Help recommend a Rye

[Rutter]

Thanks for the help guys!

For those of you that ranked WT #1 and Saz #3, what is #2?

I would guess Rittenhouse BiB its next on my list to try!

[OscarV]

For those of you that ranked WT #1 and Saz #3, what is #2?

The no #2 was just for comparisions sake, I just listed those 3 as they relate to each other for me.
My #1 favorite rye is Thomas H Handy.

[angler82]

Wild Turkey rye - great buy
High West Rendezvous - recent favorite, just made its way to MA
Thomas Handy - favorite

[fricky]

I enjoy reading responses to "Which is the best rye or bourbon?". The one thing that we learn is that the best is the one we like. It is always a matter of personal preference. The one that is listed best by one person may be listed last by another. The only option is to try all of them and draw your own conclusion.

[PaulO]

I think Sazerac and WT Rye are both very good. They are quite different from each other. If you get the chance Rittenhouse BIB is also one to get. Overholt I rank below the above three. It is an 80 proofer that costs $12. I call it upper bottom shelf. I don't care for the JB Rye at all. Although it is a bourbon, Old Grandad 114 has a good amount of rye taste to it, and I think they sell it in MI.

[harshest]

Well I took the consensus recommendation and bought the WT. I have never had rye before and really liked it. A lot of spice and a little of the "punch in the throat" previously mentioned. I think this will become a main stay in my collection. Now time to get something else and compare.

The one that is listed best by one person may be listed last by another. The only option is to try all of them and draw your own conclusion.

I hear you there and I am working on it (althought my wife looks at me like this and this and this when I get home with new bottle.) JBW is a great example, you can find tons of posts on how nobody likes it, but for me, I really enjoy it.

I have never had rye before and thought asking what everyone else likes was a good place to start. I think next I will give JB Rye a try, although it got poor reviews from the people who commented on this thread, it fits in my budget. Who knows I might like it.

[callmeox]

Nobody in this thread was attempting to declare anything as the best and all of the responses were framed as opinion.

One of the questions that I love to see in response to a query like the OP posted is "what else do you like?" as smart SBers look for similar options based on the response. Since the OP was a rye virgin, there was no sense in going down that path.

We are (mostly) all mature adults here and nobody is going to venture off in pursuit of the mythical "best" of anything. We understand that it is just a matter of preference.

I enjoy reading responses to "Which is the best rye or bourbon?". The one thing that we learn is that the best is the one we like. It is always a matter of personal preference. The one that is listed best by one person may be listed last by another. The only option is to try all of them and draw your own conclusion.

[fricky]

The point that I was trying to make is that we all must decide for ourselves, since as you noted, all responses are personal preference. What conclusions can a newbie draw from responses that show that the top recommendation from one person may be the bottom recommendation from another?

[silverfish]

What conclusions can a newbie draw from responses that show that the top recommendation from one person may be the bottom recommendation from another?

Maybe if person A with the top rec. says "I also enjoy Maker's & Knob
Creek" and person B with the bottom rec says "I enjoy JD and Red Stag",
the person who inquired may be able to determine which rye may be
best for him based on the other likes listed by the replies?

I realize this isn't a scientific study but including something else you like
in your reply might help steer him toward something he'd be more likely
to enjoy.

[Rughi]

Wild Turkey, Rittenhouse and Beam ryes are probably closer to the taste of familiar bourbons than the Sazerac Jr (it's not really labeled "Jr." that's just a nickname on the fora). I find Sazerac to have a body, spice and finish more like many of the less easy to find ryes.

I'm not sure what you'll like best, but Saz Jr. is a good example of another rye style, of the options easily available to you. I would rank Templeton and High West in that other camp as well, if you were to look further afield and be ready to overspend a bit.

Roger