Rittenhouse Rye 21

[slkinsey]

Friends in the know have passed along some exciting news: Sometime in the October/November timeframe we should start seeing Rittenhouse 21 year old in NYC. Brian from Pegu Club was able to try some of it during a recent trip down South, and he told me it was outstanding. I can hardly wait.

[eje]

I was excited about this until I found out what they'll be charging. $110-115 a bottle!

I've heard sooner, though for release. The folks at Binny's told me it would be leaving Kentucky at the end of August.

[slkinsey]

$110-115 a bottle!

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

Oh well, I'm still getting a bottle of it.

[donbert]

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

That's the wholesale price from what I hear. On the shelf it'll probably run somewhere between $140-$160.

[bpeikes]

I just got to try the Rittenhouse Rye 21 yr. last night. I should preface my review with the fact that:

1) I love Rye

2) I love a good Sazarac

3) I love Rye

Tried it on it's own. Fairly dry and not very high on the punch, so I think I'd always have it neat. Much lighter than I expected in terms of flavor. Normally whiskies this old have a bit too much wood for my palate, although rye's seem to often hold up much better to age than corn based whiskeys.

All in all, a great rye. A bit of the fruitiness and even though it's 21 years old, it still has some grassiness to it similar to what I taste in the 18th Century Old Potrero.

Don't think I'd use it in a cocktail though, unless it was something simple like a Sazarac. Certainly not in a Manhattan. For Manhattans, I like a Rye that'll punch me in the face with flavor like the BIB Rittenhouse.

I'll try a Sazarac with the 21 tonight and see if it works.

[slkinsey]

Jesus, dude. That's going to be one hell of an expensive Sazerac.

[bpeikes]

Didn't have a chance to make one last night, but after some additional pondering I decided that I'm going to go full hog and make the Sazerac with a rinse of Chartreuse VEP. Hell, if it's going to be expensive, it might as well be the best of the best, maybe I'll try to find some Buddah's Hand to replace the lemon...

[donbert]

Only VEP? Go for the Elixir Végétal!

(I just had an image of you doing the "Buddhist Palm" kung fu move on a Sazerac )