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Best High Rye, Rye


hawkeye62
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I have been interested in the high rye, ryes.  Seems to me that most, if not all, of the Kentucky ryes are barely legal at 51% rye. Yet, much as I have tried, I haven't found a high rye, rye that I like as much as Pikesville 110, which is barely legal at 51% rye. So, what is it about high rye, ryes that leaves me with no favorite?

 

So, what is your favorite high rye, rye? Please don't tell me about WP.

 

Regards, Jim 

      

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MGP's 95% rye (Bulleit Rye, for example) pretty much set the market taste for high rye.  Without MGP's minty finish, many persons eschew high ryes from other producers.  Do a quick search on SB for "Catoctin" and you'll pick up a few threads discussing "all rye" and some high rye offerings.  Personally, I find the non-MGP high ryes to be overly grassy/grainy so usually skip them in favor of any bourbon.  But, that's me.  Most of (well, virtually all) my ryes go into cocktails, anyway.  CEHT rye is an exception.

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You might like New Riff Rye at 95% rye, 5% malted rye. It is not one of my favorites at all, and I like ryes (well, I think I do).

 

Without opening a can-o-worm, what's the deal with WP?

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I'm a big fan of WP barrel picks.  I've also had a cask strength Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye finished in Brandy barrels that I liked (they are 100% rye).

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12 hours ago, Oli77 said:

 

Without opening a can-o-worm, what's the deal with WP?

They charge a very high premium for whisky they didn't make and the owner is a con man.

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I avoid WP, Michter's, and others for similar reasons (disagreeable ethics or lack of transparency).  

 

MGP basically created the 95% rye market by accident, imo. 

Initially distilled for use as a blending component. 

 

Bulleit and Willett are my favorites in this category.  

 

 

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2 hours ago, Guss West said:

I avoid WP, Michter's, and others for similar reasons (disagreeable ethics or lack of transparency).  

 

MGP basically created the 95% rye market by accident, imo. 

Initially distilled for use as a blending component. 

 

Bulleit and Willett are my favorites in this category.  

I have seen a few reviews that favor George Dickel over Bulleit. Both are MGP, maybe six years old. How would you compare?

 

Regards, Jim

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Might want to consider the new Old Forester rye which is a 65% rye I think. CEHT rye is presumably 90ish% rye with no corn and likely made at Barton although Sazerac doesn't provide definitive info about either as far as I know. Barton in the past made several interesting higher rye whiskey mashbills many of which were bottled and released by High West there in Utah back in the day.

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The OF Rye is a must-try $25 bottle, if you have yet to do so. 

 

I've not tried them SBS, nor have had either in a number of years.  Both are (among others) in boxes waiting for a rye shootout when I clear some room in the cabinet.  If we're choosing, give me the Willett. 

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To me all US rye (51% to 95%) is all good. Try them all. I love the Michters BP rye (I'm assuming is WR) but don't know the %. CEHT Rye is very good also.

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12 hours ago, squire said:

They charge a very high premium for whisky they didn't make and the owner is a con man.

On the plus side the con man owner was ousted a couple years back. 

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Jack Daniel's is 70% Rye and a great buy. I like the KC offerings (single barrel, small batch & twice barreled) more than JD Rye, but for $20-$22 it is a great pour IMO. 

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My go to 95% rye is Dickel.  Readily available, fairly priced and only separated from Bulleit by the LCP. 

 

Plus, I like the Dickel bottle better...:D

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My go to 95% rye is Dickel.  Readily available, fairly priced and only separated from Bulleit by the LCP. 
 
Plus, I like the Dickel bottle better...[emoji3]

Nothing wrong with LCP! [emoji6]
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23 hours ago, jwperry said:

Jack Daniel's is 70% Rye and a great buy. I like the KC offerings (single barrel, small batch & twice barreled) more than JD Rye, but for $20-$22 it is a great pour IMO. 

I admire Jack Daniel's for going all in with 70% rye rather than 51%. But, I can't get past the banana.

 

Regards, Jim 

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I admire Jack Daniel's for going all in with 70% rye rather than 51%. But, I can't get past the banana.
 
Regards, Jim 
I've never tasted the banana in any of the JD products. Makes me think I'm drinking then wrong, haha.
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I've never tasted the banana in any of the JD products. Makes me think I'm drinking then wrong, haha.

I find it fascinating how palates can differ so much. I’ve never had the rye, but banana is ALL I get in JD. Just so interesting how our senses/brain all operate differently.
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I know you said don't mention WP, but the MGP sourced WP 10 store picks are fantastic, and an entirely different flavor profile if it's the Canadian sourced you object to in the standard WP10. In terms of high rye mash bills, I think it's very hard to buy a better rye than a decent WP MGP store pick these days. If you find one, it's probably going to cost a lot of money.

