Jim Beam Rye

Sure I love a bunch of barley-malt whiskies, but...Rye is still my favourite whisk(e)y style. From my first taste and bottle of Jim Beam Yellow Label Rye Whiskey, the rye styles have claimed my top 3 favourite whiskies ever, with the exception of that taste of 40 yo 1967 Duncan Taylor Springbank malt

That was probably early in 2009, and the Jim Beam Rye I was drinking was probably bottled in 2008. It was brisk and very brightly spicy even sold at 40% abv

Much has changed in the world of US Rye whiskey since 2009. In those days it was still true that almost no US liquor stores had more than one, two, or three US ryes in stock at a time. And those ryes were only made by a small handful of distilleries: usually Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, or Heaven Hill. There was Jim Beam Yellow Label Rye, Wild Turkey 101, Rittenhouse 80 and 100 proof, and Pikesville Supreme, 80 proof. That was about it. Yes, if you were extraordinarily blessed maybe you would encounter some Van Winkle 13 yo rye

In the last 2 or 3 years demand for US rye has increased so much both in the US and worldwide that there have been shortages of even some of the basic products, such as Sazerac Rye and Wild Turkey 101. Where I live, Rittenhouse 100 proof comes in, sells out in a few weeks and may not be seen for 6 to 12 more months. The increase in popularity for US ryes has been fueled primarily by US bartenders who have for the last 10-12 years been using rye more and more in their cocktails. Secondarily rye has also become popular with connoisseurs, particularly those who like big flavours. I like to say that the average member of Connosr.com who reads the rye reviews knows far more about US ryes than 99% of American domestic whiskey drinkers. I doubt that 1% of US bourbon drinkers have ever tasted a drop of rye whiskey outside of a cocktail

The reviewed bottle of Jim Beam Yellow Label Straight Rye Whiskey was purchased about the fall of 2011 and has been open since that time. It is 80% full and preserved for the last 2 years with inert gas

Nose: this is mostly toward the dry side, as most US ryes are, with some vanilla from the wood noticeable. This particular bottle, like a lot of multi-year opened bottles of US rye, has actually gotten fuller, fruitier, and better with a lot of air exposure. The two characteristic flavours of rye grain, those of spices and dark fruits, are abundant at this point, though they were not so obvious in the nose in the early period this bottle was open. The spices are a combination of the baking spices of cinnamon/cassia, cloves, and nutmeg,...and also black pepper. The fruits are typically plums and black cherries. At this point this nose would rate 22 pts from me, while at first more like 19 pts. I will compromise at 21 pts on aggregate

Taste: the flavours are strong and do translate from the nose, but dilution to 40% abv does this whiskey no favours. There is a thinness to the body despite the adequacy of the strength of the flavours

Finish: most of these flavours last no more than a medium length, which I believe is also influenced by the dilution. This whisky skews a little bit toward the sour side into the finish

Balance: in 2009 Jim Beam Yellow Label Straight Rye Whiskey would have rated 86 from me. What's different? Well in those days there was no Knob Creek Rye in the Beam stable. I believe strongly that the best barrels of Jim Beam rye are going into Knob Creek Rye and (Ri)1. If you want to try Jim Beam Rye, I recommend Knob Creek Rye. It gets the best barrels and is sold at 50% abv

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