Whiskey Rye

It seems like the trend for this year is Rye whiskey. I had always avoided it in the past but tried some Whiskey Ri(has some funky symbol over the i that my keyboard does not have) at a tasting and really enjoyed it. However, the premium Ryes seem to be around $50 a bottle. Ouch. Anyone else there a Rye fan?? Any recommendations?

I'm a big fan. At the low end, I think you get great value in rye. I enjoy the Old Overholt ($10-15) and Rittenhouse 100-proof ($15-20).

Templeton is nice at about $35.

Wild Turkey makes a nice rye too.

I'm pretty easy when it comes to rye, though I haven't had a chance to try the Jim Beam offering (ri) you mentioned.

Agreed with Aaron Deacon -- the Templeton Rye is a nice "higher end" rye, but at $35 or so a bottle is much cheaper than the top Black Maple Hill and Van Winkle ryes and I think is cheaper than similar quality bourbons. Also agree that the "low-end" ryes I have tried are all very good and represent good value; the Old Overholt can be had for about $12 at Binny's or Sam's and I currently have a bottle of the Rittenhouse 100 that cost about $15. Perhaps because rye is lower in demand and there are fewer producers, the "low end" stuff is much more drinkable than low end rotgut bourbon. For what it's worth, most of the rye drinks at The Violet Hour seem to utilize Old Overholt, Rittenhouse, or Wild Turkey 101.

I'm a fan of the Wild Turkey in a Sazerac, but I've heard good things about the Sazerac 6 at about the same price. I think you can do better than Ri for the money you'd pay for it. If you want a premium rye, then I'd go with the Sazerac 18 or -- if you can afford it -- the Rittenhouse 23. I think it depends whether you want one for mixing or sipping. In a Manhattan any of the aforementioned varieties should tuck you in nicely and not hurt your wallet.

Templeton Rye is fantastic (though I have to admit bias since it is distilled near my home town and there are rumors my grandpa ran it in prohibition days). I need to sample a few more "high end" ryes to do some comparison.

Yeah, Old Overholt is my go-to cheap whiskey. For $12/bottle, it's a steal, in my opinion. I agree about the Templeton. A friend of mine brought some over about a week and a half ago, and it's all gone. Very yummy stuff. I've been quite partial to ryes since about 2003 or so, after getting burnt out on the sweetness of bourbon. It's a real nice change of pace and, to be honest, for me it's more of an everyday tipple than bourbon.

You know, I go to the beam yellow label rye for my go to cheap rye, and it's pretty solid. It actually makes a far better manhattan than makers.

Templeton Rye is my go-to rye for Manhattans. It’s very nice to see that many bars and restaurants are stocking it as well.

My at home method from Esquire magazine:

Firefighter's Manhattan
· Pour a tsp or so of smoky single-malt Scotch into a medium-sized (6- to 8-oz) cocktail glass. Swirl it around until the whole inside of the glass is coated and pour out any excess, preferably into your mouth. Put glass in freezer.
· Crack a cup and a half or so of ice cubes. (Wrap them in a clean dish towel and smack them hard with a mallet, the bottom of a cast-iron pan, etc.) Pour the ice into a pint glass, add 2 oz Rittenhouse or Wild Turkey straight rye whiskey, 1 oz Martini & Rossi red vermouth, and 1 healthy dash Angostura orange bitters.
· Stir briskly for 20 seconds and strain into chilled glass, making sure to pour into the middle, leaving a collar of Scotch-coated glass above the surface of the drink. Twist a swatch of thin-cut lemon peel over the top. Take a good whiff before drinking.
I use Lagavulin for the rinse and, of course, Templeton Rye. Nolly Pratt and orange bitters.

That sounds like a tasty concoction. I will have to give that a try.....

Matt wrote:currently have a bottle of the Rittenhouse 100 that cost about $15.

Silky smooth with caramel highlights Rittenhouse 80 proof is dangerously drinkable at $12.95 per bottle.

