Bulleit 95 Rye Whiskey

I found this bottle of Bulleit Straight 95 American Rye whiskey and just had to try it. Rye whiskey is exploding in South Africa. Even regular bottle shops have started to carry some rye whiskey.
Whisky of the Week review and tasting notes for rye whiskey. A collection of all the interesting Rye releases I have tried, be it from the USA or from other countries.

I found this bottle of Bulleit Straight 95 American Rye whiskey and just had to try it. Rye whiskey is exploding in South Africa. Even regular bottle shops have started to carry some rye whiskey.

Today I look at another Rye release, Jack Daniel’s Rye whiskey. What a roller coaster we have had in South Africa with covid and lock down. When SA went into lock down level 5 in March 2020, the sale of alcohol was banned. A whole industry came to a sudden standstill.

Last year November, Iain Stirling was in the country to showcase the Arbiki Highland Rye single grain Scotch whisky. Iain Stirling is a founder and director of Arbiki Distillery. I had some other responsibilities, so I did not get to meet him.

During November the annual Whisky Bible ratings come out. For some, it is an event that is highly anticipated. For others, not so much. Over the last couple of years, the top awards have been somewhat controversial, and Jim Murray even depicts himself a bit of a devil (playing a bit of Devil’s advocate) on the front page of the 2015 bible.

Canada celebrated its 150th anniversary on the 1st of July. I was fortunate to be in Canada during these celebrations, and it was wonderful to raise a glass (or 2) in celebration. One of the glasses we raised was filled with JP Wiser’s Deluxe blended Canadian Rye whisky. I spent quite a bit of time rummaging through Canadian liquor stores during our trip.

My first experience with rye whisky was earlier in the year when I tasted the Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye. Rye based whisky is relatively unknown in SA. I liked the spiciness of rye and looked around for some more.