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Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Rye


VAGentleman
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I have now seen this for sale...but haven't purchased. Does anyone have any tasting notes?

And to ask the proverbial question(s), who, what, when, where, and how much? :P

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Found it at BevMo in Pasadena, cost was $35 if I recall correctly....I'm holding out until I find it at a bar where I can taste it before I cop.

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Found it at BevMo in Pasadena, cost was $35 if I recall correctly....I'm holding out until I find it at a bar where I can taste it before I cop.

Wouldn't have thought it would be cheaper in Cali than here. It seems to be low $40's that I have seen so far in town for the moment at least. In the event no one else has it I will be bringing it to the GBS affair tomorrow so we can hopefully get some thoughts on it.

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Any IL folk seen this on the shelves? just curious when to see it. Hoping before months end all my good friends will be around 3/7 hoping to get a bottle for all of us to test.

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Picked one up in NJ last night on my way home from work. So new, price not in store's system Sold it to me for $36.99.

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El Vino, Where did you find it in NJ? I called WR and they said only in NY at Astor. If your in the NE, check out the vermouth barrel finished Old Hat from Bristol PA

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I finally got to taste this lady night at the GBS shindig. U found it had the classic Woodford nose but it was very thin and watery. Young not in a harsh way but in an undeveloped way.

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El Vino, Where did you find it in NJ? I called WR and they said only in NY at Astor. If your in the NE, check out the vermouth barrel finished Old Hat from Bristol PA

Private message sent.

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Binny's is now flush with it at $44.99. But I'm waiting on some reviews before taking the plunge.

Yeah, I just saw it being promoted on Facebook, and checked Binny's. Limited availability, whatever that means. And I'm going to sit back on this as well and see what people are saying. Still have KC Rye, CEHT Rye, and about four bottles of panic-purchased WT 101 Rye from when it became unavailable. I can sit the shakedown cruise out until WR Rye finds its footing. :grin:

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Binny's is now flush with it at $44.99. But I'm waiting on some reviews before taking the plunge.

It simply isn't a $45 rye for me. I think a lot of that is paying for the Woodford "name". Young and largely unremarkable in flavor. Not bad, just not particular interesting enough to justify paying more. One bottle to try it is enough for now.

If baby Saz is cheaper (and you can find it) then that is the better choice to me. Knob Creek rye is too for that matter. 100 proof and probably at least as old for much closer to $30. And Ritt is typically even less. If you like the MGP profile then hard to compete with Smooth Ambler at a stated 7yo and 99 proof for under $40 typically.

Just too many cheaper, not to mention cheaper, options.

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Just too many cheaper, not to mention cheaper, options.

I as well have my mind on my money, and my money on my mind with this one! :lol:

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I as well have my mind on my money, and my money on my mind with this one! :lol:

Apparently so did !. I meant just too many cheaper, not to mention better, options!

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I really can't say much good about this one. I was hoping that this would essentially be a version of 354 Ritt that was maybe aged a bit longer or selected from better barrels (or something to justify the price). However, immediately upon opening it is clear that this was made at Woodford, as the pot-still funk-like note really ruins what could otherwise be a good rye. People that like Woodford bourbon may like this, but to me it tastes like some dark fantasy of the worst of Canadian and Irish whisky makers coming together to make an American rye. I gave it away.

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Dangit, I was on the lookout for this one too. Now it's on the shelves and I'm thinking I should hold off for now. Let's see if any like it enough for the asking price

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Dangit, I was on the lookout for this one too. Now it's on the shelves and I'm thinking I should hold off for now. Let's see if any like it enough for the asking price

Only you can know if you like it so you might try to seek out a pour in a bar at some point.

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Had a small sample of this last evening. It certainly is Woodfordy, but I like that, so I found it to be tasty. I'll snag a bottle one of these days.

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  • 2 months later...

I was able to recently try this and I was quite surprised at home much I liked it. Here are my notes:

Woodford Reserve Rye (90.4 proof)

Nose: marshmallow, caramel, anise pizzelle, spearmint, clove, fresh wood and evergreen, herbs, peach cobbler

Taste: brown sugar, cream, baking spices, fennel seed; slightly viscous mouth-feel with an effervescent pop towards the back end

Finish: medium length of plain toothpaste, red hots, charred apple and rosemary, licorice

Overall: Well done. A fantastic sweet bakery and green rye nose that reads exactly like a Kentucky rye should. While the rye is lost on the palate, it is still quite tasty for a sweet, wood driven whiskey. The finish is where the rye spice comes alive. I'd say this is one of the best, easily available Kentucky ryes on the market right now. On sale, this could be a major contender to those that are more reasonably priced, but a little hard to find. Heck, I'd buy a bottle of this.

One thing I want to note is that I did try the DSP-354 Brown Forman distilled Rittenhosue Rye after this and noticed that they are entirely different. I have a hard time discerning whether or not the Rittenhouse is a bourbon or not (which is good IMO) but the Woodford Rye is very apparent that it is a rye. However, it still has a good sweetness to it so if you love a good sweetness to your rye while still tasting like rye, then Woodford is for you.

Sorry, I can't make comparisons to the new Rittenhouse. I'll get on that one day.

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This one still hasn't made it to Michigan shelves or at least to Oakland Co. shelves so I haven't had a chance to be disappointed by it yet. OF 1870 never arrived either. Not a lot of B-F love in our distributor-controlled system apparently.

Edited by Josh
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I wasn't all that overwhelmed with the Woodford Rye, especially when you figure in the extra cost. They seemed overly fond of it. I expect I can do perfectly fine with Ritt at about half the cost. But oddly, after a few bottles drifted through town back in February this one seems to have completely disappeared again in Atlanta. Not a particularly good way to build a fan base.
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Thanks for the notes, Zillah. Sounds pretty good. Unfortunately for the Woodford Rye, it's just a little bit late to the Rye party for me. I have multiples at home of Ritt 354, Baby Saz, Willett 4 Yr, and some other ryes like SAOS 7 Yr, so I just don't need to buy this. I have passed it up many times, and suspect I will continue to do so.

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