Most whiskey drinkers 'can’t tell rye from bourbon' – but insist they can

[ratcheer]

https://www.rt.com/news/340773-whiskey-bourbon-rye-study/

 

I'm not sure Off Topic is the right place to post this, but I didn't see anyplace else that looks just right, either.

 

Also, this is not my personal opinion; I just post it as an interesting news item.

 

Tim

Edited April 25, 2016 by ratcheer

[tanstaafl2]

2 hours ago, ratcheer said:

https://www.rt.com/news/340773-whiskey-bourbon-rye-study/

 

I'm not sure Off Topic is the right place to post this, but I didn't see anyplace else that looks just right, either.

 

Also, this is not my personal opinion; I just post it as an interesting news item.

 

Tim

 

Lots of unanswered  holes in that discussion. Who is his audience? If it is the "average" drinker it is not particularly surprising to me either. If a panel of SB.com "Bourbonian's" did it they might do a little better!

 

No discussion of mashbill either. Not sure I can tell a 51% rye from a bourbon, especially a higher rye bourbon, with much success either. But I can perhaps pick out MGP from basic low to average rye bourbons or a wheated bourbon most of the time!

 

Well, maybe some of the time...

[Paddy]

Not shocking by any means.  I think that most whiskey drinkers wouldn't know what the whiskey tasted like... without Coke mixed in it. 

 

As Bruce pointed out, this board does not fall into the average and/or most whiskey drinkers category. 

 

MGP rye anyone? 

[GaryT]

Yeah - us geeks are way above average (or way below based on the scale I supposed) LOL  Also depends how you define "rye".  I mean, if you count "Canadian Rye" as "rye", all bets are off!!

[flahute]

6 hours ago, Paddy said:

MGP rye anyone? 

I'd like to think I could pick out that pumpernickel bread sprinkled with dill profile at the drop of a hat.

 

51% rye is a much tougher deal though.

[jsrudd]

From the article:

 

"The subjects were instructed to only smell, not taste."

 

It's more accurate to say that most people can't distinguish bourbon or rye by smell. I'm willing to believe that, especially if its 51% rye. 

[mosugoji64]

Not sure many of us would be able to SMELL the difference especially if barely legal ryes are in the mix, but I did find it interesting that the participants reordered everything when labels were added. Also interesting that they noted the distinct aroma of JB brands.

[thornsbreak]

I can say that over a very exensive series of blind tastings with my wife, 6 whiskeys side by side at a time, we were almost ALWAYS able to pick out rye from bourbon by smell alone, (and then by taste as well) and this includes all the "barely legal" staples: Rittenhouse, Overholt, WT Rye 101, Knob Creek Rye, Sazerac, as well as the MGP dead giveaways.  The one thing that sometimes created some havoc was when, as someone else mentioned, a high-rye bourbon entered the mix.  Sometimes a Four Roses would give off some very similar aroma characteristics, but then usually the distinctive Four Roses soft cinnamon/cumin and white mentos would give it away. OGD114 also fell in this camp.  Rye really does have a very distinctive profile, once you get accustomed to it, and especially once you get some experience in side by side blind tastings.  Though the line between barely legal rye and very-high-rye bourbon is definitely a little bit blurry.

[Flyfish]

On ‎4‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 4:27 AM, mosugoji64 said:

Not sure many of us would be able to SMELL the difference especially if barely legal ryes are in the mix, but I did find it interesting that the participants reordered everything when labels were added. Also interesting that they noted the distinct aroma of JB brands.

Reminds me of the experiment several years back that demonstrated that many wine drinkers, if unable to see the color, could not tell a white from a red by taste alone. James Bond, of course, could tell which row in the vineyard the wine came from even if it was a Yugoslavian green wine.

[jsrudd]

4 hours ago, Flyfish said:

James Bond, of course, could tell which row in the vineyard the wine came from even if it was a Yugoslavian green wine.

And the vintage of the wine used to make sherry!