Recommended Rye

@paddockjudge Well now I’m tempted to buy a Little Book Chapter 2 !!

@paddockjudge I also have about 80ml of CC40 and 50ml of WhistlePig 10 Year Rye....If I bought some Knob Creek CS Rye, I might be able to approximate Little Book...

@OdysseusUnbound, with limited amounts of CC 40 and WP, a side by side of all four entities including KC CS Rye and LB2 would be a great lead into an attempted recreation...a deconstruction before the rebuild.

@paddockjudge Wow! Thanks for all this great info! I've got lots to chew on here, and great material for discussion at our event. Let me ask you this...what led you to Whistle Pig as an example of ADL vs. their standard Alberta Premium bottling (other than this being under-aged)? It is most likely that Fred Noe would have chosen some 13 yo (used) barrels in the Alberta Distillers warehouse no?

@dloewen, I've tasted from a few bottles of Alberta Premium 25 YO 80 pf, ALberta Premium 30 YO 80 pf, Standard Alberta Premium 80 pf, Jefferson's 10 YO 90 pf, Masterson's 10 YO Rye 90pf, Pendleton's 12 YO, 20 YO, Hochstatder's 16 YO 100+pf, LOCK STOCK AND BARREL 13 YO 100+pf, WP BOSS HOG 13 YO 120+pf, WP 10 YO 100pf, Lock Stock & Barrel 16 YO 100+pf, WP 10 YO Barrel Proof barrel picks and the best of them all is a 10 YO WhistlePig Barrel Pf Single Barrel from Third Base Markets (thank you @cricklewood). It is the one in the pic. I chose this particular WP because it is likely to be the closest to Alberta 13 YO Rye at barrel proof.

The Standard Alberta Premium offering is only 40% abv. Standard WP 10 YO Rye is 50% abv. and the 10 YO (this one has matured further than any 10 YO WP I have tasted yet) WP bottle selected from my cabinet is 56.&% abv., very close to the 55.95% used in the LB2 blend.

The flavours in a barrel proof whiskey will be more intense than the 40% made-for-the-masses offering, that is why I chose it. I have a couple other barrel proof WPs as well as the standard WP on my shelf, but they pale in comparison to this bottle from Third Base Market. I do not currently have LS&B or Hochstatder's.

I want to try a softer version of LB2, expressions from the same distilleries, but more readily available: Wiser's 18 YO, Knob Creek Rye or KC Double Barrel Rye, Masterson's 10 YO Rye or Standard WhistlePig.

The 13 YO Albertan selected by Freddie Noe may not be aged in used cooperage, it could possibly be new oak, but most likely first-fill ex-bourbon. I'm curious to know if those would be Beam or Maker's Mark barrels?

@paddockjudge Ah, I didn't see that your Whistle Pig was at 56%...It must be very tasty indeed! The WP website states that (for current bottles) they source Alberta rye and re-barrel it in new American oak + finish it in bourbon barrels...(or at least that's how I would interpret their wording) this would significantly alter the flavour profile of the original ADL barrel...hence my question. I was unaware that ADL was even barrelling 100% rye into new American oak! Although with their sheer size, it shouldn't surprise me that they may have some of everything sleeping away in their stocks.

@dloewen, the first batch of CC 100% Rye was 7 YO Alberta Distillers Ltd. juice aged in heavily charred new oak barrels. I think that has changed since, but that early batch was very tasty...and makes a case for the possible usage of virgin oak at ADL.

When the time is right, please tell us how your tasting session went, in particular how LB was received and some of the opinions expressed by the participants.

Cheers!

@Victor Did you get that taste of the Knob Creek CS rye this weekend at MAD's house? I am curious to hear your thoughts. I picked up two bottles when it first hit the shelves in Virginia and immediately opened a bottle. My experience has been less than thrilling. My hope is that some air time will improve it.

That' s a natural @Nock, I love Knob Creek CS Rye. No surprise that you don't like it.

@paddockjudge That is hilarious! I am not surprised. When you get a chance I would love to read your tasting notes on your bottle experience. I am really curious to read what you get that you like so much.

@Nock in keeping with previous observations about your taste, mine, and @paddockjudge's (and @talexander's for that matter), I was disappointed in my first taste of Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye, and my first thoughts were, "maybe I'll like my next sample of it better" and "maybe this will get better with more air exposure."

@Victor Interesting! Maybe @paddockjudge and I are in the minority here!

