:shock:
NOOOOOOOO, not in one night, but over an extended period of time. I have finally composed my thoughts on Pikesville rye and also Rittenhouse, enough to make final judgments concerning where I would place them in my efforts to seek out enough rye whiskeys to form a Top Ten list.
Rittenhouse, 100 proof - Where's the beef? Okay, it's a very nice belly warmer and the alcohol content, when sipped slowly, does give a pleasant head. But, . . .
it has no flavor, and so, it gets no place, . . .
in my cabinet any more.
Pikesville, 80 proof, four years old - According to the label, it is distilled in Kentucky from an old Maryland formula. Nice, give me an intriguing story and you've sold me, right? All of a sudden, lousy whiskey will turn my head when I taste it, because I'll be thinking, . . .
"but it was invented by an old Puerto Rican Jew from Maryland!" :dunno:
Well, Pikesville is no great shakes either, but it has to go on the Top Ten rye list by default. I hear there's a rye revival going on in this country, and I guess that's true, but some of these guys had better start to figure out how to get more flavor in some of their whiskeys, because that's the main problem with Pikesville, too. A bit of that nice, grainy, nutty taste, with a touch of spicy oak and occasional light medicinal flavors, all backed by a touch of clover honey.
Sounds good, right? Well, you really have to search too much to find that flavor profile, but because I've tried a number of ryes, here's my completed Top Ten, which no doubt will undergo some changes this winter, as bourbon/rye season is coming soon.
The Bloofingtonian Top 10 of Rye
1. The Classic Cask Single Batch 22 year old
2. Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 year old
3. The Classic Cask Single Batch 21 year old
4. Sazerac 18 year old
5. Old Overholt
6. Jim Beam Rye
7. Wild Turkey Rye
8. A.H. Hirsch 13 year old
9. Pikesville
10. Michter’s
By the way, the first six, no problem with flavor. The next four and one or two others that I've tried, welllllllll, problems detecting flavor, that's the main issue with these rye whiskeys.
NOOOOOOOO, not in one night, but over an extended period of time. I have finally composed my thoughts on Pikesville rye and also Rittenhouse, enough to make final judgments concerning where I would place them in my efforts to seek out enough rye whiskeys to form a Top Ten list.
Rittenhouse, 100 proof - Where's the beef? Okay, it's a very nice belly warmer and the alcohol content, when sipped slowly, does give a pleasant head. But, . . .
it has no flavor, and so, it gets no place, . . .
in my cabinet any more.
Pikesville, 80 proof, four years old - According to the label, it is distilled in Kentucky from an old Maryland formula. Nice, give me an intriguing story and you've sold me, right? All of a sudden, lousy whiskey will turn my head when I taste it, because I'll be thinking, . . .
"but it was invented by an old Puerto Rican Jew from Maryland!" :dunno:
Well, Pikesville is no great shakes either, but it has to go on the Top Ten rye list by default. I hear there's a rye revival going on in this country, and I guess that's true, but some of these guys had better start to figure out how to get more flavor in some of their whiskeys, because that's the main problem with Pikesville, too. A bit of that nice, grainy, nutty taste, with a touch of spicy oak and occasional light medicinal flavors, all backed by a touch of clover honey.
Sounds good, right? Well, you really have to search too much to find that flavor profile, but because I've tried a number of ryes, here's my completed Top Ten, which no doubt will undergo some changes this winter, as bourbon/rye season is coming soon.
The Bloofingtonian Top 10 of Rye
1. The Classic Cask Single Batch 22 year old
2. Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 year old
3. The Classic Cask Single Batch 21 year old
4. Sazerac 18 year old
5. Old Overholt
6. Jim Beam Rye
7. Wild Turkey Rye
8. A.H. Hirsch 13 year old
9. Pikesville
10. Michter’s
By the way, the first six, no problem with flavor. The next four and one or two others that I've tried, welllllllll, problems detecting flavor, that's the main issue with these rye whiskeys.
