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

April 13, 2011

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

April 25, 2011

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?

April 25, 2011

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.

April 25, 2011

Ya know... We should try that someday

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

April 25, 2011

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

April 25, 2011

It's the same nasty oily crap in both bottles.

April 26, 2011

Had an impromptu rye tasting with 2 flights. First $20 range Ritt BIB and WT 101. Second Michters 10 year and VWFRR. The Ritt wins out over the WT for me based on liking it's richness more, nice spice to the WT. Of note I dislike the pine nose of a newly opened Ritt BIB but dissipates with air. The Michters and Van Winkle were really close perhaps the Van Winkle slightly deeper and Michters with slightly more high notes. I would not be able to tell them apart if not tasting together. In as expected flight 2 richer than 1 but so is the price. Not a bad rye in the bunch.

April 26, 2011

Oily Crap. That is exactly the mouth feel I get out of OO.

I call it Old Overcoat - tastes like a wet, rubbery overcoat smells - but not in a terrible way. Just like ash, peat & whatnot are OK in Scotch, this odor for OO isn't foul, just kind of unique.

FWIW: I find Beam to be very watery & thin. Given the choice, I tend to avoid both OO & Beam Ryes, but I'd opt for OO over than Beam. They are just OK and for a few dollars more to be able to get Ritt BIB (even non BIB) or WT - and down here RR Rye is only $24, I'm more than happy to pop the few extra dollars and REALLY enjoy what I'm drinking. Even some low-cost, high-righ Bourbons satisfy my Rye needs more than OO & Beam can...

Beam & OO definitely taste like budget Ryes - there's no hidden value there like with some cheaper Bourbons that blow me away for $15 a bottle.

April 28, 2011

I don't mind the mouthfeel of the Overcoat, and the taste, while thin, was balanced enough for me to keep shelling out a whole $12 to replace empties. In the past couple months, however, the finish is really turning me off of this stuff: too moldy, and it overstays its welcome. Maybe I've just been drinking too much of the Rittenhouse bond, which as several have mentioned, makes OO taste decidedly cheap in comparison.

April 28, 2011

I don't mind Beam or Overcoat, either... but if I could get Rittenhouse consistently I wouldn't bother with them. And there's always the Turkey.

The real draw of Beam Rye is that my neighborhood store stocks it, and I try to do business there when I can (not that often).

OO is $10 a fifth, and it's definitely worth that, even just to mix with coke or ginger ale on a hot day.

May 5, 2011

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

May 6, 2011

Pikesville Rye is a great value and a clean, crisp, smooth rye. Unfortunately, it is available (according to Heaven Hill Distilleries) only in DC, MD, and TN. I have seen it available at some internet sites base in CA as well as Europe.
Per Heaven Hill's response to my e-mail: Due to great demand for their Rye Whiskey, they are having difficulty meeting demands from existing markets and Pikesville is on allocation. They are not considering expanding to new markets (like MI where I am located).
I drive through MD some 2 to 3 times per year and I always stop at a MD liquor store. Pikesville can be found for $11-$13 for a 750 ml bottle and $16-$20 for a 1L bottle.
(One follow up note: Heaven Hill suggested their Rittenhouse Rye 80 proof which is the same age, proof and recipe as Pikesville. Unfortunately, is even harder to find. Chicago's Binny's (www.binnys.com) has it for in-store sales only. Does this mean that the Rittenhouse Rye 100 proof is the same recipe, only a higher proof?)

Yeah, the only difference between Ritt 80 and Ritt BIB is proof, as far as I know. Also, the Ritt 80 is a NAS, while Pikesville is actually a 3yr. And the HH's Steven Foster Rye is an 80pr at 30 months age, if you can find that one. In any event, it's all the same recipe and they're actually distilled at Brown-Forman (DSP-354) under contract for HH.

May 6, 2011

Yeah, the only difference between Ritt 80 and Ritt BIB is proof, as far as I know. Also, the Ritt 80 is a NAS, while Pikesville is actually a 3yr. And the HH's Steven Foster Rye is an 80pr at 30 months age, if you can find that one. In any event, it's all the same recipe and they're actually distilled at Brown-Forman (DSP-354) under contract for HH.

And, according to Heaven Hill's e-mail, Pikesville Rye used to be aged 4 yrs. but was changed to 3 yrs because of the increased demand (but they kept Rittenhouse Rye's age at 4 yrs.) (And, Heaven Hill admitted that their Rittenhouse Rye 80 pr is the same age/proof/recipe as Pikesville Rye.) (And, it's likely that the Steven Foster Rye may just be a different label on the Rittenhouse Rye 80 proof.)

May 6, 2011

Heaven Hill has been making its own rye whiskey since the expansion at Bernheim was completed, so that's about two years. Everything in stores now is still DSP 354, but it won't be long for the younger ones.

Since Ritt BIB is BIB, it has to be all from one season's production. No such rule for the 80, so it may actually be a different profile, i.e., not just the BIB diluted.

November 13, 2011

Heaven Hill has been making its own rye whiskey since the expansion at Bernheim was completed, so that's about two years. Everything in stores now is still DSP 354, but it won't be long for the younger ones.
Since Ritt BIB is BIB, it has to be all from one season's production. No such rule for the 80, so it may actually be a different profile, i.e., not just the BIB diluted.

Chuck,

So we could be seeing Ritt 80 and Pikesville distilled at Bernheim sometime this year? I guess we have until 2013 until the Ritt BIB is no longer from DSP 354? I think I need to stock up on the Ritt BIB while I can in case it ends up tasting different from Bernheim. I can only get Pikesville when I go to TN and then I stock up.

November 22, 2011

This is a great thread. Thank you all.

November 22, 2011

My choices?:

<$20: Wild Turkey, Rittenhouse

$20-$30: Baby Saz, High West Double Rye!

$30-$50: Jefferson's 10 Year, High West Rendezvous, Van Winkle Family Reserve

SPLURGE: Handy, High West 21, Rittenhouse 23

November 22, 2011

I purchased:

Jim Beam Rye for 15 â‚¬

Pikeson Rye for 20 â‚¬

Bulleit Rye for 18 â‚¬

I guess, in dollar it is sligthly less.

December 2, 2011

Found a store today with 5 bottles of Handy at $97. Sorry if this post beaks any rules on pricing, but it is my first time finding anything in that caliber. Worth the price? Most of the other posts I have seen has it listed in the 60-80 range. Btw, they did have a Pappy 23 for $350. That as out of my range for sure.

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December 2, 2011

I wouldn't buy it at that price. There is a fair amount of it around, in fact I'm pretty sure there is some of last year's still on the shelf here in the Twin Cities.

I have enough trouble justifying $70 for a six-year-old, even if it is unfiltered/uncut.

Especially given that you could run across the river to the Party Source and get the Abraham Bowman Rye for $72 and from the same source, but 10 years old, if memory serves.

December 2, 2011

Found a store today with 5 bottles of Handy at $97.

December 3, 2011

Briskly an Timd thanks for helping out the FNG. I am new to some of these brands but read a lot about the BTAC stuff and was happy when I finally ran across one. I figured it was way too high but was still tempted. I spent most of the afternoon running through Newport, Covington and southeastern Indiana trying to find either a younger PVW or something from the BTAC collection. Glad I resisted. I assume that is why they still had 5 bottles on the shelf. I did run across a Ritt 21 that tempted me as well. I think I hit 16 stores in all today. Ended up with a Ritt BIB, Weller 12, Weller antique and an Ezra B 12. Not quite the score I was looking for, but glad I got some things I have never tried before.