Beam Pre-Pro Rye

I've been doing a big rye tasting that includes a lot of current off-the-shelf budget ryes, so I thought I would run down some of the ones I've never reviewed before. The Jim Beam Pre-Prohibition Rye first came out a few years ago. It's not really pre-prohibition of course. In fact, the Jim Beam company was founded after prohibition (though parent company Suntory existed well before American prohibition).

Jim Beam Pre-Prohibition Rye, 45% abv ($20)

It starts with a nice spicy rye aroma. The palate comes on sweet, followed by spice and some acidic notes which lead to a finish that is drier than the palate with some nice spice.

I'm not generally a fan of Beam ryes, but this one is pretty decent with more rye character than Beam ryes typically have. It was a bit too sweet on the palate, but otherwise came together well.

Thanks to Reid Bechtle for the sample. 

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye

Two years ago, Jim Murray made waves, as he is wont to do, by naming Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye as his whiskey of the year. I'm only now just getting around to trying it.

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye, 45% abv ($28)

This has a nice nose with spicy rye notes and a touch of mint. On the palate it's minty with bubblegum but then quite bitter. The finish is spicy with some medicinal notes.

This one starts nicely but then turns bitter and flat.

Thanks to Reid Bechtle for the sample and photo. 

Canadian Club 100% Rye

I'm still looking for good, affordable, available whiskey and it's hard to get more affordable than this. Canadian Club's 100% rye is distilled at Alberta Distillers (the distillery that makes most of the Canadian rye available in the US - Whistlepig, Masterson's, Jefferson's, Alberta Premium Dark Batch, etc.). This one comes from the actual owner of the distillery: Beam Suntory, and I picked it up for a whopping $13.

Canadian Club 100% Rye, 40% abv ($13)

The nose is botanical with lots of herbal notes and some honey sweetness. The palate is very light with some black tea, a very slight mint note and pepper leading into a peppery finish.  Overall it's quite bland.

This is a very light and soft compared to the bold mint and pickle notes in the American bottlings of Alberta rye. My guess would be that this is a blend. (You can have a 100% rye blend because Canadian blends combine base whiskies distilled to a very high proof with lower proof, more flavorful whiskeys). This could even be one of those base whiskeys. There's just not much to it. The saving grace is that I'm only out $13, as opposed to the $85 I frittered away on the WhistlePig Farmstock.

Vermont Whiskey at Last: WhistlePig Farmstock Rye

Seven years or so after coming onto the market, WhistlePig finally has made some of their own whiskey. Since its founding, most of WhistlePig's product has been Canadian rye made at Alberta Distillers, though they have also bottled some MGP rye from Indiana. Farmstock, their newest product, includes both of these but also some Vermont rye, presumably made at their own farm distillery.

WhistlePig's Farmstock whiskey is made up of 49% five year old Alberta rye, 31% 12 year old MGP rye and 20% one year old Vermont rye (and kudos to WhistlePig for disclosing all of this right on the label).

WhistlePig Farmstock Rye, Crop 001, 43% abv ($85)

The nose is typical WhistlePig and very nice, spicy with some pickle juice notes. The palate starts with some spice but very quickly turns bitter with raw wood notes which lead to a bitter finish.

This stuff is pretty bad. The nose has some nice qualities but the palate is flat and bitter like many craft whiskeys.  If you are going to drink it, give it lots of air, which takes off some of the rougher edges.

Dear WhistlePig, if this is what your Vermont distillate tastes like, please go back to sourcing your whiskey.

Sincerely,

Sku

The New Craft BIBs

Just a few years ago, it looked like the category of bonded whiskey was on its way out. In 2013, I made a list of all of the bottled in bond whiskeys available and could only identify 18, more than half from Heaven Hill and many of which were regional releases that weren't widely available. Only one of them, Anchor's Old Potrero, was from a craft producer.

