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We recently did an experiment with 15 ryes! Check out that video too if you have a moment - would love to get your thoughts on it. Bulleit rye was part of that lineup. Thanks so much for watching and for the conversation - cheers! 🥃🥃

We have a video of 15 ryes for an old fashioned and Sazerac Rye is one of the contestants! Have not tried brown sugar simple in an Old Fashioned but I’ll bet it’s great! Either complementing or adding those molasses notes to the cocktail. Thanks so much for your comment and cheers to ya 🥃

We have a video with 15 ryes as well. Feel free to check it out. Thanks for adding to the conversation - cheers! 🥃

Big Canadian Whisky fan, eh? I can see that being another test to run 🤔🤔

Thanks for the feedback! All of these bottles were under $50.

Agreed! And thankfully, it’s not hard to find, at least in our area. Super excited about that! Cheers 🥃

Absolutely, glad we could help! Let us know if you do the test and how things shake out - really curious what others think about the topic. Thanks for commenting and watching! Cheers 🥃

You’ve inspired us to try it in a Manhattan and Vieux Carre! We felt the same - never disliked it neat, so when we did the blind we were pretty shocked. But there was just too much unpleasant heat! Seemed to throw it off. Maybe a bad batch? It was a tough matchup with the top 3, so if you’re not keen on KC Rye then I would definitely go for JD or Woodford rye. At least in our area, JD is cheaper and we thought it was great. If you try it, please come back here and let us know your thoughts! Thank you for the discussion and for watching - cheers! 🥃

Interesting, as I recently polished off a Rittenhouse rye store pick and a JD Bonded rye in a Manhattan and Old Fashioned playoff. The JD Bonded was definitely my fave as neat, but also easily won out in the OF and Manhattan competition. Btw, Punt e Mes vermouth with JD Bonded is my new go to for Mahattans!

@@ericmalmstrom9943 these suggestions are awesome! I might go pick up some Punt e Mes today just to try it in a Manhattan. We also have a Rittenhouse pick but haven’t cracked it yet. I was curious if it would do better in an Old Fashioned than the ‘shelf version’ we tried, because it’s possible we got a bad batch or something. Never disliked Rittenhouse neat, but it just didn’t do well in our competition. 🤷‍♂️ how was your Rittenhouse pick? Decent?

Definitely wanted to feature bottles that are more accessible! This experiment was a toughie because in reality, the vast majority of them were good or great. KC and Bulleit made excellent OF’s. Thanks so much for watching and sharing your thoughts - cheers! 🥃

Larceny is an excellent option! Thank you for the compliment and for watching - cheers! 🥃

Hoping this encourages others to try something new and potentially find their personal favorites! Thanks for watching - cheers 🥃

Couldn’t agree more! If nothing else, I’d hope our video demonstrates that you might find a new favorite by going out of your comfort zone (or usual bourbon of choice for cocktails). But we’re trying 15 ryes next! Curious to hear your thoughts after we post it (soon). Cheers! 🥃

@@homebario I did really enjoy the video!

Thank you for watching it! And thank you for the comment and conversation 👍

To each their own, we say! For us, the balance was certainly there. And from memory, I don’t recall the spice fizzling much after some ice melting/dilution. But I will ask: when you say Four Roses Single Barrel are you referring to bottles made with mashbill B or E? Or both? Because my guess is they will make different OFs with a 15% difference of rye in their respective mash bills.

Standard FRSB is made with mash B and yeast strain V.

For sure, if the reference was to the standard ‘shelf version’ then it would be the higher rye mash bill. We haven’t tried it, to be honest! But I’ll bet it’s great. 👍

Thanks for the comment! That’s a good rule of thumb, I think. That said, I also think that this showed us the bourbons we find unremarkable can enhance or complement other flavors in an OF in unexpected ways. For example, we’re not usually drinking Evan Williams Black Label neat; it’s more likely we’d be drinking Blanton’s, BT or Eagle Rare that way. But the blind shook out to have EW Black label #2 overall to beat out all those others (for our tastes). But I agree with your statement - if you DISLIKE a whiskey, chances are good you’re not gonna like it in an OF 🙂 thanks again and cheers to you as well! 🥃

Haven’t tested that! 😁 We usually just go with Jim Beam white label - we think it does the job pretty well 👍👍

Hey, it might! Two wheated bourbons in the top 5. But I will say that before this test, our two favorites for an Old Fashioned were Buffalo Trace and Knob Creek. Still love them (I think we might’ve gotten a bad batch of KC for the test, to be honest). We were looking for balance of sweet and spicy as the #1 factor in our decision, and then if there were other intriguing notes in the cocktail that was given consideration. Anyways, thanks for watching and for the discussion as well - cheers! 🥃

