Whisky Connosr
Menu
Buy Whisky Online

Rittenhouse Straight Rye 100 Proof

Mighty palate, great balance

0 287

@Pierre_WReview by @Pierre_W

28th Feb 2015

0

Rittenhouse Straight Rye 100 Proof
  • Nose
    ~
  • Taste
    ~
  • Finish
    ~
  • Balance
    ~
  • Overall
    87

Show rating data charts

Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whiskey is produced by Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., a family-owned company headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky. The distillery itself, called the Heaven Hill Bernheim distillery, is located in Louisville, Kentucky.

The nose starts with intense flavours of vanilla and, to a lesser degree, caramel. Once you get past these notes there are tobacco and leather, followed by cherries and a touch of mint. Soft wood spice hovers in the background.

The palate is big, bold and buttery, and brings back the vanilla and caramel flavours, this time followed by ginger and cinnamon. Later on there are notes of coffee and raisins, followed by a good amount of spiciness, all in perfect balance.

The finish is long, warming, and spicy. Liquorice and coffee notes linger until the very end.

This is an excellent rye whiskey, with a mighty palate and great balance. I am not (yet) familiar with the 40% ABV expression but dare say that the 100 proof do this whiskey a lot of good in giving it the body it needs. The mint on the nose was somewhat disturbing at the beginning however I got to appreciate it over time. As yet I have not tried too many rye whiskies but this one currently is my favourite expression.

Related Rittenhouse reviews

2 comments

@Victor
Victor commented

I really wonder whether Heaven Hill is currently aging any rye for the very long term...whether whiskey aficionados will have any additional opportunity to purchase those astounding 21, 23, and 25 yo Rittenhouse Ryes. Yes, there are a few bottles of those old ryes still floating around, but it takes a king's ransom to buy them now. Maybe the recent amping up of rye whiskey production allows for aging some rye for much older special projects.

Thanks for your review, @Pierre_W. It is good to see that you are having some enjoyable experiences with Rye Whisk(e)y.

9 years ago 0

@Pierre_W
Pierre_W commented

Thanks, @Victor. Given that this was excellent, I do wonder what the 21/23/25yo versions might be like. Great stuff from Heaven Hill, truly!

9 years ago 0