I was bored this weekend. Maybe a little too bored, so I gave myself a challenge. Instead of my usual bracket-style showdown, I decided to go full mad scientist.

Seventeen ryes. Sixteen from the shelf, plus an infinity bottle that’s been quietly absorbing leftovers on my desk. I ranked them 1–17, blinded them alphabetically (numbers hidden underneath), tasted all of them, and eliminated the bottom eight. Then I reshuffled the top nine, retasted, eliminated five more. Then reshuffled the final four and ranked them blind.

This wasn’t a quick sit-down tasting. It took the better part of Sunday — multiple rounds, reshuffling, resetting my palate, and trying very hard not to overthink things. By the time it was done, I had rankings I genuinely didn’t see coming.

And that’s the fun of doing it this way.

First Elimination Round (Ranks 10–17)

These were the first eight to fall:

10 – Old Overholt Rye 114 (81.92)
Solid oak and leather early, apricot and spice later. Respectable, but it didn’t rise above the pack.

11 – Roaming Man Cask Strength Rye (81.05)
Peaches, brown sugar, nutmeg. Pleasant. Just not powerful enough to survive.

12 – Old Forester 100 Rye (80.72)
Apricot and cinnamon forward. Nice finish. Just not complex enough to advance.

13 – Company Seismic Rye (80.72)
This one stunned me. Entered as my #2 seed. Eliminated early. Apricot-heavy, but the mouthfeel fell short this time around.

14 – Rittenhouse Rye Bonded (79.75)
Peachy and light. Good everyday rye. Just not elite company in this lineup.

15 – Elijah Craig Straight Rye (79.53)
Savory spice, cinnamon, caramel. Perfectly fine. Not memorable enough here.

16 – Knob Creek Rye 7 Year (73.24)
Oak-forward and thin. This one faded quickly.

17 – Clyde May’s 9 Year Rye (68.25)
Medicinal, leathery, grassy. I recognized it immediately. Not as dreadful as memory suggested… but still cough syrup adjacent.

Second Round (Ranks 5–9)

After reshuffling the top nine:

5 – Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye (82.35)
Bananas, caramel, milk chocolate. Good nose, but thinner than expected.

6 – Old Ezra 7 Year Rye (81.92)
Apricot and spice. Pleasant. Not punchy.

7 – Bardstown Origin Rye (81.81)
Peaches and vanilla. Creamy and nice linger. Very drinkable.

8 – Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye (81.38)
Apricots and cinnamon with decent depth, but thinner than expected.

9 – Sazerac Rye (81.38)
Butterscotch, mint, fruit. Quick finish kept it from climbing.

Final Four (Reverse Order)

After one final blind reshuffle:

4 – Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye
Chocolate, bananas, caramel. Modest mouthfeel. Shorter finish than I’d hoped. Still, the $32 bottle beating its Single Barrel sibling? That’s noteworthy.

3 – Infinity Rye (85.82)
Oak, apricot, caramel, nutmeg. Lightly creamy. Brown sugar and tart fruit on the finish.
This might be the biggest surprise of the entire experiment. Odds and ends of good ryes blended into something better than several of its components. I just wish I’d kept better notes on what went in.

2 – Pikesville Rye (88.43)
Butterscotch, caramel, apricots, nutmeg. Oily mouthfeel. Lingering finish.
It entered as my #3 rye overall, so seeing it near the top wasn’t shocking. Still, it absolutely earned its podium.

1 – Jack Daniel’s Barrel Proof Rye (89.73)
Bananas. Chocolate. Caramel. Then deeper chocolate and cinnamon.
Luscious mouthfeel. Long, dessert-like finish. Chocolate-covered bananas in a glass.
Of course it won. It’s one of the best things on my shelf, rye or otherwise.

Not Surprising

• Clyde May’s finished last.

• Jack Daniel’s Barrel Proof Rye won.

• Pikesville showed up strong.

Those all tracked with my expectations.

Surprising

• The infinity bottle landing in the top four.

• Jack Daniel’s Bonded beating the Single Barrel Select.

• Company Seismic Rye crashing to #13 after entering as a #2 seed.

That’s why we blind taste.

Final Thoughts