Chattanooga Whiskey 99 Rye

Dark chocolate

The aroma of dark sourdough rye bread, combined with notes of dark chocolate and sweet baking spices, greets your senses. The initial taste is bittersweet, featuring flavors reminiscent of dark pumpernickel rye bread and sweet baking spices. The finish leaves a warm sensation of cinnamon.

Honey, floral, granola and eucalyptus

I love rye in all its forms as a sipper and in cocktails. I'm also a fan of the expressions I've tried from Chattanooga, so adding a bottle of their rye to my shopping cart was a no brainer. Tasted neat from a copita sbs with my staple Wild Turkey 101 Rye. There's a color difference immediately noticeable. The C99 is a shade darker than the WT101. On the nose the WT is rich with delicate backing spice notes, carmel, vanilla, slight dill. The C99 is richer in wood and barrel notes, butterscotch, dark rye bread and caramelized sugar. The WT is smooth and dry on the palate offering a dry ginger, vanilla, rye toast opening that is far gentler than its 101 proof might suggest. The mid-palate is rich and the finish is very nice for a budget rye. There's a reason this is in my bar as a cocktail base and neat sipper over such competitors as Rittenhouse, Old Overholt, Old Forester, etc. The C99 offers a similarly smooth entry devoid of "young whiskey ethanol spark". The flavor builds from a creamy intro to a demisec mid palate topped with stewed cherries and very little of the vegetal elements I get from some rye. The C99 has a faster finish than the WT and fades quite cleanly. This is a great rye for a bourbon drinker. This is a great rye introduction. In a Manhattan this is a rich, silky rye that loves Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino and a couple dashes (3) of Angostura bitters. Chattanooga 99 Rye is a very good rye, full stop. This wont kick the chicken out of my cabinet. WT101 rye is about $24 for a 750, this is about $38. It's not 50% better for my money, but it was definitely worth buying a very enjoyable bottle. I might even re-up. It's a good change of pace.