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A new Rye from Beam?


Dr. François
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haven't read through ALL the responses...so maybe this has already been posted or at least, surmised....

did Beam want this? overwhelming discussion?

i think what sells best is discriminating and considerate sipping....:rolleyes:

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..did Beam want this? overwhelming discussion?

i think what sells best is discriminating and considerate sipping....:rolleyes:

  1. Can you elaborate.
  2. I don't care if Beam wanted this discussion or not. But they should realize that a percentage, perhaps a goodly percentage, who engage in discriminating and considerate sipping are gonna engage in conversation about what was sipped. which is another reason I think the product is aimed at yuppies who will drink the stuff in cocktails in overpriced trendy night spots trying to impress someone.

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I tasted this the other day, along with another bourbon fan/employee of the store I was at. After the taste we could only look at one another and shake our heads.

I remember the nose being very floral, and the taste being extremely laid back, to the point of non-existent. Almost as if it were selected for people who want a good smelling brown liquor with no heat/bite and minimal aftertaste/finish. One big long oxymoron IMHO. One thing I can say is that it was very smooth...

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smooth...........that's what tv/boobtube is....smooth...not harsh...not challenging....intravenous......the art of stealth reduced to craftiness. bad whiskey craftin'....a shame.

i just got my knob creek propaganda....i forgot i signed up. a shame it has come to this and not the taste. image is important. but as supplement, not totality...

i can only hope the beam spies are observing and reporting the marketing miscarriage

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Okay, men, have at me!

I like this rye! It isn't a big punch in your face, but I find the flavor balanced and assertive. It has a lot of what I call leather without getting too musty. I think it is rye-like rye and not bourbony in character. The nose is light and perfumy (tends to the floral side as someone noted earlier) and isn't overly inviting. But the taste has some spice and the finish, while short, invites another sip. It reminds me of some of that Old Overholt 86 from the Pennsylvania days (not as good, obviously), but a gentle rye. My girlfriend says, "This is tasty and I would have it again. It's better than some of the bourbons you have me try, and it's very good in a Manhattan." Also reminds me, as I sip it in a Manhattan, of the Wild Turkey 90 prf rye, which I have only ever had in a cocktail and which I found quite assertive.

Clearly this product isn't intended for hardcore whiskey fans or bargain shoppers. It's priced high for what it is. I probably won't buy a bottle for myself. But I would buy it as a gift for others who are less experienced drinkers and who I want to introduce to the rye experience. I'm happy to have a bottle on my overcrowded shelf. And I'm glad I got to try it. I think a lot of young Madmen viewers will give it a try while in trendy bars and will come to prefer it over Canadian.

I received it as a birthday gift along with a bottle of Old Forester Repeal Bourbon which I will be sampling at precisely 5:32 on December 5th. Happy Birthday to me!

-Mike

BTW, I've never been a fan of the yellow label Beam Rye, but it has many distinguished advocates like Chuck Cowdery. Given my opinion of this one, I intend to go back and give the cheaper one another try.

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...i can only hope the beam spies are observing and reporting the marketing miscarriage

On this I am in agreement. That doesn't happen very often.:cool:

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I'm noticing that a few new people are looking for it...Vodka fans. I won't be buying it, but from what I saw last month at our whiskey tasting, Beam is hitting the target audience square in the face.

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On this I am in agreement. That doesn't happen very often.:cool:

i know, i know...my dad often says (or even more

often FEELS) the same!:grin:

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My neighborhood liquor store is fairly new and is finally starting to fill up the shelves with new products. I saw this there and somehow I hadn't read this thread until now, maybe because I'm not a big rye drinker. They didn't have a price on the bottles anywhere so I passed. But what really ticked me off was that the shelf facing for this was full and their last new product line, the Four Roses had ONE BOTTLE PER FACING. Also, when I looked over this new product it said that it was Kentucky Rye Whiskey bottled in either Indiana or Illinois. I had no idea it was a Beam product. It's not like I was going to buy it in my current economic situation but I wasa leary until I read more about it. Thanks to all the comments on this thread I'll have to force myself to wait a bit.

