Buffalo Trace Kosher Rye Recipe Straight Bourbon (2020 Release)

Time to close out the series. This is entry 3/3 in my exploration of the BT Kosher line. The Straight Rye and Wheat Recipe Bourbon were solid. Let's see if the Rye Recipe upholds the standard. Nose: Gala apple, black cherry, and leather. In addition to apple I get apple cider. Caramel and vanilla. Raisin and dried apricot. Black licorice. Dill and rye spice. Sawdust. Orange peel and a puff of tobacco. Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and oak. Solid nose. Palate: More gala apple, black cherry, and leather. Vanilla, caramel, and milk chocolate. Orange peel and tobacco. Dill and rye spice. Sawdust. Raisin or maybe Craisin. Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and oak. Very little difference from the nose. The palate only adds a few notes, and since the nose was solid, this is even better. Finish: Black pepper and dill hit heavy on the way down. Pistachio and almond. More cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak spice. Moderate length finish. Not only does this one uphold the standard, but it happens to be my favorite of the lot. The profile is consistent throughout. It packs a nice punch at 47% ABV, and the character of the spirit benefits greatly from that. With that in mind, I think 47% ABV should be the new floor for every single BT offering--if you want to debate me on that, you had better be proposing an even higher ABV floor. If you enjoy the classic Buffalo Trace profile, these Kosher releases are a good line to invest in. I paid $50 for this. Sure, it may not be as good as some of the more glorified BT releases, but when I can get 2-34 of these bottles for the cost of one of the allocated bottlings (yes those are real numbers), I'm quite satisfied with the VFM. That alone bumped this from a 4.0 to a 4.5. Good stuff here.

This is the third of the three Kosher offerings that I am now able to try. The name of this one is slightly confusing because it says “Rye Recipe”, but it is not a rye whiskey. They do offer a rye whiskey under the “Kosher Straight Rye” label. The Rye Recipe is actually a rye bourbon, in contrast to the Wheat Recipe, which is a wheated bourbon. The Rye and Wheat Recipes are referring to the secondary grain in their respective bourbon mashbills. I just wanted to clear that up, as I was even confused at first. The nose is sweet with dried fruit, raspberry, baking spices, leather and a touch of rye. Very Buffalo Trace (distillery) profile. The palate is sweet and oily with dried fruit, a nice leather note, chocolate, baking spices and a little bit of oak. The finish is longish with lingering dried fruit and spices. Another very pleasant offering from the Kosher line. Reminiscent of other Buffalo Trace offerings, it stands out on its own. Each of the Kosher offerings have a more rich and full flavor compared to their obvious counterparts. I tried to figure out which rye bourbon mashbill this was (#1 or #2). I compared it against Buffalo Trace and Blanton’s to see if one was more similar to it. That didn’t really help, so then I increased the proof and went to EH Taylor Small Batch and Rock Hill Farms (both 100 proof). Things got a little tougher here because it shared a lot of similarities to both of them. But from the beginning I felt like this was a mashbill #1 bourbon, but every now and then Rock Hill Farms (mashbill #2) would poke out a similar note or two which confused me. I could see the Kosher Rye Recipe even being a blend of the two mashbills. But if I had to choose one, I would say it’s mashbill #1

I was able to purchase this for about $43 which certainly colors my review. The hype on this is that it is basically Blanton’s for less money. After working through half a bottle, I think that is basically true. This definitely (to my taste) has more rye than Blantons but everything else is basically the same. A little more spice, a little less fruit, and a very enjoyable and relatively unchallenging dram. It isn’t changing my perceptions of anything, but it’s nice to be able to grab a well made, pleasing product every once in a while. TLDR: It’s Mash Bill #2 with a little more rye tingle for a good price if you can find it.

A friend gave me the kosher rye and wheat to compare. Spoiler alert: I liked the wheat better. This is still really good. It's the standard BT mash, which is always great. There's more of a fruit and slight licorice vibe to go with the honey and vanilla. There is more wood spice than other BT offerings. I like it.

I'm lukewarm on this one at best. I get the stingy heat finish on the tongue and lips but I get NONE of the smells or tastes others include in their reviews. It's nice but there's better (and more obtainable) bang for the buck out there. Maybe I'm just off today. I'll try again in a few weeks.

Improvement over the wheat. Cherry and spice in the nose. Berries up front, caramel, apple, raspberry, vanilla. Leads into baking spices, nutmeg, light clove. Nice overall. Reminiscent of regular Buffalo trace.