What Rye Are You Drinking? Autumn 2012

Somebody gifted me a bottle of Templeton over the weekend. Meh.

First try of the CEHT Rye. Compared it to WhistlePig. Definitely different but nice in its own way. Was specifically trying to judge the "thinness" described by others with regard to high rye whiskey. I agree that it had less mouthfeel then something like baby Saz or a typical low rye bourbon but it didn't really impact my enjoyment. I thought both the CEHT and the WP were similarly "thin" though. Maybe the WP had slightly more body to it but not dramamtically so. Given they are roughly the same price but the CEHT is presumably younger I thought it stood up well to the WP but would give the WP the edge.

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Originally Posted by peb

Last night I had a pour of HW Double Rye and followed that up with Ritt BiB. I preferred the HW to the Ritt, and it wasn't close.

This is only the second bottle of Ritt I have had; the first was fantastic, I got a lot of rum-like notes out of it. This current bottle of Ritt has a definite 'earthy' taste that I have only ever experienced in a bottle of Hancock's Presidential Reserve. It seriously tastes like fresh dirt. Has anyone else ever got that kind of taste out of Ritt? Did I just get an off bottle? I am hoping a little air and time in the bottle helps this one out.

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My last couple of bottles have been a little earthy but not enough to put me off.
I had a nice big pour of Ritt last night with a splash of Willet 5 year in it and it was great.

Pulled out my bottle of Bulleit over the weekend. I'm always pleasantly surprised just how much this has in it for a NAS (probably 4 year) 90 proof sub-$25 whiskey.

Polished off a bottle of WTRye 101 and opened a Vintage 21 rye

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Originally Posted by Brisko

My last couple of bottles have been a little earthy but not enough to put me off.
I had a nice big pour of Ritt last night with a splash of Willet 5 year in it and it was great.

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Thanks for the reply; I haven't gone through enough Ritt to really get a feel for the profile. I am going to stick with it though. The Hancock's got better with time open; maybe this will be the same. I will give it a few weeks and then revisit it.

I should note that all of the Rittenhouse I am seeing is stock that was contract distilled at Brown Forman (DSP 354). The "homegrown" DSP-1 stuff should be out soon, I would think, and it's likely it may be somewhat different than the current.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by peb

Last night I had a pour of HW Double Rye and followed that up with Ritt BiB. I preferred the HW to the Ritt, and it wasn't close.

This is only the second bottle of Ritt I have had; the first was fantastic, I got a lot of rum-like notes out of it. This current bottle of Ritt has a definite 'earthy' taste that I have only ever experienced in a bottle of Hancock's Presidential Reserve. It seriously tastes like fresh dirt. Has anyone else ever got that kind of taste out of Ritt? Did I just get an off bottle? I am hoping a little air and time in the bottle helps this one out.

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The Ritt seems to be all over the place flavorwise... I had one that was total oranges, another that was more bourbon vanilla, and another that had a lot of cherry going on. I'm afraid to buy the stuff any more cuz I never know which Ritt is going to show up. Tho it all has been drinkable, only one I really liked enough to think about getting again, and I'm afraid that batch is long gone :rolleyes:

I view the changes as something interesting though, and doesn't it attest to an artisan-like product, a one-of-a-kind? Production is probably too small to ensure a consistent profile.

I certainly understand the desire to encounter something you really liked again though.

Gary

It takes an optimist like Gary to call RittBIB an artisanal product. (I mean this as a compliment.)