james e pepper 1776 rye......

[charles_sills]

has anyone had this? i just picked it up in the liquor store for about 30 bucks in ohio. i have to say, i am not digging it at all.
opened the bottle, smelled it, smelled good. took a little nip. def. had the familiar burn and a bit of peppery bite that i expect from a good rye. but, i dont know, it tasted like rye flavor vodka? is it just not aged very much, or what?
next, had it in my favorite drink; the manhattan. i always do 2 ounces rye, .5 ounce sweet vermouth, 3-4 dashes bitters. stired for 45 seconds. served up. it tasted like water, some alcohol burn, and vermouth. what?
and i just made an old fashioned with it. sugar cube, 4 dashes bitters, splash of water, 2 ounces rye. again, it tastes like water, sugar, and bitters, with an alcohol burn......... what is going on? have others had this? what are your opinions? 30 bucks is quite alot for me to spend, generally i spend 22 bucks on bulliet rye, bulliet bourbon, or buffalo trace bourbon. sometimes i get old overholt rye, and quite like it. when i have a few extra bucks, i splurge for russels reserve rye. and i LOVE that. am i the only one that thinks this 1776 rye is terrible???

i think i will just relegate this to drinking with coke. ehhhh.

[JMF]

Four dashes of bitters? No wonder bitters is one of the main flavors in your old fashioned.

[charles_sills]

it isnt the main flavor when i using other whiskeys. and remember, to each there own. i like 3-4 dashes of bitters. you obviously like less.

[JMF]

You are making false assumptions about my likes and dislikes. BUT, that is about double the normal amount used in an Old Fashioned.

[charles_sills]

im sorry if i somehow offended you. you stated that that four dashes of bitters is the reason that it tasted of mostly bitters, it sounded like you prefer less bitters in your drink than i do. it was in no way supposed to upset you or insult you, if it did, i sincerely apologize.

but i usually see most peoples recipes for old fashioneds have 2-3 dashes of bitters. i use 3-4 depending on the day. although 4 is twice as many as two, many people use 3, and 4 is only one more than 3 haha. (i know no one needs a math lesson. if they did, trust me i wouldnt be the one that should give it! haha)

[sku]

I have not had it but I've not heard good things about the Pepper line (they sell a few bourbons and ryes). This is a private company that buys whiskey to bottle. The Pepper rye is made by the old Seagram's distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana (aka LDI or MGP). This is the same distillery that makes Bulleit Rye. The regular version of Pepper says two to four years old on the label (which probably means closer to two).

[charles_sills]

upon closer inspection of the bottle, it turns out it is aged two years.

[JMF]

Yes, it is young whiskeys, around 2 years. And because they are hand picking barrels, there is a major inconsistency. So not every batch is perfect, but I did try some of the earlier releases and they were very good. But it has been a year or three. So I don't know what the latest is like.

I'm pretty sure that several years ago Drew Kulsveen, Master Distiller of Willet, was picking barrels for them. Drew is both an excellent distiller, and fantastic at picking good barrels. I spent time this fall at his distillery, and friends and I are in the process of having him select a rye and a whiskey to bottle for us as a custom single barrel expression.

[charles_sills]

its entirely possible that i got the only bad bottle on earth, but sadly im too cheap to ever try it again.

[charles_sills]

found a can of dr pepper in the fridge. this whiskey actually ruined dr pepper! haha. i didnt think that was possible.