Old Forester Rye Review

Here lately Old Forester seems to be a brand that is on the rise. While I don't see them ever getting the same kind of silly overhyped attention as a distillery like Buffalo Trace, they have had a steady trend of well received releases that seem to be produced with enthusiasts in mind. As a whole, I generally like their products - Signature is decent for the price, 1910 was an interesting change of pace, and 1920 is a terrific all around bourbon that I regularly buy at least a few times a year. They really only have one product I don't care for and that is the limited edition Birthday Bourbon. After trying at least a dozen vintages, I've given up on ever liking it as all I ever taste is bitter acetone. 

So here today we have another newish product released by them in early 2019 in the form of a rye whiskey. It didn't take long for it to start generating a good bit of low level praise, so based on that and the other positive trends I was seeing for Old Forester releases I figured it was worth picking up. While there is no age statement, 100 proof is very modest and there wasn't much risk considering the low asking price. Also of note is the rather unusual mashbill here: 65% rye, 20% barley, 15% corn. That's a little bit higher rye than your typical barely legal 51% Kentucky ryes but the more interesting part is the large percentage of barley which may lend to some cereal note characteristics.

Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey; No Age Statement; 50% ABV; $25

Nose: Zesty rye notes like pine, clove, and eucalyptus. Some light florals and a sweetness that has minty bubblegum coming to mind. Definitely breathes like a highish rye influenced whiskey. There is a decent amount of oaky wood influence here and not a lot of overpowering grainy new make notes.

Taste: Upfront starts with your typical woody sweets which then transitions into a rye prominence of baking spices/clove. In the finish the wood sweets transform into a darker cocoa vibe and the spice remains though it's not overpowering. Throughout all are the tell-tale banana notes that I get in every Brown Forman whiskey I've ever had which at this point I think has to be due to their yeast. It drinks pretty easy for 100 proof. I would guess this is a little older than the bare minimum of four years for no age statement, maybe 6ish years.

Thoughts: I like this. It's not going to blow you away as an intensely spicy rye nor is the the most nuanced whiskey but it's good as an affordable daily sipper and it works really well in cocktails. For the longest time Rittenhouse was my cocktail rye of choice back when it was still being contract distilled at Brown Forman but these days the Heaven Hill version tastes young and green/earthy to me. This product is considerably better than that and as a bonus, it's cheaper. Hats off to Old Forester for knocking another one out of the park.

Rating: B-/C+

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Bulleit 12 Year Rye Review

Straight Rye Whiskey Distilled in Indiana; Aged 12 years; 46% ABV; $55

Nose: Rye spice in the form of spearmint and menthol. It definitely has the spice backbone of a 95% rye mash. There are also some doughy notes like rye bread as well as some faint musty wood. It breathes really easy and overall the nose is rather light which I would attribute to the modest 92 proof. 

Taste: Mostly all wood and spice. The spice isn't quite as evident as in the nose and there is quite a bit of barrel influence. I wouldn't necessarily call it bitter but it's pretty lacking in any kind of prominent sweets. Beyond that, there are traces of the infamous pickle flavor MGP ryes can exhibit and here it's a bit like barrel aged gherkins which is as displeasing as it sounds.

Thoughts: I didn't like this when I opened it nor do I like it now. Maybe I am spoiled by the days of cheaper highish aged cask strength MGP rye but proof aside, profile wise this is nothing like any of those. There is a woody, sweet, and spicy balance in all of those that I love but this is just spice and borderline bitterness. I can't imagine it's just the proof that would make that much difference so I am at a loss as to why I do not like this.

Rating: D+

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating. 

Wild Turkey Cornerstone Review

Wild Turkey Cornerstone, the fourth whiskey released by Wild Turkey in the United States as part of their Master's Keep series. This time around we get a high proof rye, batched from barrels aged nine to eleven years. As someone who has tasted Wild Turkey rye at the 9+ year old mark straight from the barrel on several occasions, I was excited to see them release a rye with these stats. At the same time though I was very grouchy about the fact that it would be such a high priced offering and initially convinced myself I wasn't interested. My sensibilities went out the window one random day though when I walked into a store and saw a lone bottle of this on the shelf. In a rare moment of taterism, I caved and bought it so here we are. 

Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey; Aged at least 9 years; 54.5% ABV, $180

Nose: The nose is a bit flat - some doughy rye bread, maybe a little zesty citrus, and then your typical American whiskey sweet notes (vanilla, caramel, etc). If I really reach I can barely tell it is a rye with some spicy zip but there's really not a lot of character. I will say this bottle has been open for quite some time so I think the nose is slightly oxidized.

Taste: Much better than the nose. The mouthfeel is full and there a good amount of classic bourbony sweet notes here. There are some light citrus fruits, maybe tangerine? Towards the finish there are some spicy rye spearmint and clove along with decent oaky notes. Again the rye notes seem to be taking a back seat - If I had this blind I'd probably guess it was a high rye bourbon. 

Thoughts: This is pretty decent, bordering on good though like most other Kentucky straight ryes it's not going to blow you away with spice notes. I shared the last of this bottle with another member of my bourbon club and while she liked it she commented it's not really a rye drinker's rye. As someone who also particularly enjoys high proof Alberta and MGP ryes that comment certainly resonates with me. Overall, I don't think this is that much better than the Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye you can buy off the shelf today. A few years ago I probably wouldn't have said that but lately I think that product tastes more mature and that comment is a testament to how good it is now. Given that comparison it's hard for me to feel anything beyond meh about this release despite the fact that it's actually pretty good whiskey.

Rating: B/B-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating. 

Knob Creek Twice Barreled Rye Review

Here today is a limited release from the folks over at Jim Beam. It is a no age statement version of their standard rye recipe (so at least four years old) that has been additionally aged in a second fresh charred oak barrel for an undisclosed amount of time. I've had moderate success with the Knob Creek Single Barrel ryes I've tried as they can be a decent value at ~ $45 when you factor in the 115 proof. Overall my biggest complaint with them is they could use more age since they still have quite a lot of grain forward notes. When I saw the announcement of this my hopes were the additional barrel aging would alleviate that issue. Over the holidays I happened to see a bottle of this on a shelf at a random local and though it was marked up I figured I would give it a shot.

Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey; No Age Statement; 50% ABV; $70 ($45 MSRP)

Nose: Lots of typical bourbon sweet notes with a bit of nutty pine spice. The nose is decent and has promise. 

Taste: Corn/grain forward with vanilla cola sweetness. Towards the middle some rye spice shows up in the form of peppermint but it's muted. There is not a lot of wood influence and the profile is mostly dominated by younger grainy notes. The finish is short and what does linger is mostly sweet grains. I'm a little surprised it's not as peanut forward as Beam whiskeys tend to be.

Thoughts: Meh. I'd never guess this was aged in an additional fresh oak cask because the wood influence is just not there. What you end up with is something that tastes like a barely legal, no age statement rye of middling proof which as a whole is completely forgettable. Even at MSRP this is a hard pass for me as you can find single barrel rye picks that are much better. 

Rating: C-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye Barreled in 2009 Review

Here today is a limited edition release from Beam. When this was first announced it raised a lot of red flags that had me suspecting it would cost $150 to $200 - vintage statement, rye, cask strength, and the words "limited" on the label. Much to my surprise, one of my locals got in a bunch of them at a price that isn't terrible so I took a chance.

Though this says "Barreled in 2009", here's a reminder that vintage statements are not age statements. I seriously doubt Beam has done anything other than dump this straight from the barrels but you have to wonder why this doesn't have an age statement. Even more curious is that like standard Knob Creek Rye, you won't find the words "straight rye whiskey" anywhere on the label. Straight doesn't have a whole lot of meaning when it comes to Bourbon but in the rye world omitting that term does not preclude the addition of up to 2.5% additives. Again, I really doubt Beam is doing that here but as a whiskey nerd I find all this mildly infuriating. 

Beam, wat r u doin. Beam, stahp.

No Age Statement; 59.8% ABV; $77

Nose: Woody with a touch of rye bread dough. I'm assuming this is a barely legal 51% rye and it certainly smells that way as it could easily be mistaken for a high rye bourbon rather than a rye, almost like an extra aged Old Grand Dad 114. The familiar Beam peanut funk is evident.

Taste: Honey corn nuts upfront, burnt wood sugars in the middle, and a brash finish of darker tannins and rye baking spices. It has the good characteristics of a 9 year old Knob Creek Single Barrel with a bit more rye spice. Things are okay upfront and in the middle but the hot slightly bitter finish is where it falls apart.

