Russell's Reserve 6 Year Rye

Decent balance of flavor and spice. Decent for. 6yr

Taste: It has a pleasant toasted marshmallow up front. Strong rye spice throughout with some tobacco. It is quite sweet and a little chewy. Overall, it is incredibly smooth. Look: Deep golden Smell: Strong rye spice and some vanilla

Sometimes the tasting notes on the bottle don’t line up with what’s IN the bottle, but in this case the bottle notes are spot on: allspice, pepper, and almond. The Russells never fail to get vanilla and oak into the mix and they’re a welcome addition. There’s also a bit of citrus in the form of lemon peel. The flavors work well together and the whiskey is smooth at 45% ABV. It would probably get lost in a cocktail, but as a neat sipper it’s enjoyable, though it lacks a wow factor. *Note: I score from 0-5 with 0 being the worst whiskey possible, 2.5 being average, and 5 being the most sublime nectar of the gods.

Average all around. Not too spicy for a rye.

Anyone following me here knows, that in addition to loving a top notch rye, I also love a decent budget rye so I'm always on the lookout. I'm of the opinion that rye tends to be the best value for money style of whisky out there in that you can get really decent stuff without breaking the bank, and even though I have a couple favorites in the under $30 range, my blind spot is the $30-$50 range. If I'm not going for the budget rye, I'm going bigger: cask strength stuff with higher age statements. But there are a few in that $30-$50 range I've been meaning to try that I simply haven't reached: WhistlePig Piggyback comes to mind as well as Michter's and Jack Danie's Single Barrel Rye. But recently, having tasted the Russell's Reserve 10 Year bourbon and seeing this on sale just yesterday after getting out of a meeting where I thought I should treat myself, I figured it's time to hit up the Russell's 6 Year rye, since the community score here for this is exactly the same for the bourbon (currently: 3.75), which puts it in the expect it to be decent but not knock your socks off category, right? Well, that's exactly what this is, though I'm going to have to go 3.5 myself. It's not going to change your idea of what a rye is, it's not going to rock your world, but unless you're a super snob, you're also not going to pour this down the sink. The nose is nice and full of rye spice with a slight edge of sweetness. At the edge of the spice could either be vanilla or bubble gum here. I've seen other reviewers mention both, and it really could go either way. The complaints about it being 90 proof seem fairly well founded when it hits the tongue, because it's got an ultra-light mouthfeel with the nose spice muted (even though I also can't complain about sipping on a 90 proofer from the perspective of feeling it less tomorrow morning). The finish is of medium-length and the sweetness takes over from the spice on its way out, definitely becoming heavier on the vanilla with a slight hit of mint, but the impression doesn't last terribly long. It's been about two years since I've had Woodford Reserve Rye, but if I can trust my memory at all, these two bear a striking similarity in profile (as well as price range), but if I had the choice, I think I'd favor the Woodford. Having said that, there are two under $30 ryes that come to mind that I like better than this in both Sazerac and Old Forester (not to mention I gave this whisky's cousin the Wild Turkey 101 rye the same score as this one and that bottle is $15 dollars less), so while I don't think I'm going to have any trouble finishing this bottle (and while I'll likely give some to my dad when he comes over for the football game Sunday to see what he thinks), I doubt I'm going back to this well. If I'm going to drop $36.99 on a Russell's product in the future, it'll be the bourbon, which is amusing in a sense given how much I favor rye. The bourbon is simply the superior product in this line.

Great flavor, smooth start and a nice rye kick at the finish

Ok nose and good first taste, but aftertaste is a bit chemically

Very smooth. Good option for bourbon drinkers wanting to try the rye game. A great full rye with hints of caramel and oak a little sweet for a rye but it hits the spot