vintage 23yr rye

[sailor22]

I'm sipping the Vintage 23yr Rye - amazing life and vitality for such an old Rye. This is the first time I have tried it and I'm really impressed.

Anyone else like this stuff as much as I do - it's crazy good.

[Virus_Of_Life]

I don't recall having the 23, but the 21 is one of my favorites.

[mgilbertva]

I had the 21 yr and the 23 yr when I was at KBD a few years back, and remember loving the 21 but thinking the 23 was just too much - woody and rather flabby. So maybe the 23 yr is better now?

[sailor22]

Mark - I have a 21 on the way so I will be able to answer the question soon.

[mgilbertva]

I have the 21 year opened now. It's what I think of as a truly a quintessential rye. Not overaged, either. Not a lot of complexity - I would like to taste more fruit - and woody and chewy like you would expect, but again, not overly so. Very malty, too, with leather and tobacco. When you want an aged rye, this will scratch that itch. Very nice stuff.

[Vange]

It is a glorious rye not bested by many IMO.

[JohnHansell]

I agree with Mark above. I tried all of them when they first came out and, while I liked the 21, the 23 showed too much oak for me. Maybe the whiskey has changed since then?

[mgilbertva]

My problem with the 23 yo - when I tasted I've tasted it on, hmm, 3 different occasions? - was it's not just too woody, as I've said before, it's flabby. That's a wine tasting term, but it fits here, meaning, the 23 yo doesn't have much left in the way of definable character, it sort of all runs together, it's flat and really a bit dull.

[nor02lei]

As most others on this thread I like the 21 better. I got one open right now and I think it is one of the better old time ryes I’ve had. Of some reason its very reasonable priced here as well, but I think the stocks have started to run out now.

Leif

[sailor22]

I did a flight of Vintage 23, Saz 18 and High West 21 last night.

The Vintage had the most wood and the oak and rye played nice together. A few drops of water was a big help with this one. Plenty of spicy almost bitter old oak with a dryish finish left you chasing the sweet rye but rewarded you when it showed up - and it did. I have yet to compare this to the 21.

The Saz (07) was really floral in comparison to either of the other two. I don't know for sure but I'm ascribing the relatively floral character to the different yeast. As you would expect from younger juice the Rye flavors were more dominant over the wood and this made this the most complex of the three. I have never found it before but last night I detected something sour in the taste, perhaps because I was tasting next to the super sweet High West.

The High West 21 is the sweetest by far of the three. Heaviest, thickest mouth feel and the simplest flavor profile with the least burn, not that any of the three have much. The nose on this one was the best of the three and it was the easiest drinker and sweetly delicious without a lot of complexity.

I have enjoyed all three at different times but last night tasting directly against each other there wasn't one I preferred over the others. All three have different personalities for different times.

For me the best pour of the night and the one I finished the evening with was when I mixed equal parts of all three.