Sazerac Rye

Love it, @WTC, and gave it nearly the very same score!

@dbk I have a bottle open at the moment, dont think it will last long :) Personally I've not tried the 18 year old, have you? I will have to ask Dom, sure he has had it

@WTC, I have the 18 year-old, but it is still unopened. That said, I did open Sazerac Straight Rye's closer sibling, the Thomas H Handy Sazerac Rye last night, and it was shockingly good!

@WTC and @dbk, if you can, get the Sazerac 18 2009 or 2008 release to try. Don't expect the Sazerac 18 2010 release to be remotely in the same league as the 2010 release Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye. The 2010 Handy is sensational. (Murray's 2011 Second Finest Whisky in the World)I have put away multiple bottles of the 2010 Handy because it is so good.

Good advice, @Victor! Will do.

Love the education and the insights to help expand my knowledge into the rye arena. Thx guys.

@Victor, thanks for the tips. Not sure I'm quite ready to dive into the £100 a bottle rye market, is it cheaper in the states?

@WTC, gosh, I am almost sorry to answer your question, but yes, the whiskies, including the domestically produced US rye whiskeys, are much less expensive in the US in general, and in my local area in particular, than elsewhere. Most of the recently released Sazerac Antiquities collection whiskeys have already largely disappeared from stocks locally, but you can still buy the Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye 2km from my home for $ 58, including taxes. I do hope that you get to taste some of the Handy, and of the previous release of the Sazerac 18 yr old Rye. Distribution of the high end Sazerac products (Antiquities Collection and Pappy Van Winkle), even in the US, is, however, bizarre and uneven. Instead of price rationing the resources here by raising the prices of the most demanded products, these products seem to be distributed through some sort of patronage system in which favored dealers get a larger ration and some shops cannot get much, if any, access to supply.

Is this reviewed Sazerac Rye the same as Sazerac Rye 6 years old? I can't seem to find a clear distinction.

Yes, this is the 6 year old Sazerac Rye

Thanks for the clarification Victor. $26 and available here at our state owned monopoly liquor stores. Worth giving it a try? Also, trying to find the Handy. Saw it at an online store yesterday, almost placed the order but didn't. Today, it is "out of stock".

@HP12, some prefer the taste of slightly cheaper but still great ryes, such as the Rittenhouse Bottled In Bond, and @Victor is surely the local expert in the rye domain (he has some great taste!), but I would say that the base Sazerac is one of my favourites, and think $26 is more than reasonable a price for it. Here in Ontario, I've paid $45 for the same privilege.

@DBK...thank you for the insights. I'm planning to get a bottle of the Saz 6 and give it a try. And I must agree with your @Victor assessment. Although my whisky journey has only recently begun, I think his flavour profile favorites are similar to what I like (i.e.Islay malts) and he is one knowledgeable gent as well!

@dbk and @HP12, Thank you, gentlemen, for the kind words. 'Great taste' is something akin to the 'currency of the realm' on this site, I should think.