386. Exploring Malted Rye Whiskey

Welcome to another great episode of the Bourbon Road with your host, Jim and Brian, where they talk bourbon and of course, drink bourbon. Grab yourself a pour, kick back and enjoy another trip down the Bourbon Road.

We're very excited to have Blanton's bourbonshop.com as a new sponsor for the Bourbon Road podcast. In fact, this podcast is brought to you by Blanton's bourbonshop. Blanton's bourbonshop.com is the only official merchandiser for Blanton's original single barrel. Looking for a unique gift? Blanton's bourbonshop has got you covered. Blanton's bourbonshop.com is your home for all Blanton's gifts. The Bourbon Road is excited to have pintsandbarrels.com as a sponsor of this episode as well as our official custom apparel provider. Be sure to check out pintsandbarrels.com and browse their ultimate online store for bourbon lovers. Welcome back listeners to another episode of the Bourbon Road Podcast. Today we're hanging out in the Bourbon Road Bar in Simpsonville, Kentucky, Sister City to Shelbyville, Kentucky, in the county seat of Shelby, Kentucky. Great place on earth, isn't it Rob? It is, it is. Great place to live. It is. Great place to raise kids. And we're sitting right in the saddle here because if you drew a triangle from Louisville to Frankfurt to Bardstown. We're kind of in the triangle, right? Absolutely. Equal distance, not quite equal distance to all places, but pretty close.

Yeah. Well, I agree. I think in Shelby, time you get to Shelbyville, you could draw a point to all distilleries. And I mean, that might be the epicenter. It might be 30 minutes in every direction, right? Absolutely. It's crazy. Pretty fantastic stuff.

Well, we always have that Ohio river that's kind of blocking us to the north, but once you cross that, you're in Indiana anyway.

Yep. And then you, uh, you throw that triangle interstate 64 to 71 to 75 to Cincinnati. And then you got the. You know, it's basically the triangle for industry and technology and all this region of the country.

And there's some good distilleries up there too, on the Kentucky side of the river.

Heck yeah, we're going to try one of them, or a couple of them.

We are.

We got two of those guys.

There's a couple of great distilleries up there. That's kind of the Northern Trail, right?

Yep.

All right. Well, for those listeners who don't know who I'm talking to, let me introduce you, Rob. Rob Carter. Thank you, Jim. Long time guest on the Bourbon Road, probably five or six times on here now. Thinking we're pushing six.

You're the proprietor of the Rare Eagle Bar.

In Shelbyville, Kentucky. That proprietor's kind of a loose term.

Yeah, true. Pam owns it. I just monitor the bourbon. So I collect eagles and crazy stuff, but I got so many eagles and I sort of, you know, I like Eagle Rare. I mean, it's a pleasant bourbon, you know, of course, right? So I thought one day, you know what? What if I named it the Rare Eagle instead of the Eagle Rare? So that's all that means.

Well, that worked out all right.

Yeah, nothing special.

Well, you told me a while back and we'll get on to the theme of the show here, but you told me a while back that you're kind of getting a thing for, well, you've always liked rye whiskies, that you were starting to get a thing for malted rye. Absolutely. And malted rye, I mean, they're a thing. Yeah. And they've been around for a little while, not a great while. There's a couple of them out there that have been around longer than others. Old Portrero is one, and we unfortunately don't have a bottle of that today. And then we all know the new riff, and we're going to talk a little bit about that one. Sure. And the old Maysville from old Pogue, and we're going to talk about that one a little bit. But they're few and far between on the shelves, but they're getting to be more and more. You start to see more and more people coming out with Malted Rise.

Yeah, absolutely. I sort of didn't know it was a thing at all. And, you know, I'm still a relatively relative newbie. I want to call myself in the bourbon world and still learning, still kind of enjoying, kind of trying new things and liking new experiences. And I had no idea, you know, till maybe I encountered my first, you know, it might've been like Woodford malted bourbon.

Right. It had the chocolate malted rye in it.

Well, just their regular malty. You know, Woodford reserve has, uh. Their malted whiskey. Yeah, their malted whiskey. Yeah. And so I saw that and I don't know, I guess I just wouldn't pay attention to all the stuff. I just thought bourbon was bourbon. And, um, you know, I would think we probably all start out like that, right?

I think we do. In fact, I know we do. I included have started out, you know, sort of broadening your, your horizon on what whiskeys you drink.

Well, and then by the same token, um, you know, I was talking to my wife the other day, you know, there might be a, she's enjoying sipping a little bourbon with me now, neat, which is kind of even more cool. And, um, But having said that, she is more of a newbie than I by far. You know, she enjoys, I've tried to manage that by introducing her to 80 to 90 proof bourbons. And then, you know, if somebody comes over and wants to brag about, you know, stag is the best bourbon in the world, and then you hand that to someone like her, well, that's a turnoff because You know, you're talking about 80 proof versus 130 proof. You can turn off a bourbon, you know, someone who wants to be a bourbon person. You kind of turn them off by not making them understand that difference, you know?

And there is a skill in pouring somebody, pouring your guests the right liquid, right? Absolutely. Ask them a few questions and know what they like. And in the case of your wife, you know what she likes.

Absolutely. So that's a good point. If we want to nurture and grow bourbon, drinkers and lovers and enthusiasts. We kind of got to be careful and bring them up. Maybe that's the person that needs it on the rocks with a splash of water to enjoy. And then You know, maybe one day they'll like it neat. Maybe they won't, you know, who cares? As long as you're sipping bourbon and enjoying it. But, um, but I'm, I'm learning those aspects as well as I go.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, we've got five that we want to talk about. We might not get to the fifth. We'll try. Uh, but we're going to go through a series of, and I'm going to say most of these, no, all of these are fairly well available whiskies and except for, I think maybe only one of them's very expensive. But all of these are going to be relatively affordable. Malted rice in general, and we've talked about this on shows in the past, are usually a little more expensive than a bourbon. They're a little harder to make. They get kind of sticky and foamy. They gum up the equipment. You can't feel the fermenters as full. So the batch sizes aren't as big. They kind of foam up and gel up. And so people have to be a little more careful with them. And for those reasons, they're just maybe $5 on average more expensive for a rye than a bourbon made by the same distillery. But in the case of the malted rye, maybe a little bit more because it is a specialty release. Absolutely. And I think we're going to find as we sip through these things that malted ryes are a different animal when it comes to flavor. They don't follow that spicy, deep, rich, sometimes candy-like rye taste you get. These go softer, lighter, smoother, cooler sometimes, fruitier, more floral. We'll talk about it though. We'll try them.

