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Rittenhouse 21 Single Barrel Which of 31


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I just got my 2007 edition of Jim Murray's Whisky Bible.

He praised Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel 21 Year Old and gave it a rating of 91.1 out of 100.

He mentioned that the quality of the whiskey varied from barrel to barrel and therefore bottle to bottle.He then went on to give a summary of each individual bottling of all 31 barrels!!

I have a bottle from barrel 22,rated at 89.

My question: are all 31 barrels bottled and in the market,or only 1 or 2 or how many and which ones? Since they vary in rating from 87 to 96, I'd be curious about which barrels are in the stores and if all of them are,where were they distributed?

Anyone have any info?

Hare from Madison

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I just got my 2007 edition of Jim Murray's Whisky Bible.

He praised Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel 21 Year Old and gave it a rating of 91.1 out of 100.

He mentioned that the quality of the whiskey varied from barrel to barrel and therefore bottle to bottle.He then went on to give a summary of each individual bottling of all 31 barrels!!

I have a bottle from barrel 22,rated at 89.

My question: are all 31 barrels bottled and in the market,or only 1 or 2 or how many and which ones? Since they vary in rating from 87 to 96, I'd be curious about which barrels are in the stores and if all of them are,where were they distributed?

Anyone have any info?

Hare from Madison

Were did you get the 2007 edition? I have not even got the 2006 yet.

Leif

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All of the barrels are currently out in circulation I believe. I think that Bettye jo may be able to provide some more information on this subject.

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Jeremy,

I did see a pallet in WLD before shut down but it may have been shipped by now :grin: :grin: :grin:

Rittenhouse 21 was shipped to: California, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Texas and Florida. They have shipped some to England and made a few extra shipments for special requests.

Rittenhouse 21 year straight rye is a Heaven Hill Distilleries product.

This thread ---> http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5537 tells more of the story.

By the way...:grin: :grin: :grin:

I have bottle #33 from barrel #2.

Bettye Jo

All of the barrels are currently out in circulation I believe. I think that Bettye jo may be able to provide some more information on this subject.
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While we do not have the Rittenhouse 21 in Middle Tennessee yet, the standard Rittenhouses finally appeared last week, and their distributor has listed the 21yo for future distribution -- he just doesn't know when.

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Good to see some feedeback on my quests.To reply to some of the replys:

Leif,I got my copy from Jims web site.I know that various other places carry it like Amazom,but you could get burnt by them sending an old copy as I have in the past,so its easiest going to the source.By the way ,you can be proud of your homeland.Whisky Bible 07 gave Swedens Mackmyra Preludium the award for Best European Mainland Whisky of the Year!

Mark/Nebraska,barrel 10 was rated:Nose 25,Taste 24,Finish 22, Balance 22,so an overall rate of 93.Short comment was:"Complex,sweet."

Bettye Jo,barrel 2 rated 89 overall. Nose 24,Taste 23, Finish 20, Balance 22.

Short comment was:"Dryer,oakier."

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 11 months later...

Can anyone that has a copy of the 2007 Whiskey Bible tell me what # a few of the higher rated barrels of Rittenhouse 21 are please?

I am about to purchase one, and want to try and get one of the higher rated ones, if possible.

Cheers!!

Scott

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Can anyone that has a copy of the 2007 Whiskey Bible tell me what # a few of the higher rated barrels of Rittenhouse 21 are please?

I am about to purchase one, and want to try and get one of the higher rated ones, if possible.

Cheers!!

Scott

Scott, best I can tell you is that I glanced through a copy of the book somewhere, noting that Barrel # 23 -- the one from which I still have a couple of bottles -- was rated 93, tied for the third-highest rating he gave. Most were from 87 to 92.

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Thanks Tim, I appreciate that.

Scott

Scott, best I can tell you is that I glanced through a copy of the book somewhere, noting that Barrel # 23 -- the one from which I still have a couple of bottles -- was rated 93, tied for the third-highest rating he gave. Most were from 87 to 92.
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Scott, best I can tell you is that I glanced through a copy of the book somewhere, noting that Barrel # 23 -- the one from which I still have a couple of bottles -- was rated 93, tied for the third-highest rating he gave. Most were from 87 to 92.

Saw one of these yesterday for $136 - can't recall if it was the 21 or 23yo. Worth the price in your opinion? As the supply of old rye continues to diminish - probably faster than old bourbon ('old' being 18+ years), it could be a good buy now compared to what it may be in a couple of years(?).

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Saw one of these yesterday for $136 - can't recall if it was the 21 or 23yo. Worth the price in your opinion? As the supply of old rye continues to diminish - probably faster than old bourbon ('old' being 18+ years), it could be a good buy now compared to what it may be in a couple of years(?).

It has never been worth the price, in my opinion. Heaven Hill is selling an $80 whiskey for double that. I think that's why you can still find it, at either age.

I was among a few here who tasted it at barrel-proof before they bottled it -- wow, was that something special! They diluted it (to 100 proof) and raised the price. Bad move. Can't really blame them, though -- they don't have a lot of experience with this sort of thing.

