Company: Heaven Hill
Vol: 50%
Age: NAS
Classification: Straight Rye Whiskey
Breakdown: 51% rye, 37% corn, 11% malted barley
Price: Can be found between £35.00 - £45.00

History

Continental Distilling Company of Philadelphia first launched the 2 year old Rittenhouse whiskey in 1934. Wait… 1934? How could they be launching a 2 year old whiskey when prohibition wasn’t repealed until 1933? Mmmm you do the maths, something doesn’t add up here, it’s almost like they were making whiskey during prohibition. Heaven Hill bought the brand in the early 1990’s and stuck with it during the darker years when limited consumers were reaching for this type of whiskey. Today, there are 2 expressions available, the Bottled in Bond, which we are reviewing below and a 40% ABV version (both are at least 4 years old).

In years past there have been some very old Rittenhouse releases, ranging from 21 years right up to a remarkable 25 year old offering. The story behind these senior ryes is one of sheer chance. Heaven Hill was aging a number of barrels of rye whiskey for a private customer who basically didn’t come and collect their order. When the whiskey was close to 21 years of age, Heaven Hill bought the barrels back and hey presto; the Rittenhouse Very Rare Collection was created. It was a short lived but extremely interesting collection of aged rye whiskey which ended in 2009 with a final edition of 3,000 25 year old bottles. Good luck hunting out any of those.

We’ve briefly touched on the subject of ‘Bottled in Bond’ in previous reviews and in our podcasts (By the way, we are beginning to miss those now… so watch this space) so for the bourbon newbies out there we shall discuss the term in greater detail.

Bottled in Bond, what on earth does that mean? Well, It is a government federal consumer protection law and received approval in 1897. It was largely lobbed by heavyweight whiskey producers in an attempt to guarantee authenticity. The rules, plain and simple, are as follows;

The whiskey must be…

• The product of one distillation season, by the same distiller in the same distillery

• Aged in a federally bonded warehouse for a minimum of 4 years

• Bottled at a minimum of 50% ABV

• The Distilled Spirits Plant Numbers (DSP) of both the production and bottling facilities must be on the label

The Review:

For this review we drank it neat in a Glencairn glass.

Nose

What we got – Very fruity with a really pleasant nose, caramel and vanilla which can be a little odd for a rye. There is also a subtle aroma of leather/tobacco. Mav is calling out that he actually likes this nose and that it is really good, which is not like him at all (You read it here first!)

What they say we should get - Dried fruits and soft spices. Cocoa and butterscotch, alongside orange peel, cinnamon and caramel

Palate

What we got – Bags of fruit, mainly orange (Mr Pie) with spicy pepper from the front, once the first sip has been taken the harshness of the rye is no longer there. Leather/tobacco continues through onto the back-end.

What they say we should get – Thick, fruity palate with chocolate oranges, cassia bark, nutmeg and oak

Finish

What we got – Medium to long length with those gorgeous spice flavours lingering on the tongue. Touches of oak with very little burning sensation in the throat

What they say we should get – Tangy fruit and quite coppery. Marmalade and spice

Summary

Not quite a fruit bomb but it’s well on its way to be so. This is an awesome Rye Whiskey; you can’t say it plainer than that. A perfect every day neat pour and also has just enough heat in it to stand up for itself in cocktails. You can often find it on offer in the UK for sub £35.

This is actually only our 4th ever review of a rye whiskey, the previous ones being - Few, Knob Creek, & Sazerac. We have in the past though had a little help with our Rye content from honorary Gent, Aiden, who has provided us with reviews of Few Rye Cask Strength and Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania Rye. 

Mr Pie has been banging the drum and waving the flags for Rye Whiskies in every BG Board Meeting and maybe this is finally the Rye Whiskey that could begin to turn the head of Mav? At the very beginning of our tasting for this review, Mr Pie could not hold back and declared his undying love for this whiskey immediately (thankfully this was not a poker game as cards were shown very early).

Rittenhouse Rye Bottled in Bond is a perfect introduction to Rye Whiskey for regular bourbon drinkers who want to dip their toes into the bathwater. It’s a great price point, readily available and Mav scores it above a 6. What better endorsement could you want than that?

