High West Double Rye vs Sazerac Rye
FIRST UP!
High West Double Rye, Batch 22B10
92 proof
$34.99
Appearance: Yellow gold. The legs are thin and fast.
Nose: In a single word: Herbaceous. This is not what I would expect from a rye. There’s also a zestiness, like a lemon zest or something like that I’m getting (not orange). There’s a subtle astringentness, but not offensive. There’s a very light spice and grassiness to the nose as well on the backend which is very pleasant.
Palate: A mix of vanilla and honey dominate with some floral notes weaving in and out from sip to sip. The herbal notes from the nose aren’t as dominant on the pallet, but they are ever so slightly there. There’s very little rye spice to this sip. There’s very little mouthfeel as well – it doesn’t do well at coating the pallet or setting off tastebuds around the mouth. It’s pretty weak on the pallet to be honest.
Finish: There’s virtually no finish to this. Like…really. For those that associate “smooth” with having very little or no Kentucky hug, this is “smooth.” For me, it’s just lacking at leaving any impression. No flavors linger, no Kentucky hug to remind me what I just sipped, nothing. It’s rather forgettable.
Neat Rating: 3.5/10 Here’s the flaws I see in this personally:
- The herbaceous notes on the nose are throwing me. It’s not what I would expect in a rye. It’s unique, but outside of the nose they didn’t really show back up. This inconsistency was just strange to me and left me wondering what they hell it was I was smelling.
- The lack of mouthfeel
- The lack of a finish
In a Cocktail:
Old Fashioned (2oz High West Double Rye, ½ oz Brown Sugar Simple Syrup, 2 dashes Fee Brothers Old Fashioned bitters, toasted orange peel, 1 Woodford Reserve Bourbon Cherry)
The spiciness of the rye shows up a little bit more in the cocktail, and so do some baking spice notes as well. The lemon zest profile that I caught with it neat also shows up, which is a bit of a strange profile in the Old Fashioned. (While orange and lemon are both citrus, the orange just mixes so much better. I honestly think it’s the herbal notes that make the citrus profile seem more lemony than orangey…But I digress.) The High West Double Rye doesn’t go well in the Old Fashioned nearly as much as the Sazerac Rye though…
Cocktail Rating: 4.5/10
Overall: As a sipper, this just doesn’t do it for me. It’s just very unimpressive, and the nose has some inconsistencies with the taste to me. And in a cocktail, it just doesn’t really hold its own. For the price, I’ll definitely be looking elsewhere in the future. (I’ve had some $20-$25 ryes in the past that are much better in a cocktail than this even though they’re not necessarily sippers.)
NEXT UP!
Sazerac Rye
90 proof
$30
Appearance: A tawny auburn. The legs are medium and slower than the High West Double Rye, but still fast compared to a lot of other bourbons/whiskeys (expecting a thin mouthfeel).
Nose: Orange zest, clove, that familiar rye spice, and a subtle brown sugar sweetness. This is a very inviting nose!
Palate: Vanilla, butterscotch, and baking spice (predominately clove and all spice) are the dominate flavors. There are some notes of orange peel that show up along with some brown sugar and an ever so slight woody profile when you get a bit of a larger sip. There's a little more viscous mouthfeel than the High West Double Rye, but not anything significant - it's thin all things considered. But it has a very robust flavor for 90 proof!
Finish: There’s a very mild finish. There’s not much of a hug to this, but it does briefly swell up about 4 or 5 seconds after the swallow and then fades away just as quickly. Burnt brown sugar lingers for quite a while which is nice. There’s a very light oakiness that shows up in the finish as well.
Neat Rating: 5.5/10
In a Cocktail:
Old Fashioned (2oz Sazerac Rye, ½ oz Brown Sugar Simple Syrup, 2 dashes Fee Brothers Old Fashioned bitters, toasted orange peel, 1 Woodford Reserve Bourbon Cherry)
The rye spice of the Sazerac Rye pops significantly more in the Old Fashioned than it does neat. It practically screams it’s here! The oakiness of it also makes an appearance more than it did neat. The vanilla, orange peel, and baking spices blend so well into the simple syrup, orange peel, and bitters of the cocktail. This Sazerac Rye makes a fantastic Old Fashioned!
Cocktail Rating: 7.7/10
Overall: This was a surprisingly nice sipper. I really enjoyed this neat. Moreso than I expected. In an old fashioned, the rye spice really shows up! This rye whiskey works amazingly well in an Old Fashioned for me! This might become a bar essential in my home going forward. The only downside is I was able to get it for $30 for a bottle at the Buffalo Trace Distillery, but it runs about $45 at local liquor stores (for the ones that have it). At $30, an absolute must have. At $45, I might continue to experiment with other ryes for cocktails, but this does double as a decent sipper.
Conclusion: At $30 a bottle, the Sazerac Rye is a complete steal! It’s a solid rye whiskey, and any time I see it less than $40 a bottle, I’ll absolutely get it. The High West Double Rye on the other hand was not what I was hoping it would be. Maybe it’s the batch. Maybe it’s because it’s their entry level rye. But regardless, I probably won’t ever get a High West Double Rye again. I’ll keep an eye out for their higher end ryes like the Rendezvous or the Midwinter’s Night’s Dram (if I can find them), but the Double Rye just didn’t impress me at all.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite
10 | Perfect | Perfect
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