Binny's Skokie was out of Rittenhouse 100 proof.

DMChicago wrote:Templeton Rye is my go-to rye for Manhattans. It’s very nice to see that many bars and restaurants are stocking it as well.

My at home method from Esquire magazine:

Firefighter's Manhattan
· Pour a tsp or so of smoky single-malt Scotch into a medium-sized (6- to 8-oz) cocktail glass. Swirl it around until the whole inside of the glass is coated and pour out any excess, preferably into your mouth. Put glass in freezer.
· Crack a cup and a half or so of ice cubes. (Wrap them in a clean dish towel and smack them hard with a mallet, the bottom of a cast-iron pan, etc.) Pour the ice into a pint glass, add 2 oz Rittenhouse or Wild Turkey straight rye whiskey, 1 oz Martini & Rossi red vermouth, and 1 healthy dash Angostura orange bitters.
· Stir briskly for 20 seconds and strain into chilled glass, making sure to pour into the middle, leaving a collar of Scotch-coated glass above the surface of the drink. Twist a swatch of thin-cut lemon peel over the top. Take a good whiff before drinking.
I use Lagavulin for the rinse and, of course, Templeton Rye. Nolly Pratt and orange bitters.

Mod edit out of mean/scary looking raccoon

Please deliver to my desk immediately.

/mascot?

I too really like the Rittenhouse bottled in bond but did a recent blind tasting and the Wild Turkey rye came out ahead. I didn't put it up against the Van Winkle rye, I just finally scored, but after several tastes this is the only Van Winkle that doesn't quite live up to its hype, at least for me.

The best thing would be for me to try rye, but in the meantime, does anyone want to take a crack at verbally describing how the taste differs from bourbon?

I would offer one way I think rye tastes different than bourbon. To my palate, rye doesn't have the sweetish caramel and vanilla notes on the finish that bourbon does. I find the finish of rye more "minerally" so, in that sense, I think of it as more dry than bourbon.

Taking one for the team, I taste tested Templeton and Old Overholt against Maker's and Jim Beam last night at a charity event. An open mind at an open bar!

Davooda

riddlemay wrote:The best thing would be for me to try rye, but in the meantime, does anyone want to take a crack at verbally describing how the taste differs from bourbon?

Unless you are an "expert," the taste is so similar you wouldn't notice. You'd have to do a side-by-side tasting to notice. I think rye tends to be a little cheaper for better quality.

G Wiv wrote:Binny's Skokie was out of Rittenhouse 100 proof.

I meant to mention this earlier, I was having a near impossible time finding the 100 proof up until a couple weeks ago, where I was seeing 10-12 bottles on the shelf at once. I had heard they had run out of finished whiskey (?), but here at least, the shortage seems to have passed.

Not that it matters much, because I've now got the handful of bottles that I purchased on discovery during the shortage.

Last summer, the 80 proof was $10/bottle at Binny's. I wish I'd bought a case.

riddlemay wrote:The best thing would be for me to try rye, but in the meantime, does anyone want to take a crack at verbally describing how the taste differs from bourbon?

I think rye tastes a bit spicier than bourbon...although i'm not sure that's exactly the right word for it. It's not spicy in a harsh/hot way, there's just a hint of, well, rye bread-like flavor. I'm not an expert by any means, but that's my take on it.

eli wrote:

riddlemay wrote:The best thing would be for me to try rye, but in the meantime, does anyone want to take a crack at verbally describing how the taste differs from bourbon?

I think rye tastes a bit spicier than bourbon...although i'm not sure that's exactly the right word for it. It's not spicy in a harsh/hot way, there's just a hint of, well, rye bread-like flavor. I'm not an expert by any means, but that's my take on it.

A good rye should taste spicier than most bourbons, one of the reasons I don't like Templeton or Ri is that spice is missing. To me those two have many of the same flavors as bouron, but not nearly as sweet. Good quality whiskeys, but not good ryes in my opinion.