Thank you so much for watching! Before this test, Buffalo Trace and Knob Creek were always our go-to’s for an Old Fashioned, so we share your sentiment on BT! We will definitely try the suggestion for Dark Rye. We are working on an Old Fashioned with Rye video currently, so if you’re subscribed then you’ll see that coming soon 😁 Cheers and thank you for the discussion and kind words! 🥃

@homebario - We did a live with different old fashioneds. Here is a couple others to try with an old fashioned Knob Creek Smoked Maple, and one that might be hard to find....Blue Sky Distillery Painted Pig Smoked Bacon Maple Whiskey. I'm not much into flavored Whiskeys, but these made good old fashioneds! Take Care, and I'll quit blowing up your comment page!!

No worries at all - love the recommendations and love talking whiskey and cocktails! We appreciate ya!

That’s definitely pricey! Sadly, we’ve seen higher than that even 😩

Fair question! It was definitely considered because we do like it neat, but ultimately it didn’t make the list because of its proof point. We figured it might make sense to make a future vid of higher proof old fashioneds so that would definitely make it in there. We considered OGD bonded as well, but in the end we figured having a good amount of Beam products in the test already should be a fair representation of their general profile. Any other bottle suggestions you’d like to see for a future video? We’re all ears - thank you!

Lots of AE fans out there! Do you like drinking their products neat / on the rocks? Or just specifically in an Old Fashioned?

While AE didn’t do so great in our test, we actually love the brand and what they produce! Have you had their rye finished in Caribbean Rum Casks? Excellent bottle. 🔥 I believe AE’s rye content is 18%, which is on the higher end of medium. And it’s fairly unique because it’s the only finished whiskey we tried in our experiment. From this list, we’d recommend trying Old Forester 100. Its cheap, same amount of rye content, with an oaky profile and a fair amount of sweetness (likely not as much as AE considering the port wine finish). But if you do try it, let us know what you think! Cheers 🥃🥃

@@homebario Hmm, maybe it’s because of how the bartender made it. His variation was stirring the cocktail with an orange slice and cherry already in it, rather than just adding them as garnishes after the fact. It almost looked like a sangria the way he was doing it. He also stirred it for the max time, which may have helped with the bitter aftertaste y’all were talking about. It went down really smooth and flavorful. Anyway, I have not had the Caribbean Rum AE, but I did see it on the shelf one time. I’ll definitely give that a try as well as the Old Forester 100-thanks for the tip.

Always glad to give (and receive) tips! That sounds delicious, actually. It’s very possible that the orange slice mellowed out that bitter note we experienced in our test. In fact, it might’ve even given the bitter note context (orange slice with peel) which made it much more enjoyable. Feel free to return here when you try the Old Fo or the AE and let us know if those were to your liking. We love to have these convos - thanks again!

EW Black Label was a huge surprise to us! I remember when we evaluated and ranked, and then looked at our stickers under the glasses for the final reveal we were like “really?? Evan Williams!? Well, a blind test doesn’t lie!” 😂 I think one thing we discovered in this test is that some of these flagship or lower shelf expressions are really created to mix nicely in a cocktail. Which would make sense! Now we understand why they’re considered workhorse bottles at so many bars. Please let us know how Larceny stacks up against EW in your opinion! We’d love to hear back from ya. Thank you for the discussion and cheers!! 🥃🥃

All great options! Curious to hear your thoughts on Larceny when you give it a whirl. Thanks so much for watching - cheers! 🥃

Thank you for watching! And curious to hear your thoughts on Larceny when you give it a try (both wheated bourbons, so I’m curious to see if Maker’s stays at the #1 slot on your list). Looking forward to chatting further - cheers! 🥃

Oh awesome to hear! We’ll be releasing our ‘Best Rye for an old Fashioned’ video soon and Bulleit Rye is one of the contenders. You may find Maker’s a bit sweeter than Bulleit Rye, owing to both the corn and the Red Winter Wheat. But I’m curious to hear your thoughts if you do try it! Thank you for your watching and cheers 🥃

Always orde mine with makers mark. It’s delicious

Just a follow up on this - we released our 'Best Rye for an Old Fashioned' video a few days back and Bulleit rye placed within the top 5 for us. Really nice balance, citrus shined through nicely, and had some unique notes as well. Thanks again for your comment and cheers to ya! 🥃

Currently in the works! Stay tuned…and thank you for watching this video! Cheers! 🥃

We released our '15 ryes' experiment a few days back - feel free to check it out on our channel! Cheers 🥃

We recently saw a store pick in our area for $199.99. It ain’t cheap if you want one!

