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What Rye R U Drinking (Spring 2017)


LCWoody
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On 4/14/2017 at 2:18 PM, smokinjoe said:

First taste from the Basil Hayden Rye, and I am impressed.  Very sippable, with unmistakable rye notes that build throughout.  The finish really shines, and is where the older quarter cask rye (my assumption) exerts itself.  There is a very nice progression of soft (though greenish) to sizzle from front to end that is very well conceived and executed.  Beam blended this very well for my tastes.  

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There ya go, trying to get me to go out an buy another new release.

Oh who am I fooling, I was a buyer anyway, you just convinced me to get on with it.

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Watching Brockmire off the DVR, impossible not to pour a Sazerac while watching.

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Nearly the end pour of Handy tonight. Looking at the rest of t he lineup, I thought to myself, that's a solid grouping of some heavy hitters.

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B


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Had my first go with the BH tonight.  I'll echo Joe's thoughts above, and add that even at 80 proof, this will take a few drops very well.  Mouth feel is silky, and you know right away you've gotten ahold of a decently aged, well done rye.  It is a bit dry and green up front, but you are rewarded with a moderately lengthy and warming finish of baking spices.  I even picked up a bit of the earthen/barnyard note that I've come to love from the WT rye's. 

 

With a few drops, I found it to be a bit more polished with a lessor dry/green impression and a bit more pronounced rye spice finish.  The barnyard note went missing however, but I do think I once detected a bit of green apple and mint note on the finish.  

 

It's a bit pricey, but even at 80 proof, everything a rye lover is looking for is here in this nicely done presentation.      

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22 hours ago, Paddy said:

Had my first go with the BH tonight.  I'll echo Joe's thoughts above, and add that even at 80 proof, this will take a few drops very well.  Mouth feel is silky, and you know right away you've gotten ahold of a decently aged, well done rye.  It is a bit dry and green up front, but you are rewarded with a moderately lengthy and warming finish of baking spices.  I even picked up a bit of the earthen/barnyard note that I've come to love from the WT rye's. 

 

With a few drops, I found it to be a bit more polished with a lessor dry/green impression and a bit more pronounced rye spice finish.  The barnyard note went missing however, but I do think I once detected a bit of green apple and mint note on the finish.  

 

It's a bit pricey, but even at 80 proof, everything a rye lover is looking for is here in this nicely done presentation.      

Dammit. First Joe and now you. I have to buy this now for sure.

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Enjoying a glass of Baby Saz tonight. The more I drink this, the better I like it...and at less than $30, it's a pretty darn good Rye value.


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At the moment I have open bottles of High West Rendezvous, High West Double, High West OMG, Old Potrero Straight, Rittenhouse 100, Russell's Reserve 6yr and Woodinville Microbarreled. The OMG just sits there gathering dust. The others slowly decline in level. But, when I open a bottle of Pikesville 110, it goes empty very quickly. So, since the Pikesville is hard to get in Utah, I don't open a bottle very often.

 

Regards, Jim    

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Digging out one of my private selections from the local watering hole. It's Friday, why hold back?

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B


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Had my first go with the BH tonight.  I'll echo Joe's thoughts above, and add that even at 80 proof, this will take a few drops very well.  Mouth feel is silky, and you know right away you've gotten ahold of a decently aged, well done rye.  It is a bit dry and green up front, but you are rewarded with a moderately lengthy and warming finish of baking spices.  I even picked up a bit of the earthen/barnyard note that I've come to love from the WT rye's. 
 
With a few drops, I found it to be a bit more polished with a lessor dry/green impression and a bit more pronounced rye spice finish.  The barnyard note went missing however, but I do think I once detected a bit of green apple and mint note on the finish.  
 
It's a bit pricey, but even at 80 proof, everything a rye lover is looking for is here in this nicely done presentation.      


I'll admit, I do have a slant for higher proofed stuff, so that could very well be part of my issue with BH Rye. I tried it the past couple nights with some coworkers, and it struck me as nice but limp proofed, much like I find regular BH. There's good flavor there, it just needs more stuffing to hold interest, IMHO.


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While visiting my parents in MA, I had some time to visit a Total Wine in Shrewsbury, MA. I  located a bottle of Dad's Hat Rye that was a little bit pricey for me around $39/750ml but given what few chances I've had to buy one,  I pulled out the Visa.  It's not a bad drink at all. Admittedly, I haven't sampled every worth while Rye on the market but this one won't be pushed to the back of the cabinet to gather dust.

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Lock Stock and Barrel 16 year. I get traditional rye on the front and very distinct nutty, dry sherry like flavor on the end. The nutty flavor overpowers and I struggle to pick out any other flavors, which makes for a disappointing experience. Mostly disappointing because I tried the 13 year, and absolutely loved the fruity apple and leather thing it had going on, but figured for $20 more the 16 had to be better right? Nope. Well, now I've got a bottle of the 13 on the way as well. I tried another pour with an ice cube, which mellows out the nuttiness a bit, but there's not a lot of difference between this and say, WhistlePig 10 when you put them both on the rocks. May have to do a WP10, LSB 13, LSB 16 side by side.

 

Overall the 16 is an interesting and very easy to drink pour even at 107 proof, but the nutty thing is outside of my wheelhouse. If you like a dry, nutty sherry, you would probably like the LSB 16.

 

I've been enjoying my bottle of HW Bourye 2015 quite a bit recently, my favorite parts of Bourbon and Rye in a single pour, yay! It's like everything I love from I.W. Harper 15 year, but with the flavors turned up a notch and with the extra pop of rye spice. Bottle is almost gone so I may have to grab another.