SSDD

Aaron Deacon wrote:

G Wiv wrote:Binny's Skokie was out of Rittenhouse 100 proof.

I meant to mention this earlier, I was having a near impossible time finding the 100 proof up until a couple weeks ago, where I was seeing 10-12 bottles on the shelf at once. I had heard they had run out of finished whiskey (?), but here at least, the shortage seems to have passed.

Indeed. On recent visits both Binny's (Clark St.) and Sam's were well stocked with the 100, which is is my current favorite, and extremely budget friendly. $12.99 at Sam's.

m'th'su wrote:

Aaron Deacon wrote:

G Wiv wrote:Binny's Skokie was out of Rittenhouse 100 proof.

I meant to mention this earlier, I was having a near impossible time finding the 100 proof up until a couple weeks ago, where I was seeing 10-12 bottles on the shelf at once. I had heard they had run out of finished whiskey (?), but here at least, the shortage seems to have passed.

Indeed. On recent visits both Binny's (Clark St.) and Sam's were well stocked with the 100, which is is my current favorite, and extremely budget friendly. $12.99 at Sam's.

$16.99 at Binny's in Buffalo Grove per my receipt for Saturday, February 07, 2009 @ 4:07 PM ......... a purchase necessary to quell my panic of Skokie being out of the 100. I find Sam's, with its more limited selection, often has better pricing on higher end bourbons (and ryes) but this is a pretty big difference at the lower end. I've never had the 86 but nice to know it's a worthy alternative.

eli wrote:

riddlemay wrote:The best thing would be for me to try rye, but in the meantime, does anyone want to take a crack at verbally describing how the taste differs from bourbon?

I think rye tastes a bit spicier than bourbon...although i'm not sure that's exactly the right word for it. It's not spicy in a harsh/hot way, there's just a hint of, well, rye bread-like flavor. I'm not an expert by any means, but that's my take on it.

Yeah, adjectives I would use would be peppery, spicy, drier/less sweet than bourbon. If American whiskey were Scotch, bourbon would be the Speyside malts and rye would be the Islay side of the spectrum (although the difference is not quite as pronounced in American whiskeys. Still, if you drink whiskey with any regularity and can tell the difference between bourbon and scotch, you should definitely be able to tell the difference between a bourbon and rye.)

headcase wrote:A good rye should taste spicier than most bourbons, one of the reasons I don't like Templeton or Ri is that spice is missing. To me those two have many of the same flavors as bouron, but not nearly as sweet. Good quality whiskeys, but not good ryes in my opinion.

Thanks to all those who have put the flavor of rye into words. If I'm looking for a rye on the "spicier" side, headcase, which one would you recommend?

riddlemay wrote:

headcase wrote:A good rye should taste spicier than most bourbons, one of the reasons I don't like Templeton or Ri is that spice is missing. To me those two have many of the same flavors as bouron, but not nearly as sweet. Good quality whiskeys, but not good ryes in my opinion.

Thanks to all those who have put the flavor of rye into words. If I'm looking for a rye on the "spicier" side, headcase, which one would you recommend?

Let it be said first off that I am not really a sipper of whiskey (in any form), my interests in whiskey, rye in particular, tend towards cocktails.

That being said I have tasted every rye in this thread neat, to varying amounts.

For cocktails my #1 choice is the Rittenhouse bonded for a couple of reasons. It has the spiciness I look for, the 100 proof I find holds up better when mixed, and the price is certainly right. But it has been a while since I've had it neat.

My favorite rye that I've had neat, and to have for that purpose, was the Sazerac 18 --- absolutely fabulous, but not exactly an entry level bottle either, I'm pretty sure they price out near three figures.

A good compromise in my mind is the Sazerac 6, a very good bottle, not too expensive and can be mixed or sipped on.

Please excuse the lack of tasking notes, I don't tend to keep them, and like I said before, it has been a while since I've had any of these neat.