Yeah. I think we're starting with one. It's a little floral. Yeah.

Yeah. So tonight you brought three bottles. I brought two. So why don't we just talk about the first one you brought here, Rob?

Yeah. I'm nosing it here a little bit. Yep. Talking about this basil Hayden malted rye. Probably a little under proofed for my taste for the most part, 80 proof.

But you can't find a basil Hayden over 80 proof. They're all 80, right?

Yeah. I forget that. Dang it. Thanks for reminding me.

They've got a rule. If it says basil Hayden on the bottle, it has to be 80 proof.

I guess that's kind of cool. But yeah, this is a good bottle. I'm not really good about when you say floral, you know, halftime, I don't know what the heck you're talking about, but I think I smell a rose in this. Perfumey on the nose. Absolutely.

Well, I agree with you with that. I say it's a little bit light. I'm getting a little bit of like a lemony note to it and that that's kind of fresh and light. And I don't get that lemon a lot of times. Sometimes I'll get a citrus note, but more of the times than not, it kind of leans orange and tangerine kind of, but this time it's a little more lemon.

All right. I think you just messed with my brain there. Now I taste a big ass lemon. So dang you.

Yeah, but it is. It's got that, I've got to get the rose, Rob. I get a little bit of the rose petal and lemon. So I'm already talking about something that's a little dainty, right?

Oh, absolutely. Now, and having said that, I would introduce this to my wife and I believe she would like it. So, and I do too. Don't get me wrong here. Well, let's taste it. All right. Cheers.

Yeah, that is, uh, definitely comes into the palette, like, uh, almost like water. Nice and light and liquidy and fresh. Yeah. It's got a little bit of, uh, a fruity note to it. Like, um, yeah, it really does. I'm not sure. I'm not even sure what that is. The nice little, like, uh, it's not citrusy. It's more like a peach or a pear a little bit. No, not a peach. It'd be more pear.

Could be. And I don't know, I hate to say this because I've always tried to stay true to myself being a, I don't know what the right word is, but Um, not really understanding notes and so forth, but almost get an apricot, damn it. Yeah. I can see that. I don't know why.

Now an apricot is kind of a, it's kind of a hybrid fruit, right? Is it?

I don't think so. Between two other fruits.

I'm not sure what it is, but.

Yeah, I'm not, I'm not sure either.

It's a little citrusy and it's a little peachy.

Yeah. I've always liked them though. Apricots.

I like this. Yeah, for me, it is a little light on the proof. I'm not sure if you put this in a cocktail, if you'd even notice it was there. Yeah. But for drinking straight, neat, not on ice, just straight the way it is, it's kind of nice.

Absolutely. I'll just throw this out. You should, yeah, if you're looking to introduce someone to a nice smooth taste in bourbon, this might be a good place to start.

Yeah, this does not, uh, it's got just the slightest amount of cinnamon to it. Not hardly any at all, just a little bit. It's more lemony, more apricotty or pear.

Got that rose petal note to it. Yeah. Heck yeah.

If there's any caramel in it, it's really light. It is. It does give a little bit of a hug though. I'm surprised about that.

Just a slight. Yeah. Slight.

Just for those who are catching on now, this is the Basil Hayden Malted Rye. This is an 80 proof release. It's produced by a James B. Beam Distilling Company.

Yeah. And we're thinking in the $60 at the most.

Right around $60 range. I think they distill it in Claremont and then they bottle it up in Frankfurt at their old granddad plant.

Probably so. And then we'll check with Todd Ritter on that one.

He'll know for sure. Basil Hayden and old granddad are kind of joined at the hip.

And what were you thinking five years on this one? I think this is four. Four. I think this is four. Oh, you're correct. I believe it was four.

You know, they're pretty strict about meeting TTP regulations. And I would say that if it were over four, they would probably state it. It's not stated, so it's going to be four. It's kind of cool tasting. Um, it's, it's definitely a refreshing pour. This would be a hot weather whiskey, I would say. Oh no, that's a good point. Yeah.

Because this is, I mean, I'll just use the word delightful. I mean, it's just really smooth and it's not really my go-to kind of thing. Even though it's got that good malt that I like, I'm looking for something to slap me in the face or burn on the way down. And that's just, or be crazy wild, you know?

But I think we're going to find, and you already know this because you're kind of the malted rye guy, but that malted ryes tend to be softer and they tend to be less earthy, more floral, a little bit different than what you get with the rye whiskey.

I do drink a lot of straight rye and peppery stuff, high proof.

I would say if there is one whiskey on my bar that you can pour somebody or one whiskey in this room, I should say that you can pour somebody who says, I don't like whiskey to give them a shot at it. This might be it.

I was thinking the same thing. Kind of my little dissertation there a little bit ago. That was the point of that. I believe the same thing.

Yep. So this would be a non-whiskey drinkers first try whiskey.

And I don't believe my wife has had this and I'm going to make sure she tries it here soon. Fantastic. Maybe tomorrow for breakfast.

So is this something you're going to always have on your bar? Do you think?

I think so.

It's $60. You think it's a good value? Absolutely. Yeah. I tend to agree with you. I don't have a bottle of this on the bar. Okay. I'm probably going to get one just for that reason.

Yeah. And I like that. I like to be able to have something that I can share with someone that it might resonate with him that might resonate. Yeah. So good stuff.

We had a couple of whiskies before the show to warm up. They weren't malt ryes. No, one of them was a malted rye. So we're not coming in here, tasting this one, having not had a bourbon or a rye for the day. We kind of warmed up a little bit.

A little bit, but if my wife is listening, it was an itty bitty pour, just so you know. Okay, it wasn't neither. I lied.

Oh, now you're a liar and a drunk. All right.

So. Absolutely. What do you say we move on to the next one, Rob? That sounds like an idea to me.

Awesome. Do we need some water or anything? Are we good to go?

