We’ve finally hit the top 5 and kicking it off with Wild Turkey 101 Rye coming in at the number 5 spot. At the initial set up, I honestly expected this to be a top 3 but there turned out to be some really quality bottles in this!

Wild Turkey 101 was once a staple in the whiskey world, found on every restaurant bar and liquor store shelf. Quite a few years ago though, there was a very real scare that 101 Rye would be going by the wayside due to supply issues. It had been primarily replaced by an 81 proof version and put on allocation. However, slowly over the years supply has trickled in more and more. It is still slightly difficult to find, meaning you may have to go to 3 stores to find it but you will eventually. 

Stats: NAS; 101 proof; 51% Rye 37% Corn 12% Malted Barley; $28 

Verdict: Wild Turkey has been known to make some beautiful rye whiskey and much of it was once put into the 101 rye barrels. I was hoping to taste that during the testing but it fell just short of my expectations. It’s definitely still a good whiskey and I got a minty roll of spice, oak, and vanilla with very subtle fruit notes. A typical rye finish of spice follows. As mentioned, Wild Turkey can make some fantastic rye but if I had guess, I’d say they’re focusing that towards their more premium Russell’s Reserve Rye products of 6 year age stated and single barrel. Nothing against this 101, it’s still tasty and worthy of having around but falls just a little short of the others due to a lack of complexity. 

So now we have the Top 3 and man-oh-man what a top 3 it is! I mentioned previously that from the 6th spot on, it felt like I was splitting hairs and it's no more true than with the number 2 and 3 spots on the list. I couldn't in good faith list them as a tie, but honestly, they are a tie.  Ultimately, I have the Old Overholt Bottled-In-Bond Rye at this number 3 spot.  

Old Overholt claims to be America's oldest continuously maintained brand of whiskey.  It was founded in West Overton, PA in 1810 by Abraham Overholt.  His father, Henry, had moved to the states from Germany in 1800 with a family tradition of producing rye whiskey. By 1900, it became a national brand and began selling it's whiskey in glass bottles rather than barrels.  It was able to survive Prohibition by obtaining a permit to sell to druggists for medicinal purposes.  Perhaps, the permit was obtained due to one of the company's owners at the time, Charles Mellon, being the Secretary of the Treasury for President Warren G. Harding.  It was a powerhouse brand for much of it's life but, as all whiskey did, suffered a massive downtown after World War II.  As Americans began drinking other spirits more frequently, the whiskey industry suffered immensely.  Even though there were very few, if any, rye whiskeys available at the time, Old Overholt was struggling and was sold to Jim Beam in 1987 and production moved to Kentucky.  Beam markets the brand as one of their "Olds" along with Old Grandad.  This bottled-in-bond version was released in 2017 to compliment the 86 proof historical product.  

Stats: NAS(min 4 years); 100 proof; undisclosed mashbill; non-chill filtered; $22

Verdict: I wrote in my  review of the Jim Beam Rye that I was disappointed it didn't rank better as Beam always seems to have a place on my lists and perform well.  Well, I guess that was a bit pre-mature and, frankly, wrong because now there will be 2 Beam products in the Top 3.  This rye has some really nice qualities to it that you wouldn't expect from a barely $20 bottle that's "only" 4 years old.  It drinks much older and more expensive than that.  There's an oak and leather base highlighting this fact on the nose along with some very elegant sweet notes. That transitions to the palate with a sweet bread, cake like note, caramel, underlying oak, and then followed by bold rye spice and pepper. I even get the slightest hints of floral notes every other sip or so.  Overall, a great pour that I can't believe is only priced where it is.  If this was labelled as a bourbon, it would presumably be in the $50 range given it's profile and stats.  As stated above, this and the number 2 are a dead heat.  This one is a little more "rye" than the number 2 and initially I thought about ranking it higher based on that, since you know, this is a rye list.  However, I went with my age-old question of "If I could only have one pour and had to choose between the two, which would I go with?" and for me that's the number 2 bottle.  Which is...

Well, here we are...the final spot on the Top 5 Beginner Rye list.  And it's no secret now, it's the Old Forester Rye.  Old Forester is one of the oldest brands in Whiskey, founded in 1870 and, according to their story, was the first to seal ALL of their whiskey in glass bottles. Their rye recipe is said to have been acquired in 1940 by Owsley Brown.  When first released in 2019, it was the first new Old Forester recipe put into production in 150 years. Makes you wonder what happened with that recipe from 1940 through 2019.  The unique mash bill of this has to play into the quality of this whiskey.  Where as most ryes will sport the 51% rye or 95% rye mash bill with usually less than 10% malted barley, this one is a "high-barley" recipe...if that's a thing.  Old Forester states that this "allows for a fully natural fermentation process, forgoing the need for artificial enzymes commonly found in high-rye mash bills. Additionally, a generous percentage of malt yields a unique floral character..." Well, maybe it's the lack of artificial enzymes that make this such a fantastic whiskey?

Stats: NAS (estimated 4-6 yrs); 65% rye, 20% malted barley, 15% corn; 100 proof; $20

Verdict: Wow, this is a really good rye.  Yes, the Old Forester banana note is there but when it's tamed, I don't mind it and in this case, it's in a really good spot.  It's present, noticeable, and complimented with some citrus flavors, floral qualities, vanilla frosting, a nice layer of oak, and then the rye spice makes it's appearance as well.  It sounds as though it'd be overly sweet but it actually isn't The oak and spice do a nice job of balancing that out so that you get both sides of it evenly.  That banana note can be off-putting to some but I enjoy it because it's so different.  I wouldn't like for it to dominate as it occasionally does in some of the Old Forester's like a laffy taffy level banana but in this case, it's spot on for me.  I was so excited about the palate, I forgot to mention the nose.  It's similar notes to the palate but in addition there's a nice sweet cornbread to it.  

Recap: As I tasted through many of these bottles, I felt that almost all of them were of great value from a quality to price perspective.  Especially the top 4 all drank well above their price tag and, as I mentioned in a couple of posts, if they were labelled as bourbon I believe they would've had closer to $50 prices.  Why is that? Is it that demand is lower for rye than bourbon and therefore the price follows that demand curve?  Is it because bourbon is overpriced, rye appropriately priced, and our view of what the price "should" be is clouded by that?  I don't know, I'd take a fence sitter position and say a combination of both.  Either way, I would suggest getting in the Rye Whiskey world as you can find some very good bottles at very reasonable prices.