It's excellent rye, and each of us just has to decide whether or not to overpay for a singular experience. I did, but I have all I want now.

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I did as well and have 2 bottles from Barrel #5, I think 77 and 83? anyway I have not opened one yet.

Tony

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  • 4 weeks later...
Can anyone that has a copy of the 2007 Whiskey Bible tell me what # a few of the higher rated barrels of Rittenhouse 21 are please?...

Okay, Scott, I finally have the '08 Whisky Bible in hand, so here are Murray's takes on the 31 barrels' bottlings:

  • #1 (91): super-ripe fruit, impatient oak, waves of spice
  • #2 (89): dryer, oakier
  • #3 (91): fruity, soft
  • #4 (90): enormous
  • #5 (93): early rye surge
  • #6 (87): juicy, vanilla
  • #7 (90): even, soft, honeyed
  • #8 (95): the works, massive rye
  • #9 (91): sharp rye, salivating
  • #10 (93): complex, sweet
  • #11 (93): rich, juicy, spicy
  • #12 (91): near identical to #1
  • #13 (91): citrus and toasty
  • #14 (94): big rye and marzipan
  • #15 (88): major oak influence
  • #16 (90): spicy and toffeed
  • #17 (90): flinty, firm, late rye kick
  • #18 (91): big rye delivery
  • #19 (87): major coffee input
  • #20 (91): spicy sugar candy
  • #21 (94): subtle, fruity
  • #22 (89): molassed rye
  • #23 (94): soft fruit, massive rye
  • #24 (88): intense oak and caramel
  • #25 (93): heavy rye and spice
  • #26 (92): subtle, delicate rye
  • #27 (94): delicate rye throughout
  • #28 (96): salivating, roasty, major
  • #29 (88): hot, fruity
  • #30 (91): warming cough sweets
  • #31 (90): aggressive rye

As you can see, the range is from 87-96, with an average of 91.

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Thanks Tim, nice work there. Brett made the offer to go through and look for certain barrel #'s, but I decided against it. The way I see it, no matter what barrel my bottle comes from, it will be great Rye.

He has a heap of it - he was after the 23yo and his distributor didn't have any as he still had too much of the 21 - so what did Brett do? He purchased all of it! :bigeyes: That's why he said he would look - he's bound to have a few different ones.

They have also reduced the price to $129.99

Scott

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Thanks Tim! While I am still 'sitting on the fence' on whether to fork out the bucks for an R21, your info makes me lean ever so slightly to the buy side. The only ones I have come across are from barrel #11 which is a higher ranked one according to the book. Just have not (and may never) totally justify spending over $150 incl tax when a $40 bottle of VWFRR may be every bit its equal on my novice palate.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well I just received my Rittenhouse 21 from Binnys, and they sent me 2 bottles instead of 1. They are both from barrel #19. According to the notes Tim posted from Murrays Whiskey Bible, this is not only the lowest scoring barrel, but has 'major coffee input'. I hate coffee!!

I guess you can't win them all. Maybe I should have specified a barrel number!

Scott

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Well I just received my Rittenhouse 21 from Binnys, and they sent me 2 bottles instead of 1. They are both from barrel #19. According to the notes Tim posted from Murrays Whiskey Bible, this is not only the lowest scoring barrel, but has 'major coffee input'. I hate coffee!!

Scott

I would try not to let 1 person's tasting notes influence you too much, if at all. Your tasting notes might be something very different. This guy tasted 31 barrels, probably in a row; you think he is perfect?

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I would try not to let 1 person's tasting notes influence you too much, if at all. Your tasting notes might be something very different. This guy tasted 31 barrels, probably in a row; you think he is perfect?

Good point Wade,

I will try not to let his notes influence me when I pop the top.

Cheers

Scott

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Well I just received my Rittenhouse 21 from Binnys, and they sent me 2 bottles instead of 1.

Scott

Did they charge you for 1 or 2?

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Did they charge you for 1 or 2?

They charged me for 2, don't worry about that Oscar!!:lol:

I wish it would have been 2 Weller 12s, or at least something not so damn expensive!!

I will be able to offload it easy enough.

I did want a Rittenhouse 21 and a 23. I guess John decided as they didn't have any 23 yet that another 21 would do the trick!

Scott

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Every few days I engage in a mental struggle over whether to buy a bottle. After a few hours, the pragmatic side of the brain always carries the day. The highest I've ever paid for a bottle is $100. For whatever reason, I cannot ever seem to reach a point where I am willing to cross that line without the feeling of the onset of impending regret & guilt if I do. If it was in the $110-120 range, I would probably have one in the stash......but, $140+ is just too far out of reach at present.

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In case anyone is interested, a bottle of Ritt 21 from barrel 12 is now appearing on ebay. I would have provided a link, but did not want to get into any trouble appearing to promote same......not necessarily so much that they need any extra promotion, but, more out of my disdain for 'egod'.

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