I'm good to roll. Keep rolling. Yeah.

All right. So this also is a bottle you brought. What are we sipping on now?

Yeah. So this is the old Maysville club bottled in bond. Therefore, 100 proof, Kentucky straight rye malt whiskey, bottled and bottled in the old Polk distillery. Of course, Maysville, Mason County, up north.

Right up on the Ohio river, just sort of a... East of Cincinnati on the Ohio River there, a little bit east of Cincinnati, almost out towards Paris, Kentucky.

Yeah, a little bit. Yep. And I would say, you know, if you bourbon guys or gals are looking for a place to to go spend a night or two. Man, that's a beautiful little town.

It is a great little town right up there on the river. Old Pogue distillery is a, it's not a big operation up there, but it's a solid operation, but around a lot of years. And I remember picking up a bottle of this.

probably four or five years ago.

And I was so impressed with it. I think I did a review of it. I think we've had it on the show before. It's been a while, but I'm really looking forward to tasting this again. Cause I, if I remember correctly, this was one of my faves. Yeah.

Yeah. I believe this is a Don Gullit country for baseball fans way back. Maybe. I don't know. Correct me if I'm wrong. Right into Jim Shannon.

All right. What do you get on the nose there, Rob? This has got a little bit more meat on the bones.

Yeah. Thank you. Hunter proof. So we went up 20 in a, in a heartbeat, which again, please be careful when you're trying to introduce someone jumping, you know, big swalls of proof because you could disenchant them.

This has a totally different nose on it though. It sure does. This one's got a little bit more of a kind of a straw and sort of a peach and pear nose on it. Definitely has a more fruity nose. Yeah, definitely. A little bit of caramel, honey, orange, a little bit of orange on this one.

So I guess what, what, uh, what I always garner in these, uh, these malted rise is that extreme fruitiness. You know, you know, a lot of the other bourbons are, um, you know, more caramel, vanilla, tobacco, leather, the earthy side, right? And,

And that's kind of what happens, I think, with a malted dry is you kind of depart that earthy world. You know, you don't get so much of that earthiness. You get more floral lightness, fruitiness, lighter, smoother, softer, all those kinds of words.

Yeah. For a person who loves to know something, man, you mentioned a good word on the last board, delightful.

This is, this is delightful. This is like, uh, Oh, you remember that song way back when tiptoe through the tulips? This is like tiptoeing through the tulips, right? I mean, you're in the flower garden and you're just enjoying a nice cool pour lot on the nose there though.

Yeah.

Fantastic. Cheers. Cheers.

Hmm.

That's got some texture to it.

It really does. It feels like some viscosity, a great color. Everything about it is good, but really doesn't drink a lot hotter than what we just had for me.

It doesn't, but it does bring a little bit of that, a little bite to the back of the jawline. You get to feel that. Okay. I've got some sweet rye in here. Maybe not spicy rye, more of a sweet rye. Maybe a sweet cereal rye. But a lot more fruity notes, fruity flavor, a little bit more caramel. It's almost like a honey caramel.

Yeah. I guess for me, these just kind of bring a little more to the table than just some of the regular smooth bourbons even. And they'll get me wrong. You pour me one, I'll drink it. But I just love the... You know, all the unique flavors and this is, this is one of them, Old Maceville.

So let me ask you a question and just, just think about that. Close your eyes and think about this. And don't be influenced by what I'm saying. Oh crap. I just want you to look for this note and see if you get it. Now that you haven't had, you've sipped at the finishes there, right? Are you getting a chocolate? Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like cocoa powder, right? Unsweetened cocoa powder. Absolutely. And I think that is what a bit that has drawn me to a lot of these malted uh, rise, you know, and you know, I got a couple of favorites that, that lean way to that chocolate side, but, but this one, this one gets me there. It's definitely there.

Yeah. This is, this one isn't coming from a chocolate malt. This one's coming from just the right.

Yeah. Fantastic. So, um, and for me, so it's, so I have to, you know, take my sip. play around in the mouth a little bit, take it down, and then I got to give it some time. If I drink again very quickly, I don't get that. Yeah. So I got to give it some time and that chocolate just, it blossoms.

Yep. And if you, and if you're drinking it too fast, you're not going to get that. You got to slow down and just.

Yep. That was the goofy part when you said that, because you know, I'm always looking for the chocolate. I don't know why, because that, it just, it intrigues me. I don't understand how you can just do all these natural things and create a chocolate without, you know, throwing in some Hershey's syrup or something. And yeah, this is, this is a good one. Another good one, Jim.

All right. So this one is, uh,

Let's reiterate, old Maysville Club bottled in bond, Kentucky straight rye malt whiskey.

You're going to find it on the shelf anywhere between $60 and $70. You can find it higher, of course, but I think you can, you're not going to find it any less than $60.

You can find it higher at my house if you want to buy it from me. No, I don't do that. You know me, Jim. I'm just being goofy.

Now I've had a bottle of that on my shelf for a number of years now, but I don't have one right now and I'm probably going to pick up another bottle because I really do miss this. I remember sipping this the first time. out of my glass sunroom on the back of the house, all seasons room. And I was so impressed by it, I immediately took a picture out there in the sunroom and I posted it on Instagram with my review. Before there was ever even a show, I was like, this is good stuff. Oh heck, that's pretty cool. That was four or five years ago. But this is good stuff. 375 shows ago. 370, probably 85 shows. Pushing four. Pushing four. Won't be long.

Beautiful.

This is a whiskey you have to sit with for a while. Like the basil Hayden was good. Don't get me wrong, but it gave you everything in the first 10 minutes. You knew what it was. It wasn't going to continue to develop. This has got all kinds of stuff going on.

It does. The longer we, the more sips we take, the more flavors.

Going back to the nose now. And when I said orange the first time, now it's more lemony. It's weird. It's kind of funny how it changed for me.

Yeah.

Cause we had just got done with the basil Hayden where I got lemon on it. And then I tasted this like, I don't know, this was more orange. But now I go back to the nose. I'm like, no, it's lemon.