Thoughts: Meh. Blind I would probably guess it was a high rye Beam bourbon or maybe even a home blend of Beam and some other rye as it's disjointed. There were nights with this that I could barely drink it and here today I waffle between it being okay and not good. While the cost here isn't terrible in today's market for an aged high proof rye, I would have been much happier with something like a Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye or store pick Whistle Pig Single Barrel Rye over this. Beyond that, I was recently in on a barrel pick of the 115 proof Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye and I enjoyed all the ~5.5 year old barrels we tasted over this. 

Rating: C-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Willett Family Estate Four Year Small Batch Rye Review

Willett is a brand I've covered many times with most those reviews having been of their earlier, well aged sourced products which is how they made a name for themselves. Those products are now mostly long gone or super expensive and hard to get when they do occasionally release them at the gift shop. What we have been seeing more of lately though is their in house distilled products which are finally starting to get some decent age.

I've had a mixed bag with Willett's self distilled products thus far. I liked the Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond, really liked a 4 Year Family Estate Single Barrel, was okay on the 3 Year Small Batch Rye but hated the 2 year small batch rye and the 80th Anniversary release. Fortunately I got to try this one before buying and liked it enough to bring some home.

Aged 4 Years; 74% rye; 57.5% ABV; Purchased in the Willett Gift Shop for $55 04/06/18

Nose: Wood sweets like vanilla/caramel and dry cinnamon powder spice. The nose leans more towards sweet than spicy which is surprising given that this is the their high rye mashbill. It's not hot at all for the proof and is rather nice.

Taste: A lot more intense than the nose. Lots of great typical bourbon sweet flavors up front but then a wallop of spearmint and baking powder spice in the middle and finish which lingers with a spicy tingle for quite a while. The intensity that you'd expect for 115 proof comes through loud and clear but is not overly hot. There's a lot of wood influence here and almost no real young grainy notes that you might expect in a 4 year old whiskey. The only real knock I can give is a little bit of artificial sweetener like splenda lingers once the spice dies down.

Thoughts: Color me impressed, this is good. Previous commentary on these small batch ryes have typically come with the disclaimer of "it's good for a young rye" or "it shows a lot of promise". I'm going to go beyond that and say this is already good right now with no caveats. I can't wait to see what this will taste like when it becomes a teenager but for now I'm very happy with where it is at.

Rating: B

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

High West Double Rye Review

To say I am a fan of High West would be an understatement. Rendezvous Rye, Midwinter Nights Dram, and Bourye are all products that I quite like a lot. Though they didn't distill any of those products, all of them are fine examples of what is arguably High West's greatest strength - blending and finishing sourced whiskey.

Of course, High West isn't perfect so not all of their expressions turn out great. Yippee Ki-Yay is one that comes to mind that I thought tasted like a bad cocktail which I feel is due largely to its base whiskey - Double Rye. I've never been a fan of Double Rye as I feel it's a poor substitute for its older sibling Rendezvous. Ordinarily I would never consider reviewing it but since it came up as the April /r/bourbon Community Review I was left with little choice so here we go.

A blend of two straight ryes both at least two years old; 46% ABV; Selected by New Orleans Spirit Exchange; Thanks to /u/rhinusdax for the sample

Color: I rarely remark on color but I could not help but notice this is very light. It's more golden than brown which already isn't a good sign.

Nose: A ton of rye spice notes - cinnamon powder, spearmint, evergreen, eucalyptus, aloe. It's very spicy. Unfortunately there are also a lot of young alcohol notes - ethanol, menthol, isopropyl rubbing alcohol, bactine. Its quite a mess.

Taste: Taste isn't as bad as the nose but the same core flavors are there. Some woody sweet notes come in at the beginning of the palate, like honey and vanilla. Eucalyptus and spearmint spice notes start to take over in the mid palate and linger through the finish. There are also some off grassy notes that I typically associate with young craft whiskey. In the finish those young rubbing alcohol notes come roaring back and linger for quite some time. 

Thoughts: I've had worse but this is pretty awful stuff - I couldn't even finish the dram. Some try to say this is a good cocktail whiskey but I've been there and done that too and it's a good way to ruin a cocktail as well. If you want a good High West rye, stick to Rendezvous.

Rating: D-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating. 

