JB Rye?

[Ambernecter]

I like Saz 18 and VWFFR very much (thanks to this here forum I've even heard of them!) and have been toying with the idea of buying JB Rye. I MAY have had some waaayyy back but I suspect that coloured label (that makes me feel sick) has put me off!

Is it decent stuff enough stuff or one to avoid at all costs? I don't mind Rittenhouse or WT Rye but would not class them anywhere close to the aforementioned jems.

[DrinkyBanjo]

It is good but not in the same league as Saz 18 or VWFFR. I think I prefer WT Rye to it as well.

[MikeK]

Rittenhouse, Saz Jr., and WT are good picks for cheaper rye. Fleichmann's is very amusing and different also if you can get it.

I found JB rye to have a wonderful nose, but tastes like water. No flavor or body whatsoever. Sorry to be cruel, just my opinion. Get the Rittenhouse or spend another $5 for a Saz Jr.

[bluesbassdad]

Dittos. When I tried JB rye about four years ago, I ended up drinking the last half of the bottle mixed with ginger beer.

I would add that I like the Rittenhouse BIB better than the Wild Turkey. The Rit has a fresher, livelier taste.

The main thing in Wild Turkey's favor is its availability in Prescott, AZ. In contrast the proprietor of Liquor Coop couldn't even find Rittenhouse in his distributor's list. I have a bottle only through the good graces of an out-of-state friend.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Ambernecter]

Thanks guys...

I think I'll give it a miss to be honest - I always hated that label anyway!

[BobA]

It's my least favorite rye. That said, it was also perhaps the cheapest, and I'm glad to have found out, given how few ryes I can get my hands on.

After all, they sell plenty of it, so some people must like it a lot.

Bob

[ThomasH]

I have some Jim Beam rye and while it is not the best, I wouldn't dump it out either. I have found Canada Dry ginger ale to be my favorite mixer for both rye and bourbon. I also tried Seagrams ginger ale and it isn't as good and also tried Schwepps ginger ale and wouldn't use it again if I live to be 110. Its Canada Dry or nothing for my mixed drinks!

Thomas

[camduncan]

I often enjoy a JB Rye - it's light and easy to drink....

Oh, and it's the only Rye sold en' mass in Australia :smiley_acbt:

The only reason I've tried other Rye's is also because I learn't of them here and sought them out when overseas.

[HighTower]

I have an open bottle, and I don't mind it at all. I prefer the WT rye, but havent seen it here for about 5 or 6 years. I like the higher proof of the WT rye, cant wait to try my Thomas Handy :cool:

I also love Canadian Club Classic 12 year, do canadians have a high rye content??

Scott

[VT Mike]

I found JB rye to have a wonderful nose, but tastes like water. No flavor or body whatsoever.

I agree that the Beam Rye has a great nose, and it's downhill from there.

I much prefer Old Overholt. While it's not as complex as the 6 yr Saz, it still has great flavor and a wonderfully long finish, and it's only $11.30 a bottle here.

[Jazzhead]

Dittos on the Canadian Club Classic 12 , Hightower. I just tried some tonight and loved it, and did the search engine thing to find out that this is the only thread it's mentioned on. Well let me go on record as saying this is mighty tasty stuff, balanced with good rye character and a hint of vanilla.

[jinenjo]

Dittos on the Canadian Club Classic 12 , Hightower. I just tried some tonight and loved it, and did the search engine thing to find out that this is the only thread it's mentioned on. Well let me go on record as saying this is mighty tasty stuff, balanced with good rye character and a hint of vanilla.

I tend to completely ignore Canadian whiskey. Is this easily available? I might go an git me some!

[barturtle]

I tend to completely ignore Canadian whiskey. Is this easily available? I might go an git me some!

It seems to be, and is fairly inexpensive in KY, anyway. Seems like it's around or under $20. Sure there are $20 bottles of bourbon I like more, but there are $20 bottles I like less.

[mgilbertva]

I have an open bottle, and I don't mind it at all. I prefer the WT rye, but havent seen it here for about 5 or 6 years. I like the higher proof of the WT rye, cant wait to try my Thomas Handy :cool:

I also love Canadian Club Classic 12 year, do canadians have a high rye content??

The high rye-content reputation is more myth than reality. At one time there was a high rye content. Before Prohibition rye was the preferred whiskey for the American consumer, and Canadians started to produce it to sell to the American black market during Prohibition. Then, as now, Canadian whisky blends an aged, vodka-like spirit, almost a neutral grain spirit, with a stronger (at that time, rye) whiskey, making a milder, smoother style. This is the rye Americans consumed then.

While Canadian whiskys typically contain rye as part of the mash bill, it is not a high percentage any longer. Unlike the U.S. 51% minimum, there is no legal requirement that a whisky labeled "rye whisky" have any specific percentage of rye.

One unusual component in some Canadian whiskys is malted Rye, but I couldn't tell you which ones.

I have long dismissed CC as a basic well pour, nothing more. Now I'm finding out they actually produce some interesting whiskeys, too. There's a 20 CC floating around out there that's supposed to be rather decent, and now you mention a 12 yr. There's also a 100pf 6yr out there. I just picked up a CC Sherry Cask the whiskey specialist at Schneider's in D.C. recommended.

*sigh* So many whiskeys, so little time.

