Tasting Tuesday: The Rye Showdown Begins — The Play-In Round

It’s bracket season on the blog — but instead of basketball, it’s rye whiskey.

I’ve rounded up 11 ryes from my shelf and set them against each other in a blind-tasting tournament. Over the next three weeks, they’ll battle head-to-head until only one is crowned the champion rye.

Here’s the structure:

Play-In Round (this week): Seeds 7–10 fight for two spots in the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals (next week): The play-in winners face the top six seeds. Two blinds will narrow the field to the Final Four.
Final Four & Championship (Week 3): Semis and finals in a single post to determine the winner.

Every pour is tasted blind, scored, and judged on its own merits. Price, hype, and label don’t matter here.

Here are the 10 contenders, ranked in order. Granted, it’s a short list and I’m still building my rye collection, but these all have serious merits:

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Strength Rye
Company Seismic Rye
Old Ezra 7-year Full Proof
Bardstown Origin Series Rye
Company Straight Rye Finished With Cherry Wood
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye
Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye
Clyde May’s 9-year Cask Strength Rye
Rittenhouse Rye
Old Forester 100 Rye
Knob Creek 7-year Rye

Let’s see how the play-in round went.

Glencairn A

Color: Light, honey-golden to mild amber.
Nose: A little medicinal and oak-forward before easing into vanilla and baking spice.
Palate: Sweet caramel and vanilla with a touch of cardamom. Decent mouthfeel, short finish.
Impression: Mild overall, more cocktail-friendly than a sipper.
Score: 67.3

Glencairn B

Color: Solid copper.
Nose: Slightly funky at first, with vanilla and apricot emerging.
Palate: Cinnamon and creamy caramel lead into oak and a growing hint of ethanol.
Finish: Cinnamon and apricot linger.
Impression: Better than A, though the ethanol edge keeps it from greatness.
Score: 72.5

Glencairn C

Color: Deep copper, richest of the lineup.
Nose: Big fruit notes — banana and cherry — accented by nutmeg.
Palate: Initial ethanol, then a wave of chocolate, caramel, toffee, and banana.
Finish: Warming, with chocolate and caramel that hang around.
Impression: The most complete pour of the group.
Score: 78.5

Glencairn D

Color: Light honey.
Nose: Burst of citrus and caramel balanced with oak.
Palate: Caramel and citrus supported by plenty of baking spice.
Mouthfeel & Finish: Silky, medium-length, with citrus and spice carrying through.
Impression: Bright and more complex than expected.
Score: 73.1

Glencairn E

Color: Light amber.
Nose: Earthy, fresh cut grass, cardamom, vanilla.
Palate: Allspice leads, joined by rye-forward notes and hints of chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Silky rather than creamy.
Finish: Baking spice lingers as the hero.
Score: 74.4

Glencairn F

Color: Beautiful copper.
Nose: Cherries, chocolate, and creamy caramel — a stunner.
Palate: Lighter than expected but delicious, with cherry, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, and a touch of earthiness.
Mouthfeel: Moderate, enough to carry through.
Finish: Cherries and cinnamon dominate.
Score: 79.1

Thoughts About the Blind

Overall, this was a strong opening round. All six pours were at least decent, with nothing I’d call a drain-pour. That said, the first dram clearly lagged behind the others, while the third and sixth glasses were a step ahead of everyone else from the start.

What surprised me most was how much I enjoyed some of these expressions, given my long-standing bias against rye. I tend to favor ryes that drink more like bourbons or Tennessee whiskeys, with their sweeter, richer profiles. But as this blind reminded me, rye has its own charms: brighter spice, flashes of citrus, and an edge that stands out in the glass.

In fact, I find myself warming up to their place on the shelf. Instead of dreading “the rye pour,” I’m starting to look forward to the next couple of weeks — curious to see which of these contenders will rise to the top and claim the title as the best rye in my collection.

Results & Reveal

And now, the reveal…

A: Knob Creek 7-Year Rye (#11 seed)
B: Old Forester 100 Rye (#10 seed)
C: Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye (#7 seed)
D: Rittenhouse Rye (#9 seed)
E: Clyde May’s 9-year Cask Strength (#8 seed)
F: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye (#6 seed)

With the identities unmasked, the glasses drained and the scores tallied, here’s how it shook out:

Matchup #1: Clyde May’s 9-year Cask Strength Rye 74.4, Rittenhouse Rye 73.1
Matchup #2: Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye 78.5, Old Forester 100 Rye 72.5
Matchup #3: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye 79.1, Knob Creek 7-year Rye 67.3

So it’s Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye (#6), Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye (#7) and Clyde May’s 9-year Cask Strength Rye (#8) moving on to the quarterfinals. I’m really sorry to lose Rittenhouse Rye, but the late addition Clyde May’s used its strong complexity to muscle past Rittenhouse into the second round.

What’s Next

Next Tuesday, they’ll square off against the top six seeds — heavyweights like Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Strength, Old Ezra 7-Year Full Proof, and Company Seismic Rye. Two blinds will decide who makes the Final Four.

The rush for the rye prize has officially begun.