Well, like many other things, craft whiskey seems to have brought back the bottled in bond category. Over the last couple of years, there has been a huge boom in new BIB whiskeys from craft producers, as well as more products from the big boys like Brown Forman and Beam. Here is a list of BIBs from the new distilleries that have either been released or cleared labels:

A.D. Laws Four Grain Bourbon
Dad's Hat Rye (Mountain Laurel Spirits)
Few Bourbon & Single Malt
Kings County Distillery Bourbon
Leopold Brothers Maryland Style Rye
North American Steamship Rye (Quincy Street Distillery)
Old Maysville Club Rye (Old Pogue)
Oregon Spirit Distillers Bourbon, Rye and Wheat Whiskey
Outryder American Whiskey (Wyoming Whiskey)
Peerless Rye (Kentucky Peerless)
Project No.l 1 Bourbon (Breuckelen Distilling)
Rocktown 5th Anniversary Bourbon
Tom's Foolery Bourbon, Rye & Corn Whiskey (as well as Applejack)
Wigle Rye (Pittsburgh Distilling)
Willett Bourbon

It's pretty impressive that in four years craft distillers have nearly doubled the number of BIB whiskeys on the market.  If I've missed any, please let me know in the comments.

Whiskey You Can Buy: Michter's Rye

As part of my effort to try more available and affordable whiskeys, today I'm trying Michter's Single Barrel Straight Rye, a sourced rye from the standard Michter's US*1 line.

Michter's US*1 Straight Rye, 3 years old, Barrel 16D581, 42.4% abv ($40)

The nose has soft minty notes. The mint comes on strong on the palate followed by sweet notes, creating a sweet mint tea type of flavor and closes with some acid. The finish tastes like breath mints.

All of this mint makes me think this is an MGP rye. The source isn't listed (nor is the state in contrast to the Michter's barrel proof rye which specifically states that it is Kentucky Straight Rye). Of course, this is a single barrel whiskey, so different barrels could be sourced from different distilleries.   

This is sweet and low proof; It's inoffensive and easy to drink, but not particularly interesting. If you have a sweet tooth - and like mint, it might be for you.

UPDATE: Michter's contacted me to let me know that the Michter's Straight Rye is a Kentucky rye. 

Thanks to Reid Bechtle for the sample and photo. 

2017 High West Bourye

High West sent me the new batch of their Bourye bourbon/rye blend. This year's batch is a blend of MGP whiskeys aged 10 to 14 years old and is composed of  a 75% corn/21% rye recipe bourbon the 95% rye.

High West Bourye, Batch 17A17, 46% abv. ($80)

The nose has oregano and spice. The palate opens with rye spice, then moves to bourbon sweetness. The finish is on the sweet side.

This is a very good whiskey with a nice balance of sweet and spice. Tasting it side by side with the 2016 Bourye, this one is a bit sweeter with more bourbon notes whereas the 2016 is spicier and more rye. I'd say I slightly prefer the 2016 but both are very good. Another good blend from High West.

Constellation Brands' Yippee Ki-Yay

There was big news a few weeks ago when Constellation Brand purchased High West. Constellation Brand formerly owned the Barton Distillery, but since selling it in 2009, they haven't had any American whiskey in their profile. High West, located in Utah, has been one of the break-out companies of the new whiskey boom. While they do distill, most of what they have released, and the whiskeys that have made a name for them, are blends of sourced whiskey, some of which, ironically, was distilled at the Barton Distillery.

With all this news, I thought it would be a good time to try one of High West's more recent offerings. Yippee Ki-Yay is High West's Double Rye (a mix of Barton and MGP rye) finished in Syrah and Vermouth casks.

High West Yippee Ki-Yay, 46% abv

The nose has a strong rye profile with lots of spice. On the palate it starts with rye but then the wine comes in and gives a really nice balance to the rye. Soon after that, boom, it's all vermouth.  Those botanical vermouth notes are big and stay with you through the finish, which pretty much tastes like you've been drinking a Manhattan.

This is a fun rye, but the vermouth notes are a bit overwhelming. I would have liked to taste the portion that was only finished in Syrah casks.

Thanks to Florin for the sample.

Stupid Whiskey: Booker's Rye

Some of you will recall that I had an on-line melt-down when I heard that Jim Beam's new 13 year old Booker's Rye would be priced at a whopping $300. To me, this was symptomatic of everything that is wrong with the whiskey world today. That discussion wasn't so much about the whiskey itself as about whiskey's soaring prices. Now I have a sample of this stuff, so let's see if it's truly worth the gargantuan price tag.

Booker's Rye, 13 years old, 68.1% abv ($300)

The nose is understated with light rye and caramel. The palate has sweet hot cocoa, simple syrup and light medicinal notes but not a lot of rye character, which is typical of Beam ryes (though this one is supposed to have a higher rye mashbill than their standard rye). The finish is sweet and mild.

This is a perfectly decent whiskey that's soft and sweet but has very little rye character. As with most Beam rye whiskeys, it's a good rye for people who don't like rye. Those folks who like their whiskey "smooth" will love it.