That's wild. By the same aspect, we've, we've had multiple sips. And again, the chocolate, the chocolate is kind of building for me. And I think that's what's going to always happen. You know, I have a tendency to, um, on my bar, pour myself, quarter ounce pours, sip it, enjoy it a little bit, quarter to half ounce pour, move on. And what just occurred to me just tonight is I think I'm missing out on some things by not maybe sticking with something a little bit longer.

Yeah.

We're sitting here with about one ounce porters or so or so or no more. Maybe a little more.

Am I pouring heavy today?

I appreciate that. I love you Jim.

Well, I'm pouring your bottle so no problem.

Oh damn it. I just realized that.

Yeah.

Oh wow. Yeah. I love it. I love this one a lot. This is really great. I may go out this weekend and get a bottle of this. They have it sometime at the little store here in Simpsonville. I might have to pick it up there.

Wow. Is he a reasonable price? He's 10% higher than big box stores. I don't mind that.

He's my local guy though.

I don't mind that.

Yeah. I think if you've got a little store you like and you go in and have conversations with them and, and it's, it's literally five minutes from the house. Say I want some gin and tonic. I'm over there and back in 10 minutes.

Absolutely.

Please shop local.

Help these guys out. But if they're going to secondary market on you, shop around.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. Don't, don't play that game. I don't play that game. I got stuff. If I got it and you want it, you know how I am, Jim. I know how you are. We're going to sell it, whatever I paid for.

And so do the roadies because they all want to come to the very good bar. All right. So, um, just to summarize, we're, we're drinking the, uh, Mazeville club, old Mazeville club from old Pogue distillery out of Mazeville, Kentucky. This is a bottled and bond, 100% malted, dry whiskey. You can find it for anywhere in the $60 range. Um, it is, uh, definitely in my opinion, a significant step up from the Basil Hayden. Although the Basel Hayden has got a place, right? Absolutely. And that's why they do that. And that's why they have Basel Hayden is because they meet that market and he proved for the, there's a lot of people that live in that space.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And that's, you know what? That's genius. I didn't realize it. You know, please let's don't get, um, above our raisin here just because I like something, you like something. Let's not forget about, um, you know, um, a new. drinker, a female who likes something a little lighter. I mean, man, that Basil Hayden is going to hit the spot. And it was really, it was fantastic. It was really good. Fantastic. But we're old grizzly. And we're moving on to, you know, something smack in the face, high proof, crazy flavors. So that's kind of where we go.

So Basil Hayden is electric start on the motorcycle and this is kickstart. There you go.

Something like that. Lighter fluid.

All right, folks, we're gonna continue to sip on this old Maysville club. And through the break, we'll be back in a few and we've got two or maybe even three more whiskies in the second half. Cheers. Cheers. One unique gift? Blanton's bourbon shop has got you covered. All of their handcrafted wood products are made in their in-house wood shop with authentic bourbon barrels. Specializing in barrel-age potent treats, they use Blanton's barrels to age their own maple syrup, honey and coffee. Find the most unique gift ideas for your golf lover, cigar connoisseur, avid coffee drinker and Blanton's fan. Want to win an authentic Blanton's barrel head? Make sure you sign up for the giveaway on the home page of their website. Blanton's bourbon shop dot com is your home for all Blanton's gifts. If you're a bourbon drinker, and I bet you are if you're listening to this podcast, you need to head over to pintsandbarrels.com and check out the ultimate online store for bourbon lovers. Pints and Barrels Company was started by bourbon lovers for bourbon lovers. From spices to t-shirts, you'll find the perfect bourbon gift. Pints and Barrels proudly supports the bourbon road and invites you to visit pintsandbarrels.com. You need a custom apparel or swag for your bar, distillery, maybe even your bourbon society. They can do that too. As a matter of fact, they print our apparel. We're so happy with the quality and fast turnaround. Heightsandbarrels.com, the ultimate bourbon lovers gift shop and branding specialist. All right, so we're back. Rob and I munched up on some chips. We had a little bit more whiskey during the break. We definitely finished off the rest of that old Maysville club. Man.

Wow.

That's some good stuff.

Yeah.

So check one, check two. We got two malted rye whiskies down the tube. Both of them are fantastic in their own way. Absolutely. And I would personally recommend both of them, I think, for different applications.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And just so smooth. And you know, if you're, if you're wanting to have people over, you know, different levels of drinkers and men, women, new people, novice, old crusty drinkers. Yeah. Have a little bit of everything on your bar and these two are great, amazing flavors.

Yeah. I think, I think we came out of that first half with the understanding that the Basil Hayden has a great application to new drinkers, right? Sort of an introduction to rye whiskey. And the Old Maysville needs time. You need to spend some time with it. You need to pour an ounce plus and sit on the porch and just explore it.

Yeah. That's so, again, every episode of this that I listened to you, I learned a little bit. And every time I actually take a little time and sip and pour, I learned a little bit there. And I learned a little bit today that, you know, this Maysville, old Maysville, I had had multiple times, but only I'd gotten myself in a habit of shifting around to different things. And I get a good initial flavor, but I wasn't given enough time to have multiple sips and get the full flavor. So I learned some. I think any bourbon, maybe you need to give it You know, a couple of good pours and, and multiple drinks to get the full flavor.

It's crazy. And we kind of, you know, I think most of our listeners probably know what the difference between rye and malted rye, the grain and the difference between barley and malted barley. We eat malted wheat and the malting process is something that we could talk about real quick, just so everybody who doesn't know that can understand what it means. So you take a grain, like you take, in this case, you take a rye grain and you moisten it. And once you do, it tends to want to sprout because it's a seed, right? It wants to grow into a plant. So you get a little wet. And when you do, it tends to want to break open and sprout. And in that process of sprouting, it has to convert all of those starches that are contained in that seed to sugar so it could feed that new growing plant. And that plant's initial food before it has roots come from the actual contents of the seed. So that conversion of that grain's starches into sugars is what makes it easier to ferment by the yeast. So it's like a supercharger to that yeast, right? So it definitely changes things. So what they do though, they have to stop that. So once they get that seed to sprout, they have to stop it. And they do that by heating it up, by roasting it a little bit.

Right. And that might be with that chocolate flavor. Absolutely. So yeah, that's what I'm surmising that during that roasting, of that end product is when that chocolate flavor emerges.

