Bourbon, Rye and American Whiskey

Sazerac Rye.

Really good, me and my mate polished off basically a whole bottle straight.

Still on offer on Amazon £31 so ordered another one, very very good, added to the chart of the first post.
 
Bulleit 10 year.

Really high expectations for this as Bulleit is one of my favourites but a bit like Wild Turkey 101, yes they pack more flavour but but it's got a harshness to it I don't like, shame.
 
James Cree's Cattle Ranch.

Pretty average, smooth enough but a bit bland, almost thin tasting. Wouldn't bother again but definitely had worse.
 
My experience Woodford Reserve from 10 years ago was bottled at a higher ABV,and was more complex tasting. Modern Woodford Reserve,especially for the European market is watered down and is less complex IMHO(but it also became cheaper as it was a more relatively expensive product in the past). Try and get the near 46% ABV version if you can.Even Wild Turkey 101 was 8 year aged stated back in the day,and has moved to NAS! :( At least from my memory of older ones 10 years ago it seemed better back then. Elijah Craig Small Batch isn't as good as the Elijah Craig 12 it replaced at a higher price. But then 10 years ago,I remember picking up a bottle of Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year Old for under £80 IIRC! :D

Also had Knob Creek 9 year old and NAS single batch bottle - these are the extra aged and higher ABV versions of Jim Beam Black,and the flavour profile is relatively mild too with a short finish(it's what I call inoffensive but very drinkable). I can see why people don't like Eagle Rare. It has that extra Oakiness/Chocolate which might or might not be offputting,and the finish can be quite long compared to some others around the same price mark. It is also quite sweet IMHO,and certainly against stuff like Knob Creek or JD. With Eagle Rare 10,it opens up more after you had it open for a while. Certain bottles from 2016~2018 apparently had more Oakiness/Chocolate because Buffalo Trace ran out of 10 year old Mash #1 whiskies and had to use even older whiskies closer to 12 years old.

It's a big deal in the US at RRP,because its age stated and the Yanks do tend to like the flavour profile. Interestingly the UK RRP is very close to the US RRP,and sometimes Eagle Rare 10 can end up cheaper in the UK than parts of the US!:eek:

Another similar product is EH Taylor which is aged between 7~9 years,but in more controlled climatic conditions.

However,in the UK its utterly overpriced even for samples,so have not tried it myself.

The Whiskeyshelf does a very good comparison of all 3 whiskies:
https://www.thewhiskeyshelf.com/buffalo-trace-comparison-buffalo-trace-vs-eagle-rare/
https://www.thewhiskeyshelf.com/er10-vs-ehtsb/

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JD Single Barrel is a bit meh IMHO,at least the times I had it- it didn't seem to gel together for me(duff barrels?). JD Single Barrel Barrel Proof,is another animal. A far more complex initial mouthfeel,and the initial Oak notes,seem really well integrated with the longer palate in comparison. I can see why its rated as a Whiskey. I don't know whether the latter just uses better quality single barrels.

@BUDFORCE I see you rate Makers Mark(wheated bourbon) at the top of your list. Buffalo Trace do their own wheated Bourbons - Kosher Wheat,WL Weller and Van Winkle Special Reserve. The cheapest one to try is Buffalo Trace Kosker Wheat(£36 at The Whisky World which again is a cheaper street price in the UK than many places in the US!). Larceny and 1792 Sweet Wheat are some other ones.
 
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@CAT-THE-FIFTH

The list I did takes price into account. So not saying Makers Mark is the best Bourbon Whiskey ever, bit considering it's often on offer for £20, in my opinion, it's the best bottle you'll get at that price, and better than many of the more expensive ones I've tried.

Edit: Also if I'm honest that list is mainly for my own benefit, but seemed a good place to keep it. Just so I can keep track of what I've had. If it helps others as a rough guide that's a bonus, taste is of course subjective.
 
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BUDFORCE said:
@CAT-THE-FIFTH

The list I did takes price into account. So not saying Makers Mark is the best Bourbon Whiskey ever, bit considering it's often on offer for £20, in my opinion, it's the best bottle you'll get at that price, and better than many of the more expensive ones I've tried.

Edit: Also if I'm honest that list is mainly for my own benefit, but seemed a good place to keep it. Just so I can keep track of what I've had. If it helps others as a rough guide that's a bonus, taste is of course subjective.
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What would be your top 10 on the list outside of budget? There are a few on the list I haven't tried myself,so also hunting around for new stuff myself!

I think a useful thing for future reference,is to also keep a mental note of what type of mash builds are in your favourite whiskies:
https://modernthirst.com/home/bourbon-whiskey-mash-bills/

At least looking at the price adjusted list - a lot of your top rated bourbons,have a higher than average rye content(outside the wheated ones).
 
CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
What would be your top 10 on the list outside of budget? There are a few on the list I haven't tried myself,so also hunting around for new stuff myself!
.
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Jefferson's very small batch
Sazerac Rye
1792 Small Batch
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage
Wild Turkey Longbranch

Those as a top 5, particularly those two at the top are very good. I've had two bottles of that Jeffersons, both I got on offer about £35 and it was really good. There are some I have had my eye on for a long while but too expensive, I
mainly buy them from Amazon and add them in my shopping basket as "save for later" then keep an eye on the price.

