Sazerac Rye Review

This is another review I did as part of the /r/bourbon community review series.

Sazerac Rye is straight rye produced by Buffalo Trace which ironically is owned by a parent company named Sazerac. There was a time 4-5 years ago when this bottle was always on the shelves but because demand for American whiskey and rye in particular has spiraled out of control this is somewhat hard to find in a lot of markets these days. In the Nashville area it’s been 3-4 years since I have seen this on the shelf and I only happened to find this one collecting dust about 75 miles outside the city. While Sazerac Rye carries no age statement it is thought to be a proofed down version of the 6 year old Thomas Handy Rye that is part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Both products are believed to have a rye mashbill around the bare minimum legal requirement (51%) for being a straight rye so it’s rather low in rye compared to Indiana (95%) or Alberta (100%) ryes. I’m a big fan of the Thomas Handy rye so it stands to reason I should like this product as well.

45% ABV; No Age Statement; $30

Notes: The nose is light on heat and sweeter than expected with hints of nutmeg and baking spice. On the sip the rye spice becomes more apparent from the front of the palate all the way to the finish but the sweetness is still very present as well. The sweets are in the typical wood sugar wheelhouse with honey, vanilla, and brown sugar. The nutmeg and baking spices from the nose are the dominant spice notes but there is some dry cinnamon and clove in there as well. The finish mostly resounds with brown sugar and cinnamon spice. This has some rye spice bite to it but given the low-ish rye content it drinks almost like a high rye bourbon than a straight rye and it’s a lot sweeter than most ryes I’ve come across.

Thoughts: The first time I had this rye was in a blind tasting and it did poorly for me. At the time I thought this was overly sweet, especially compared to the rest of the lineup. In that blind tasting I ranked it next to last with Rittenhouse taking first. Since I consider Rittenhouse my standard baseline rye, tonight I am comparing this side by side with Rittenhouse and I have to say I like the Sazerac quite a bit better. The Rittenhouse smells/tastes younger, has more harsh bite, and just feels less refined.

Sazerac Rye is remarkable easy to drink which is unusual for a rye but that can be attributed to the low rye mashbill and modest proof. It loses points for me for being kind of thin, a bit too sweet, and rather two dimensional offering just heavy sweetness and light spice. It has some similarities to its big brother Thomas Handy but that one makes up for those shortcomings with sheer brute strength via a much higher proof. All in all Sazerac Rye is an easy sipper that would make a good whiskey for a beginner just getting into rye whiskey.

Rating: B- / C+