Rye Whiskey

Thomas H. Handy Rye 2009

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey /

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey
2009 Release
64.5% ABV
$70 to $90
Website
thomas_h_handy
What the Distillery Says:
Named after the New Orleans bartender who first used rye whiskey in the Sazerac Cocktail, this uncut and unfiltered Straight Rye Whiskey is bottled directly from the barrel, just as it was over a century ago. Full of rich flavors, this authentic American rye whiskey is a symbol of the timeless history of New Orleans and the legacy of Thomas H. Handy.

TASTING NOTES:
Powerful, lush, and boldly spicy. Flavors of toffee, fig cake, and candied fruit, followed by mint, cinnamon and clove. The finish ultimately reveals subtle notes of allspice, coconut and nutmeg. Long and warm.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Licorice, mint, melons, and brown sugar. There is a ton going on in the nose here. It’s like a symphony that I’m having trouble pulling out the various instruments.
Palate: Rich and sweet with lots of oranges, vanilla, and caramel.
Finish: Fire water out the bottle and with the right amount of water a lovely mint finish develops.
Comments: Yes, I know you’re all super men and wonder women but this is bottled at 64.5% ABV. Please add some water or you won’t be able to taste shit after your first few sips of this. If they weren’t charging so much for a 7 year old rye I’d tell you that you had to buy it but being north of $70 is steep.
Rating:Must Try

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Knob Creek Rye

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey /

Knob Creek Small Batch Rye Whiskey
50% ABV
$40
Website
Knob Creek Rye
What the Distillery Says:
Made with a blend of the finest quality rye to create an extraordinarily smooth yet spicy finish.

Color: Shades of gold to light amber.
Taste: Bold rye spiciness with undertones of vanilla and oak.
Aroma: Expansive notes of herbs and rye with nuances of oak.
Finish: Warm and smooth with spice throughout.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Rye spice, lightly minty, herbal notes reminding me of herb liqueurs like herbsaint, and a little cinnamon.
Palate: Creamy and bitter…an odd combination. This isn’t a minty lightly sweet right. This is spicy.
Finish: Black pepper, bitter wood, and very dry.
Comments: Beam Global really wants you to pay $40+ for one of their ryes. They first tried it with Ri(1) a few years back and no one wanted to pay that much for Jim Beam Rye in a sexy bottle (same recipe as Beam only makes one rye whiskey recipe). Now they want to leverage their successful Knob Creek brand and get you to pay that much for a NAS (no age statement) rye at 100 proof just because it has the Knob Creek name on it. Well, it’s $10 more than 9 year old Knob Creek bourbon so I’ll say no thanks. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad rye. It’s just nothing special and in my mind you can do a lot better for a lot less coin.
Rating: Average

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Wild Turkey Rye 101

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey /

Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (Old Version)
50.5%
$25 (discontinued)
Website
What the Distillery Says:
(Product information is no longer available)

What Richard Says:
Nose: Out of the bottle the nose is pretty quiet. With water it comes across like spearmint and Bazooka Joe bubble gum.
Palate: Pepper and raw vanilla extract poured over wood staves. At the very back is that rye mint note.
Finish: Long slow oak. Th rye mint note clings to the front of the tongue as the wood rolls down the back. Way back in the end of the finish I get a weird fennel see/anise/licorice type note that lingers.
Comments: It’s gone I know. The replacement of this with the 81 proof version makes me very sad indeed. Stop watering down my whiskey damn it! I can do that myself. Anyway, this is really a Whisk(e)y Apostle swan song to a former front bar rye now gone. The only $15 to $25 all around rye for drinking, mixing, and cocktails that I like more than this is Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond. Now I don’t have the choice anymore.
Rating: Stands Out
(Officially, Wild Turkey says that 81 is not a replacement but they don’t even list 101 as one of their product on their website anymore)

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Sazerac 18 Year 2009 Release

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey, The Collector's Cabinet /

Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, 18 Year Old
Bottled Fall 2009
45% ABV/90 Proof
Collectible (Originally $70 to $80)
Website

What the Distillery Says:
Amber chestnut color. Huge, spicy aroma. Very mature, with notes of oak, leather, and molasses. Enormous in every respect, from its thick, chewy texture to its unbelievably spicy and very powerful flavors. The long, warm finish is preceded by notes of mint, eucalyptus, cinnamon, vanilla, molasses, oak, leather, and lingering pepper.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Rich sweet orange marmalade, lots of vanilla and toffee, with notes of buttered bread.
Palate: A delicious aged rye with the refined complexity of a great cognac. This is very sweet for a rye. Some people may not like that but I really dig it. Toffee, caramel, vanilla, and dark chocolate play on the palate.
Finish: Old oak furniture, antique leather bound tomes, and a crisp minty note.
Comments: My tasting notes may romanticize this one a little but it deserves it. This is an amazing dram of whiskey. On the scale of rye alone it’s off the charts. This is easily one of my most sought after purchases each year. It’s my favorite of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection and while it changes year to year, I’ve never had a bad one. It only comes out each October in limited quantities so mark your calendars now.
Rating: Must Buy

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Jefferson’s 10 Year Rye

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey /

Jefferson’s Straight Rye Whiskey Aged 10 Years
47% ABV/94 Proof
$35 to $40
Website

What the Distillery Says:
Jefferson’s Straight Rye Whiskey is the latest addition to the Jefferson’s Presidential Collection. Bottled at 94 proof, this 10-year-old whiskey offers a perfect combination of age, purity and strength. Distilled from 100% North American rye, it is rich, spicy and exceptionally smooth. A true classic.

Nose: Bright compelling, fruity/bakery aromas of baked banana bread, baked pears and apple cobbler make for delightful early-on sniffing; further air contact time of seven minutes encourages the ripe fruit aspect to deepen as gentle spice notes, especially pepper and allspice, round out an exceptional bouquet experience.

Taste: Moderately oily, delicately spiced and even a touch honeyed; midpalate features the spice element in spades, making for zesty, tangy sipping.

Finish: Aftertaste focuses squarely on the fruit component again along with the last minute hit of rye bread.

What Richard Says:
Nose: The nose is very rich and creamy to me. I get very herbaceous notes and candied nuts.
Palate: This one is very sweet. It’s much sweeter than I would expect from a rye. Vanilla, caramel, and spearmint come through.
Finish: It reminds me of Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar Ice Cream served on a barrel stave.
Comments: Many parallels have been drawn between this expression and WhistlePig which goes for almost twice the price. I haven’t tried the other but for $35 this is a nice aged rye. Easy to sip and easy to mix. What more can you really ask for?
Rating: Stands Out

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