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This whiskey mixes brilliantly. I've had it now in a couple of versions of the Ward 8, and its flavor holds up big time against the citrus and sugar. Also had it the other night in a drink of my own devising, this one with apple and pineapple, and, again, the flavor of the whiskey stayed forward. The only problem with it is the price point. At ten or fifteen dollars cheaper it would be great. I really need to pick up a bottle of the yellow label Beam rye and see how it works in cocktails. I think the added proof in this one really helps. I just compared an old Pennsylvania distilled Old Overholt at 86 proof, and it doesn't come close to the ri(1) in terms of assertiveness in the mix. Interestingly, I prefer the OO straight.

-Mike

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I came across Rye One today at a Hy-Vee. $43.99, ouch! Funny thing is, it was sitting two bottles over from my favorite Beam whiskey; Booker's at $49.99. I walked out with a bottle of Weller Antique and a Buffalo Trace, but the juxtaposition of Rye One at 90 proof and barrel proof Booker' at 124 point (whatever it was) for a few dollars more struck me funny.

Earlier, up-thread, I said I would probably try Rye One, after reading more about it, I doubt it, unless I try a pour of it in a fancy bar or someone gives me a bottle for Christmas.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Chuck:

Thanks for sharing your review. I passed up a bottle at a local store last week, as the $49.99 seemed a bit steep, but may give it a shot next time I get the chance.

Also, kudos for being the first person I've seen to get the correct characters when mentioning the product: (rī)¹.

:)

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Chuck:

Thanks for sharing your review. I passed up a bottle at a local store last week, as the $49.99 seemed a bit steep, but may give it a shot next time I get the chance.

Also, kudos for being the first person I've seen to get the correct characters when mentioning the product: (rī)¹.

:)

finally saw a bottle myself in DE...same price...at that price, i can't imagine it even comes close to Handy Saz...

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finally saw a bottle myself in DE...same price...at that price, i can't imagine it even comes close to Handy Saz...

Saw this one at Julio's for the same price -- didn't want to shell out for it, tho.:skep:

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Nice review Chuck. We tried it at Roger's the other night, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It was quite good--price not withstanding.

However, we tasted it next to the Beam yellow Rye and I found them both good, but not greatly different from one another. In fact, I speculated that if the yellow label were to be bottled at the (ri)1 proof, they'd be even less dissimilar.

The end result is that I won't get a bottle, but I won't write off further bottlings from Beam. (I will grab a bottle of Beam yellow Rye soon, though!)

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We tried it at Roger's the other night, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It was quite good--price not withstanding.

However, we tasted it next to the Beam yellow Rye and I found them both good, but not greatly different from one another. In fact, I speculated that if the yellow label were to be bottled at the (ri)1 proof, they'd be even less dissimilar.

And the further funny thing was that we also tasted Beam Bourbons from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and this year's Distiller's "Masterpiece" (!?!?) and found the noses of current Beam products much closer to each other than the new bourbon was to any of the older bourbons. The signature Beam grassy yeast aroma - it comes with any Beam you buy (except Grand Dad).

Roger

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Chuck:

I passed up a bottle at a local store last week, as the $49.99 seemed a bit steep, but may give it a shot next time I get the chance. :)

I have done same on a couple of occasions. If it were a bit higher proof and had an age statement, I would be more inclined. Especially, as another here pointed out, with Booker's being just a few $$ higher.......much more bang for the old buck! I am getting rather picky in my older years in terms of age statements.....although I know they are soon to become dinosaurs of the past.

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They may have a problem with placement. I saw this in a liquor store in Carmel, IN last week, sitting there among all the "old-timey" bottles of bourbon and rye, right where the "exotic" vodka drinkers aren't going to find it, and where the dedicated bourbon and rye drinkers are going to find it and be unimpressed.

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Yes, but if a vodka drinker thinks, for whatever reason, "I'd like to try a whiskey," their eye will go right to it.

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I think many of you know how much the cocktail hounds love Rye, and it appears that (ri)1 has especially touched the nerves of one blogger to new found creative heights:

http://drinkdogma.com/jim-beam-new-ri-rye-review/

While I'm sure many of us wouldn't agree with the Bourbon assessment, I found it to be a brilliant post! Another interesting thing of note is that a Beam representative made a post in the comments section, which I've NEVER seen them do here...

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I had this today and was pleasently surprised. It was sweet up front with a spicy (but short) finish. It was a good mix of flavors and the proof was just right for drinking neat. I still like Rittenhouse better, but this is still something I would love to drink regularly (unforunately for that price there is lots out there that is better).

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