I'm trying to remember where I've seen decent amounts of rye behind the bars in town .... The Hour is one, Matchbox is another, and I'm pretty sure that Delilah's had a decent selection as well. And while I'm thinking of it I think even Clark Street Alehouse had a couple of different bottles, I know that is where I tried the Ri.

Good luck, and enjoy
SSDD

Agree with headcase that the Rittenhouse 100 proof has what I like to think of as the characteristic spiciness of a rye.

I just cracked open a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon, which I've had a couple times but well into my drinking, and found it too, to have a surprising rye spiciness. Wondering if I just had this thread on the brain, a quick google revealed that it is indeed a heavily ryed bourbon, on the order of 30-35%. Quite nice, indeed, and a heck of a deal last night at my local liquor emporium for about $19 bucks a bottle.

I went to Binny's World of Whiskeys last night and got to try several ryes (and many other whiskeys) that I hadn't had before. I definitely agree with others here that Templeton is quite good. I also really enjoyed the Mitchters 10 year rye. I think my favorite was the High West Rendezvous Rye. They had 3 different versions: their "standard", a 16 year and a 21 year that's not actually available for retail yet. (I think he said it's coming out within the next few months; the bottle he had to sample didn't even have a "real" label yet.) Of the 3 I liked the 21 year best, then the standard, then the 16 year, but I'd happily drink any of them. I also tried the (ri)1 or however the name goes. I didn't really care for it, but it's possible that was partly due to it being the first whiskey I tried after Laphraoig.

I also tried two heavily ryed bourbons that were both quite good. Pure Kentucky (from the same distillery as Noah's Mill) and Sam Houston. I think I have a slight preference for the Pure Kentucky, but both were quite good and pretty much what you'd expect: halfway between bourbon and rye.

Unfortunately, since I wasn't buying any bottles last night, I can't speak to the price of any of these.

Fans of rye are probably already well-aware of this but a story at Shanken News Daily confirms that rye's extremely tight right now and probably will be for the next couple of years . . .

Rye, once a niche drink, has ridden the cocktail renaissance to become a mixology star. But because its rise came so quickly and unexpectedly, distillers have been dealing with a Rye shortage that has them struggling to meet demand. “We didn’t see this coming,” says Jim Beam master distiller Fred Noe. “It’s going to take us a couple of years to catch up.”

“Nobody saw the Rye spike coming,” agrees Wild Turkey’s longtime master distiller Jimmy Russell. “We’re completely out for the next two years.”

Whiskey’s aging process makes it difficult to respond quickly to increases in demand (most American whiskies sit in wood for at least four years). So while distilleries have ramped up production of Rye, most of it is still aging in warehouses.

...the most sought-after ryes are higher-proof products like Rittenhouse 100 and Wild Turkey 101, which bartenders claim provide stronger, spicier backbones to their cocktails. “A Manhattan made with an 80-proof Rye has a less dominant whiskey profile than one made with the Rittenhouse 100,” says Paul McGee, director of cocktail development at Bub City in Chicago. “If you have to use a lower-proof rye, you also have to adjust the proportions.”

Distilleries Still Scrambling To Boost Production In Wake Of Rye Shortage

=R=

Might be seeing things, but price of Rittenhouse may have crept up lately. $22 and change?

Vitesse98 wrote:Might be seeing things, but price of Rittenhouse may have crept up lately. $22 and change?

You are not seeing things. Roughly 4 years ago, Old Overholt could be had for $12 at the larger liquor stores and Rittenhouse was $15-16. Both have steadily crept up to the point where Rittenhouse is now $23 at Binny's (I don't buy Overholt, but seems to be around $16).

Vitesse98 wrote:Might be seeing things, but price of Rittenhouse may have crept up lately. $22 and change?

Rye (the grain) is selling at an all-time high, roughly 50% higher than last year and about 125% higher than 5 years ago.

I wonder how the raw material prices for whiskey are factored into retail prices. Presumably the rye was cheaper when the whiskey currently on the shelves was distilled. In any event, I suspect the price increases in recent years reflect a combination of increased costs and increased demand.