Rittenhouse Rye Single Barrel Review
In-Depth Review
Rittenhouse Rye is one of those bottles that the whisky community has seemingly become desensitized to. Known as a bartender’s favorite, Rittenhouse sits on stores shelves across America generating little to no fanfare – even though it remains a strong 4 year bottled-in-bond rye product with a robust 100 proof profile. Compare this to the bottled-in-Bond rye from Buffalo Trace, and you’d be forgiven for forgetting that on specs alone, the bottles are very similar. It’s a bottle I’ve always enjoyed, with its 51% rye mashbill and gentle rye character.
So, when Heaven Hill introduced an all-new single barrel program – I was very excited to find out it would be highlight Rittenhouse Rye. These single barrels of Rittenhouse will give us a behind the scenes glimpse into the barrels that make up this “Pennsylvania Rye” expression. All of the private barrels I have seen are bottled at about 4 years, remain bottled-in-bond, and feature a label that shows which rickhosue and floor it was aged, and the date it was barreled. This particular barrel was picked by K&L Wines in California and sold out in less than a day. It’s rare to see a new single barrel program that comes in at under $35 for a major distillery, so let’s dive in and see if these picks are worth the hunt!
Age: Non-Age Stated (But more than 4 years old)
ABV: 50%
Cask: New charred oak
MSRP: $34.99
Distillery Name: Heaven Hill
Review Date: 4/14/23
Color: Bright Amber
Nose: The nose starts off muted and almost non-existent. Then sweet, earthy notes poke through before moving to Gardenias petals mixed with paint thinner and spearmint. The nose does take while to develop, with quite a restrained impression on the first pour. Even after a few minutes in the glass, it remains simple and easygoing on the nose.
Palate: The palate is where this whisky comes alive. Big notes of blackberry compote mix with classic rye spice to show its sweeter side. There is milk chocolate, lightly toasted wood, and big vanilla and caramel notes coming through here. Its sweet disposition is on full display with this barrel and shows why Rittenhouse could easily be called a bourbon drinker’s rye. Mouthfeel is thick and well-rounded with good solid heat coming from its 100 proof.
Finish: Medium length finish with a lovely building heat that features notes of French vanilla, barrel char, white peppercorn, and clove.
Final Thoughts: This single barrel chosen by K&L Wines in California takes the classic Rittenhouse profile to new heights. This is a great, even tempered rye whiskey that could easily impress in your Manhattan while never blinking an eye served neat. And I don’t always feel that way about the standard Rittenhouse. So, I love what Heaven Hill has done with this program, and expect this will become my new favorite barrel program of 2023 coming out of Kentucky (and probably my favorite since Elijah Craig private barrels became a thing!). The 100 proof here is perfect to let the unique barrel profiles sing. And at around $35, this has immediately become an always buy for me.