It must be. That's why that's kind of that common thing in all of them is they got that little bit of cocoa powder on the finish, right? Absolutely. Yeah.

Yeah. So if you're enjoying bourbon and seeking flavors and wanting to try things, That's where I reside. That's what I'm learning. And it's kind of crazy what these things are doing.

Our listeners are going to say, I remember the day when Rob Carter turned me on to malted rice.

Oh, here you go.

Absolutely.

Come to my house.

Come to your house. All right. So what do we have in our first class here, Rob?

Oh man. So yeah, so this is the new riff. We're back up in Northern Kentucky, correct? Newport.

Right on the river, across the river from Cincinnati.

Yeah. And I've not been to that particular distillery, disappointingly so, but I shall be there within the year. And this is their malted rye. age six years. That's a good age on a rye. That is. Are we learning that ryes mature a little quicker than bourbons? The six-year rye might be well-aged. Yeah, well, eight, seven, eight year old, if you're in the bourbon category, a lot of the flavors come out. And we're at a Hunter Proof.

Because this is a bonded whiskey here. It is. And that old Maysville, I don't know if we mentioned or not, that was a bottled and bond whiskey as well.

It was. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, a Hunter Proof is still quite smooth, especially if it's got a little bit of a little age at all on it. And so that new riff, very pleasant. They're almost neighbors, right? Yeah, they are.

Absolutely. They're not too far apart.

Yeah.

That Northern Kentucky whiskey here.

Yeah. Those guys got some stuff going on.

Yeah. There's another place up there too. What's... Augusta's up there.

Augusta, yeah. Augusta Bourbon, I just bought a 10 year old something up there.

Yeah, we need to get up and see them. I talked to them at a, at a, at an event not too long ago and they invited us up. So we need to get up to Augusta.

Award winning bourbon up there. That's good stuff. Augusta is good place. Yeah. Absolutely.

All right. Well, let's check this one out. This is New Riff out of Newport, Kentucky. This is a bottled and bond, a hundred percent malted dry whiskey and six years old. Wow. It's got, this has got a little bit more of that baking spice on the nose, a little bit more of a, and New Riff kind of always has that spicy profile, doesn't it?

It does, which probably draws me to them. I like that and yeah.

But I'm still getting a more floral aspect to the nose. I'm definitely getting a little bit of like honey sweetness. Um, maybe just a hint of citrus. Can't quite nail it down. Yeah. A hint. I won't say a lot, but it does. It is refreshing though. It's got that refreshing. It's almost like breathing in a little menthol.

Yeah. It's, it's, it's kind of light in that regard, but, um, more spicy to me than the other two we've had. I don't know if you're catching onto that, but I'm ready to taste it though. Cheers. All right. Let's do it.

Wow. So this one is the most viscous so far.

Yeah, no doubt. I mean, look at the glass. I mean, it's just crazy. Oily. Yeah. Wow.

Spice gumdrops.

Another good one.

Yep.

When you say that now, I might get a tad of licorice.

Yeah.

A faint tad. I don't want to go overboard here.

Okay. So this one's a little bolder than our last two. This one has more body to it. So we've just up to 100 proof here, but we've added to the viscosity. It's thicker, creamier. A little bolder. New Riff has a reputation for producing bold and spicy whiskeys. So even though this is a malted rye, it's not going too far into the soft area, is it?

No. It's staying kind of. Yeah, it's a good one.

So maybe when they malted this rye, they didn't cook it too long.

As you know, Jim, I always talk about the chocolate. I'll have to let this linger a while, but. I'm not getting the chocolate so much on this one.

It's not there really for me.

Yeah. I'm not getting it at all.

So this is a different animal.

It is. It is.

This is not a full blown rye. This is definitely softer than a full blown rye, but it's somewhere in the middle between like a traditional new riff rye and a malted rye or that we've had earlier. Sure. It's very enjoyable though. It definitely has a nice honey sweetness to it. It's thicker. It's a little bit more viscous. It's syrupy a little bit. Not quite candy though. It's more, More floral.

Yeah. Floral with a little pepper. I get some spice. So far, this is a little bit of an outlier, isn't it? It is. But having said that, I mean, I will say it's not as pleasant As the other two, yet exactly what I like.

Yeah.

That's crazy.

Yeah. I could sit with this one for a while. This one you might be able to do a cigar with.

Absolutely. Wouldn't hurt you to have a sip of water with this one occasionally.

Yeah.

Or even on a rock or with a splash.

It's got a pretty good color to it. When we poured this in the glass, I was like, this is a little bit darker. This is going to be different than what we've had because the other two have been pretty light.

Yeah. And this one is definitely darker. Yeah, it was.

We've got a couple more coming though that are both a little bit darker even. So we're going to have a lot of fun here.

I think each one is getting a little bit darker.

So we should do a road trip up to New Riff. That would be fun. You know, there's a great liquor store right next door to it.

I've heard that.

Party source. Great place to go.

Okay.

The largest, I think, if their sign is correct, the largest liquor store in North America.

Oh my goodness.

Their bourbon selection is about 150 feet down the wall. It's big.

I need to take my wife there so she'll quit getting on me about my bourbon collection.

And see, this is a bourbon collection. Yeah, damn it.

Leave me the hell alone. All right.

So what's this bottle sell for Rob?

I was thinking we were in the $60 range.

Okay. Yeah. Well, all these are seem to be right in that general range, aren't they? Yeah.

Yeah.

I think, uh, the basil Hayden was 60, then the, um, the belt baseball is 60 to 70. The new riff is 60.

So we're all right in that range. Yeah. 60, 70 on that. Yep. I'm most comfortable in that area, personally. I'm just a little disenchanted with some of the higher price stuff, personally.

Now these have all been bottled and bonded and lower in proof. If we get up to the full proof range, you expect to pay 10, 15, $20 more for a full proof or a single barrel.

Right. Right. And, you know, I started doing the running the numbers, you know, you think if it's, you know, 10% higher proof, know, it's worthy of 10% higher cost. I get that. 10 to 15, I get that. So I'm okay with that, but I'm getting a little disenchanted with the $100 All right.

Well, I'm liking this new riff. I think it's a, I think it's a pick for me. I mean, I think we're going to work our way towards the end of the show and to sort of our best, what we each thinks our best and favorite. What do you think? Yeah. It's not like a contest or anything. We're not going against each other, but.