Hochstadter's Family Reserve 16 Year Rye Revew

Hochstadter's is a product from the Cooper Spirits Company who have been putting out sourced ryes in a variety of different forms. Today we have their latest high end offering which is a cask strength, 16 year old, 100% rye that was distilled in Canada. 100% rye from Canada almost always means Alberta Distillers which is where a few other popular ryes such as WhistlePig are sourced. I was initially skeptical about this for a couple of reasons, mostly the high price but also because the Lock Stock & Barrel rye which is also from Cooper Spirits has less than favorable reviews. I really like aged rye and Alberta rye, especially at cask strength so I was willing to give it a chance.

Aged 16 years; 61.9% ABV; $200

Nose: Spicy and very warm. Spearmint, menthol, wintergreen, sugary bubblegum. Definitely smells like a well aged, cask strength, super high rye whiskey.

Taste: Lots of sweet charred oak sugars with a big spice blast in the finish. The range of spices is all over the place, everything from dill to wintergreen to spearmint to baking spices. The age is certainly evident as its got a wide range of oak and the sweet notes that imparts. The high proof comes through very heavy handed as all the spice, sweet, and oak notes are very bold. Overall, it's a sweet woody spice party.

Thoughts: Not only is this an exceptionally good whiskey, it's also a great rye whiskey. In fact, I think this is better than last year's Booker's Rye which was a really good whiskey but not a great rye. This is coming from someone who likes spicy wood bombs though so take that for what it is worth. The real question here is, is this worth the retail cost? If you are asking that question, then the answer is probably no. My advice is to split a bottle with some friends and try it for yourself. I did that and felt it was good enough to splurge on a bottle for myself. It may not be the best value out there but cask strength hyper aged ryes aren't getting more plentiful or cheaper as the years go by. So yeah, the pricing isn't great. Yet two months after release here there are still some of these sitting on the shelves. I can waltz right down to a number of locals and buy as many of these as I want. No hassle, no chase, no calling in any favors that count towards the limited number I am comfortable with asking for these days. To me, this is like buying a car at Carmax. Yeah, you pay a lot more but you don't have to deal with all the fucking bullshit drama leading up to getting the car at a better price.

Rating: B+ / A-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating. 

Willett 3 Year Small Batch Rye Review

I have a long history with Willett but the majority of my fondness for them comes from the days of being able to buy their sourced Family Estate single barrels right off my local's shelf for $55. Those days are long gone and now you're lucky to be graced with the opportunity to pay $200 for a bottle at their gift shop. Here lately however there have been some more affordable though much younger products released from them that were distilled in house. Thus far I've had ups and downs with their self distilled products - while I liked the Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond and a Family Estate Single Barrel 4 year, I absolutely hated the 2 year small batch rye they put out last year. I found that product so hot, raw, and undrinkable that I drain poured it. I had heard the 3 year rye was better but I went into this bottle with a lot of hesitation.

Aged 3 years; 56.4% ABV; thanks to /u/unbreakablesausage for the secret santa gift

Nose: Hot and spicy. Spearmint, pine, menthol, and a bit more sugary wood sweetness than I'd expect for 3 years old. It leans young as the grainy new make notes are detectable and the ethanol is a little untamed.

Taste: Sweet and spicy. Less ethanol forward than the nose but also a bit less spicy and bit more sweet than the nose. Sugary wood sweets, pine, spearmint, and a little rough grainy new make. The finish is a little short considering the proof and I suppose that's due to the relatively young age. What is noticeably absent that tends to plague most craft products is the lack of any weird funky off notes that don't belong in a bourbon or rye whiskey. 

Thoughts: This is a tremendous improvement over the 2 year rye and shows promise. I can't wait to see what their products taste like with more age. Considering that a lot of craft distillery upstarts are putting out stuff as old as this that tastes like garbage, it seems Willett is one of the few that actually has a promising future ahead of them. 

Rating: C+ / C

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Lot 40 Review

Here's a whisky I don't know a lot about and normally wouldn't have sought out but it was bequeathed to me in /u/tvraisedme's gigantic whiskey dumpster give away before he moved out of town. I've read a lot of hoopla about the 2012 batch of this product but my bottle does not bear the "2012 Limited Release" distinction that I've seen in those reviews. All I know is that it was given to me in 2015 so I am guessing it is that release of the product. I did find some information that stated the 2015 release was basically the same distillation run as the 2012 only aged a little longer. If that's true, that makes this a Canadian rye whiskey distilled from 90% rye and 10% malted rye but I've found conflicting reports about the age so we'll just safely assume it's a NAS blend.