Score

7 out of 10 - Mav

8 out of 10 – Mr. Pie

Review Posted - May 2019

Company: Jim Beam
Vol: 50%
Age: No Age Statement but they say “patiently” 
Classification: Rye Whiskey
Breakdown: Unable to confirm anything here apart from the obvious >51% rye
Price: c. £35-40

Preamble

Sometime in 2014…

MAV: “You know how we like drinking bourbon?”

MR PIE: “Yeah?”

MAV: “Why don’t we create a website and post bourbon reviews? We could even make a podcast”

MR PIE: “I think you’ve been drinking too much, absolutely no way we could never do that”

Sometime in 2016…

MR PIE: “You know that crazy idea you had in 2014? We could do it, but we would have to use our combined project planning experience and expertise to make it work. A fastidious and precise schedule of detailed and honest bourbon reviews would be essential to achieve any kind of success”

MAV: “Sure, that goes without saying. We could be even be known as the Bourbon Gents. We just need to decide what our first bourbon review would be. I mean as a bourbon website it has to be a good one.

MR PIE: "You’re right. We need to make a statement with out first review that shows just how serious we are and how much we love bourbon.”

29th August 2016…

Bourbongents.com is launched and our first ever review is Knob Creek… Rye. Oops.

Fast forward to May 2019 and here we are revisiting that very first review. The price has held its own over these last 3 years in the UK, and can still be found for under £40. The Jim Beam Knob Creek bottle line labelling has been redesigned to a simpler, smaller, and in our opinion, more stylish font type and colouring. The mash bill is still officially unreleased and unknown to all but those at Jim Beam. Rumours vary widely of the actual percentage rye content, we’ve seen it listed as anywhere between 55 and 73% (obviously it is at least 51% to be a labelled as a rye whiskey). We’ve also only recently realised that it is probably also a very similar mash bill to Jim Beam Straight Rye and the Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskies, but both of those of course being bottled at the lower alcohol by volume value of 40%.

The Knob Creek Rye Cask Strength release even made it into our 2018 Top 10 Wish List. We are unfortunately still waiting to sample it and receive what we hope to be an almighty Kentucky hug.

As this was our first review (and we had no idea what we were doing) it is rather short, not word perfect and contains unrefined and inexperienced tasting notes, but it definitely keeps in line with our self-imposed day 1 review philosophy of it being a genuine and completely honest review. Enjoy…    

Review Updated - May 2019

History

Knob Creek is produced at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky, USA. It is named after a small stream which flows through President Abraham Lincoln’s childhood home. The brand has surprisingly only been around since 1992, with Knob Creek Rye only since 2012. It was the first Knob Creek release to not show an age statement.

The marketing message for the brand is the rebirth of honest bourbon and to restore the standards of pre-prohibition. The official website claims that it is also the world’s most awarded bourbon. It is a super shaped apothecary type bottle, and the label is inspired by a historical practice of wrapping bottles in newspaper at the distillery

The Review

For this review we drank it neat in a Glencairn glass (water was added after the scoring)

Nose

What we got - Menthol, fresh, wet forest of trees (fern?), spiciness of the rye

What they say we should get - Expansive notes of herbs and rye with nuances of oak

Palate

What we got - Fresh, pine tree, strong, spicy, peppery

What they say we should get - Bold rye spiciness with undertones of vanilla and oak

Finish

What we got - Medium length spice finish, very pleasant

What they say we should get - Warm and smooth with spice throughout

Summary

Nose and palate very similar. Big and full flavor. For a new bourbon drinker the purely neat version is possibly overpowering on the spice/pepper, but not on the alcohol. The Gents went rouge after the scoring and added a drop or two of water and as expected it softened the experience making it more creamy & palatable.

According to the makers of Jim Beam this is what whiskey used to taste like prior to prohibition. The Bourbon Gents sure wish we could get hold of a time machine! This really is excellent.

Score

6 out of 10 - Mav

8 out of 10 – Mr. Pie

Original Review Posted - August 2016