JB is great!

I feel like this one surprised us a bit in the top 5! But in reality it makes sense; it’s sweet, inoffensive at 80 proof and seemed to really complement the flavors in the Old Fashioned. Turned out to be a solid option, in our opinion. Have you tried it in an Old Fashioned yet?

@@homebario I have! That’s what lead me to try it, I wanted a smoother old fashioned. The sweetness was a bonus!

Excellent! We're curious what Basil Hayden's Dark Rye tastes like in an OF 🤔 maybe we'll give it a shot! Cheers and thank you for the conversation 🥃

@@homebario Lol! Well, when you try it, please do a video! My pleasure. 🙏🏽

We like those too - all great options! Cheers 🥃

We’ve got a video coming out soon with 15 ryes, so if you’re a rye Old Fashioned guy, stay tuned!

Hey, just to follow up - we did a 15 ryes video and released it a few days back, with both of those options in the mix. Long story short: We liked both of those options, and KC Rye cracked the top 5. If you watch it, let us know your thoughts! Cheers 🥃

@@homebario I’ll check it out 🤙

We appreciate the feedback and thank you for watching! Cheers! 🥃

What’s your favorite Rye Whiskey in an Old Fashioned?

Buliett works very well. If you want to spend more $$, Whistlepig 6, Michter.s, or High West Double Rye.@@homebario

Thank you for the suggestions! We’re planning on making a ‘Best Rye for an Old Fashioned’ video and we will try the ones we can get our hands on. Cheers!

Hello again! We ended up having Bulleit/Whistelpig/Michter's in our '15 ryes' experiment video, which we released a few days back. If you're interested, take a look on our channel! Thanks again for your comment and cheers, as always 🥃

Thanks for watching! Both of those bottles are great in a whiskey sour (if that's the sour you're referring to). Personally, we like to use Maker's in our whiskey sours, because we prefer the sweet and sour balance there, and we find Maker's to be just a touch sweeter than Buffalo Trace. But both are excellent options. BT will have a rye mash bill, which we find provides a touch more spice. Either way, I'm sure you will enjoy - cheers! 🥃

@@homebario Yes indeed , for sours 👍 have now sampled both in sours and they are both absolutely great! 👍👍 No complaints whatsoever about either one. If I was forced to make a choice, I would say Makers, but but they are soooo close I’m 100% happy with either one.

Awesome, glad to hear it!

Thanks for adding to the conversation! I agree that the most important spirit to use in your Old Fashioned is the one you want - or, if the situation is you serving others - what your guests want. Y'know I'm not sure if we are using Death and Co's template for an Old Fashioned recipe 🤔 We've used this recipe pretty early in our cocktail-making journey which was back in 2016. We have 3 of Death & Co's books (The Cocktail Codex, Death & Co.: Modern Classic Cocktails, and Welcome Home) and I looked to see if that was the source, but our version varies from the OF entries I saw in those books. I think we just tried different versions and tweaked the recipe to our liking. Which is what everyone should consider doing! Love your recipe and the idea of using Bogart's Bitters, which is something we've added to our list to try. Thanks again for your comment and cheers! 🥃

That’s a good price! Hope you were able to get one - cheers! 🥃

WT101 ranked right in the middle for our test! Definitely a great option 💯 cheers! 🥃

WT 101 is fantastic. Imo, if you want to try a bit of rye spice to give it a little kick, I've been enjoying 2 oz WT 101, 1 oz Bulleit 95 rye, 1 oz barsmith old fashioned mix.

Thank you! Looking forward to your thoughts on these bottles when you get them. Cheers! 🥃

@@homebario I will let you know my review when I get them both in.

Thank you for watching! We think the straight bourbon has a better balance, and while we found the double oaked enjoyable, we felt there are better options out there for double oaked expressions (including Woodford Double Oaked, or Old Forester 1910). But if/when you buy a bottle and give it a pour, we’d love for you to return here to this comment thread and share your thoughts with us. Cheers! 🥃

@@homebario Old Forester 1910. Great choice I do have that one. The Woodford Double Oak. I don't have yet...but I am going to get it soon. The other one I do have is this one: Sagamore Rye Double Oak. It is amazing flavor bomb. I'm going to get the Sagamore, Bottle and Bond next to.

