I tried Rye for the first time just a while back, so I’ve been trying all I can and doing a little digging. Despite all the stories on the label and on the Web, a lot of this booze comes from just one or two places. Templeton Rye and Bulleit Rye have a similar taste for a reason, for example.
Old Overholt is a keeper. Funny thing is, it’s apparently almost the exact same stuff as Jim Beam Rye.
So far my favorites are Russell’s Reserve Rye (a Wild Turkey product), Sazerac Rye (the 6 year version from Buffalo Trace) and Rittenhouse, which has a wholly-justified bandwagon as far as I’m concerned.
Haven’t tried the Wild Turkey Rye yet, but I’m optimistic.
The belief that Bourbon only comes from Kentucky is a common mistake. Any spirit with a mash bill of more than 51% corn, aged for at least 2 years in charred American oak barrels is Bourbon.
What can only come from Kentucky is “Kentucky Bourbon”.
Wild Turkey rye is kind of boring. Sazerac 6 is excellent and not too spendy either. As you noted the Bulleit lacks character, but at least it is cheap, therefore reasonable to use as a mixer.
Michter’s is shit, but then to make up for being shit it is ruinously expensive. Don’t even bother.
My new favorite rye is the Pennsylvania-distiller Dad’s Hat, which tastes a lot like Old Potrero but at half (or less, depending on where you are) the price.
Belle Meade: hints of okra and wild grasses, and the cooling warmth of a gentle touch. Good color, but poor texture.
Just kidding. We started with Buffalo Trace because it was the 5 dollar special, ya’ll. I thought it was the easiest to drink. Pretty mild. I got another round at the end of the night and they brought it out straight. Jeez, people drink it like that? Eventually I admitted defeat and had them throw some ice in there.
I tried Four Roses next because someone said it was sweet. It tasted like bourbon to me. Nothing special.
Then I had Belle Meade. It tasted even stronger. It also had a smoky taste (is that how scotch is?) I didn’t like it much. The waiter said that it was a 150 year old recipe rediscovered by family members recently. He later admitted it was distilled in Indiana, haha.
I had a major hangover the next morning even though I didn’t feel very drunk that night.
The next day I had some Woodford. It seemed good but they put too much ice in there. I have a bottle at home so I can try it again later.
No liquor at the wedding tonight, just wine and beer.
Did I say I wasn’t calling it bourbon because I believed bourbon could only come from Kentucky? No. Do not assign me beliefs, I work very hard to have none.
29 restaurants including 12 TGIF locations in New Jersey.
Caramel + Rubbing Alcohol = Scotch.
Other places used “dirty water”. As in not tap water. Where did they get this, the toilet?
Not all of it. Islay Scotches (Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, others I don’t know offhand) tend to have that sort of flavor. Other regions can be a little less like drinking a peat fire (which I find to be a pleasant sensation <.<).
Mmmm . . . Ardbeg. I shamefully admit that I often doctor lesser scotches with a splash, it improves them vastly. Occasionally I’ll try it straight but damn, it is a house (and bog) afire.
It’s not so much that it’s a firebomb as that it seems to have less depth to it than other firebombs I quite like. For me, Ardbeg didn’t really live up to its reputation as an Islay scotch for people who think Islay scotches have gotten too tame.
Oh well. It’s not as though it’s unpleasant or anything. I’ll enjoy the rest of this bottle and maybe try the Laphroaig 18-year next—the only good thing about Pennsylvania state liquor stores’ wacky pricing is that occasionally works out in my favor, and there’s a bottle sitting on the shelf there for $60 or $65.
I agree, it’s over the top with peat and only useful for that, in the 10 year. Laph has a much better balance, but is also less peaty so it just depends on what I’m feeling like.
Man, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted in this thread because it’s Friday and I’m having whiskey. But the stars seemed to align tonight, so cheers, my Internet whiskey friends!
I have been working my way through different varieties of scotch and I want a clear, full on super peatmoss scotch with little to no smoke. I have no idea if that’s even possible but I can do without the smoke; especially since I can’t really tell yet what exactly peat should taste like.
My latest purchase, Lagavulin 16, I didn’t mind at all but my wife forbid me from drinking it within 30 feet of her. She has one of the least nuanced noses imaginable but apparently she loathes the smell.
My favorite so far is the Glenlivet 12 and I also like the Glenfiddich but I understand it’s probably boring for Scotch aficionados.
Aren’t smokiness and peatiness one and the same? The peat flavor is transmitted to the malt via the smoke from the peat fires. I don’t see how you can have one without the other, but I’m no expert either.
