Rye Value - What's the best pour under X?

[squire]

Locally available we have WT under $20, Saz NAS under $25, Handy and Saz 18 are both under $70 but are available only once a year and you have to know the guys who run the store because those two don't reach the shelves.

[Robmo]

Probably not qualified to comment, but I agree with the general consensus on Rittenhouse BIB.

This thread has convinced me that I need to try Pikesville.

At the above $81 price point I have a bottle of Black Maple Hill 18 yr and am quite happy with it.

[timd]

Under $25 - Ritt BiB & WT 101 Rye are unbeatable. Two of the best bangs for the buck in the world of brown spirits period... I could live off of either of them if had to.

Handy & Van Winkle Ryes are the nectar of the gods. As a Scotch drinker (don't beat me...), I can comfortably say they are reasonably priced relative to what I have to pay for a "good" bottle of 10-12 YO Islay malt... And those two are truly amazing spirits. Stunning. Somebody else said this, but they are like crack. Really.

Also worth the money:

• Russels Reserve Rye (if under $30) - mintiest.rye.ever. Love it!
• Saz Jr. - what got me into Rye, and I still love it
• R1 - if $25 or under, which it's mostly priced at now
• Saz 18 - worth every penny, but I still prefer Handy & Family Reserve
• Vintage 21 - Wow. So hard to find at anything approaching reasonable anymore, but if you can get it under $90, pop on it.
• Redemption - price seems to be creeping closer to $30. If under $25, it's a great find. Very... unique. Not amazing, but interesting and worth a try.

There's really not a "bad" rye that I've tried (OK, maybe Old Potero's pre-prohibition formula, I didn't enjoy it even a little), but from Wasmunds to Grand Traverse's Old George to Templeton and Jim Beam, the values vary quite a bit and some are much better than others, but I've got no regrets so far!

[OscarV]

WT Rye on the rocks, can't beat it, well maybe a THHandy neat.

[cigarnv]

WT Rye 101 ..... IMO would beat most in a blind taste test....

[Rughi]

WT Rye 101 ..... IMO would beat most in a blind taste test....

Ya know... We should try that someday

[Brisko]

Earlier, in regards to Beam, I wrote: Really the only other cheap rye I can find consistently here is Overholt and I'm not a huge fan.

Now I hadn't had Overholt in quite some time, so it's possible that the profile has changed (or, more likely, my palate has changed). Anyway, I picked up a bottle for the heck of it this weekend. To my nose and tongue it is virtually indistinguishable from Beam. Even the legs in the glass are the same. Now the Overholt was a tad more spirity but I attribute that to being a new bottle (the Beam is a couple weeks old and about half gone). When I cut them both down to about 20% I could find no differences between them.

I figured that due to economics Beam probably uses the same distillate for both brands; however I also guessed that they might aim for different profiles through barrel selection. Apparently not. And that's okay with me, given the price tags.

Granted, I don't think I have the world's most advanced nose or palate, but even my wife (not a whiskey drinker) couldn't tell the difference on the nose. I didn't color her opinion, all I asked her to do was compare and contrast and she apologized that she couldn't tell them apart.

Anybody agree or disagree?

[OscarV]

Anybody agree or disagree?

I agree 100%.
The only difference between Old Overholt and Jim Beam Rye is the bottle.
It's the same nasty oily crap in both bottles.

[cigarnv]

Ya know... We should try that someday

I also gather WT 101 Rye is the official whiskey of the 2011 HamQuest Challenge....

[callmeox]

WT Rye 101 ..... IMO would beat most in a blind taste test....

I am certain that I could pick it out as it burns the heck out of my throat. I don't find the WT rye to be drinkable whatsoever.

YMMV