Rye Whiskey

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JOhnH

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I have always preferred Scotch, but recently I was surrounded by bourbon drinkers and I have sort of developed a taste for that.

I'd now like to try a good rye whiskey, but I'm hoping that there is a good one or two that don't cost as much as the good bourbons I have been buying. Woodford's Reserve is one of the better Bourbons at a decent price point, so I tried their rye. It is good, but I can only find it in 750 ml bottles. I like to buy 1.5L bottles so that I don't have to buy them so often, and because the bigger bottles are cheaper / ml.
 
Many of the good Bourbon producers do a good rye.

Peerless got written up by Whisky Advocate as one of the top ten whiskeys of the year. It's good.
Woodford has a good rye as well.
My other favorite is the Rabbit Hole (green label) Boxergrail Rye.

The Woodford comes in 1L, haven't seen larger.
 
Sort of related, my wife bought me a bottle of The Sassenach, which is a blended scotch. The brand itself is a tie in to a TV series called Outlander, but apparently it has earned a good reputation and won some awards. I'm not really a connoisseur of Scotch (or blended scotch), but I thought it was pretty smooth. Not as smokey as Woodford Reserve, but with good heat.

Can't help with the 1.5L size either lol.
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I like Whistle Pig Piggy Back, it's a nice rye neat or on the rocks. If mixing (aka a Manhattan), Rittenhouse makes a decent rye for mixing. Those are my usual go to bottles.
 
Bill said:
I like Whistle Pig Piggy Back, it's a nice rye neat or on the rocks. If mixing (aka a Manhattan), Rittenhouse makes a decent rye for mixing. Those are my usual go to bottles.
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Not into mixing. I like it neat. I'll look into Whistle Pig Piggy Back.
Thanks.
 
Bill said:
I like Whistle Pig Piggy Back.
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I bought a bottle, thought it was good.

In small print, it says it’s distilled in Canada. I thought it’s interesting that they hid that, instead of flaunting it. Makes me wonder if Canadian whiskey has a downscale reputation or something.

A lot of ryes come from the same distillery in Indiana. Formerly one of the ingredients if Seagram’s 7, it’s pretty good. If that’s what you want, it’s sold under several labels.
 
NoHeat said:
In small print, it says it’s distilled in Canada. I thought it’s interesting that they hid that, instead of flaunting it. Makes me wonder if Canadian whiskey has a downscale reputation or something.
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I don’t know a lot about rye, but I’d heard that most Canuckistani whiskies were rye.
 
I'm more partial to Scotch as well. But I don't like the strong peaty scotches. So a Rye is an easy step. I like the Wyoming Rye. Moderate price and pretty good. we have many local distillers, so I try some of theirs. Deerhammer (we sometimes ride together so thats the disclaimer) has a good one, but in short supply. Also Frasier Valley Distillery has a good one.
I actually prefer their whiskey, but the rye is pretty good. I have heard that Peach Street also has one, but I have not tried it. I do like their whiskey. Way too many choices.
 
I'm not a huge rye fan, but I've had George Dickel rye, and to me it's not bad at all. Not fancy, but not expensive.
 
Just because it will ferment doesn’t mean it’s good. Life’s too short to drink bad whisky. (Or beer.) And it’s far too short to ever drink bad whiskEy. Rye: the grain used by distillers who don’t know what barley is. ;)
 
I'm not a huge rye fan but will sneak one in every once in a while. I see that Michter's has a rye and I really like their bourbon, so I would bet the rye is worth a shot.

Templeton Rye out of IA used to be the 'go to' for rye whiskeys, but I've heard their recipe has changed over time from what it was originally as a prohibition era bootlegging whiskey. Worth a try at least, though.
 
Lachlan said:
Just because it will ferment doesn’t mean it’s good. Life’s too short to drink bad whisky. (Or beer.) And it’s far too short to ever drink bad whiskEy. Rye: the grain used by distillers who don’t know what barley is. ;)
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That's what people used to say about rye bread. But I have always preferred rye bread over all others.

I drank some of the Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey last night and really enjoyed it.
 
