Bulliet Rye

[Rman04]

Picked up a bottle of this Saturday and I am on my third glass since last night. I must say, this is a mighty fine whiskey at a mighty fine price.

[cigarnv]

I find the Bulliet Rye far too minty for my palate... I do like their bourbon

[Rman04]

It's the first rye I have tried, I am excited about trying some other brands as well. Any suggestions on what a good next bottle may be? I also like the Buillet bourbon, very nice pour.

[HipFlask]

It's the first rye I have tried, I am excited about trying some other brands as well. Any suggestions on what a good next bottle may be? I also like the Buillet bourbon, very nice pour.

Any Rye you can get your hands on except JB Rye or Old Overholt. Rittenhouse BIB or WT Rye or maybe Baby Saz would be must buys.

[cowdery]

Bulleit is an atypical rye. Sazerac Rye (Baby Saz to distinguish it from the 18 year old. Baby Saz is NAS) and Wild Turkey Rye are pretty typical. Rittenhouse is more bourbon-like. I don't share HipFlask's aversion to Old Overholt and Jim Beam Rye (both made by Jim Beam). Jim Beam Rye is the best-selling rye by a wide margin, in part because it's just about the only one available in a lot of places. And because it's cheap. Beam Rye and Overholt are also pretty typical. The best seller in a category is typical by definition, I guess.

[White Dog]

I've come to appreciate the LDI house-style. Besides liking the overall flavor profile, the really nice thing about LDI Rye is the variety of bottlings. What other major lets their rye-mashbill loose on the open market to result in what's starting to become a dozen various expressions?

Viva la LDI!:cool:

[cigarnv]

I find the LDI rye's to have a very wide range ... some like the Bulleit which IMO tastes far to minty, almost tooth paste like. On the other hand the recent 3YO SB CS that Willett which SV did is one of the sweetest and most attractive young rye's I have tasted with the mint well under control.

[Shell]

... On the other hand the recent 3YO SB CS that Willett which SV did is one of the sweetest and most attractive young rye's I have tasted with the mint well under control.

[Rughi]

I must not be up on the abbreviation codes. What is "SB CS that Willet which SV did''.

Thanks for the clarification.

I think that would be the single barrel cask, strength that Willett bottled for Shopper's Vineyard.

RH

[SMOWK]

Reid's acronyms run deep.

[p_elliott]

I must not be up on the abbreviation codes. What is "SB CS that Willet which SV did''.

Thanks for the clarification.

This will help: http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/announcement.php?f=43&a=8

[G.H.Adams]

Bulliet Rye is still a no show in my area but we have the bourbon. I really want to try it so I guess I am going to have to order it or drive 110 miles one way to Lubbock, Texas to find it. My town sucks for any type of selection.:hot:

[White Dog]

I bought a bottle of this when I was in Illinois last month (at Friar Tuck's in Tolono, near Champaign-Urbana). Like Chuck says, it's atypical. It's got a very high rye mash bill (95%, or something if I remember right), and I see where the comments about 'minty' are coming from. The high rye content makes it very spicy, even smoky (and w/ the mint, maybe a menthol [KOOL?]), but without the corn in there, it seems to lack substance, too light, too dry (and I like dry) like a cooking a roast with a bunch of gourmet spices, but you forgot the beef. "Where's the beef?" ... (My favorite rye is Rittenhouse BIB, plenty of meat there. But I can't find RR anywhere anymore, not IL, not Japan.) ...

... that said, it grew on me, and I don't really dislike it at all. But it didn't fit my preconceived notion of "rye" ala JB, WT, Russell's Reserve (another nice one IMO), Rittenhouse. Maybe Bulliet is closest to Old Overholt, but dryer and much pricier.

I find OO and JB quite similar.

But I think you may find Bulliet fairly mainstream if you're also drinking Templeton, Rendezvous, Willet, various High West, Michter's... :lol:

Of course, I understand that LDI juice would be hard to find in your neck of the woods.

[White Dog]

oops, thanks for pointing out my ignorance and inexperience with all those higher-end ryes. ...

Are they all so meatless as Bulliet (when compared to say, Rittenhouse)?

Sorry, not trying to be an ass, but I was posting after many pours.

Meatless, huh? In comparison to Bourbon, I see what you're saying, but I am a big fan of Rye. In fact, I don't find your tasting descriptions of "light and dry" to be negative. It's a very different animal from Bourbon.

That said, I find Ritt BIB to be the most Bourbon-like of any Rye on the market, so it does not surprise me that it's your fav. I'll be really interested to to try actual HH Rye from Bernheim, to see if it actually tastes like Rye.

[MarkEdwards]

I cracked open a bottle this weekend. I really like it!

[cowdery]

I talked to Larry Ebersol (not sure about spelling) at KBF. Larry is the former Master Distiller at LDI and he gave me some of the history of the 95% rye. It began as a standard 51% rye, then became 80/20, with the 20 being rye malt. When rye malt became too expensive they went to 95/5, still rye malt, then for cost switched the malt to barley. Seagrams liked the result so much they tried to make it in Gimli, Manitoba, but a crucial strain of bacteria, native to Indiana, wouldn't survive there.

[Gillman]

The switch to 95/5 shows the amazing ability of malted grain to saccharify a much larger amount of raw grain once the latter is made soluble. Malted grains vary in their enzymatic power, possibly a type was selected that was higher than when 20% was used, or maybe just 5% did the job. Quite extraordinary. Interesting too that economic factors only were mentioned, nothing related to palate except perhaps when the switch was made to barley, but that seems a lucky stroke (if palate is what they liked from the barley) since economics appear to have motivated this and the various changes.

What is old is new again, M'Harry in 1809 constantly refers to economics in discussing whiskey mashbills, e.g., that slops based on corn made better feed for livestock - therefore fetched more return - than if rye-based. Economic factors change over time of course..

Gary

[shoshani]

I talked to Larry Ebersol (not sure about spelling) at KBF. Larry is the former Master Distiller at LDI and he gave me some of the history of the 95% rye. It began as a standard 51% rye, then became 80/20, with the 20 being rye malt. When rye malt became too expensive they went to 95/5, still rye malt, then for cost switched the malt to barley. Seagrams liked the result so much they tried to make it in Gimli, Manitoba, but a crucial strain of bacteria, native to Indiana, wouldn't survive there.

I'm presuming that the 95% rye/5% barley is the mash that Jim Murray used to wax so poetic about, while lamenting that it was unavailable to the public as a straight.

I went by Foremost on Lincoln Ave and bought the bourbon and the rye. I like both immensely, but with the rye having this peculiar rye/barley mash, I noticed a marked similarity to Irish pure pot still - incidentally, another whiskey form that Murray loves. Both have the menthol note in common.

I would dearly love to try a whiskey mashed from unmalted and malted rye.

[cowdery]

The upcoming Woodford MC release is whiskey mashed from unmalted and malted rye.

When less than 10% malt is used, I assume supplemental enzymes are used.

[tmckenzie]

It has been my experience that even 5 percent will work without adding enzymes. Since whiskey mash does not boil the malt enzymes are not killed off, and still work during the ferment.

[sailor22]

I would dearly love to try a whiskey mashed from unmalted and malted rye.

Not sure but isn't the newest High West un-aged product that very thing?

[cowdery]

It has been my experience that even 5 percent will work without adding enzymes. Since whiskey mash does not boil the malt enzymes are not killed off, and still work during the ferment.