No Age Statement; 43% ABV; Currently retails here at $55

Nose: Sweet, spicy, and a little mellow. Molasses, vanilla, honey. The rye spice is rather herbal, like eucalyptus and menthol. I'm used to much more higher proof whiskeys and this doesn't bowl me over but it does have a surprising amount of aroma for only 43%.

Taste: Very sweet forward - mostly brown sugar and honey. The spice seems way dialed back from the nose and is washed out by the sweetness. It's thin on body and I can't help but feel like there is a weird artificial note to the sweet flavors that lingers in the back palate. The finish is a bit dry and short which seems to be the 86 proof rearing its ugly head. 

Thoughts: I'm not crazy about this. If the palate carried through all those spice notes from the nose I would be more of fan. Also the weird artificial sweet note I can't quite place is not helping things. For my money when it comes to ryes, I prefer a more wood and spice forward profile like the higher proof WhistlePig bottlings sourced from Alberta.

Rating: C+ / C

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Smooth Ambler Old Scout Limited Release Rye Reviews

The whiskey scene was a lot different just a few years ago. Great bargains like Smooth Ambler Old Scout single barrels sat on the shelves all day long for $40-$45. I wasn't oblivious to how good we had it and I went through more than my fair share of them, particularly the cask strength ryes. It seems like everyone was in on it too though because by early 2015 Smooth Ambler had run out of almost all their MGP rye stock and pulled back to gift shop only releases for the few barrels they had remaining. With the help of a really nice internet friend I was lucky enough to get a bottle of the first limited release rye before it sold out in about an hour. I've been nursing it for almost 2 years now and after acquiring a sample of another limited release rye, I decided it was finally time to put it to rest.

Smooth Ambler Old Scout Limited Release Rye #214

Aged 10 years; 62.2% ABV; Barrel #214; Summer 2015 Gift Shop Release; Thanks to /u/Looney_Bin for the hookup

Nose: Sweet and spicy. Anise, menthol, lots of mint, woody caramel. Smells kind of like a barrel aged cask strength mint julep.

Taste: Dill, spearmint, anise, and more mint - a metric fuckton of spicy rye (and specifically MGP rye) flavors. On top of that the wood influence is so explosive - it's lush with wood caramels like sugar daddy candies but at the same time lots of older wood notes too. The dark cocoa sweet notes and prickly spice tingle ride the finish forever. It's nothing short of a sweet spicy wood bomb.

Thoughts: Easily the best MGP whiskey I've ever tasted, including bourbons and ryes. I was skeptical this could be much better than most of the cask strength 8 year single barrels I've had but boy was a wrong. I'd put this up there with Rathskeller Rye as the one of the best ryes of all time, namely because both of them are such a powerhouse of not only spice notes but also wood notes as well.

Rating: A / A+

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Smooth Ambler Old Scout Limited Release Rye #2534

Aged 9 years; 57.5% ABV; Barrel #2534; Spring of 2016? Gift Shop Release; Thanks to /u/anagama for the sample

Nose: Sweet and spicy but a little more ethanol forward with less wood influence than the 10 year. Anise, menthol, mint, and sweet caramel.

Taste: Same backbone of notes as the 10 year but less spice, less wood influence, and more sweet forward. Sugary spicy wintergreen spearmint like mint gum and that sugar daddy candy caramel note is there again. The wood influence is toned down compared to the 10 year but definitely tastes its age. The finish is a heavier sweet lighter spice combo but doesn't last as long as the 10 year. Everything about it is spot on, it's just not as explosive as the 10 year. 

Thoughts: This is much more in line with what I originally expected from the first release. It's about the same or marginally better than my memory of the 8 year single barrels I used to buy off the shelf. Having said that, MGP rye is fantastic stuff, especially at cask strength and this bottle is no exception. On the plus side it does have a little less dill than the 10 year which is a turnoff for some folks in regards to MGP rye whiskeys.

Rating: A-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating. 

Millstone 100 Rye Review

Here's a sample I acquired from the nice folks over at Fine Drams some years back. I've been saving it for a while in hopes that one day /r/worldwhisky would finally choose Millstone for a community review. After years of waiting, that day has finally come. I don't know a lot about this whiskey other than it's Dutch and it's 100% rye which sounds interesting to me on paper.

