Masterson's 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey

@JasonHambrey, lovely review for an excellent rye. Jim Murray said Masterson's was in his top 6 best whiskies in the world when he reviewed it for his 2013 Whisky Bible.

Quality? Yes Alberta Distillers Limited can and does produce very high quality rye whisky. But if you want the finished product to show off how good the distillate is, mature it in new oak, put no additives in it, and sell it at at least 45% abv...like American 45+% abv straight rye whiskeys, of which Masterson's is one.

@Victor - I mostly agree, except on one point. Though I like ryes matured in new oak, sometimes I find it stifles the grain and favours the spice of the rye over the grassiness and floral nature which is so wonderful in rye. Surprisingly, it can be quite a delicate grain and often that is simply lost.

The above is not to say I don't enjoy straight ryes, but I think it doesn't quite do justice to the grain sometimes with too much wood in the mix.

On the additive side, on the abv side...completely agreed. I have a bottle of batch 3 at home, but I haven't opened it though I sampled it once. I'd be interested to see how the batches compare.

@JasonHambrey, yours in an interesting take. I do see your point, though this would be a place where our taste preferences differ a little. I think that you are certainly right that new oak flavours CAN overshadow the grassy elements and, to a much lesser degree, also the floral elements, of rye. The grassy elements of rye are less interesting to me than are the spicy, fruity, and floral elements, though I do enjoy them too.

I think that more than anything else you like lighter flavours in your whisky than I do, likely because you are so used to drinking Canadian whisky. Sounds like you like your rye light and delicate. That can work and be quite beautiful. I like that kind of whisky too, but I prefer powerful flavours. And rye grain has to be deliberately toned down to be low in flavour. High proof distillation and low abv bottling are the primary means to accomplish that.

Related to this I also think that your taste in wood is much different than is mine. I think from all that I have read from you that you really don't like the flavours of new wood. I most certainly do.

The problems with using used wood for aging rye are to me two-fold. First, the quality of the wood often ruins the whisky, particularly with long-aged used wood aging. It doesn't have to happen that way, but it often does. There are many Canadian, Scottish, and Irish whiskies I consider to be ruined by lousy old oak. Tastes will differ, and no one likes bad wood influence, but for me used-wood over-oaked whisky tastes much worse than new-oak over-oaked whisky. Why? Because the best-tasting elements of the oak are largely depleted after the first use of the barrel.

Secondly, and more importantly, if you actually allow your rye flavours to be strong, then you need a strong balance for them. New oak has strong enough flavours to balance strong rye flavours well, whereas used wood often gives relatively little contrast to the rye.

@victor - sometimes I like my rye delicate - interesting observation. I really like rye both ways - big and bold rye is one of my absolute favorites (though I have less access to that here in Canada than you would, I imagine)- but I do appreciate how delicate and light rye can be, and work well. So it's not so much that I like it better - I just think heavy charred oak is better for rye isn't necessarily true.

In general, there are fewer ryes which I would highly regard which are lighter and delicate - most of the best I've had haven't been so. There just aren't that many that are done that well, but some - like Forty Creek Heart of Gold, or Stalk & Barrel Rye - are quite nice. Part of the reason, I agree, is because of the often poor quality of wood. Have you had any ryes which have too much rye flavour and not enough wood? I don't come across them often.

Wood, I find, often balances out the spice really nicely but you lose some of the complex grassiness and floral nature (sometimes this comes out, though) you can get. Used wood, of course, means you're focusing a bit less on the wood as being as primary in the structure of the whisky - it's definitely a different approach.

Too much rye, not enough wood flavour? Well, I love rye flavours, the more the merrier. The one rye whisky which stands out most strongly in my mind in which I would like some stronger wood flavours as a balance would be standard Alberta Premium. But it would work best, I think, if the wood flavours were only moderately stronger...if they were MUCH stronger you'd have to sell the Alberta Premium at higher abv (or have lower ABV distillation) to up the intensity of the rye flavours to match a much stronger wood influence.

@JasonHambrey, indeed a delicious whisk(e)y. Masterson's Rye, all batches, is one of my all-time favorites!

@Victor, AP30 has an intensely high wood influence, albeit from second-life barrels that impart a gentler influence then new oak casks, and is very much to my liking even at the lower 40% abv. Yes, the floral notes, after 30 years of gentle sleep in soft oak have virtually disappeared; however, the lengthy maturation has contributed some properties that resemble the over-oaked characteristic of decades old Bas-Armagnac. It is indeed very interesting how these AP iterations, each with their own unique twist, can bring us so many delicious versions of this truly magnificent whisky.

@victor perhaps. I also think with the standard AP I'm skeptical of wood quality sometimes, and with better wood I wonder if it would be different.

@JasonHambrey, what you just said!

@JasonHambrey, @Victor - Beam Global must also have been concerned with wood quality in the standard AP. There reaction was to use new oak, heavily charred, and let it sit a little longer until it was seven years aged. The result was CC Chairman's Select 100% RYE....I wonder what standard AP would tast like with lightly toasted new oak at seven years?