AVB
Jesus of Cool, I'm bad, I'm nationwide
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2003
- Messages
- 22,984
On July 19th I invited some BOTLs over for a Rye tasting. We tasted 5 different rye whiskies before getting down to the serious drinking 
In the order of tasting with notes from the participants. The tasters were myself, Tone-ny, rob300c and Cigardawg. All samples were reduced to 90 proof and the other three didn't know what they were sampling until I reveled it at the end.
The Tasting notes form was broken down to:
Color
Body
Nose
Tasting
Finish
Overall
I will be following that format here too so without any more delay here is the fourth review.
4. Willett Single Barrel Rye, 22 yo, private bottling, 136.7 proof, no additional packaging. No longer available. This bottling put out by a DC store and limited to 263 bottles is a fine example of how things get "lost" and the changing tastes iof the public. For years there was no real call to put out such an aged rye whiskey. Too expensive to blend and not popular enough to bottle it sat for years until the demand for old rye awoke in people looking for something a little different. For some reason the period of 82-85 produced many of the old ryes that one sees out today. Besides this Willett, the Hirsch 21, original Sazerac, the first Pappy 13 yo rye and the Michters all came from around the same period in time.
As with the others, this was cut to 90 proof for the tasting which meant almost a 2:1 cut of rye to water!
Color
AVB: Medium honey
Tone-ny: Dark Amber
rob300c: Lighter amber
Cigardawg: Dark gold to amber....more orange
Body
AVB: Somewhat thin legs (due to the severe water cut)
Tone-ny: Medium to strong
rob300c: Legs but thin
Cigardawg: Decent legs but they move fast
Nose
AVB: Menthol, honey & oak
Tone-ny: Oakey
rob300c: Raisins, figs and a touch of oak
Cigardawg: Initial alcohol hit followed by spice and some vanilla, very rye-like.
Tasting
AVB: Rye all up in your face! Slight menthol with a touch of fruit and oak. Not as spicy as some but with a great balance.
Tone-ny: Strong oak with fruit undertones and sweet aftertaste
rob300c: Very sweet with good rye
Cigardawg: Hot, sweet with lots of vanilla and honey followed by spice. Good rye character but not much oak. Balanced taste
Finish
AVB: Medium long with good rye and vanilla and spices fading at the end
Tone-ny: Oak, honey & vanilla
rob300c: Long, dry with vanilla, mint and apricot
Cigardawg: Long on the back palate, little oak, astringent with menthol in the sinuses.
Overall
AVB: Very well balanced, my favorite so far
Tone-ny: A well balanced rye with a strength and sweetness. Warmth mixed with menthol coolness.
rob300c: Pretty darn good!
Cigardawg: A bit hot but a balanced rye, more like I was expecting.
In the order of tasting with notes from the participants. The tasters were myself, Tone-ny, rob300c and Cigardawg. All samples were reduced to 90 proof and the other three didn't know what they were sampling until I reveled it at the end.The Tasting notes form was broken down to:
Color
Body
Nose
Tasting
Finish
Overall
I will be following that format here too so without any more delay here is the fourth review.
4. Willett Single Barrel Rye, 22 yo, private bottling, 136.7 proof, no additional packaging. No longer available. This bottling put out by a DC store and limited to 263 bottles is a fine example of how things get "lost" and the changing tastes iof the public. For years there was no real call to put out such an aged rye whiskey. Too expensive to blend and not popular enough to bottle it sat for years until the demand for old rye awoke in people looking for something a little different. For some reason the period of 82-85 produced many of the old ryes that one sees out today. Besides this Willett, the Hirsch 21, original Sazerac, the first Pappy 13 yo rye and the Michters all came from around the same period in time.
As with the others, this was cut to 90 proof for the tasting which meant almost a 2:1 cut of rye to water!
Color
AVB: Medium honey
Tone-ny: Dark Amber
rob300c: Lighter amber
Cigardawg: Dark gold to amber....more orange
Body
AVB: Somewhat thin legs (due to the severe water cut)
Tone-ny: Medium to strong
rob300c: Legs but thin
Cigardawg: Decent legs but they move fast
Nose
AVB: Menthol, honey & oak
Tone-ny: Oakey
rob300c: Raisins, figs and a touch of oak
Cigardawg: Initial alcohol hit followed by spice and some vanilla, very rye-like.
Tasting
AVB: Rye all up in your face! Slight menthol with a touch of fruit and oak. Not as spicy as some but with a great balance.
Tone-ny: Strong oak with fruit undertones and sweet aftertaste
rob300c: Very sweet with good rye
Cigardawg: Hot, sweet with lots of vanilla and honey followed by spice. Good rye character but not much oak. Balanced taste
Finish
AVB: Medium long with good rye and vanilla and spices fading at the end
Tone-ny: Oak, honey & vanilla
rob300c: Long, dry with vanilla, mint and apricot
Cigardawg: Long on the back palate, little oak, astringent with menthol in the sinuses.
Overall
AVB: Very well balanced, my favorite so far
Tone-ny: A well balanced rye with a strength and sweetness. Warmth mixed with menthol coolness.
rob300c: Pretty darn good!
Cigardawg: A bit hot but a balanced rye, more like I was expecting.
