Rye fans,
A girl asked me if I wanted to try out the new boss hog bottle she got. I told her to bring it over and we'd do a rye tasting.
Rittenhouse - great deal on an excellent rye for cocktails with a nice punch, but not a ton of great flavor for sipping.
Willett 2yo - fine but not a ton going on
Old scout 7yo cask strength - 119 proof but still so smooth and delicious. Sweet almost like a bourbon.
Willlett XCF - just not a big fan of this finish
High west yippee ki yay - finished in vermouth and Syrah barrels. Pretty good, but would prefer a little more Syrah and a little less vermouth on the finish.
Whistlepig 10 - pretty good stuff, better than I had remembered. Straight ahead rye flavor profile.
Whistlepig Boss hog #3 - wow, big surprise here. This was by far our least favorite, almost undrinkable straight. Just overpowering oak that adds a really unpleasant woody bitterness. We tried a Manhattan. Nope, still bad. Tried it in place of mezcal in a cocktail I like - with st Germain and rhubarb bitters. Still too much. Finally hit a winner using it in place of the ardbeg in this cocktail:
Rye 1.5 (used willett 2yo)
Antica .5
Classico .5
Ardbeg .33 (subbed boss hog)
Peychauds
Didn't expect this bottle to end up being good mainly as a flavor accent or float in cocktails. At least I didn't buy it!