[Martian]

We don't have many rye selections, but fortunately, they are all different. I recently bought my first bottle of JB Rye. I was expecting to hate it from most of the postings on SB.com. I liked it. I also didn't find it any thinner than several much more expensive bourbons I have tried. The label is ugly. Beam needs to at least change the color.

[nor02lei]

The label is ugly. Beam needs to at least change the color.

Hold your horses! This is my all-time favourite “looking at†whisk (e) y-, spirit-, alcohol content-, and “any liquidâ€-bottle. Lights up the whole room. This said it’s of cause only nice we have different taste in this aspect too here on this forum.

Leif

[mozilla]

IIRC all Canadian Whisky is 75% grain spirits. So the % of rye and rye flavors would be considerably less than all Straight Rye.

Jeff Mo.

[LarryG]

The label is ugly. Beam needs to at least change the color.

On my most recent ABC store visit, I spied one bottle of JB Rye wearing a parchment-colored label with a slightly revised layout, as shown in

Anyone else seen this? The Nov 13 posting date of the video suggests it's a recent change.

Larry

[Rughi]

Anyone else seen this?

Larry

Looks like the same route as Early Times took 10 or 15 years ago when they traded the eye-poppingly bright "ketchup and mustard" label for a tan old-timey look.

Roger

Edit: I attached 2 photos that seem to have gotten lost "in process" I hope they show up.

[polyamnesia]

i swear it's about $10 around here...or in Delaware...i was astounded and almost picked one up.

but i don't want to buy something and HAVE to resort to mixing!

at $10 a pop though, a worthy experiment...

[snakster]

i swear it's about $10 around here...or in Delaware...i was astounded and almost picked one up.

but i don't want to buy something and HAVE to resort to mixing!

at $10 a pop though, a worthy experiment...

But the WT rye is only about $16. Good enough to drink neat; cheap enough to mix (if you like cocktails).

But staying on topic, yes I noticed the color change of the label; essentially muted. If it was me, I would have done something completely different if I was gonna make a change. But then again, I'm not in marketing.

[Martian]

I enjoy JB Rye. I like it better than OO, and it goes down easier than WT Rye. It is one of my favorite sipping whiskies. It's too light for mixing.

[camduncan]

I had the early evening to myself last night whilst the wife was out at a Tuppaware party with a couple of her girlfriends :skep:

Planning to catch up on the final few episodes of Californication, I poured some ORVW 13yo Rye, but it didn't really suit my mood. Looking for something lighter, I spied a forgotten open bottle of JB Rye. I got four good healthy pours from it, once ice cube in each pour. Suited my mood perfectly - it was light, little to no burn, and hasn't left me feeling like crap this morning :grin:

[JeffRenner]

I have posted previously my great fondness for Jim Beam rye. There are two reasons for this - first, because I really like it, and second, because it is in part responsible for my getting to appreciate American whiskeys.

About ten years ago, a friend brought a bottle of Knob Creek as a hostess present. I hardly drank spirits at all then, mostly my homebrewed beer and wine, but I was really taken by this very nice bourbon, which I had never heard of. So I did what I often do with a new interest, I started reading all I could.

I got Jim Murray's then new Complete Book of Whiskey and was fascinated by what he wrote in the introduction to the chapter on rye whiskey (remember that this was 1997):

"Even in Kentucky it is rare to find a straight rye whiskey in bars and restaurants. When I do, that is my choice, no matter what bourbons are available. The reasons are twofold: first, you never know when you might see one again; second, it is probably my favorite whiskey type.

"I remember first entering the Talbot Tavern in Bardstown and there was the rapeflower yellow label of the Jim Beam rye shining like a beacon from the back of the bar like a beacon and calling to me like a siren: I couldn't take my eyes off it or my nose from the glass."

(Interesting that Beam is changing the label. Thanks, Larry, for posting that youtube link.)

Then Murray, whose palate has proven over the years to be a better guide for my tastes than others', including St. Michael's, goes on to write about JB rye:

"Beam ... makes the finest rye whiskey money can buy. It is under the Jim Beam label, which claims that the contents inside are "Mild and Mellow." If that is the case, I really don't know what mild and mellow is. This is a rye that refuses to take prisoners, a volcano of flavours erupting over the tastebuds, making for one of the world's great super-whiskeys. And mild and mellow it ain't. The supreme nose is rye-rich and oily, with perhaps a spring of lavender for balance. As soon as it lands on the palate, the oil spreads itself across the mouth for bitter-sweet fruitiness. The finish is rock-hard as the rye really gathers pace and some oak gets through as well. And this is at 80 proof! I'd love Beam to take a gamble and bring out a 101 version."

In the ten years since Murray wrote this , many, many more straight ryes have been released (in no small part because of his efforts), but he still loves it, and rates it a 93/100 in his 2007 Whisky Bible.

Now, just because Jim Murray gives it high praise doesn't make it a great whiskey, of course, but as I wrote above, I find his palate a good guide for my taste. I really like young but sufficiently aged whiskeys, and I love rye whiskey, and I love this one especially. There will always be a bottle in my cabinet. Well, actually, a decanter of it, as I buy it in the 1.75 liter and decant it.

Jeff

[polyamnesia]

so, the parchment label is the new one...i assume no change from within...

there's a store in Claymont DE that has a ton of the lemon-blast yellow labels (about 8...and none of the newer labels). would those possibly be of different content than the new labels?

at $10.99, i think i'll buy both it and the Old Overholt. same price (but only one bottle of the OO)