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Best Rye On the Planet (not hardly)


Marvin
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Just read where the Van Winkle 13 YO is the best whiskey on the planet - (I assume you are talking about Rye. I don't think it is the best rye and I will name some that are better confused.gif I am thinking!! Oh yes, now it is coming to mind banghead.gifbanghead.gifbanghead.gif It's right on the tip of my tongue!!! banghead.gifDamn it has completely eluded me!!!! I will have another drink drink.gifblush.gif yes that's better. Now I remember, I will never doubt you again grin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gif

Cheers,

Marvin

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  • 2 months later...

I just ordered a few bottles of the ORVW 13yo rye for "posterity." I'm too much of a rookie to say it's the best whiskey ever, but I'll tell you what... it certainly got my attention!

(don't know how long they'll last)

Amazing stuff!

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"I only share my whiskey with friends. Thank God I don't have any."

Reminds me of , " Do you drink alone or with someone?"

That depends, If I'm buying I drink alone, If you're buying , I'll drink with you!

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"I only share my whiskey with friends. Thank God I don't have any."

Hey Bobby, you're assuming I don't have any friends. Perhaps I simply have no whiskey wink.gif

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I was judging it by my own situation , Whiskey is something I have a few bottles of, Not as many as some hereabouts. I have a few friends too.

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Do you mean the 13 yo Family Reserve rye or the 12 yo "Old Time" rye? If it's the latter, where did you order it from?

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Speaking of friends, try Sazerac 18 year, it will quickly become a friend. It is the best rye I have ever had. I believe that it was distilled to be Kentucky Cream, a now defunct rye label and it was "forgotten" in barrel until Sazerac bought Ancient Age and did a complete inventory which then "found" these superb and well aged ryes. To Buffalo Trace's everlasting credit they are now selling them in the "Antique" collection. Best rye I have ever had. bowdown.gif

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Then you are a lucky man to have lots of both. I have not much bourbon, but many friends, and I prefer it that way. Better that, than lots of bourbon and no friends.

toast.gif

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  • 4 weeks later...

After another little tasting sessin last PM with the ORVW 13yo Rye, my eyes start to get a little misty knowing that there isn't much more of this stuff around.

My question to ye experts is-- what is a suitable alternative to this? I tried the Wild Turkey Rye and didn't much care for it. Is there a reasonably priced "daily drinker" type rye out there somewhere?

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...ORVW 13yo Rye, my eyes start to get a little misty knowing that there isn't much more of this stuff around.

Say what!?! Has Julian said somewhere that there was a limited supply of his rye!? confused.gif

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There appears to be substantiated rumors on this board that existing stocks of the VWrye are all that exist. I asked this same question to Preston (Julian's son) and his response was that indeed there is a supply issue that they are attempting to solve at this moment. This likely means a different flavor profile for future bottlings, but it is unlikely the brand is gone for good.

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I know the 12 yo Van Winkle rye is toast, but now the 13 yo Family Reserve as well?!? Time to bunker up BIGTIME!! There's nothing else out there like the Van Winkle ryes. The only thing that comes close is Sazerac, which, I admit, is pretty damn good in it's own right.

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Dave,

A little over a year ago we did a program here at the Filson on aged whiskey versus old whiskey. Aged was in whiskey that was aged in barrels and bottled at different ages and old as in whiskey that had been in the bottle for many years. We looked at Old Forster current opposed to Maker's Mark bottled in 1980, Van Winkle Rye 13 yo versus a Gibson rye from prohibition that was 12 years old, and Pappy Van Winkle 20yo versus A Prohibition era Old Rip Van Winkle 17 summers old made at the Glenmore distillery with 4 grains with oats being the other grain. The panel included myself, Julian and Preston Van Winkle. During the discussion Julian mentioned that the 13 YO rye was the same rye that he originally bought and was actually about 17 yo at the time of this bottling. He also said he was running out of that rye whiskey and the brand was to be discontinued. Since then he has told me he found some more of the whiskey and will continue the brand for now. How long this will last, he did not say.