50% ABV; 51% unmalted rye and 49% malted rye; Aged for at least 100 months in new charred American oak

Nose: Cereal grains, cocoa powder, slight rye spice. There is a decent amount of oak notes here. The cereal grain note is rather heavy, reminiscent of a Japanese or Irish malt whiskey. It smells like a barely legal American rye only with 49% malted barley instead of 49% corn. 

Taste: Lots more of those malty cereal notes as well as traditional wood sweet notes such as vanilla and honey. I'm getting a little bit of spice, mostly in the finish but again struggling to feel like this is a rye whiskey. It tastes like honey coated cereal with a dash of cinnamon pepper spice.

Thoughts: This is an odd one for me. For being a rye whiskey I don't get a lot of rye spice bite. I don't know if it's that European rye grains having a different character than North American rye grains but the malt barley notes here are very present. Maybe it's the fact that the rye is malted which is triggering Japanese/Irish/Scotch palate memory for me but I dunno. When it comes to rye whiskeys I think I will stick to my American standbys like Rendezvous or Pikesville. 

Rating: C+ / C or 78/100

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye Reviews

Over the years I've grown quite fond of Wild Turkey. A lot of that stems from a love of their vintage releases back before the turn of the century but they do have some current products that I enjoy as well. Wild Turkey 101 is my go to as a daily sipper and cocktail base of choice. And if you take Four Roses out of the equation, Russell's Reserve Single Barrel is my favorite readily available bourbon under $60. 

But as good as those two products are, Wild Turkey is on shaky ground with me when it comes to rye. Their 101 rye isn't nearly as good of a base product as the 101 bourbon. It's heavily slanted towards a young profile and not really a good value considering the 101 bourbon is more mature and cheaper. But in late 2015 Wild Turkey launched a new single barrel rye under their premium Russell's Reserve line. Though it's not age stated, the Russell's name implies it's a bit older plus it's bottled at a respectable 104 proof and is non chill filtered. 

Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye

No Age Statement; 52% ABV; $67

The nose is a nice bouquet of rye flavors like baking spices, anise, and menthol. There's a very familiar modern Wild Turkey characteristic scent to it, kind of like corny cardboard that I taste in the 101 bourbon. From the nose I'd guess about 6-7 years old. The palate is similarly spicy, more so than I remember with the 101 rye. There is honey and other wood sweets up front but it's very heavy on the baking spices and other rye flavors. The corny cardboard note is toned down so it has some maturity, I'd guess maybe 7ish years old. I'm inclined to call this one a bit of a spice bomb, up there with MGP high rye whiskies but without those quirky dill notes.

Rating: B / B-

Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye Liquor Barn Barrel #16

No Age Statement; 52% ABV; $70; Barrel #16, Rickhouse E, Floor 2, Selected by Liquor Barn Series #1

Pretty similar to the non store select bottle - baking spices, menthol, rye bread. The young corny cardboard notes are more muted though so there is less modern Wild Turkey familiarity to it. Overall it smells like a rye spice blast. The taste is very similar to the other barrel with the rye spice notes being very prominent but there is also more traditional wood sweetness up front and in the finish. I feel like this is the more mature of the two and I'd guess it clocks in at around 7-8 years old. I'd give the slight edge to this barrel because it offers more balance in terms of sweet and spice but that's really splitting hairs.

Rating: B

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These were a welcome improvement over 101 rye and show that Wild Turkey can make a good rye whiskey. Though there were minor differences between the two, the core profile is still very similar - a modestly aged, nicely proofed, spicy whiskey. At $60+ they aren't the best value but that's pretty close in price to other rye whiskeys I'd rate similarly in enjoyment like Michter's Barrel Strength Rye and Pikesville Rye. 

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Chicago Whiskey Bars Booze Tour

I ended up with whole bunch of unused vacation time in December so last week I took a semi last minute trip to Chicago for a few days. Lots of food, some museums, and of course whiskey bars. Here are some notes and impressions of the bars and pours I had along the way. 

Bub City

A decent selection of recent allocated stuff from the last year or so. Prices weren't the worst but not great. At night it was crowded with live bluegrass and country music which wasn't terrible. At one point I saw a guy order a glass of Pappy 23 with ice AND coke. So yeah, definitely not my scene. Strictly as a whiskey bar I'd recommend going during the early evening. 