Is it worth the price? Definitely not for me - not even close, but if people are willing to buy sweet, not very flavorful whiskey for $300, who am I to tell Beam Suntory that the price is too high? Hell, they should probably get some kind of marketing award for convincing anyone to buy this stuff. Welcome to the whiskey world of 2016; please empty your pockets at the door!

Luckily, not every company is following Beam Suntory's lead. Later this week, I'll review a whiskey that's the anti-Booker's Rye in both flavor and price.

Thanks to FussyChicken for the sample.

More Craft Whiskey: Union Horse Bourbon & Rye

Union Horse is a craft distillery located outside of Kansas City (on the Kansas side). Founded in 2010 as Dark Horse Distillery with the help of craft whiskey consultant David Pickerell, they source grains locally, mill them at the distillery, distill in a copper pot still and age in full sized, 53 gallon Missouri oak barrels.

Today I'm tasting a bourbon and a rye. Both are straight whiskeys which is always good to see from craft producers (though still fairly rare).  They seem to go for $50-$60 with the rye being slightly more expensive.

Union Horse Reserve Straight Bourbon, 2 years old, Batch 2, 46% abv

Union Horse uses a somewhat unique bourbon mashbill consisting of 80% corn and 20% rye. The oldest whiskeys used for this bourbon are five years old but the age statement is 2 years. The nose on this is grainy. The palate is tinny and a bit watery with vanilla notes. The finish is dry and grainy.
 
Union Horse Reunion Straight Rye, 2 years old, Batch 1, 46.5% abv

This is made from a 100% rye mashbill. It has a really nice nose with rye and some Charbay like hops notes. The palate has that tiny-grainy taste so typical of craft whiskey. The finish turns spicy but bitter. It's got a great nose, but it declines sharply after that.

For me, this is yet another craft whiskey that seems to be trying really hard and doing all of the right things on paper but still disappoints. Maybe it's the flavor of the pot stills or maybe this stuff is just too young, but these whiskeys taste like so many other grainy/tinny craft whiskeys. Check out The Whiskey Jug though, because he really liked both the Union Horse Bourbon and Reunion Rye.

Thanks to FleishmanHillard for the sample.

Booker's Rye: Is Whiskey Over?

Last week, Beam Suntory hosted a group of some of the highest profile whiskey bloggers and journalists at the Jim Beam Distillery for a tasting of Booker's Rye. Needless to say, I wasn't invited, but you can read about it on Chuck Cowdery's blog or Bourbonr.

The news that emerged from this press junket was that the new Booker's Rye will be a cask strength, 13 year old rye using a higher rye mashbill than Beam's other ryes and that it will retail for $300. Now, the bloggers who Beam hosted seemed to think this was a great rye, and I have no reason to doubt that (well, except...Beam), but $300 is a lot of money.

American whiskey prices have been heading in this direction for a while now. Wild Turkey, Michter's and Willett have all been pushing the envelope on prices, but $300 for a 13 year old rye is pretty extreme. In addition, the fact that this is Beam is important because they are the biggest game in town and have the power to set the standard for things like this. That being said, I'm not here to argue whether it's a fair price or not; those arguments have been made ad nauseam on numerous blogs and forums. Yes, the whiskey market is hot right now, yes there is a dearth of aged rye on the market, yes if it was reasonably priced it would just get bought up by flippers and resold for even more.

What saddens me is how out of reach these whiskeys have become for the average drinker. Sure, there are still plenty of decent, affordable, everyday whiskeys out there, but it used to be that someone could get really into American whiskey and taste some of the special stuff without shelling out three figures. Those days are clearly on their way out.

I never set out to write a blog about hard-to-get luxury items. While I've tasted and reviewed rare and expensive whiskey, the bulk of what I've written about has always been stuff that I think most of my readers could buy without breaking the bank. I don't have the stomach or the wallet for a world where $300 rye is the norm.

For my blog, this is an existential question. Should I still be blogging about whiskey at all or is it now akin to blogging about beluga caviar, yachts or Lamborghinis?  As I said, there are decent, affordable whiskeys out there, but I've already written about most of those, and how many blog posts do you need about Four Roses Single Barrel? After nine years of blogging, maybe I should just go ahead and call it a night before I hit the double digits...or transition into Sku's Recent Brandy.

