Brian’s Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey Review:
reviewed 30-October-2021
OLD OVERHOLT STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY REVIEW:
Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt) is an interesting rye. The whiskey has pleasant aromas and flavors: sweetness founded in wood, but these do not dominant. Rather, they pair to provide a solid foundation for the spice and fruit to shine. This is a good whiskey, one I will reach for again.
OLD OVERHOLT STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY VITAL STATS:
Category: Straight Rye
Region: Clermont, KY
Company: Beam Suntory
Distillery: Jim Beam Distillery/A. Overholt & Co.
Mash Bill: unpublished
Barrel Char: #4
Barrel entry proof: unpublished
Age: 3 Years
ABV: 43% (86 Proof)
Price: $18.95 (Idaho 2021)
“The oldest, continually produced and maintained rye whisky brand in America.”
— Beam-Suntory
ENJOYMENT METHOD:
For the evaluation, alternate amounts to achieve review portions of about four ounces were poured into two Glencairns from a newly opened bottle. My daughter and I enjoyed the bourbon neat for this review.
Check out her review for this bourbon here!
OLD OVERHOLT STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY NOSE:
Wafts of Old Overholt are dry with just a slight nip of alcohol. As I sniff, the pour gives up fruit tree blossoms and herbal notes of dusty grain. Then come aromas of soft apple-raisin-cinnamon compote in a light vanilla infused rye pastry. The sweetness continues as brown sugar fades to light molasses with a cashew-like nuttiness. Dryness continues as I draw faint oak, a bit of barrel aroma and a touch of leather from the glass before taking the first sip.
OLD OVERHOLT STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY PALATE:
Old Overholt’s herbal aromas pass to the palate as do the soft baking apples. There aren’t many flavors but they do stand out. I get rye bread, faint cloves and pepper which pair nicely with notes of cocoa, vanilla, some light brown sugar and refined molasses. I also taste roasted nuts, and light and dry toasted oak. The flavors make this an earthy pour.
Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Old Overholt is a simple and gentle rye. The liquid is viscous and oily and there is no alcohol to contend with owing to low 86 proof. After each sip, the wash breaks into irregularly spaced long clinging legs to return the liquid to the russet colored pool. And left behind is a thin crown with few clinging droplets.
OLD OVERHOLT STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY FINISH:
Old Overholt Rye has a dry, medium and warm finish. Like sensed on the nose and palate, the finish is herbal with a bit of dusty grain. As each sip is swallowed there is a an aftertaste of soft apples, toasted nuts and faint, almost burnt sawdust. I also feel a sensation of bitter citrus, a dash of powdered ginger, the memory of rye bread and some bittersweet chocolate as the finish fades. And when the last drops are downed, the empty Glencairn smells of dried pollen and summer leaves drying along the sides of a winding back-woods dirt road.
MY OLD OVERHOLT STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY RATING: 85/100
Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
This rye could very well be a calibration pour or even a final dram when just a bit more is needed at the end of the night.
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.
Click 85/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
To access other whiskies from this distillery, click Jim Beam.
WHISKEY TRAITS, FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
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