George T. Stagg 2016

Aged 15 years; 72.5% ABV; $40 (2oz)

Over the years Stagg has become my favorite annual release but after a slew of not so great reviews for this year's batch I expected a hot tannic mess. I didn't really get that and in fact I thought it tasted fine. That's not to say it was great though because when I drink Stagg I expect something stellar. It was hot but i've had hotter. It honestly tasted a little younger than I expected and I felt like I was drinking an Elijah Craig Barrel Proof more than a Stagg. I'm glad I didn't go after a botte this year. Rating: B+ / B

Longman & Eagle

One of my favorite places and a big reason why I came to Chicago. Not only is the whiskey selection vast but the food is also stellar as well (their bone marrow is still my all time favorite). As for whiskey, they have some vintage stuff, a lot of allocated items from the last few years, and an impressive amount of private selections. I made it a point to visit several times.

Willett Family Estate Barrel No. 3605 AKA "Longman"

Aged 21 years (staff claims pre-fire Heaven Hill); 54.5% ABV

The nose is super woody and kinda hot for 109 proof but also very rich. It tastes every bit its age with a very thick mouthfeel. It tastes a lot like a dusty bourbon but the extra proof kicks those dusty notes into high gear. There are old wood notes but they are not funky, just lots of great wood influence and flavor. It's not as elegant as the pre-fire 001 McKenna I recently reviewed but it has that similar profile and some of those condensed bourbon characteristics I liked in the McKenna. Rating: A- / B+

Longman & Eagle Redemption Rye

Aged 8 years; 61.95% ABV; Batch no. L&E

Tastes like straight up cask strength MGP rye. Super sweet and also minty/dilly. I would say it's more towards the mint side than the dill side but the pickles are there. I've had some better Smooth Ambler Old Scout single barrel ryes, mainly because this isn't as spicy and lacking some of the rye bite I prefer but this is still really good. Rating: B+ / B

1971 Old Grand-Dad

No Age Statement; 43% ABV; $50 (1.25 oz)

Smells like a dusty old bourbon. Definitely has that tell-tale dusty National Distillers butterscotch profile. It certainly tastes older than 4 years though not a whole lot but the mouthfeel is pretty rich for an 86 proofer. It's interesting (if you consider the ND profile interesting) and it has some unique character but it's too thin for me to love it. And if I am being more critical it's kind of a one trick pony. I'd love to try a higher proof National Distillers bourbon (like OGD 114) as I think that would be the only ND juice I could ever love. For now, my dusty allegience still lies with Wild Turkey. Rating: B- / C+. 

1990 Evan Williams 12/101

Aged 12 years (pre-fire Heaven Hill); 50.5% ABV; $28 (1.25 oz)

Wow. Tastes like a classic dusty bourbon. It's pretty oak forward and a bit drying on the finish but overall it's stellar. Would guess by taste it's quite a bit older than stated by a few years. The wheelhouse is classic middle aged bourbon flavors but the dusty profile is pretty strong and adds nuances you just don't get in most of today's bourbons. Elegant is often the word that comes to mind when describing a great dusty and that's about the best way to describe this. Rating: A- / A

Au Cheval

Totally not a whiskey stop though they do have excellent cocktails. I just have to take a moment to point out their cheeseburger which is still my all time favorite and the number one reason I choose to come to Chicago.

The bun, the massive bacon slabs, the seasoning... it's perfection.

RPM Steak

A small selection of current allocated bourbon and a bit more malts than most of the other places I went. The crowd was a lot more upscale / high end than I prefer but I never really felt out of place at the bar. I thought I was just stopping for a drink and an appetizer but the bartender upsold me on a Wagyu cap steak and I am glad he did. It was like eating meat butter. I also got a pour of 2016 Thomas Handy which I thought was great but I was too busy enjoying the steak to make any detailed notes. 

Twisted Spoke

Huge whiskey selection but nothing really vintage that I could find. I didn't really care for the vibe of the place as it seemed like a sports bar that happened to have a massive whiskey collection rather than a whiskey bar. Having said that, the bartender seemed old school and was knowledeable. I happened to be there on a Wednesday which is half price on all whiskey. 

Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon, 2015

Aged 4 years; 67.5% ABV; $24 / 2oz

I absolutely hated the regular Garrison Brothers bourbon. I thought it was brash, raw, and had a funky earthy profile. The cowboy bourbon is older than the standard product, comes at cask strength, and I've generally heard better things. I was going to bounce from Twisted spoke but when I found out all whiskey was half off I stuck around for a pour of this. 

The nose has some sweet brown sugar but under that is tell tale Garrison Brothers funk. That funk is super forward in the palate. It tastes like dirty corn and green raw wood or fresh sawdust. On a positive note it isn't as blistering hot as you'd expect a 4 year old 135 proof whiskey. It's not the worst whiskey I've ever had and it is marginally better than the standard but I'd rather not drink it again. Rating: D

Sable

Sable probably doesn't get a lot of discussion as a great whiskey bar but I personally like it a lot. It's a hotel bar so it has the vibe that entails but I find it's usually calm and getting a seat at the bar isn't too difficult even on peak nights. It's the kind of place I like to go to chill out for a nightcap before calling it a day. They don't have any vintage whiskey but they do have lots of allocated bottles from the past few years and I think they make great cocktails. Prices are about average by Chicago standards (read: high).

The only thing of note I had at Sable was the 2016 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. I'm on record as not being a fan Old Forester Birthday Bourbon line so I'm not really going to go into it again. They all have this underlying acetone note and bitterness that I just can't get around. This one is no different. 

Delilah's

Probably the most iconic whiskey bar in Chicago. Huge selection with a notebook sized menu and quite a bit of rare stuff like their private selections that you won't find anywhere else. I made the mistake of going on a Friday night and the place was an absolute madhouse with barely any room at the bar. As such I couldn't really get any pictures or make many notes. 

Delilah's Willett Family Estate, Barrel No. C10

Aged 21 years; 50% ABV; $30/oz

Whew, this one was impressive. Whereas most of the Willett C barrels I've had were super hot high proof monsters, it was nice to have one at a reasonable drinking proof. This tasted like a classic old wheater to me, with lots of cake batter sweets and a ton of wood complexity. Rating: B+ / A-

Delilahs 15th rye

No Age Statement (bottled 7-8 years ago); 50% ABV; $40/oz

I couldn't get any info out of the bartender on this as he said they were contractually obligated not to disclose the source. He did say it was from Kentucky. This one tasted like an old funky ass rye and I mean that in a good way. Not funky as in overoaked but more along the lines of something like Hirsch 22 rye or Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye. Lots of sweet, lots of spice, and lots of wood. My guess would be something from an old distillery like Cream of Kentucky, Charles Medley, or Bernhiem. Whatever the source, this one was just as awesome as those classic ryes that get lots of hype on the secondary. Rating: A-

High West Rocky Mountain Rye 16 Year (2015) Review

I've covered High West many times before but the quick recap is they are excellent blenders who have managed to source some great whiskey. The crown jewels in those sources include old rye whiskeys that they've acquired from MGPI in Indiana and Barton in Kentucky. To celebrate the opening of their new Blue Sky Ranch distillery in Wanship last year, they released a product that was a blend of both those old stocks. It was limited to a few hundred cases and was sold only at the gift shop but a fellow whiskey friend was kind enough to smuggle a bottle to me. I really like Rendezvous Rye and Bourye which have elements of both the old ryes in this blend so it stands to reason that this should be great. 

Aged 16 years; 46% ABV; Batch 15C707; $133

Nose: Spice dominates but there's also a hefty dose of wood sugars. I usually get menthol notes when nosing a rye and that's the case here. The spiciness is really strong.

Taste: Just like the nose the spiciness is very forward. There is also a good amount of sweet wood notes and plenty of oak depth. It certainly tastes every bit of 16 years old. There are touches of old wood that I really like but too much for me to say it's bitter or past its prime. As the finish tapers the intense spice notes fade into lighter baking spices and the sweet notes take on a darker cocoa flavor. 

Thoughts: Not only is this an exceptional whiskey but it's also an exceptional rye whiskey. When a lot of rye products these days taste more like high rye bourbons rather than ryes, that's certainly a welcome thing. What really stands out to me here is how spice forward this is and how well that integrates through all the range of flavors of sweet and wood. This is a really well done product and up there with my all time favorite rye whiskeys. 

Rating: A-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating. 

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.