Jefferson's Presidential Select 21 Year Rye Review

In the early days of the current bourbon boom, Jefferson's made a name for themselves with some great one time releases. Things have really gone downhill for them since then but I've already covered that. Regardless, the best of their products were the initial 17 year and 18 year wheated bourbons that were produced at the famed Stitzel Weller distillery. After those came some older (non wheated) bourbons and ryes ranging from 21 to 30 years. The 25 year and 30 year products were too pricey for me but I did splurge on both of the 21 year products. My bottle of the 21 year bourbon is long gone as it was rather disappointing when compared to the 18 year Stitzel Weller but I managed to stretch out the 21 year rye until now. Like a lot of other sourced ryes, it was labeled as a "North American" rye which almost certainly means it was produced by Alberta Distillers in Canada. It bears a "straight rye" designation so I believe it conforms to American standards meaning it was aged in fresh charred oak and can have no added flavoring. 

Aged 21 years; 45.2% ABV; $130 (2013)

Nose: Very sweet and not quite as oak forward as you would expect from a 21 year old whiskey. The wood sweets are intense with burnt caramel playing a heavy hand. The spice is there too with cool, crisp spearmint.

Taste: The palate is mostly a reflection of the nose with lots of burnt sugars and some prickly spearmint rye spice. The wood influence steps up quite a bit to reveal some age as the density of flavors is pretty deep. The older wood notes remind me of the Van Winkle Rye or Michter's 20 year bourbon though with less intensity or depth as either of those two. The spice is there but it's rather nuanced and a bit mellow.

Thoughts: I don't remember liking this bottle as much when I first opened it but now that it is almost gone my fondness of it has grown. It's got sweets, spice, and wood depth without going over the edge in any one of those categories. I've had every Jefferson's Presidential Select from the 18 on up to the 30 year and this would be my second favorite behind the 18 year bourbon. Of course it is long gone from shelves and I certainly wouldn't pay any more than retail for a bottle but if you get a chance to try it, it's worth tasting at least once.

Rating: B+

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.