Bottled in Bond Day Review! Rittenhouse Rye vs Jack Rose Rittenhouse Pick
Background
Happy Bottled-in-Bond Day! Fundamental to our modern whiskey industry, the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 established a baseline quality expectation for American whiskey. Let’s do a quick recap of what qualifies a spirit to be considered Bottled-in-Bond:
It must be the product of one distillation season (Jan to Jun, or July to Dec) by one distiller at one distillery.
It must be aged in a federally bonded warehouse for at least 4 years.
It must be bottled at 100 proof.
The label must identify the source distillery and, if different, where it was bottled.
Let’s celebrate by drinking some bottled-in-bond Rittenhouse Rye. Heaven Hill added Rittenhouse to their barrel program last year, leading to the legendary Jack Rose in DC to do a pick. Because of its 51% rye, 37% corn, 12% malted barley mashbill, I’ve always believed Rittenhouse to be a great “gateway rye” for bourbon drinkers who arent the biggest rye fans, and I’m curious to see how these compare.
Rittenhouse Rye (4 Years, 100 Proof)
Nose: Straw, dried apricot, raisins. More muted on the fruits than the Jack Rose iteration.
Palate: Oranges! I get alot of citrus on the palate, fruit cake, vanilla
Finish: Enter the spices! Oak, a real natural cinnamon note, nutmeg, orange peels
5/10
Overall: Yup, a deliciously well rounded value whiskey. It’s no wonder this bottle is an absolute cocktail staple, at 100 proof and with the rich flavor profile it stands up so well in cocktails but sips nicely too. Good stuff.
Rittenhouse Rye Jack Rose Pick (4 Years, 100 Proof)
Nose: Peaches, cherry, citrus. Lots of fruits!
Palate: Cocoa nibs, oak, slightly more muted citrus, vanilla, cinnamon, maybe like a compote?
Finish: Dry oak, black pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg again, orange peels, oak. It’s honestly a little stronger on the finish than the default.
6/10
Overall: Benefits from being a little more complex than the standard. I just feel like there’s more that I can pick out sip after sip, and it changes a little bit out from under you in a nice way. I love Jack Rose picks, their ability to isolate different flavor profiles from the standard offerings never ceases to amaze me.
Last but not least, ranking scale and some examples:
1 | Disgusting: Town Branch Single Barrel Reserve
2 | Poor: Black Maple Hill Oregon Straight Bourbon Whiskey
3 | Bad: Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel
4 | Sub-par: Blue Run High Rye Bourbon
5 | Good: Four Roses Small Batch Select
6 | Very Good: E.H. Taylor Straight Rye
7 | Great: Wilderness Trail 8 Year BiB
8 | Excellent: Stagg Jr Batch 17
9 | Incredible: A Smith Bowman Cask Strength (Batch 1)
10 | Perfect: George T Stagg 2020