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Had my first pour of Baby Saz a couple of nights ago.  Very impressed, especially since you can get it, when you CAN get it, for $30.  Looks like I'm going to have to try the BH Rye.

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15 hours ago, EarthQuake said:

Lock Stock and Barrel 16 year. I get traditional rye on the front and very distinct nutty, dry sherry like flavor on the end. The nutty flavor overpowers and I struggle to pick out any other flavors, which makes for a disappointing experience. Mostly disappointing because I tried the 13 year, and absolutely loved the fruity apple and leather thing it had going on, but figured for $20 more the 16 had to be better right? Nope. Well, now I've got a bottle of the 13 on the way as well. I tried another pour with an ice cube, which mellows out the nuttiness a bit, but there's not a lot of difference between this and say, WhistlePig 10 when you put them both on the rocks. May have to do a WP10, LSB 13, LSB 16 side by side.

 

Overall the 16 is an interesting and very easy to drink pour even at 107 proof, but the nutty thing is outside of my wheelhouse. If you like a dry, nutty sherry, you would probably like the LSB 16.

 

 

I can certainly support the notion of trying a SBSBS of LSB 13, LSB 16 and Whistlepig! Of course I recommend a blind tasting.

 

I found it was the 13yo was the least pleasing of the bunch with a touch of bitterness in the finish. I didn't recall it as being nutty or sherry like, just oddly bitter, but it never hurts to try again...

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17 hours ago, EarthQuake said:

 

I've been enjoying my bottle of HW Bourye 2015 quite a bit recently, my favorite parts of Bourbon and Rye in a single pour, yay! It's like everything I love from I.W. Harper 15 year, but with the flavors turned up a notch and with the extra pop of rye spice. Bottle is almost gone so I may have to grab another.

 

Yup, High West Bourye is the result of blending artistry.  When I start thinking about whiskeys, that blend comes to mind most often.

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Had some Bookers Rye tonight. I know Fred Noe said he didn't know the exact % of Rye in this, but I hope that Fred is putting something close into some barrels and trying. This is a great Rye. 

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7 hours ago, LCWoody said:

Had some Bookers Rye tonight. I know Fred Noe said he didn't know the exact % of Rye in this, but I hope that Fred is putting something close into some barrels and trying. This is a great Rye. 

I agree. I think some opinions were colored by the hefty SRP. But putting aside price it has merits. 

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Well since it's Wednesday and Hank Azaria is wearing a plaid suit on my TV, I'm having a healthy pour of Baby Saz

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Nightcap pour of Sazerac18, 2016 at the bar.

Gentleman, we've hit a turning point, and the world will never be the same. It's. it like it used to be. Not even close. No depth, no exoticness, no incense, and old church wood. Nothing. It's frankly sad. It's a mere shell of its former glory, and not worth more than retail at best.

It almost sucks. And that opinion is not the booze talking.

Sad, just sad. Once again, I think the glory years of rye will never be duplicated.

B


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9 hours ago, BFerguson said:

Nightcap pour of Sazerac18, 2016 at the bar.

Gentleman, we've hit a turning point, and the world will never be the same. It's. it like it used to be. Not even close. No depth, no exoticness, no incense, and old church wood. Nothing. It's frankly sad. It's a mere shell of its former glory, and not worth more than retail at best.

It almost sucks. And that opinion is not the booze talking.

Sad, just sad. Once again, I think the glory years of rye will never be duplicated.

B


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I have to say I agree on the Saz/2016 in terms of comparing it to the tanked stuff. However I would say it is still easily worth MSRP to me in today's world. Some people seem to really like it too so I'm holding out hope that future releases might agree with me a little more. I'm also going to hold onto my last bottle of the 2015 for a special occasion.....

 

As for the glory days of Rye being over, I'm not quite ready to go there entirely, but it will require some patience, and some $. Booker's Rye was pricey but nobody can tell me it wasn't a really good Rye whiskey. I also really like quite a few of the 7/8+ year old MGP ryes and am holding out hope that there are some older barrels sitting around that might have some magic coming some day. I also have faith that Willett will have some fantastic ryes further out into the future once they've been distilling 10+ years. And hey, Wild Turkey, how about you stop the bourbon-LE parade with decidedly mixed results and pull out some older Rye barrels for a one-off LE? Last but certainly not least, we can all continue hoping that HH will finally give us what many of us have been hoping for and drop a barrel proof Rye PHC.

 

Alas, none of the options I'm listing above are likely to be very affordable going forward, unless we do see a bubble burst of some type leading to a new glut. Since I'm not really expecting that to happen, I'll just have to make a lot more money...... long live Rye 

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14 hours ago, BFerguson said:

Nightcap pour of Sazerac18, 2016 at the bar.

Gentleman, we've hit a turning point, and the world will never be the same. It's. it like it used to be. Not even close. No depth, no exoticness, no incense, and old church wood. Nothing. It's frankly sad. It's a mere shell of its former glory, and not worth more than retail at best.

It almost sucks.

Any possibility the bar pulled a fast one and either watered it down or had something else in that bottle? We all know it happens

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Any possibility the bar pulled a fast one and either watered it down or had something else in that bottle? We all know it happens


Unlikely. The bottle seal was cracked in front of me.

B




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It's a beautiful day here n Maryland. 70-75 degrees this evening. Just finished some spare ribs and chicken thighs on the smoker. Enjoying some RRSiB neat while the rest of the charcoal burns off in the big green egg. Sublime. 

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