A standard Friday Night with WCWS

Was able to get some good bottles together for a friday night smackdown. There were some new Rye's released by Nashville Barrel Company in the Wilson County area so we figured we would pick up two and then throw together an old ( and a new ) favorite for a tasting. Let's look at the contestants:

Sazarac Rye ( $35 )

Nashville Barrel Company Small Batch Rye ( $59 ) Vintage Wine and Spirits

Elijah Craig Straight Rye ( $32 )

Nashville Barrel Company Single Barrel Rye ( $99 ) Mount Juliet Wine and Spirits

Sazarac Rye is a great drink. For a Rye, not very hot, easy neat sipper, and great as a mixer. This can be hard to find, so if you have never had it or don't like ryes but have never had it we would like to recommend it.

If you can find it, we would also like to recommend the Elijah Craig straight rye. If you read the blog you know that we are Elijah Craig fans, and we love this straight rye. It has a little bit more character than the Sazarac, and we just dig it. I hope that HH decides to open the market on this bottle b/c we thought it was great.

The Nashville Barrel Small Batch is a blend of 4 and 7 year rye whiskeys. We were just not fans of this whiskey and it finished 4th in this tasting. We just didn't feel like it had any flavor and not much heat. We just felt like the blend was off.

On the other hand, the Nashville Barrel Single Barrel 7 year was on time. This one is cask strength, and we dug it. Good nose, little bit of heat, and great flavor. It is 99 dollars, though. So we need to have a discussion on the value.

Overall, on nose the EC Straight Rye and the Nashville Barrel Single Barrel tied. On taste, the Nashville Barrel Single Barrel edges out the EC Straight Rye. Sazarac is 3rd and Nashville Barrel Small Batch is 4th. For value, the Elijah Craig Straight Rye is around 1/3 the cost of the NB Single Barrel. It's clearly the value choice and a great rye under $35.