Tastes

Sazerac rye is one of those quintessential rye whiskies to drink neat or to make sazeracs and Manhattans. It's youth and rye spice gives it a lot of heat which elevates the rye in cocktails allowing it to never become overshadowed by the other ingredients. Carrying a blast of cinnamon, anise, and cloves with a hint of peppermint on the finish, it is one of the most solid deals in rye whiskey. I can find bottles regularly at 22 dollars in Louisiana.

I'm giving this 3 stars based on my 2015 bottle of Eagle Rare. Right of the bat, I must be truthful. I feel that this whiskey has lost some of its quality over the last year. The last two bottles I've purchased have had an light oaky scent with slight vanilla that gets overwhelmed by a ethanol twinge that's sour. The taste profile is oak, vanilla, spice, and clove but the entire flavor journey is somehow muted and watered down. At 30 dollars, placing it next to one of its major competitors which is Elijah Craig (now NAS), it can't keep up with it as EC is bursting with flavor. Luckily it's 21 dollars at Costco and for that price its worth the purchase to have as a house whiskey in your collection. Update: my review has changed to 4 stars as I have found a single barrel select that was not chill filtered appropriately. Its amazing and i bought many bottles to cellar. Its currently my favorite bourbon in my bourbon cave.

The best nose of my whiskey collection. After multiple tasting with friends, we had a resounding agreement that it smells just like bananna nut bread. Very viscous oily mouthfeel lets you know this bourbon means business. This is a love letter to your grandpas whiskey. The taste is that of a true old school bourbon. Leather, spice, oak, brown sugar, with a twinge of medicinal quality. Not in a negative way. It gives it an old tasting profile. I love this whiskey and everyone I've introduced it to loves it equally as much as I. Classic Brown-Forman whiskey.

Old leather and wood on the nose. That nose transfers straight into the front of the taste with big leathery notes that glide into a hot allspice and vanilla swell followed by a smooth but slightly tannic dark chocolate. Beautiful and well balanced bourbon. A personal favorite.