Hudson Manhatten Rye
George Washington's Rye

...are both excellent and priced accordingly.
 
DaleB said:
I don’t know a lot about rye, but I’d heard that most Canuckistani whiskies were rye.
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Indeed, though the question is how much rye. Canadians use rye and Candian as synonyms, though they rarely have much rye in them (sometimes as little as 10%). The Canadian liquor laws don't restrict it as long as there is ANY rye in the mash bill.

Down here in the states, you have to have 51% rye grain to call it rye, just like you need 51% corn to call it bourbon. In fact, other than the rye vs. corn minimum, the other legal requirements are the same (charred oak barrels, no more than 160 proof at distillation, 125proof into the barrels, 80 in the bottle) between the two.
 
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NoHeat said:
I bought a bottle, thought it was good.

In small print, it says it’s distilled in Canada. I thought it’s interesting that they hid that, instead of flaunting it. Makes me wonder if Canadian whiskey has a downscale reputation or something.

A lot of ryes come from the same distillery in Indiana. Formerly one of the ingredients if Seagram’s 7, it’s pretty good. If that’s what you want, it’s sold under several labels.
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There’s some secrets closely held about Whistle Pig.
 
If rye whiskey is a thing, why did Don McLean sing
“And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye”? That makes it sound like whiskey and rye are two different things. Just one of those things that should not bother me but does.
 
SkyDog58 said:
If rye whiskey is a thing, why did Don McLean sing
“And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye”? That makes it sound like whiskey and rye are two different things. Just one of those things that should not bother me but does.
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Certainly a better verse that "alligator lizzards in the air"
 
I always thought it was "and the gila lizards in the air"...

I see the Hudson rye was already mentioned. They made a pretty good single malt too, but it seems to be discontinued. My kids took me for a tour of the distillery for Father's Day a few years back.
 
JOhnH said:
That's what people used to say about rye bread. But I have always preferred rye bread over all others.

I drank some of the Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey last night and really enjoyed it.
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Mmmmm, peanutbutter & jelly on rye. Wait…. Nope. :) Perhaps rye bread is better for French toast? Grilled cheese, maybe?
 
That’s one of the many brands that actually comes from the same distillery in Indiana, Midwest Grain Products.

From Wikipedia:

“One primary product of MGP Indiana is a straight rye whiskey with a 95% rye mash bill, which is bottled under various brand names, including Angel's Envy, Bulleit Rye, Filibuster, George Dickel Rye,James E. Pepper, Smooth Ambler, and Templeton Rye.”

I think that these clients buy the rye whiskey in bulk, then “finish” it, for example aging it in casks. That’s what Angel’s Envy does. Nothing wrong with that. And the result can taste just fine.
 
My favorite shelf rye is Whistle Pig 10 year. I prefer it to the older and more expensive Whistle Pig offerings. Piggy Back is 6 year and is a good bottle for the price. Willet rye is really good if you can find it.

If you want to splurge, Thomas Handy is the Pappy equivalent in the rye world. Very expensive. Beware, ryes are favored when they’re spicy, and that translates to very high proof. Up to 120 proof is pretty common. I like flavor, not rocket fuel, so I stay under 100 proof. Knob Creek is usually 100 proof and it’s pretty good.
 
I enjoy Redemption Rye. It's actually quite cheap, but never had rotgut from it and I enjoy the taste of it a lot.
 
NoHeat said:
In small print, it says it’s distilled in Canada. I thought it’s interesting that they hid that, instead of flaunting it. Makes me wonder if Canadian whiskey has a downscale reputation or something.
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I don't know what it is, but I really dislike Canadian whiskey, including Whistle Pig. I've also found Whistle Pig to be very inconsistent in flavor. I don't know how widely available it is, but I love Red River's Rye, made locally.
 
NoHeat said:
…MGP…
I think that these clients buy the rye whiskey in bulk, then “finish” it.…
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MGP will also blend and finish for you, as well.