So, I have some questions for you. What does the $300 Booker's Rye mean for American whiskey? Is it a big deal or am I overstating it? Is there anything in the whiskey world worth discussing or reading about anymore or should this be the end (at least for me)?  I eagerly await your responses.

High West 16 Year Old Rocky Mountain Rye

Earlier this week, I tasted High West's new release of Bourye. Today, I taste another new version of a previous release. The original High West 16 year old Rocky Mountain Rye was one of my favorite of all High West whiskeys. It was made from a Barton rye with an 80% rye mashbill.  They recently brought back the 16 year old, but now it's a blend of that original Barton rye with 16 year old MGP rye with the standard 95% rye mashbill.

This is a small release (100 cases) only available at the new High West distillery at Blue Sky Ranch that will be released each year on Labor Day. This one came out last year and, I believe, is sold out.

High West Rocky Mountain Rye, 16 years old, Batch 15G07, 46% abv ($130)

This has a great, complex nose with rye spice, sweet floral notes, bubblegum and cotton candy. The palate starts sweet and then turns highly medicinal, leading into a medicinal finish that fades into a nice sweet/spicy balance.

This was another good, bold rye from High West. The influence of the MGP is certainly evident in the medicinal notes. As with the original Bourye, it's been a long time since I tasted the original 16 year old so it's hard to compare, but going by memory, I would say that this one, while good and very enjoyable, is not quite as good as the first all-Barton edition.

The Return of Bourye

High West opened up a new category when it first introduced Bourye in 2010. A blend of 10 year old Four Roses Bourbon, 12 year old LDI rye and 16 year old Barton Rye, it wasn't the first blend of bourbon and rye (blended whiskey has a long, if sketchy, history) but it was the first in recent memory to create a premium blend of the two American whiskeys. As those older whiskeys started to dry up, High West introduced the Son of Bourye, made from younger components.

Now, High West has rereleased Bourye as a limited release. The new Bourye is all all MGP affair, made up of three whiskeys: a 9 year old bourbon, a 13 year old rye and a 17 year old rye.

High West Bourye, Batch 16A13, 46% abv ($70)

This has a great bold, rye nose with a touch of maple syrup. The palate is much drier than the nose would indicate. It has good rye spice, a touch of sweetness which comes up quickly, then fades and is followed by a mild bitterness. The finish is dry and spicy with some nice sandalwood notes on the nose.

It's been a long time since I tried the original recipe Bourye, but based on my memory of it, this one has less bourbon character and tastes much more like a rye. While it's different from the original, it's quite good in its own right with lots of bold rye notes and a nice dryness to it.

Thanks to High West for the sample.

Uncooked: Coppersea Green Malt Rye

Coppersea is a craft distillery in New York's Hudson Valley. Their Green Malt Rye is made from 100% floor-malted rye which is distilled in direct fire stills and aged in 15 gallon new charred oak barrels. Interestingly, they call their rye "unkilned" because it is not cooked after malting, just ground, fermented and distilled.

This bottle was distilled in October 2014 and is listed as .6 years old.

Coppersea Green Malt Rye, .6 years old, Batch 15-2, 45% abv ($95 for 375 ml)

The nose is young but complex with strong grassy and grainy notes. These eventually settle and yield to some maraschino cherries. On the palate it starts raw and woody, like a whiskey aged in small barrels, but behind that there is a lot of flavor, including those grassy notes from the nose and a malty note, more like malted milk than the malt notes that typically come from rye malt. The finish has pencil shavings, dry autumn leaves and beer.

This has some of the raw notes I dislike in craft whiskeys, but there is more going on here. There is definitely some complexity on the palate that you don't see in most craft whiskeys. The more I taste it, the more interesting I find it and the more I want another sip.  That being said, $95 for a half bottle is a crazy price for this, which is too bad, because it's one of the few craft whiskeys I might recommend if the price were somewhere close to reasonable. 

Thanks to Christopher Dion of Young's Co. Market for the sample.

The Flavoring Game

A few months ago, Templeton Rye announced that it settled a lawsuit which had alleged that it had used misleading labeling.  This brouhaha largely dealt with sourcing issues and was one of many lawsuits filed after a Daily Beast article about sourcing whiskey went viral last summer.

But whiskey geeks have known about sourcing for years. One of the biggest revelations to come out around the Templeton Rye lawsuit was not that Templeton sources its whiskey from MGP in Indiana, we all know that, but that they also use flavoring additives provided by a Louisville company called Clarendon Flavors. This was revealed last year on an episode of Mark Gillespie's WhiskyCast.