@talexander, @ Victor, @Nock, I find this whiskey to be very well rounded with no sharp edges (8/9 years and nearing 60% abv). Big flavours, chewy, sweet with some cherry syrup in the mix (not always a welcome trait, but okay for me here). When combined (Little Book II) with CC 40 YO and Alberta 13 YO Rye the sweetness increases; some days it becomes too much. Definitely a whisky for a sweet-tooth day. Fred and Freddie must have got a taste of the Walkerville CS Rye, this is a direct competitor. I like it! Given the choice, I would take Lot No 40 CS over Knob Creek CS.

@talexander, @paddockjudge too soon to tell for me. I had only one taste in a very crowded context. Still, a crowded context doesn't usually cloud my experience of the individual products. I do want more time with Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye before coming to definite conclusions. And I always want to see what happens with a whiskey with a month or two of air exposure.

And directed to @paddockjudge I don't like my rye whiskies to be soft and round. I like them to be sharp-edged and pointed.

@talexander Nope, love KC CS, picked up a second bottle and still may grab another.

@Astroke gives me hope. I usually resonate with his taste, more so than with my long-time buddies @paddockjudge and @talexander.

@Astroke I bought 1 bottle for my sister and 3 for me. I am hoping I do not regret it. Logically this should be very good stuff, but you never know. Beam rye has been all over the place, sometimes focused, sometimes soft, sometimes not even there, viz. batches of (ri)1 from 9 years ago. I find Beam rye production to be extremely variable.

@Victor, I know you like your Rye sharp-edged and pointed, that's why I mentioned it. There's not too many I don't like, sharp-edged and pointed or soft and rounded or anywhere between, Collingwood 21 YO Rye being an exception.

@Astroke Hmmmm makes we want to buy another bottle too! But I won't for a while - taking a week long break from the whisky.

@talexander "The whisky" Is that the KC rye? Or all whisky?

@Victor I am not a big fan of the regular KC Rye and have balked at ordering the Twice Barreled Rye (enough double barreled gimmick Rye/Bourbon please). I never had the pleasure of the legendary Booker's Rye but I do like this 8-9 year CS, both on it's own and blended into Little Book II. As you know quality American Straight Rye is very difficult to come by in Canada and when it does it carries a hefty price tag so I tend to stock up either way.

@talexander I recently finished a 2 week hiatus from Whisky courtesy of the flu, but I did almost overdose on Navel Oranges.

@talexander replied

@Victor Interesting! Maybe @paddockjudge and I are in the minority here!

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@talexander, yes we are a minority group, oppressed and often ignored. Together we can make a difference. I've got your back.

@paddockjudge, @talexander undoubtedly people born on the same one day out of the 365 in a year constitute a minority!

@Victor, love that shout-out for five-two-nine! That's my end game target, 529 in the bunker. lol

@paddockjudge only immediate imminent catastrophe would prevent you from reaching 529 bottles in the bunker!

Where are you now, about 463?

@Victor...or another wedding!

My cabinet will soon be thinned out. The young lad has finished the rebuild on his new/old house. The bar is in place, but the shelves are bare. A couple of dozen bottles from the old man's cabinet should help to fill-up the empty spaces. My daughter is moving into a larger home with a fifty foot open span in the basement. Plenty of room for a nice-sized bar there. Five-two-nine won't be achieved for a few years yet.

@paddockjudge thank you for the 2018 KC Cask Strength Rye suggestion. It's very good indeed. As @Victor mentioned that he doesn't like the smooth and round, and I typically don't either, I found the softness of this rye to be irresistible, especially at the end when I got a very nice, orange peel finish saddled with vanilla. It's a perfect whiskey when I want to have some quiet, and contemplate -- that's what this whiskey encourages. I'm very happy to have added it to my cabinet. I think it'll get even better with time.

@paddockjudge Thanks for the tasting notes! Now I am curious to see what I come up with. I am planning on doing a bind cask strength rye tasting tonight with 6 different ryes. I'm throwing in the Knob Creek 9yo CS to see how it does. I'll be sure to report back.

@Nock, @archivist, @Victor, there is a bit of an edge to KC CS Rye, but not on the easy entry. This is nicely rounded distillate. The mid-palate is warm with a peppery surge building and bursting forth on the exit. That Big Rye Hug, as Livermore like to call it, takes hold down deep and puts a fire in your belly.