Not really. I like. You know, I like Brussels sprouts. You like asparagus. I mean, what's, what's the odds of us liking the same thing? I'm good with that.

All right, let's do it. Let's move on to the next one. What do you say? Let's do it. All right. So we have, and I brought this bottle. So now we're, now we're not drinking Rob Carter's whiskey anymore. Now we're drinking Jim Shannon's whiskey. Thank you, Jesus.

Starting to put the hurt on me. My wife's already mad at me. She said, are you taking all the bottles over there? I don't know. You're drinking all my bourbon. It's his show. What the hell?

All right. So we, what we have next is, uh, Rye malt whiskey. It's a hundred percent malted whiskey. It's out of. Atlanta, Georgia. This is out of the ASW distillery. And if you've been a long time listener to the show, you know, this is darling of mine. I love these guys. They're so good.

Yeah. You had a good show with them too, by the way.

I did have a good show with them. And, and you know, they've got a lot of expressions and they load us up to make sure that, you know, we can, we can do shows like this where we pull one of their bottles off the shelf and we do a show.

Yeah. Thank you to those guys. Yeah, they're really good. That's what makes it great for the rest of us, you know, listening and learning. You didn't notice that was a signed bottle? I did not. That's a signed bottle. Oh, I see it.

All right. So we've got the ASW, American single malt rye, the resurgence rye whiskey. It's a double pot still. double copper pot still, rye malt whiskey. Now, this is 100% rye malt, and I think, so we've been at 100% rye malt so far, right, all the way through? I think so.

Okay.

But this one has 5% of the rye malt is malted Chocolate rye.

Chocolate malted rye.

Chocolate malted rye, which means basically we told you folks how they wet it down, they sprout the grains, and then they dry it and they put it in the roaster to dry it. Well, they let it roast a little long until it gets dark, like chocolatey.

So that's what does the chocolate side.

That's where the chocolate comes from. They'll toast it until it's, if you leave your bread in the toaster too long and it gets black, it's kind of the same thing. Yeah. And so this is going to have evidence of that extra 5% that's been extra toasted. So this is 121 proof. This bottle is going to be a little bit more expensive. It's going to be more than the $80 range because we're talking about something that's 120. We're up the scale just a little bit.

Age statement on that one?

There is no age statement on this, but I'm going to say because it's not age stated, That they're going to be following the rules and it's at least four years old. Yeah.

So four years, 120 proof, you know, that's nothing to apologize about.

Absolutely. Let's check it out. What do you say? Cheers.

Yep.

Cheers. Oh, wow. That nose is phenomenal. That is, uh, Hmm. Very butterscotch-y. Or there's a regional butterscotch-y. But it has like a lighter note to it as well.

Like something's going on there with like a lemon or a menthol note. So I get a light floral and a light chocolate. I get a little bit of those light to the both sides.

So if you were to pull a chocolate bar out of the package and just smell it, you would get that.

Yeah. On the lighter side. Not a, not a, not a strong one, but yeah. Like a vanilla muffin with some cocoa powder sprinkled on it. Now you're making up stuff.

Yeah, I think it's a, I think it's definitely a nice nose on it. It's something you could sit here and explore for a while. Exactly.

Well, so again, if nothing else, these notes are so intriguing and different from our normal you know, just straight bourbons that we enjoy. So, so it's, it's just a, it's just a sideline. It's just a, you know, a new- It's not a bourbon.

It's not a rye. It's a malted rye. It's different.

Yeah. It's a little bit different. It gives us something different, you know?

So if a weeded bourbon is 20% different from a traditional rye bourbon. This is 50 to a hundred percent different than a traditional rye. It's a lot different, right? Trying to give people kind of a perspective. This is a lot different than a normal rye. It's way different than a bourbon. This is not like either of the two.

Yeah.

Yep. This might lean a little bit more into the Scotchy world.

Yeah, it might. Good. Good. Yeah. But it's a, you know, we get, we get a lot of deeper flavors, I think in the bourbon world for me.

Yeah.

I'm not a Scotch guy. I've tried them. They're, they're good. I'd drink them all day long if I had to, but.

If they held you down and, and, and hold, held your arms and put it down your throat.

I'd drink them. Yeah. Just, but just not my thing. Cause it's not bold enough for me.

It's good stuff. Cheers.

Cheers.

Oh, that's definitely different. And that's a familiar note on the palette, but I can't say what it is.

Holy moly. So I'll just say, I get the end product, not only the chocolate note, but a bit of a coffee note for me. Wow. Gosh dang.

Yeah. So that 5% of the chocolate malted rye is just taking over, isn't it? It's very powerful. I'm glad it's only 5%. Any more than that, it would be a chocolate bomb. Wow. Yeah. You like chocolate bombs.

Well, I'd like to try it one time just to see what the heck. 100% chocolate malted rye. What do you think? I don't know. Did you drink it? I don't know. I mean, am I gagging? Cause this is, I mean, this is so good. You know, again, I think, you know, what we're kind of learning here is, um, you know, these, these particular items with, you know, the malted rye just bring some flavors that you don't normally get. So if you're looking, seeking, you want to, you want to try some stuff and you want to get some unique flavors, this is, this is the way to go.

Now, Rob, you've had the Woodford Reserve bourbon that has the chocolate malted rye in it. So it's still a bourbon, but the rye component is chocolate malted rye. You've had that before.

Absolutely. This is about halfway there. I want to give it a little more credence and say it's... 75% there. And that particular model was, I want to say it was a 2019 version of the Woodford Reserve, is it a master's collection?

Master's collection.

Chocolate malted rye.

It was a bourbon though. I guess so. But it's a rye bourbon, so it had some rye in it as a flavoring grain. Sure. But that rye that was in it,

was chocolate malted rye. And it was my first introduction into this alcohol bourbon excuse me, rye or whatever it was that had that deep chocolate flavor. Man, I was just blown away and intrigued. That's why these particular ones that we're drinking tonight, especially those that have a chocolate-malted Barley or rye or whatever in them are so intriguing. It's something I'd never experienced before, but that Woodford Reserve Chocolate Multi-Rye was Incredible. 2019 and, and now, I mean, I don't even know how I can get it. I would pay up a little bit for that bottle and don't, I don't know how to get it or something like it. It's so good.