I used to disparage MGP-sourced products…I was a bourbon snob. I changed my mind sitting at Carl’s Tavern in Steamboat. The owner goes to MGP quarterly and outs together mind-blowing blends that rival some of the greats. Did a side-by-side with Weller Antique that was nearly indistinguishable except a price point that was orders of magnitude lower.

What bothers me is brands that source from MGP, try to hide it, and charge a ‘boutique’ premium. I’m still snobbish about that.
 
Lindberg said:
I don't know what it is, but I really dislike Canadian whiskey, including Whistle Pig. I've also found Whistle Pig to be very inconsistent in flavor. I don't know how widely available it is, but I love Red River's Rye, made locally.
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As I mentioned earlier in the laws between Canada and the US. The WhistlePig ryes can't even be legally called Rye Whiskey in the US. Some have a lot of rye in them, some are less than the 51% required for the US (but quite common in Canada). So you have to carefully judge anything that claims to be "Rye" that comes from Canada.

The cheap WhistlePig is like 45% Rye and the rest is barley and wheat I think (the latter being an less common thing to blend into US whiskeys).
 
Actually Rittenhouse isn't a bad rye at all for $25, and it's distilled and bottled in KY as it is now under Heaven Hill Distillery. It makes a pretty nice Manhattan.
 
Bill said:
Actually Rittenhouse isn't a bad rye at all for $25, and it's distilled and bottled in KY as it is now under Heaven Hill Distillery. It makes a pretty nice Manhattan.
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Amusingly, Heaven Hills's distillery in Bardstown burned down in 1996 and was never rebuilt. The company that owns them also owned the Bernheim distillery over in Louisville and moved all the distillation over there. They tanker loads of white dog back across the state to age in the Bardstown rickhouses.
 
flyingron said:
Amusingly, Heaven Hills's distillery in Bardstown burned down in 1996 and was never rebuilt. The company that owns them also owned the Bernheim distillery over in Louisville and moved all the distillation over there. They tanker loads of white dog back across the state to age in the Bardstown rickhouses.
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Some contend that "real" bourbon has to come from Nelson county.
 
Bill said:
Some contend that "real" bourbon has to come from Nelson county.
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Well, it is still aged there which is really the art of bourbon. Larceny is one of my favorite cheap bourbons. I still have two bottles of White Dog (they call it their try box line) in my bar from my trip to Bardstown a few years back. It's right there next to the bottle of Makers that I dipped in the was myself.
 
flyingron said:
Well, it is still aged there which is really the art of bourbon. Larceny is one of my favorite cheap bourbons. I still have two bottles of White Dog (they call it their try box line) in my bar from my trip to Bardstown a few years back. It's right there next to the bottle of Makers that I dipped in the was myself.
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I like a few of Heaven Hill's stuff, the Evan Williams white label is really good for an inexpensive bourbon, and the Elijah Craig small batch is a good mid-priced bottle.
 
flyingron said:
As I mentioned earlier in the laws between Canada and the US. The WhistlePig ryes can't even be legally called Rye Whiskey in the US. Some have a lot of rye in them, some are less than the 51% required for the US (but quite common in Canada). So you have to carefully judge anything that claims to be "Rye" that comes from Canada.

The cheap WhistlePig is like 45% Rye and the rest is barley and wheat I think (the latter being an less common thing to blend into US whiskeys).
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AFAIK, all of their Rye Whiskeys are 51% ryes. They do include Canadian Rye that they finish (or not) in most of them because, despite the marketing appeal, you can't buy a farm, plant rye, and immediately have 10, 12, 18 year old Rye Whisky. But I don't think that affects the labeling requirements that the ingredients come over the border.

They do have a blend that's 45% Rye Whiskey, but it's labeled "Blended Whiskey," not "Rye Whiskey."

If you have information that they're selling something labeled "Rye Whiskey" that is less than 51% rye, I would be very interested to see it.

I haven't tried their 100% Vermont Rye, maybe I'd like it better than their Canadian blends.
 
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I almost bought a bottle of Bulleit Rye this morning but opted for a $9.99 Ice Fox vodka (holy carp, that stuff is going for as high as $35 a bottle online.)
 
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