 

I guess an alternate source, if you hate the WP brand, would be the MGP sourced Redemption ryes. There's various Willett FE bottles sourced from MGP, but good luck finding any of them for a sensible price.

 

There's also the 100% rye mash bill from Canada that WP sources. Other than WP,  it comes in the form of Lock Stock & Barrel 13, 16, 18 and Hoch 18, all from the same bottler. Masterson's does a 10/100 product sourced from Canada as well. Jefferson's had a line of this for a while but I think that has been dead for a few years now.

 

Highwest's ryes tend to have a significant portion of MGP's 95% mash bill, plus some of that Barton 80% depending on the label and release. It's a bit hard to keep track of that stuff so I won't try to tell you which is which. But recent HW Midwinter Night's Drams taste like they are predominantly MGP, and are generally quite good.

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10 hours ago, EarthQuake said:

I know you said don't mention WP, but the MGP sourced WP 10 store picks are fantastic, and an entirely different flavor profile if it's the Canadian sourced you object to in the standard WP10. In terms of high rye mash bills, I think it's very hard to buy a better rye than a decent WP MGP store pick these days. If you find one, it's probably going to cost a lot of money.

 

I guess an alternate source, if you hate the WP brand, would be the MGP sourced Redemption ryes. There's various Willett FE bottles sourced from MGP, but good luck finding any of them for a sensible price.

 

There's also the 100% rye mash bill from Canada that WP sources. Other than WP,  it comes in the form of Lock Stock & Barrel 13, 16, 18 and Hoch 18, all from the same bottler. Masterson's does a 10/100 product sourced from Canada as well. Jefferson's had a line of this for a while but I think that has been dead for a few years now.

 

Highwest's ryes tend to have a significant portion of MGP's 95% mash bill, plus some of that Barton 80% depending on the label and release. It's a bit hard to keep track of that stuff so I won't try to tell you which is which. But recent HW Midwinter Night's Drams taste like they are predominantly MGP, and are generally quite good.

There are no "store picks" here in Utah. The only Canadian whiskey that I liked was Lot 40 Rye. But, it is not available here in Utah. I do like the HW stuff and it is available here in Utah. Just hoping to find some alternatives that are reasonably priced.

 

Regards, Jim 

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13 hours ago, hawkeye62 said:

There are no "store picks" here in Utah. The only Canadian whiskey that I liked was Lot 40 Rye. But, it is not available here in Utah. I do like the HW stuff and it is available here in Utah. Just hoping to find some alternatives that are reasonably priced.

 

Regards, Jim 

Yeah we don't get many store picks here in Iowa. I've found a few online shops that ship though. Is Utah one of those states that is difficult to get booze shipped into?

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11 hours ago, EarthQuake said:

Yeah we don't get many store picks here in Iowa. I've found a few online shops that ship though. Is Utah one of those states that is difficult to get

booze shipped into?

No, it is not difficult, it is not possible! Everything except 5% beer is sold only in state liquor stores. Special orders are possible, but only by the case. I always visit local liquor stores when I travel. That is the only way I have to try some of the interesting ryes that the Utah ABC doesn't offer.

 

Regards, Jim 

Edited by hawkeye62
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11 hours ago, EarthQuake said:

Yeah we don't get many store picks here in Iowa. I've found a few online shops that ship though. Is Utah one of those states that is difficult to get booze shipped into?

 

Utah is one of those states that is difficult to get booze.

 

Fixed this for you...

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11 hours ago, hawkeye62 said:

No, it is not difficult, it is not possible! Everything except 5% beer is sold only in state liquor stores. Special orders are possible, but only by the case. I always visit local liquor stores when I travel. That is the only way I have to try some of the interesting ryes that the Utah ABC doesn't offer.

 

Regards, Jim 

I just did a quick search on Wine-Searcher.com and it looks like some stores do ship to Utah, it might be worth a shot if you are looking for something in particular. 

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On ‎6‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 7:16 PM, kevinbrink said:

I just did a quick search on Wine-Searcher.com and it looks like some stores do ship to Utah, it might be worth a shot if you are looking for something in particular. 

I haven't found a single store on Wine-Searcher that ships to Utah.

 

Regards, Jim  

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5 hours ago, hawkeye62 said:

I haven't found a single store on Wine-Searcher that ships to Utah.

 

Regards, Jim  

This place let me calculate Shipping to Utah https://grainvine.com might be worth a shot, I see what you mean though the places listed don't actually ship for the most part.

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