Just tried the fairly new Jefferson 21 year old Rye, Jefferson 25 Year Old Bourbon and Lock Stock and Barrel Rye. All these retail for around or above $120. My value based ratings find none better than my favorite accessible competitors at $40 and below. Basically, they are way over priced. Jefferson 21 is just nasty, I hate the finish so much I felt like finishing the glass was punishment for something I’d done in a former life.
I compared the three to a couple of my favorite accessible $20-$30 Rye’s and Bourbons like Four Roses regular Small Batch and Sazerac 6 year. Both were better than the new tasted selections costing 3-4x more. Trying the new Ryes up against the Angels Envy Rye reminded me of something I haven’t covered. That being what’s left in a barrel or bottling line filter that changes what ends up in the bottle.
When a barrel is filled, approximately 5 gallons is absorbed into the barrel. Also upto 10 gallons of a previous barrel’s contents is left behind in the filter at a distiller. For example-A barrel of Pappy 23 is bottled then a private barrel of Weller Antique 107 is the next barrel in this line to be bottled. That next barrel though will be private, and will have upwards of 10 Gallons of pappy 23 in it. This is known and asked for by some customers during the bottling of their barrels when feasible. Another reason why that private barrel of xxx is often superior to the others.