Tasting Tuesday: The Rye Showdown — Round Two

Round one was full of surprises — and not always the pleasant kind. A couple of bottles showed some rough edges, and one rye in particular left me wondering if something had gone sideways in the glass. But that’s the beauty (and the challenge) of blind tastings: reputations, labels, and price tags all disappear, leaving only the liquid in front of you. In this second round of my rye faceoff, the stakes were higher. Eight contenders entered the ring across two blinds, but only four could move forward. What followed was one of the most eye-opening series of tastings I’ve had in a while.

Blind #1

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye Barrel Proof vs. Clyde May’s 9-Year Cask Strength
Bardstown Origin Series Rye vs. Company Straight Rye Finished with Cherry Wood

Glencairn #1

Color: Light copper
Nose: Medicinal with apricot and vanilla; creamier with time
Palate: Oak, apricot, vanilla, light medicine note; improves slightly with more sips
Finish: Thin, medicinal
Score: 75.1

Glencairn #2

Color: Lovely copper
Nose: Stone fruit and sweet cherry
Palate: Apricot, baking spice, mild oak; silky mouthfeel
Finish: Spicy with vanilla
Score: 78.0

Glencairn #3

Color: Solid mahogany
Nose: Classic Jack Daniel’s profile — banana, caramel, vanilla, mild spice
Palate: Chocolate, caramel, allspice, vanilla; bold proof but balanced
Mouthfeel: Creamy
Finish: Long with caramel and spice
Score: 92.3

Glencairn #4

Color: Dark amber
Nose: Funky plastic note, off-putting
Palate: Some sweetness, but funk lingers
Mouthfeel: Forgettable
Finish: Short, with vanilla and spice fighting through the funk
Score: 66.1

The Reveal

#1: Company Straight Rye Finished with Cherry Wood
#2: Bardstown Origin Series Rye
#3: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye Barrel Proof
#4: Clyde May’s 9-Year Cask Strength

The Results

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye Barrel Proof (92.3) def. Clyde May’s 9-Year Cask Strength (66.1)
Bardstown Origin Series Rye (78.0) def. Company Straight Rye Finished with Cherry Wood (75.1)

Advancing: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye Barrel Proof and Bardstown Origin Series Rye

Side Note: Clyde May’s showed some funk last round, but this time it was flat-out unpleasant. A second pour confirmed it wasn’t just the glass.

Blind #2

Company Seismic Rye vs. Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye
Old Ezra 7-Year Straight Rye vs. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye

Glencairn #1

Color: Solid copper
Nose: Vanilla, caramel, oak, hint of banana
Palate: Chocolate, brown sugar, nutmeg; rich and buttery
Finish: Sweet caramel and oak
Score: 80.1

Glencairn #2

Color: Near mahogany
Nose: Chocolate, caramel, banana, oak
Palate: Bananas, cherries, mint; bourbon-like richness
Finish: Vanilla, caramel, oak
Score: 81.1

Glencairn #3

Color: Solid copper
Nose: Banana, caramel, chocolate
Palate: Chocolate, brown sugar, mint, oak
Mouthfeel: Smooth and silky
Finish: Brown sugar, vanilla, baking spice
Score: 83.9

Glencairn #4

Color: Light copper
Nose: Peaches, vanilla, baking spice
Palate: Cherry, mint, caramel with strong rye spice
Mouthfeel: Creamy
Finish: Cherry and oak
Score: 82.1

The Reveal

#1: Old Ezra 7-Year Straight Rye
#2: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye
#3: Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye
#4: Company Seismic Rye

The Results

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye (81.1) def. Old Ezra 7-Year Straight Rye (80.1)
Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye (83.9) def. Company Seismic Rye (82.1)

Advancing: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye and Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye

Side Note: This was an exceptional blind across the board. Any of these four could have been worthy finalists, but Jack Daniel’s flexed its rye muscle once again.

What’s Next

The Final Four

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye Barrel Proof
Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye
Bardstown Origin Series Rye

Three of the Final Four ryes come from Jack Daniel’s — a distillery more often associated with Tennessee whiskey than rye. That alone says a lot about what they’ve been doing with this mashbill in recent years. Bardstown is the lone outsider with a chance to spoil the JD sweep, and given how much potential it showed in Blind #1, I wouldn’t count it out.

Next Tuesday, we crown the rye champion. One of these four will earn a permanent place at the front of my whiskey shelf — and based on what I’ve tasted so far, the final showdown promises to be one of the best yet.