillery stuff, this is a whole different beast, totally not interchangeable. It's fantastic in a cocktail, too, bringing all that spice and bite you crave. Even though it's not the usual 100 proof, it's got flavor strong enough to power through any lack of alcohol burn. Seriously, this is a must-try if you've got a stash ready. Then there's John Sleeman & Sons. These guys are making their magic in Guelph, and their various whiskeys are a bit more spendy depending on the variety, but totally worth it. Their Traditional Straight? That can easily sub in for bourbon, no problem. And if you want some serious punch, their High Rye and Cooper's Rye are both 48% ABV. That's Rittenhouse-level kick right there, with real rye flavor and spice. The High Rye even throws in some corn and barley, making it a "bourbon curious" rye. Side note: their gin? Not a fan. But hey, at least the corks come out easy! Honestly, the only thing worse than these fancy corks is the Campari screw cap; I need vice grips for that thing sometimes!Clocking Out and Chilling Out
Beyond the sips, summer's all about some personal projects and, honestly, just disconnecting. My current summer fun involves finally fixing an issue from a couple years back: I added an SSD and installed Windows on it, but totally messed up and left the boot sector on the old spinning hard drive. Oops. Big mistake, huge. But the best part of all this? I get to leave my phone wherever I want. No looking at it, no social media, no needing to care about any news. It's all about cat gifs (dogs allowed, obviously) and digging into some wild pun threads. While we're in this blissful state of news-free relaxation, we can start idly thinking about the T25. That's gonna be fun, but also probably super difficult to sort through a glut of similar "not-likely" prospects. I'm guessing "regular service," you know, complaining about how boring the lack of news is, will crank back up around the 27th. And the T25? That's probably kicking off after the Civic Holiday, since it's so early this year. Enjoy the quiet, friends. We'll be back to the grind soon enough.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.