Basil Hayden, from Jim Beam Distillery, is another one of the early premium Bourbons along with Woodford and Beam’s Knob Creek, Baker’s and Booker’s. As of late, Basil has been the more adventurous with Dark Rye, which has a little bit of port in it, and Toast, which has a second aging in toasted barrels. Now we have Basil Hayden Malted Rye. From their website, “Experience the more refined side of rye, with a glass of our newest release that delivers an unexpected softness and 100% malted rye mash bill.”
The Malted Rye expression sells for $60, is 80 proof, and comes in the standard corked bottle that you see all the Basil Hayden’s in. As stated above, the mash bill is 100 % malted barley. We could not find an age, but it has to be at least four years old. This bottle was given to us by a friend, so we are not sure how hard it is to find.
Full disclosure, Talking Bourbon has never been a huge fan of Basil Hayden, preferring Knob Creek and Woodford, which we consider to be in the same category. We do have to hand it to Basil for thinking outside the box and trying different things. On the flip side, we didn’t like Dark Rye or Toast. There is not a lot of 100% malted rye juice out there. We aren’t even sure if we ever had one. Is there a reason not many distilleries make this type of rye? Is it a gimmick? We will see.
NOSE
Matt: Getting some oak, rye, malt, cereal, and a slight bit of fruit, maybe apple. Smelling it neat, I do not get much sweetness or bitterness; however, adding ice brought out some sweetness.
Todd: Strong rye with some wet oak, along with a little leather, white pepper, and grain. Ice did nothing.
TASTE
Matt: As in the nose, getting strong tastes of oak and rye. Also, getting some vanilla, caramel, leather, some overall sweetness, and a touch of orange. Ice makes it a little lighter but not much difference.
Todd: Rye is the first thing I taste, with oak, leather, malt, barley, and vanilla coming in after that. Like Matt, I get a touch of orange. Ice did nothing.
FINISH
Matt: Short to medium with some rye and a slight bitterness.
Todd: Medium with the rye Matt got, but it seems sweet to me. Odd.
Nose 3 out of 5
Taste 6.5 out of 10
Finish 3.25 out of 5
Total score 12.75 out of 20 barrels.
Judging by the score, we are still not huge Basil Hayden fans. Basil Hayden Malted Rye is not bad, but like we have mentioned many times, there needs to be something that lets it stand out in a very crowded market. There is a saying in team sports, “he’s just a guy.” The meaning behind that is he is not a bad player, but not a good player either. He won’t win you a game but probably won’t lose you one. He is just somebody to round out the team; hence, just a guy. We are introducing a new term for our reviews: just another bottle. And we feel this Malted Rye fits that saying. It is not a bad drink, but also not necessarily a good one. Just a bottle. And $60 is kind of high for just a bottle.
It did make for a pretty good cocktail, and we know people who only drink liquor in mixed drinks. In the end, as always, this is our taste preferences. We have friends who love Basil Hayden. So, if that is you, by all means, give this a try. Maybe Basil Hayden’s Malted Rye is just the thing for you. But if not, don’t say we didn’t warn you.