While few of us guessed that Templeton was adding flavoring, it's all perfectly legal because Templeton is not labeled "straight" whiskey.  As I've noted before, according to the TTB regulations, rye, wheat and malt whiskeys that are not labeled "straight" can have up to 2.5% "harmless coloring, flavoring, or blending materials."  27 CFR 5.23. These can include caramel, sugar, oak chips, wine or other whiskeys.

I was curious as to what other whiskeys were adding flavoring and what exactly they were adding, so I started looking into it. The most important thing I learned was that no one wants to talk about flavoring.
For instance, I contacted a number of other producers of non-straight rye whiskey to ask if they use flavoring.

Knob Creek Rye is now labeled as straight but initially was not.  I asked if they used flavoring in the non-straight rye. The company did not respond.

George Dickel Rye, which like Templeton is sourced from MGP, is not labeled straight. Interestingly, Diageo's other MGP rye, Bulleit, is labeled straight. That being said, none of the Dickel line of products is labeled straight. In any case, the company did not reply to my inquiry.

Angel's Envy markets a straight bourbon finished in port casks and a non-straight rye finished in rum casks.  I had numerous exchanges with Angel's Envy's Wes Henderson but could not get him to give me a  "straight" yes or no answer about whether they use flavoring in the rye.

Unlike rye, bourbon, even if not straight, may not include flavoring additives without disclosing them as part of the label description. Recently, Sazerac has cleared new labels for "bourbon whiskey with natural flavors" for Kentucky Tavern, Ancient Age and Ten High.  I asked why they were adding flavoring to those whiskeys and what exactly they were using as flavoring. I was told that information is "proprietary and confidential."

Jeez, you'd think I was poking into a matter of national security.  I can't understand why whiskey companies are so unwilling to tell customers about the ingredients in the whiskey we purchase. There is no legal issue here as they are allowed to use a certain amount of flavoring and coloring additives. Presumably, the companies that use flavoring believe it improves their whiskey or else they wouldn't use it. Other whiskeys are known to use additives, including Scotch (coloring) and Canadian Whiskey, and their sales don't seem to suffer, but something about flavoring makes American companies go dark.

Are there flavoring and coloring additives in some American whiskeys? Clearly there are. There are flavoring companies that are in this business, and we have at least one documented case in Templeton. I would appeal to the companies to exercise a bit more transparency and let us know what they add and why. Meanwhile, keep in mind that any rye that isn't labeled straight can legally include additives.

Why I Don't Review the BTAC

A reader asked:

How come you never review the BTAC? Every year, they are the hottest releases (along with Pappy) and most other folks seem to review them but not you. What gives?

For those of you who have been spending your hard earned money elsewhere, BTAC is the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, the annual release of three bourbons and two ryes: George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Eagle Rare 17, Sazerac 18 and Thomas H. Handy. Well, there are three reasons I don't review the BTAC anymore (and these all apply to Pappy Van Winkle as well):

1.  I can't get them. I don't have any magic whiskey blogger powers that get me free stuff. While I get the occasional free sample from a small producer, I don't get samples from any of the big whiskey companies. The vast majority of my reviews are from (1) whiskey I bought; or (2) whiskey that a friend shared with me, and like everyone else, I can't get the BTAC. But even if I could get the BTAC, I wouldn't review it because...

2. No one else can get it. It's the proverbial tree falling in the forest.  If you review a whiskey that no one can drink, does it matter? It's true that I do my share of reviews of rare and hard to get whiskeys, but there has to be something interesting or unique about them. I know my readers can't go out and buy a 1930s Maryland rye, but I figure they might want to know what it tastes like. If I can find them, I will also review other hard to get annual releases like Parker's Heritage Collection or Four Roses Small Batch, but the difference between them and BTAC is....

3. The BTAC doesn't change from year to year. I don't review it every year for the same reason I don't review Elijah Crag 12 every year. It's the same whiskey (and for Sazerac 18, which has been in steel tanks for around ten years, it's literally the same whiskey). Sure there are some variations from year to year, but that's true of lots of releases of the same stuff. If you like Stagg or Weller, you'll probably like it every year, plus or minus a year or two, but since you can't find it anyway, who cares?

Now, that being said, there are a number of folks who are able to review the BTAC every year and do a good job of it which is all the more reason for me not to bother with it. For me, it's just not something that's worth the effort.