We haven’t gotten into Sagamore but have only heard good things. We’ll keep an eye out for that double oaked! Thanks for the tip 👍👍

@@homebario Right on🥃you will enjoy it.

You can make incredible Old Fashioneds with $20-$30 bottles! No need to break the bank. Cheers! 🥃🥃

Have not tried Piggy Back bourbon! But totally agree with you that OF 1910 and ER both make a great old fashioned. We decided to have 15 slots, and prioritize more easily findable bottles. We tossed an allocated or two in there! But yeah, maybe we’ll do another round of bourbons next time. Our next planned experiment is the best rye whiskeys for an old fashioned. Any you’d like to see in that lineup? Piggyback rye maybe?

We haven’t tried either of those bourbons in an Old Fashioned, but that’s a good tip! We have both of those bottles so we will try them. I think our Rossville Union Rye is a 95% MGP. Would be a good option to try as well! Cheers 🥃🥃

I wonder why! Maybe they’re not fans of wheated bourbons? 😆 If anything, I think this test showed us that those highly-available, 80-90(ish) proof bottles shine in an Old Fashioned. And we would guess they do well with other basic bourbon cocktails (but that’s an experiment for another video). Cheers! 🥃

We plan on doing a ‘best rye for an old fashioned’ video soon! We’ll definitely keep an eye out for that bottle - cheers! 🥃

Thanks for watching, Mike! Cheers 🥃

Hey! Which bottles are you referring to? The vast majority of the bottles we tested were under $35. The Blanton’s cost us less than $100. The reason we tested Blanton’s is because we had heard it makes a great Old Fashioned and we thought others might be curious as well. Thanks for your comment!

They’re traditionally made with rye as opposed to bourbon, but they are very commonly made with bourbon as well. To each their own! Cheers 🥃

Bourbons over 110 proof with high rye mash bills work fine. You have to go over 120 proof for low rye. I gravitate towards 95% ryes for all of my traditional cocktails.

We toured James Pepper distillery last summer. They said it was originally bourbon?

​@@223rocks Ok yes, they probably referenced the story of the Pendennis Club? Of course the origin is murky. I do recall reading somewhere (escapes me at the moment) that it was more likely to have been made with rye than bourbon in the time frame that it was being served / came to prominence (in the mid 1800's). I checked Wikipedia to see what they say about it being rye vs. bourbon and found this: "As cocktails became more complex, drinkers accustomed to simpler cocktails began to ask bartenders for something akin to the pre-1850s drinks. The original concoction, albeit in different proportions, came back into vogue, and was referred to as "old-fashioned". The most popular of the in-vogue "old-fashioned" cocktails were made with whiskey, according to a Chicago barman, quoted in the Chicago Daily Tribune in 1882, with rye being more popular than Bourbon. The recipe he describes is a similar combination of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar of seventy-six years earlier." Link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_fashioned_(cocktail) There are other very interesting tidbits in that page as well. Hopefully you found this useful and thank you for your comment! Cheers 🥃

I have to agree. As someone who likes a burst of rye spice in an old fashioned, I can't fathom how 2 wheaters are at the top of this list.

It’s really good stuff. Our bottle was 8-year MGP so you really can’t go wrong! However the price point was a little steep for us personally. What do you think about the price? Is it set perfectly for the value, ya think?

⁠@@homebarioyou know, I got an ECBP C922 a few months ago for 90🦌 and most recently a C923 for about that also. I’d pay the additional 20🦌 for this bottle. I’m probably gonna go back and get their last bottle actually. It’s a steal at 110🦌 IMO.

It’s great stuff, no doubt about it! We had barrel 1. We got it at the tasting room for $150. But at $110, that’s much closer to a reasonable price.

Yeah we do enjoy AE neat - especially the rye finished in Caribbean rum casks. Have you tried that one? It’s incredible 🔥 We will probably do a rye version of this test since we got such a good response to this video. We would indeed have the Bulleit rye in that test! Thank you so much for your comment and the discussion. Cheers! 🥃

@@homebario haven’t had the Caribbean cask version yet. The Elijah Rye is also real good. My wife got me a bottle of Whistle Pig 10 year rye for my birthday. It made a good OF, but sooooooo much better neat.

We’ve had the EC rye, and definitely agree - it’s a good one. I wish we were more into Whistlepig! I believe we have tried their 6 year before at a tasting but no bottles in our home bar. That said, we’d like to change that! They do have a few bottles that are less than $100 so they’re totally accessible. Definitely appreciate that recommendation 💯

Old Forester 100 rye also makes a great OF.