Great review. Pikesville is a good reference point for the others. I would expect TH Handy to usually come in 1 or close. It is what it is for a reason. Have not drunk a lot of rye over the years, but on New Years Eve we opened a 2012 batch of Rendezvous Rye from when it was 6 year MGP and 16 year Barton. Great stuff. Have one bottle left…
Got the saints alley nobleman rye finished in tokaji barrels today at total wine. 107 proof. $71 after the 10% spirits direct discount. It’s a Very good whiskey. I add a few drops of water and boom! Flavor explosion. Minty and just a really good rye. I Highly recommend this one as well.
@@davidcostello7320 Agreed. Great in cocktails. I honestly don't mind it by itself, but cocktails is where it shines indeed. I miss the Old Forester 1 ltr 100 proof rye that they used to have out here. That was the by itself sipper
Totally unrelated to rye whisky... 🙂 In just a few days since I subscribed to y'all's channel it's become one of my favorites, and the reason is the way y'all are on camera. I've seen channels with two people where they're apparently trying to out-weird each other, each one doing his best to be the most "edgy" or "trendy" or whatever the popular word is these days. Y'all aren't that way. You're so genuine that in the very first It's Bourbon Night video I watched, I suspected y'all were married (my wife and I look at each other like that too...though we're a bit ahead of y'all, since we got married in 1979 😍). Don't ever lose that genuineness of speech, of gesture, of how y'all relate to each other (even finishing each other's sentences, or saying the same thing simultaneously). It's what makes y'all's channel so good. Now if only y'all sounded southern... 😂
Rather than having two separate lists, you guys should have “the list” and the ones that would’ve made it on but got disqualified just have them as honorable mentions, think that would help with the flow of the episode
I'm nothing if I'm not a rye guy! Jean and I both LOVE the Saint's Alley line and had the pleasure of hanging out with Jonathan and his family trying this rye in their barrel room prior to it being bottled. That was a dang tasty dram of rye goodness! Cheers.
Speaking of Rye. There is a company in Finland that makes a 100% malter rye, using a pot still - Kyro. Their Rye is something very different, it tastes more like real rye grain, than rye whisky, and it is very sweet, but malty sweet. It doesn't have those minty, herbal notes that regular rye whiskies do. I have found out that New Riff are also making their rye using 100% rye. That should be a bit more cask influenced because they don't use a pot still, and the maturation in the cold climate of Finland is happening very slowly. That is somewhat available in Europe, so I hope to get a bottle. New Riff are having single cask releases for the same whisky, too.
Great list Chad and Sara!! My only point of reference is the Old Forested SBBP rye which I thought was magnificent, so this gives me some ryes to look for and compare.
I appreciate you splitting up bourbon and rye! There's just so much out there of each. I didn't get a chance to comment on the "reaction" video, but I appreciate your channels position for as long as I've been watching - you recognize when a bottle is hard to get but we can enjoy it vicariously, and you also still showcase findable stuff too. Seems to me that more of the newcomers to bourbon are just salty they can't go get pappy any old time, and just take it out on anyone else who is able to find those bottles. Keep doing you, ignore the hater taters!
I bought the regular Michters rye over t-day this year and really enjoyed it. Not surprised the higher-end version made it here. Great list with lots of lesser known bottles.
Excellent video as always! These ryes sounded very bourbon-y in flavor, more sweet than spicy. Most prefer those type of ryes, like Pikesville. I’m a weirdo I like ryes that are more baking seasonings / spice cabinet / pepper type flavors. If anyone has recommendations I’m all ears!
I'm torn about the Saint's Alley selection. On one hand, I am super stoked to see Ironroot get some recognition. On the other, I would rather that little north Texas secret remain so for a little while longer.
Hey y'all, love the channel, love these types of lists you do... Quick question for ya, the books you use, are those just notebooks or are those actual tasting books? If they are tasting books, where'd y'all get them, the look super nice?
Bought the Saints Alley Nobleman today at TW (still sitting on the shelf) based on your love for the product. I generally like finished ryes, let’s see if the juice lives up to the hype!
I had a Willett Blackened that I tried at the local tavern during the Summer. It was excellent but I've been unable to find it available on the market. It was HOT, HOT, HOT!
So Interested in Saints Alleys n the list. Been looking at their Armagnac Bourbon but I’ve been hesitant because not a huge Texas whiskey fan but will have to give them a shot now.
I share(d) your reservations on Texas Whiskey, but this is something else. See if you can get a tasting at your local Total Wine. Last year, my local TW guy looked through my cart, and noticed I was a bit of proof hound. He then suggested SAINTS ALLEY: THE HERALD to me along with a free tasting. SOLD!
Hey y’all! Tokaji is pronounced Toke-Eye… it’s a Hungarian wine region and widely considered one of the best dessert wine varietals in the world. How interesting!
I knew it didn't sound right but Sara didn't correct me, so I blame her! HAHAHA You what's funny is we actually knew the correct pronunciation but it had been so long since we said it out loud it just escaped our minds!
