Favorite inexpensive Rye?

I consistently see these four rye whiskeys recommended, especially considering their modest prices. I’ve had all four, but they’re never near enough another that I can thoughtfully compare them. I’ll have one bottle on hand of one of them, finish it over several months, and then get a different one. Now, I’m not expecting to see significant differences in $20ish ryes, but what do you all think? What’s the best out of Dickel, Rittenhouse, Old Overholt, and Sazerac? And, dare I ask, are there any other widely available, sub-$20 ryes worth finding? TIA!

Rittenhouse is my go-to for cocktails. I am not a fan of Overholt, I don’t like 80pf whiskeys and the newer BIB did not impress me. Dickel and Sazerac are great. Jim Beam is another possibility. I can’t think of anything around $20 that is a) readily available and b) stands out over these.

Sazerac, but I can’t find it easily.

Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond. I think it’s an excellent bang for the buck. Sazerac has a good flavor profile, but I prefer a higher proof in most of my cocktails (Rittenhouse is 100 v 90 for Sazerac). Plus, Sazerac is sometimes hard to finnd, while Rittenhouse is readily avalable and cheaper too. Overholt is watery and mostly flavorless. If I’m being charitable, it’s inoffensive.

I usually go with Rittenhouse. Dickel is fine but come from the Indiana MGP; as far as I can tell, it’s the exact same snake oil as Bulleit Rye. Old Overholt is the cheapest tasting. I don’t see Sazerac much as the Buffalo Trace bandwagon is still rolling strong.

Right now I’m using Old Maysville–but it isn’t as cheap.

Rittenhouse is nice. Though lately I’ve been going with Redemption Rye as it’s around the same price and has a higher rye mash bill which I’ve been enjoying

Rittenhouse and Sazerac would be my choices. I’ve heard good things about Old Forester Rye.

Wild turkey rye is pretty good, granted that I make cocktails (old fashioned) more than drinking it straight.

Not got huge experience, but Sazerac is good.

another vote for rittenhouse

Rittenhouse.

For sipping Sazerac and Elijah Craig, if you can find it.Cocktails , Rittenhouse is the clear winner.Knob Creek single barrel 115 proof is really good as well.

Thanks, All. Exactly what I needed to hear: a pretty clear consensus preference for Rittenhouse. I was asking certainly with the thought of using it for cocktails and not sipping. I won a bottle of Masterson’s Rye last year in a booze buy-in FF league and loved it, but I’m not keen to mix expensive stuff like that!

I’ve been using Overholt for my Sazeracs. I’ll be trying some of these suggestions.

Thanks for the information.

I sell them, but I like them for different things.

Sazerac, neat or rocks, and old fashioned/Sazerac
Old Fo 100pf, all other cocktails

Sold Rittenhouse for years and loved it…haven’t had it since they left. Rittenhouse 25 year old is still one of the coolest whiskeys I have tried.

Save some coin and just use Canadian Whiskey. Or try some of the good suggestions here. Beware of mine.

Ok…let’s cool it on the Rittenhouse suggestions. :slight_smile: I’m not looking to make it any harder to find.

On a serious note, For cocktails (especially Manhattan’s) I’m a fan of High West Double Rye and Rittenhouse

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I think it will be easier…we were on allocation from distillery from 2013 to 2018, 2019 it opened up and we got double and heading into 2020 we were slated to get even more. It’s not a bottomless well, but HH realized the demand.

I usually pour Rittenhouse, but did like Old Forester.

I don’t think that Canadian whisky is a good substitute as they seldom have a good slug or rye even though they are colloquially known as “rye” because they have a little dollop of rye