American Whiskey Review #42: Sazerac Straight Rye

Distillery: Buffalo Trace

Region: Kentucky

Price: Sample courtesy of /u/GoatFester

ABV: 45%

Age: NAS

Color: 1.3, Russet/Muscat.

Nose: (according to the wife) It starts off with a very light note of oak. A hint of maple ham comes up as well as a bit of cherry.

Palate: Mouthfeel is fairly thin. It’s a lot sweeter than I expected with lots of sugary notes coming up. There’s a bit of rye spice, not a whole lot, along with some maraschino cherry. It tastes almost like the Manhattan one of my coworkers makes. A bit of brioche pops up as well.

Finish: Short in length. A bit of cherry and a bit of oak.

Conclusion: This is easily the sweetest rye whiskey I’ve had. It’s sugary, both in the form of just plain sugar notes and the maraschino cherry notes, and the rye spice notes are tempered as a result. It’s an incredibly easy drinker, perhaps a bit too easy. Overall, it’s pretty tasty and makes me want to try the higher end Sazerac.

Final Score: 79.

American Whiskey Review #42, Rye Review #11, Whisky Network Review #261

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.