Mike Veach

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Mike, that's what I just don't understand (ie. comprehend). I keep hearing about this whiskey being found, and that whiskey being found. But I find it hard to believe that miraculously it's the same flavour profile (let alone recipe, aging method, etc. etc.). I'm not saying I doubt the claims, and I understand the complexity of storage/aging, and sheer volume of whiskeys aging out there. I guess I just have to take it on faith! smile.gif

toast.gif

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Dave,

The thing to remember with Julian is that he does not own an active distillery thus the whiskey he bottles had to be bought from other sources. When we say found in this case, it may very well be that there was more of this whiskey in the warehouse when he originally bought it, but the selller may not have wanted to sell it all for some reason. Afew years later circumstances change and Julian "found" that he purchase it after all so he bought it. The other option is maybe this whiskey was made after the original whiskey, but after tasting samples he found some that was close to the flavor profile he was looking for so he bought it to support the brand. Either case, the brand survives and has fine quality rye whiskey in the bottle.

Mike Veach

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Mike, thanks for your comments. Just to clarify... I did not want to sound like I was criticizing Julian's brand in particular, as I have nothing but the highest regard for ALL of the Van Winkle products. [i think the fact that he does not run his own distillery is actually a blessing... it offers him the ability to search out and find the best, without the problems of marketing the mundane]. I was referring in general to other examples of "lost and found" that I've heard of over the years. And along the same vein, brands being bought and sold by different distilleries.

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Mike, in terms of tasting the historic-era products, was there a consensus on :

(i) whether the long storage period in the bottle adversely affected the palate;

(ii) assuming it was felt the palate was not essentially affected, whether the oldies tasted better than their equivalents today, or worse, the same?; and

(iii) if they tasted better, why (as far as could be gleaned) is that the case? Putting it another way, would it be possible to duplicate the flavour of, say, the Gibson's rye today, or have key variables (e.g. grain types, water, production processes) changed irreversibly?

Gary

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Gary,

The Maker's Mark was excellent. That bottle helped explain why Maker's has the reputation it has today. Very nice and sweet on the tounge but with a good clean finish.

The problem with prohibition era whiskey is that you never know what you are going to get. Remember the bonding period at that time was 8 years and most whiskey was designed to be bottled before that 8 years was up. There is also the problem that the companies would keep brands alive by putting whatever whiskey they had in the bottle when they used the last of the whiskey made for that brand. The Gibson rye was definetly too old. It was very woody and bitter. The Old Rip Van Winkle was also not good. It had a taste that repulsed everyone. The best description I heard of the taste was mediciney taste - the taste of gauze when a dentist puts a wad of gauze in your mouth after pulling a tooth.

At the program we did the year before the Old Taylor bottled in 1918 was excellent but the 1928 bottling was not so good - again very woody.

Mike Veach

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  • 3 weeks later...

Does anyone have a source on the Van Winkle 12 yr rye?

Secondly, I honestly find Wild Turkey Rye to be one of the best out there. Old Overholt is a best value for the money and Tangle Ridge is the best Non-US rye that I have had. I have yet to try the Beam rye.

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Does anyone have a source on the Van Winkle 12 yr rye?

Today I was out running some errands on my lunch break, when I decided to stop in at a gourmet grocery store that I hadn't been to before. I was wondering if they sold bourbon or not, so I figured I'd stop and take a quick look. Their selection was unremarkable, EXCEPT that they had two bottles of the Van Winkle 12 yo rye. I immediately snapped them up! I haven't seen this stuff in awhile, and I'm afraid that most places are now sold out. Too bad...it's a wonderful rye!!

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Tangle Ridge? I'm a big fan of Canadian whisky (killed by a whirlwind of arrows) crazy.gif IMHO the better Canadian ryes would be Alberta premium (100% rye) or Lot 40. It never even occured to me that Tangle Ridge might be a rye! (although I'm fond of it).

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Yep, Tangle is supposedly 100% rye, but the sherry and bourbon cask aging really kill the spice. I also like Lot 40, Gooderham and Worts, Pikes Creek and Forty Creek for Canadians.

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In addition, I also like the various Century Reserve bottlings (especially the 15yo single cask) and Bush Pilot's Private Reserve 13yo (single cask). I have heard that these are 100% corn, which surprised me because of a fruitiness I had associated with wheat.

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