Wild Turkey 101 Rye

Since I recently reviewed the newest edition of Rittenhouse Rye, I thought I would do the same with Wild Turkey 101 Rye. For years, 101 rye was a great, budget rye. Then, in 2012, Wild Turkey announced that it was temporarily taking it off the market and putting out an 81 proof rye. We were all worried that the 101 would be gone for good or would come back with a huge price tag. Luckily, it returned, though it did see a price hike. It seems to only come in liter bottles now and goes for $40 (so they increased the volume by a third but doubled the price  - maybe they thought with the bigger bottle we wouldn't notice). Let's see how it tastes.

Wild Turkey 101 Rye, 50.5% ($40 for 1 liter)

The nose opens with soft rye notes and some bourbon-style caramel. On the palate, it's much more bourbon like than I remember, with a lot of light, Evan Williams type notes and vanilla.  Toward the end of the palate, the rye spice kicks in and you get some nice baking spice notes. The finish has light vanilla and baking spice notes but is fairly short.

This is still a very decent rye, but it's not as bold as the older version I remember. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a decent rye for a pretty good price (though no longer really a budget option).

Thanks to Funky Tape for the sample.

Dusty Thursday: Mount Vernon Rye

You never know what will pop up at an LA Whiskey Society blind tasting, and at the most recent meeting, featuring both Scotch and American whiskey, we were lucky enough to try an old Maryland rye.  Mount Vernon was a National Distillers brand, and this one was distilled at the Hannis Distillery in Baltimore in 1934, just after prohibition ended. It was bottled in 1939.


Mount Vernon Rye, Bottled in Bond, 1934/1939 50% abv

On the nose it has those great sandalwood notes that old ryes have. The palate is syrupy sweet with grape juice notes and then more of than sandalwood from the nose along with spicy rye that's more familiar from current rye whiskeys.  The finish is full of spearmint and spice.

Maryland ryes had the reputation for being sweet and fruity (and some say fruit juice was a common additive in the pre-regulated days), but this one was a bit too sweet for me, and that sweetness got in the way of those wonderful sandalwood and spice notes that I love in old rye.  That being said, it was certainly decent and a lot of fun to try.

Redemption Barrel Proof Rye

Redemption Rye is an MGP rye sold by Dynamic Spirits. Besides being barrel proof, this expression has an age statement, is labeled "straight" and discloses on the label that it's distilled in Indiana so it meets all the whiskey geek criteria.  Now how does it taste?

Redemption Barrel Proof Rye, 7 years old, Batch 6, 61.3% ($100)

On the nose you get a big hit of MGP rye right away with huge bold spicy notes. The palate is similarly bold and spicy as you would expect but it's nicely balanced with some sweetness.  Toward the late palate, though, it gets bitter and the bitterness hangs on until the finish; it's an almost Campari type of bitter note.  Eventually, the bitterness fades and you're left with a lot of pine type notes. Water brings out sweet mint tea (another traditional MGP note) on the palate but doesn't do anything to cut the bitter notes in the late palate and finish.

While the ending notes were too heavy on the bitterness, this rye has great, bold rye notes. It's definitely one of the stronger MGP ryes I've tasted, and I wouldn't hesitate to pour a glass or use it in a cocktail.  If they could cut the bitter notes, it would be fantastic.

The New Rittenhouse 100

Since I reviewed the new Pikesville Rye from Heaven Hill earlier this week, I thought I would check up on Heaven Hill's standard rye offering: Rittenhouse 100.

For many years after a fire demolished the old Bardstown, Kentucky Heaven Hill distillery in 1996, Rittenhouse Rye was made for Heaven Hill by Brown Forman.  Within the last year or two, Heaven Hill's own distillate, from the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville which it purchased after the fire, has started to appear in Rittenhouse bottles. I haven't done a formal review since the Brown Forman days so I thought it would be interesting to have a taste.

Rittenhouse 100, Bottled in Bond, 50% abv ($25)

The nose has honey and spice; it smells like the baking aisle in a market. On the palate, the spice is in the forefront followed by the honey and some more perfume type notes. The finish is slightly bitter with a touch of honey sweetness.

This is quite different than my memories of the Rittenhouse distilled at Brown Forman and not in a good way. The sweet honey notes are a bit too prominent for my tastes. The honey gives it a floral/perfume note that hides some of the spice, and I don't generally like a lot of perfume in my whiskey. It's a very disappointing result for a whiskey that used to be an old standby at a great price.