And, and roadies, uh, I think Rob and I both have a bottle on our bar. Yeah. At different levels. But we both have a bottle on our bar with some volume in it. And if you come in to hang out with at some point, either at the Bourbon Road bar or at the Rare Eagle bar, I'm sure we'd treat you to a pour.

Yeah. I mean, it's so good, Jim. And you're kind of the same way. I don't drink it. I hide it and I share it with the roadies. in small quantities just because I want them to be intrigued and experience it. Top right corner back hidden shelf. And you know, somebody's coming in there to, you know, it doesn't really appreciate that kind of thing.

They don't even see it.

They don't see it.

You got to bring it out for them.

Yeah. But if somebody wants something unique and it's crazy, it's yeah, I'll be glad to share and I won't even drink it with you. I just, I just want somebody else to experience what I did once.

All right. You heard that Doug killer.

You come down, buddy.

I'm saving him a little bit. You too, Mark Ratliff.

And Mark will be there too.

Yeah, I'm sure we'll get a few roadies in this year for sure.

So yeah, good stuff.

Awesome. Hey, um, I, I, I really like this. I really, I mean, ASW, like I said earlier, they're my darling, right? They've got that Georgia Heartwood bourbon that I love so much. They have an Ambarano, which I think is really good if you're an Ambarano person. Yeah.

And, and if you're not, you should at least try that. Ambarano. I don't know what the hell that's all about, but it's crazy flavors.

But they've got the Druid Hills Irish triple pot still whiskey. Oh my goodness. So good. Yeah. And I think you had some, uh, some double pots still malt whiskey, right? I think so. Yeah. They just, they're doing all kinds of stuff. Yeah. They got three locations in Atlanta. Just a few, if you're passing through, just stop in and see them. They're doing good work. Yeah.

Great people. Good bourbon. Good rye. Good rye. Good Irish whiskey. They make it all. Yeah. Fantastic. Yeah.

Well, Rob, I do believe that we're going to get to bottle number five on this show. We're a little bit over time.

All right. Dang it.

I'm willing to go with it. I think we should. All right. Let's do it. Let's, let's, let's cut to the chase. Let's get to that bonus bottle.

All right. Yep. Now it's a big one.

All right. All right. All right. All right.

Who says that? Oh yeah. Matthew McConaughey.

Matthew McConaughey. All right.

So he's the wild turkey guy too. Yeah. Which isn't a bad.

Well, he used to be the wild turkey guy. He finished up his contract. Used to was. Used to was. Yeah. He had that Mesquite flavored bourbon. What was it called?

Um, Dang it. I can't even remember. Oh, wait a minute.

It was, um, Oh gosh. I got a bottle of it. Here's another thing you don't try to do when you're drinking bourbon is think of shit. All right. So we have, uh, as our final whiskey of the day, this is, this is chocolate dark.

Yeah.

I mean, this is not a light colored whiskey. All right. This is, uh, so you heard us say, all right, all right, all right.

This is, uh,

Props to another state, right? That's right. This is a Colorado whiskey. This is called All Rye. It's from 291 Distillery. 291 Distillery is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Everything they make touches Aspen Staves. Aspen is kind of that tree that lives between the, what is it, like the 10,000 to 12,000 foot mark. No, wait, whatever it is, the tree line where you go high enough in the mountains where trees won't grow anymore. Aspens live up there.

Aspens do grow. Yeah.

So this is a hundred percent Rye malt Colorado whiskey finished with Aspen wood staves. It's 132.6 proof. Holy shit. This fella likes to make some hot whiskey. So this is, this is good solid stuff. And it actually has a label on it that says, all right, all right, all right, 291. This is, this also is a signed bottle. Just, just say it. Well, look at you. Yeah, but I'm drinking them.

Yeah, I like that. So OTDB, hashtag OTDB, open the damn bottle.

I don't care if it's signed or not signed. Yeah. Drink the whiskey, fill it back up with tea if you have to, but drink the whiskey. Yeah. What do you think?

And share it and enjoy it. That's right.

All right. 132.6 proof. Are you ready?

Are you ready to rock? I am.

That is not 132 proof on the nose. I can stick my nose right down in that Glencairn and I'm not getting it.

Yeah. You know, I, um, I don't know. There's a bit of, um, I don't get a specific fruit, but, uh, fruit to floral. I used to not make this shit up people. I'm just telling you. So this is new for me, but, uh, but, but, but it's a pleasant smell.

It is really good. I think it's a. This is actually, if you go back to the new riff, this one has a lighter nose than the new riff. Now the new riff was a hundred, a hundred proof. This is 132 proof and the nose is more gentle on your nostrils.

Wow.

It is floral. It does have a little bit of a caramel note to it, but it definitely has a bit of spice.

And what a, what a beautiful color, you know,

I'm going to say the fruit is, uh, it's, it's kind of a mixture between pear and apple.

Yeah. I don't know. I've tried eight times here.

Well, then when you try eight times and you can't call it out, it's time to drink it.

Yeah. Just call it fruity fruity. Cheers. Cheers.

Oh my gosh. That is, uh,

That's all body, bold, thick, rich, a little bit of spice on the tail end, but all those adjectives were correct.

Like a really strong root beer, like, like a non-sweet. So take, take a root beer and take the sweetness out and then double the, whatever makes root beer, root beer, double that. That is good stuff.

It really is. It really is. So again, the start from the beginning, the nose was, you know, quite effervescent. The color is, is bold and the flavors. Deep is good.

Deep and varied. There's a lot going on here. I think this is another one that you could definitely sit with for a while. You should definitely pour yourself one to two ounces of this and sit with it for an hour.

Yeah. Now we had a couple of these, two of the five I'll say had more of the chocolatey flavor, so I don't I'm not, at this point, I've not recognized a chocolatey flavor on this one. Maybe not at all. Oh, I get a little bit.

I think there's a little bit there, but not much. So that's probably the level at which they toast the malt after it's done. It's gotta be. Apparently so. It has to be.

