You long time rye drinkers....

[AnotherCigarGuy]

Joe's thread "Rye Conundrum" has me curious as to your opinions

on which current releases best typify the "old" stuff. Many of you have

related on that thread, but could we summarize here?

Plus, I've always wanted to use "conundrum" in a sentence!

[squire]

Great title for a thread. Really hard to say though because most of the Ryes available (even the few extra aged ones that have been trickling onto the market) have been made in the Kentucky Style of 51%rye/38%corn/12%malt or thereabout percentages.

If anything there has been a disincentive in recent years for the majors to even bother with a Rye. Demand was so low they only set aside one day a year to distill it and with the exception of Wild Turkey didn't even bother to advertize the brands.

Considering what's currently available I think the best of Rye is yet to be.

[AnotherCigarGuy]

"They" talk about Maryland-style and Pennsylvania-style rye?

[ChainWhip]

"They" talk about Maryland-style and Pennsylvania-style rye?

There's also Western PA vs. Eastern PA styles

[squire]

Lets not leave out Monongahela, perhaps the most famous of the regional Rye styles.

[ChainWhip]

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?19705-Rittenhouse-rye-BIB&p=373383&viewfull=1#post373383

I'd say it's mostly a marketing statement, as Heaven Hill makes the rye it makes. The Rittenhouse brand is named for Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. The eastern Pennsylvania style would have been in contrast to the western or Monongahela style, and probably similar to the Maryland style. There is some evidence that the Monongahela style was distinguished by aging in new charred oak barrels, while the Maryland and Pennsylvania styles may have been highly doctored with added flavors, as was common practice at the time. We don't really know a lot about it.

[squire]

We just don't have enough examples around to draw broad conclusions about the respective styles. Since they're not here to taste we can only read about them and draw what conclusions we may. Interestingly, there were a lot of blended ryes on the market back then.

Edited January 27, 2014 by squire

[ChainWhip]

True... Maybe somebody w/ some decent loot to burn can scoop up research samples from Bonhams - in the interest of history and science of course

Here's another interesting page (read down to comments section):

http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/2013/11/wild-turkey-101-rye-is-back-sort-of.html

[ethangsmith]

I've had the opportunity to have some old PA ryes from the 1900's to 1970's and I can tell you there is very little on the market like them. The Van Winkle Family Reserve is about as close as I can think of readily. The baby Saz reminds me of some of the basic, younger stuff. The DSP 354 Rittenhouse has a hint of eastern PA rye flavor and the DSP 1 stuff reminds me a tad of western PA stuff. Give Dad's Hat Rye a few more years and they will be making a very good rendition of a western PA rye (Their product is already really tasty and I'd recommend a bottle of you can find one!). Wild Turkey rye and Beam rye are sort of their own animals and really don't remind me of any of the samples I've had of the old stuff- but that doesn't necessarily make them bad.

[squire]

Good summation Ethan.

[ramblinman]

I've had the opportunity to have some old PA ryes from the 1900's to 1970's and I can tell you there is very little on the market like them. The Van Winkle Family Reserve is about as close as I can think of readily. The baby Saz reminds me of some of the basic, younger stuff. The DSP 354 Rittenhouse has a hint of eastern PA rye flavor and the DSP 1 stuff reminds me a tad of western PA stuff. Give Dad's Hat Rye a few more years and they will be making a very good rendition of a western PA rye (Their product is already really tasty and I'd recommend a bottle of you can find one!). Wild Turkey rye and Beam rye are sort of their own animals and really don't remind me of any of the samples I've had of the old stuff- but that doesn't necessarily make them bad.

Any insight on how the high % Canadian Ryes (whistlepig, jeff10) and LDI (Bulleit, Dickel) compare to the PA styles?

[AnotherCigarGuy]

Drinking some Russell's Reserve 6 year that, to me, is uninspiring.

[AaronWF]

Drinking some Russell's Reserve 6 year that, to me, is uninspiring.