Hirsch Selection 21 Rye

[AVB]

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 first review.


1: Hirsch Selection 21 yo Straight Rye. Sourced from an unknown distiller this rye uses the A.H. Hirsch name as a selling tool. 93 proof, 21 yo, no additional packaging, about $110-120 replaced by the Hirsch 22 yo which is the same thing just slightly older.

Color
AVB: Dark Amber
Tone-ny: Dark Amber
rob300c: Amber Maple Syrup
Cigardawg: Dark gold to light caramel


Body
AVB: Thin but good legs
Tone-ny: Medium to strong
rob300c: Fairly light with some legs
Cigardawg: Decent legs, sightly viscous


Nose
AVB: Maple, vanilla
Tone-ny: Slightly sherry
rob300c: Honey, caramel
Cigardawg: Sweet brown sugar, over-ripe fruit


Tasting
AVB: Astringent with a decent alcohol bite, rye spiciness noticeable with some oak
Tone-ny: Medicinal with hints of berry
rob300c: Floral entry, burnt sugar/caramel with a touch of leather
Cigardawg: Hot at first, not as sweet as the nose would suggest. Definite oak on the middle palate. slightly fruity? Can finally taste the rye on third sip.


Finish
AVB: Fairly short with the alcohol burn lasting for some time overpowering the flavors.
Tone-ny: Oaken, cherry
rob300c: mint, menthol, touch of acetone - long!
Cigardawg: Dry, not overly long, clean with some wood, not sweet


Overall
AVB: May have spent too long in the cask, Oak overtakes the vanilla too much for my taste
Tone-ny: A slightly medicinal taste with a sherry type finish, initial warmth with a menthol coolness after taste....almost Listerine
rob300c: Enjoyable but strong!
Cigardawg: Did not get as much rye spice as expected, a little hot but the alcohol faded Oaky but not overly so, very good stuff.

 

[BobbyRitz]

I'm finding these in reverse order, but damn man! This is good stuff!

 

[JLAudio]

Very nice, thorough review! I've been very curious about rye whiskeys as of late...never had any (yet).

Thanks!

 

[merkinmullet]

Nice. I am at the restaurant at 1:50 AM waiting on the ventilation hood cleaners to finish. Sooo...I grabbed a finger of the 22 year for comparison as I had yet to try it. Oaky, hot and medicinal with a finish a few minutes long. Might be better with a splash, but I'll move on before comming back to the 22 year rye. What's next?

 

[khari]

I was wandering around a liquor store yesterday and noticed they had the Hirsch Selection Rye 22 for $59.99. At that price I couldn't pass it up. Eventually I'll open it up and give it a taste and add my thoughts.

 

[AVB]

At half price I wouldn't pass it up either. Great find!

 

[kona1000]

Can you explain
'all samples were reduced to 90 proof'

Did you add a bit of water?

Thanks

 

[AVB]

Yes, distilled water was added to reduce the proof.

 

[sigar_zealot]

I was wandering around a liquor store yesterday and noticed they had the Hirsch Selection Rye 22 for $59.99. At that price I couldn't pass it up. Eventually I'll open it up and give it a taste and add my thoughts.

This goes for $149.99 at the Total Wine in Tucson. I hate you! :laugh:

 

[Khomeinist]

Had two Manhattans with this rye last night. 9 bucks a pop. Drained over a third of the bottle. Gotta love Midwestern bartenders. Very light on the vermouth.