I bought the Saints Alley Nobleman on a lark as I could not get a reasonably priced Penelope Tokaji cask finish. The Nobleman is a killer tokaji finished rye. I swapped samples with someone who had the Penelope and we both agreed the Nobleman was better. What's shocking is how long Nobleman just sat on shelves in Maryland while penelope flew. All through december it sat. I think it only just finally sold out. Anyways, appreciate the 2 lists, I'll have to look out for hemingway and the blackwood, but chances are I'll never see them. The first list's top 5 you gave was actually achievable...but the OF Rye and Handy I've only seen as marked up. Still glad to have it! p.s. For me Maryland Heritage Series Ryes beat all the other Ryes on your second list (I had a pour of Handy, close but MHS better). 14 year cask strength MGP 95:5 Rye batched by Rye lovers. However, you really had to live in Maryland to get your hands on it, or be really lucky on Sellbachs.
Yeah, this list that you two put together only confirms my belief that a new rye category from the TTB needs to be created. I would like to see a high rye category for rye whiskey's with over a 75% rye mashbill. As much as I love Michter's 10yr rye, I know going in it is just barely out of the bourbon category. Well, one could also hope that distillers would publish their mashbills to in hopes for more transparency.
I like what you guys do and I like that you are willing to try new stuff... It's so polished ... I personally would love a few unpolished outtakes ... 😁
Thanks! The thing that’s great, but also kinda sucks, is we do this so much that we don’t miss up often and don’t really have outtakes anymore :/ In the early days, though, we had a lot!
@@ItsBourbonNight I was actually… almost last… I ended up with a rip 10… I’m ok with that… got a 2022 GTS from kroger for $99 like 3 weeks ago. So it’s been a pretty good winter so far
You guys are great! Just continue to be “Chad and Sarah”!!! Your video says “Top 10…”. If you did a “Top 10 sports cars” I would t expect you to put in a Civic or a Sentra because that’s all I might be able to drive. I want to hear what THE 10 BEST are. Period.
I really liked the Single Barrel. I tried it while I was there. I bought the Bourbon but neglected to buy the SB Rye. Major Fail by me. I've seen the Restoration Rye but not the SB in the wild.
New subscriber here, love the videos guys! Hey quick rookie question that I can’t seem to find a clear answer to.. Once you open a bottle of bourbon how long is it good for? Also what is the shelf life of an unopened bottle?
Unopened bottles will last indefinitely, as long as they are not exposed to direct sunlight or extreme heat. Store upright, the higher alcohol will eat up a cork over time. Tip the bottle to wet the cork for about 30 seconds every 3 or 4 months to keep it from drying out (natural corks obviously, synthetic this is not necessary). Open bottles will last a long time as well, again do not store them where they receive direct sunlight. Once a bottle gets to about a 1/4 left, transfer it into a smaller bottle if you are not going to finish it in a couple months.
How does the Old Forested SBBP rye compare to the Jack Daniel's SBBP rye special release? I've heard people say they're very similar but not sure if that's just because people are making the subconscious Brown-Forman connection
You can never make bourbon people happy lol. I would say maybe for every bourbon/rye on your top list maybe include a recommendation for something that is more readily available that is comparable
I don't know what it is but for Rye Whiskeys I don't like them no matter how many I try it's the same thing with a lot of Bourbons however I continue to try as many as I can to expand my taste.
Have you given Knob Creek Rye a try? It's easy on the palate, and not too much of a leap from bourbon. Damn tasty, too! Would say a gateway rye for sure.
@@CrawfishBoil Yes I have it's not for me. I like a lot of Irish the best also Scotch whiskeys & very few Bourbons but I haven't found a Rye I like but I still try them. Thanks for offering the suggestion though 🥃 Sláinte
"Isn't that the reason we do this in the first place, mainly to see when things like Saint's alley, which are more affordable, come in so close to what's at number 1." @8:50 That's a hell of a perspective shift. I hope it is honest. I applaud Sara for recognizing that. Chad with his "our arbitrary cutoff" throwaway still seems to stubbornly push back against your viewers comments. (If you establish criteria for a reason, than it isn't arbitrary.) You probably recognize that 99.9% of your viewers will never get a bottle that is in your bourbon video. And if that truly is "these are the best, bar none." Ok that isn't useful.... this approach is better. Much like how people used to try to make Poor Man's Pappy, real consumers - during this time of overpopularity- can use a voice that helps them find what's a little more special than garden variety liquor store shelfers. That is what a "best of" list and even reviewers really are about. Individual video reviews are fine. But the rankings help consumers make choices, in the end. They ask themselves "do I buy this or that?" and dedicated time to finding a reviewers whose pallet aligns to them. What you do is more than just entertainment. It is service. For example, I love Matt at ADHD. But our tastes do not align. I'll watch his show because it is entertaining. But I'm not buying his recommendations.
Man I still enjoy watching your guys videos but Sarah just looks so put off that she has to change her stuff to accommodate people. Maybe you guys need a break if it's such a chore and you can't be bothered. Everybody has a thing that get stuck on it looks like this is something for you guys. If you can't do it then don't do it, just do it the way you guys have been doing it so you're not resentful that you have to change your format or whatever
Imagine being so entitled you whine about a youtubers list of whiskies. . . This is literally WHAT YOU GUYS DO, it would be weird if your lists weren’t full of rare and allocated whiskies.
This is insanely confusing. Just give us your top 10 list. If people can’t handle the reality of allocated whiskey there are plenty of other hobbies available
