Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye (Fall 2021)

This is really my first time to really spend time and enjoy a handy...a true statement is more ways than one, but we'll move on. Nose - After a good 30 minutes in the glass what was light winter green with christmas spices now gives me some oak funk and just spiced sweet notes. Has plenty of alcohol to give me a big sneeze digging into it. Clean sweetness, some hints here and there of younth, but overall a well refined massive rye sweet bomb. Taste - I'll start with the final real thought. This is a huge mouth watering big bold whisky. It coats the mouth, leaves you with spice for days, and makes no apologies for any of it. That my friends is why one can justify this being a part of that BTAC line. But how does it get there and does it really have the refinement to be BTAC? To come to this conclusion I"m actually going straight to water before I get into the notes. Brown sugar and bitter rye spice give way to sour oak and more spice. Water has unearthed all these more extreme tasting notes hidden by the depth and sugary sweetness of the ultra high abv. Lets add more water. The creamy elements of the mouth feel now give way to more bite, more bitter, more well intense and polarizing elements. My mouth remains coated and my senses are firing at 150% of their tolerance. I know we often wax over flavor memories that a whisky gives us and they are here. All kinds of spices and sugars...oak and funky elements but they all really do come together to create a full and rich experience. And I think that's why people love Handy, it isn't epic whisky in the sense of well aged and refined scotch or even a masterfully balanced bourbon. No, it's a big giant kick in the crotch that leaves you in wow of the intensity and wow factor of flavor. And for this guy, it does it with enough refinement to keep me extremely engaged. 3.5 out of 5. I'm in at MSRP all day on this and I'd go a good 50 bucks over just to say i had a bottle.

Neat. Bar pour. This is the last BTAC I have not tasted after knocking Sazerac 18 and Eagle Rare 17 off the list the last couple weeks. Looking forward to this. The other two let me down… On the nose, initial impression is underwhelming but delicious. It’s been a year if incredible ryes though. Gosh, I spoke too soon. There is a note here that is amazing. It’s like pure honeycomb with a hint of pistachio. There is a bright inviting vanilla coupled with glaze donuts. So scratch that whole underwhelming thing. Growing on me. The rye notes are a bit earthy and barnyard, fresh haystacks in the morning. Now I am thinking about cinnamon rolls and sweet cream frosting. Delightful, dessert of a rye. On the taste, mouthfeel is syrupy and viscous. Really covers all parts of the tongue. Getting cinnamon and eucalyptus, initially a bit drying even. Wow the rye really escalates more than the nose let on. Man, that honey note. It’s there and it’s the main event too. Backing up - it’s very rye toast, little charred but that toast is drenched in butter and honey. And after you gulp the toast down, the honey coats your mouth and takes it’s sweet time oozes down your throat. I adore this finish right now. The spice and the rye is there and omnipresent, a white pepper on the finish behind that honey. On subsequent sips that eucalyptus note really takes over. Almost morphing into an agave. Very enjoyable. Soooo if I had my order on BTAC now (obviously hard to judge across time versus in a single year so this is overall across the batches I have had) - #1 WLW, #2 GTS, #3 Handy, #4 Saz 18, #5 ER17. This was an amazing pour but… if I got my hands on one, I think I would trade it still. Amazing but not special enough for the premium.

Nose- Baker's chocolate, maple syrup and mint are the dominant notes. It is crisp and inviting. Palate-  Luden's cherry cough drop, oak, a bit of maple syrup (diminished from the nose), baker's chocolate, cardamom, and a delightful umami earthiness.  Gets a tad bitter on the back end but not a flaw, just a bit outside the lines-- and I color outside the lines so I am ok with that! For a rye, this is nice an rich. It finishes for days.  Warms up and down without any biting ethanol.  This is a fantastic finish and the strength of this whiskey surprises you Overall- within the top 5 rye whiskies I have had. To get comparison, my top is 2004 Vanwinkle Family Estate Rye (pre vatted). I also would give an edge to 2018 Thomas Handy which was a tad sweeter- but this is in tht ball park. This is a standout for 2021 rye.

The smell is amazing! It tastes rich and sweet with a noticable, but gentle smokiness. I lightly taste rye, oak, cherry, honey, leather, and toasted marshmallow. The Abv is a bit high for me, but it's balanced nicely so that I could handle drinking it in small sips. I enjoy Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey and it has some noticeable similarities, but it feels a lot richer and more refined.

Aroma - Smells like a dessert. Cinnamon, pecan-pie, orange peel, vanilla. It’s awesome. Taste - Wow. Nose transfers perfectly to the palate. All the same notes. There’s a touch more rye spice here than in the nose. Balance is amazing. Overall - Unbelievably smooth for the proof. Extremely long finish, great viscosity. Everything you could possibly want… this whiskey has.

Nose: tannic oak, vanilla, cinnamon, and a touch floral and a touch of citrus. Palate: All the cinnamon. Sweet cinnamon and spicy cinnamon like fireball hard candy. That floral note is there as well. Finish: Long and spicy in the best way. Really like this pour.