I won't spend more than about £35 on a bottle out of principal and even then that would be a rare occasion, the mitchers range one is on offer now £45 but that's too much for me, although I do want to try it.

I have ordered from whiskey exchange and master of malt a few times in the past, and I buy them in Tesco quite regularly they have good deals.

My issue with spending more is some of those bottles were like £35 on offer, so normally heading towards £50 and they've not been good, Elijah Craig for example is not a cheap bottle and personally though it was pretty bad.

If I spent £40+ on a bottle and it turned out not to be great I'd get annoyed, particularly when I know I can just get Makers or Bulleit for £20 and really enjoy it.






 
BUDFORCE said:
Jefferson's very small batch
Sazerac Rye
1792 Small Batch
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage
Wild Turkey Longbranch

Those as a top 5, particularly those two at the top are very good. I've had two bottles of that Jeffersons, both I got on offer about £35 and it was really good. There are some I have had my eye on for a long while but too expensive, I
mainly buy them from Amazon and add them in my shopping basket as "save for later" then keep an eye on the price.

I won't spend more than about £35 on a bottle out of principal and even then that would be a rare occasion, the mitchers range one is on offer now £45 but that's too much for me, although I do want to try it.

I have ordered from whiskey exchange and master of malt a few times in the past, and I buy them in Tesco quite regularly they have good deals.

My issue with spending more is some of those bottles were like £35 on offer, so normally heading towards £50 and they've not been good, Elijah Craig for example is not a cheap bottle and personally though it was pretty bad.

If I spent £40+ on a bottle and it turned out not to be great I'd get annoyed, particularly when I know I can just get Makers or Bulleit for £20 and really enjoy it.
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Thanks for the list. 1792 Small Batch and WT Longbranch are both on offer too. The first 3 have higher than average Rye amounts. WRT to cost,I find its better to wait for a samples/miniature sale at Master Of Malt or The Whisky Exchange,and then you can do a comparison otherwise you might get stuck on a bottle you might not like. I agree once you go past £35 it becomes more of a risk - at least with a bottle under that if you don't like,it does not feel as much of a waste using it as a mixer.

Elijah Craig has an interesting history. The original age stated Elijah Craig 12 and Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage use the same Heaven Hill mash blend - the main difference is that the former was aged for around 12 years and the latter for around 10 years and bottled at a lower ABV. Hence the Elijah Craig 12,was basically a stronger,more intense and Oakier version of Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage(but Small Batch not Single Barrel OFC).

However,a few years ago Heaven Hill started to divert the 12 year old whiskey stocks to other products,so Elijah Craig became NAS. From what I gather its apparently around 8 years now. The new version is universally inferior to the older Age Stated bottling! :( But the issue in the UK,was not only did the price slightly rise,but then we have the more recent 25% bourbon import duty added on top.I tried the NAS version,and its worse for me than the 12 year old one,whilst being closer to £50(instead of the £25~£35 it used to cost). I did see it on offer for £37,but it would need to be around £30 for me to consider actually buying a bottle of it to do a more in-depth tasting.

BTW,I have tried the Mitchers Rye and compared it with Sazerac. It does have less Oakiness on the initial palate,and a more fuller flavour afterwords. It was quite nice IMHO,but its too expensive in the UK IMHO. However,if you do a lot of Subscribe and Save on Amazon,its possible to get it for £39:
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/mi...erican-whiskey-70cl-417-abv-ps3893-ss-3860509

Even Rittenhouse Rye which gets some decent reviews,is very expensive in the UK($25 but £40 over here,so Sazerac is comparatively better priced!)
 
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I'm drinking Samuel Joe's (Aldi) bourbon £12.99 was given a bottle.

Trying to decide if it's better than regular Jack Daniels and I think it probably is.

Not that sets the bar high.
 
Can anyone recommend me a rye?

I’ve tried Bulleit rye, which I like neat with some ice and also Rittenhouse.

I want something that’s nice neat and also good as mixer, perhaps with coke, so don’t want to spend a lot if I do use as a mixer, but ideally If I drink straight it needs to be nice as well. Perhaps Sazerak is that good neat and mixed?
 
beachBOYken said:
Can anyone recommend me a rye?

I’ve tried Bulleit rye, which I like neat with some ice and also Rittenhouse.

I want something that’s nice neat and also good as mixer, perhaps with coke, so don’t want to spend a lot if I do use as a mixer, but ideally If I drink straight it needs to be nice as well. Perhaps Sazerak is that good neat and mixed?
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Do you prefer Bulleit Rye or Rittenouse?

Bulleit Rye is using an MGP high Rye 95% mashbill and Sazerac 51% Rye so is less "spicy" and I found it more a halfway house between a Rye and a Bourbon,and does have more woodiness to it(closer to Rittenhouse IMHO as it is also 51% Rye). Lot40 is a 100% Canadian Rye - not tried it myself but I have heard good things about. Amazon have it for around £35 currently.
 
CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
Do you prefer Bulleit Rye or Rittenouse?

Bulleit Rye is using an MGP high Rye 95% mashbill and Sazerac 51% Rye so is less "spicy" and I found it more a halfway house between a Rye and a Bourbon,and does have more woodiness to it(closer to Rittenhouse IMHO as it is also 51% Rye). Lot40 is a 100% Canadian Rye - not tried it myself but I have heard good things about. Amazon have it for around £35 currently.
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I liked both but out of the two I liked Rittenhouse more.
 
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