I wish I knew more about that because that's intriguing for me. Cause you know, again, that chocolate thing is, is intriguing.

You have to talk to Michael and let him know that we need him to put a little more like chocolate malt in there. Let's see if we can't get something that's like Rob likes. Well, you like this, I know you do.

I like this too, I do. And so, all right, I'll just push, I'll push off to the end here. Well, as you know, I'm intrigued by this chocolate flavor and love this chocolate flavor. And in Maysville, Man, that really hit home. And on the light side, the Basil Hayden, not a bad on the light side. I'm probably going to have to say this one is my favorite of the night.

Yeah, for me, it's between, no, I did like the resurgence because of the chocolate note to it. Don't get me wrong.

I loved it a lot. I'm going to buy, I'm going to purchase a bottle of that. If you go get one, get me one.

Okay.

All right. So Rob's going to buy a bottle of the resurgence. I'm going to buy a bottle of the old Mays Field. Probably my second favorite, the old Mays Field, just because it is a light, easy, enjoyable, delightful. You can't call this delightful. This is powerful.

It's spicy, so now you're going to need to, if you're wanting a smooth bourbon, You're going to get the flavors, but you're going to want to throw on a rock and maybe a splash of some water.

Kind of 32 proof. You're not drinking a whole night of this stuff, right? Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. So think about it. I mean, you, you know, from an 80, 80 proof or even a hundred proof to a one 30, you know, you, you know, you, you got to do something with that. I mean, you got to do something with that to make it. pleasing to yourself, I mean.

And you're a cigar smoker. A little bit. So would this one be your choice for having with a cigar? I think so. I tend to agree. I'm not a cigar smoker anymore. I used to be, but I can remember enough to know that this would be a good cigar whiskey.

And I'm not really figured it all out, but it seems as though I enjoy you know, a bourbon of this type with some, you know, all the spiciness. Maybe it's because the cigar has already dulled my senses, right? So I need something bold. And this is a bold bourbon. Bold rye, bold malted rye. Definitely so.

All right, folks, we've gone through a number of malted ryes tonight. I think at the end of the day, you know, we both chose The 291 all rye is our number one choice, but we've been drinking whiskey a while. Our pallets have grown up the chain of proof to the point where we get somebody's something is 123, 132 proof in this case.

Yeah.

We're loving it.

Yeah, absolutely.

Old Maysville at 100 proof for me is a close second. I mean, you could choose your own second place.

What's your second place? Well, yeah, it is. And maybe tomorrow it's my first place. So be careful with that. Seriously, be careful with that. Look, if you, who knows? And I tell people this all the time. as my life changes, as my day changes, as my week changes, as my palette changes, as my age changes, the bourbon changes for me. And so I don't like to discount anybody or any bourbon. Just keep on trying, keep moving around and keep enjoying what you enjoy that day.

All right. I don't think we told everybody the price on the all rye. It's $107. So it is at the peak of what we've paid tonight for what we're drinking. It is also the choice for both of us. So there's a reason there why it's a little more expensive. It's aged a little longer. It's got a lot more proof to it and it carries a lot more character. And at 107, so as I said,

You know, it's just a old country novice drinker. I'm getting disenchanted with this, you know, secondary market one to $200 stuff, but I would pay a hundred and whatever for that particular bottle.

Lots of fun, Rob. Oh, such a great time. Thanks, Jim. And you kind of called this out to me. You said, I'm liking these malted rise.

I'm an idiot. I don't know. I keep moving around and so I'm learning. As I go, I'm a novice and I don't really sit around trying to figure it all out. You know, you ask me stuff sometimes and heck, I don't even know what I'm talking about. I want to feel like I'm the common man that understands, you know, the, the, the common stuff about bourbon, you know, if you're a novice, you know, there's an 80 proof. And if you're an old crusty guy, there's 130 proof and there's a hell of a lot of distance in between for everybody else to enjoy and learn.

All right. So quick recap, but you can find, uh, you can find, uh, Basil Hayden at 80 proof. You can find new riff at a hundred proof. We've got, uh, yeah. Old maidsville club at a hundred proof. Old maidsville is good. Uh, resurgence right at 121. Uh, the 291 all right at 132 proof. And there, there's several others. I think old Portrero is one that's really distributed nationwide. So if you don't, aren't able to find one of the ones we had mentioned on the show today, you can probably definitely find old Portrero.

Yeah.

Check that one out.

Hashtag O T D B. Open the damn bottle and have fun. That's right. Have fun. Share it with your friends.

All right, folks, we, uh, we really enjoyed having you on the show today. Rob, you're such a great, such a great guest. Our roadies love you.

Oh, do they know I'm pretty? If you're showing the ones that have met you, uh, if they, if you're showing a picture of how gosh dang pretty I am, I'm not going there. I'm done.

Yeah. Good night roadies. Good night. I'm not going there because some of them are going to answer in the, in the, in the road, in the roadies group. I guarantee it. All right, folks. Well, we had a great time tonight. We really enjoyed going through these whiskies with you. We normally don't drink five on a show, but today we did. We got to number five, had a lot of fun. Rye malt whiskey. Definitely something you want to try. If you enjoy this show, make sure. You let us know, hop onto the Bourbon Roadies. It's a private Facebook group. You have to join it. Just search on Facebook for the Bourbon Roadies and you'll find us. Join up, answer three questions, simple questions. We just want to make sure you're old enough to drink. Come on in and let us know what you thought about the show. You can find us on all the social media outlets. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, threads. We're everywhere. You'll find us on all the social media outlets at the Bourbon Road. We'd love to hear from you. Say hey to us, reach out to us, send us a message. We always respond. Every single week we do a show on Wednesdays. We'll have a great guest on, like Mr. Rob Carter from the Rare Eagle Bar. We had such a good time today. In the house. In the house. A lot of times we'll have distilleries on, we'll have musicians on, we'll have authors and chefs and all kinds of fun people. We're always drinking whiskey and always having a good time. We hope you'll join us every single week. And to make sure you don't miss a single episode, I know you're listening to us right now. So scroll up to the top of the app you're on, hit that subscribe button. That way every single week you get a message notification saying the bourbon road has dropped another episode and you won't miss one. You can hang out with us every single week, but until the next time we'll see you down the bourbon road.

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