Review #396 - Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye (2022)

Written By Me, My Wife & Whisky

Our first encounter with Buffalo Trace's Antique Collection, the highly coveted annuals releases. While the MSRP on these bottles now falls around $125, it's not unusual to see secondary prices in the $500 to $1,500 range, which is a hard for a lot of whiskies to live up to.

Buffalo Trace actually gives us a lot of interesting information on these releases now on their website - the whiskies are listed by individual release year. For this 2022 bottling of Thomas Handy Rye, here are a few of the pertinent points:

  • The rye was distilled in the Spring of 2016, and age was 6 years and 4 months at the time of bottling

  • While barrel entry proof was 125, the strength rose to 130.9 proof during maturation

  • The grains include Minnesota rye, Kentucky corn, and North Dakota malted barley

  • Maturation took place in warehouses I, L, and M, on a combination of the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th floors

There's quite a bit more to read through, as well. So, how does this uncut, unfiltered Kentucky straight rye stack up to its prices (both original and secondary)?

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye (2022)

USA - Rye

Current Locally Available Price: USD 800 (2024)

Age Statement: 6 Years

Strength: 65.45% ABV

Details: Not chill filtered; 2022 release

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 50% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Richly oaked for the 6 years of aging, and some sweet vanilla is the first thing to hit the nose. We get a kick from ginger, and there's a soft herbal side as well, which lingers behind the spice. It's a rich, full-bodied nose.

Palate: Rich oak is again the first flavor, along with a kick of spice: cinnamon red hot candies. More of that rye character appears with eucalyptus, herbal, and earthy notes; vanilla adds a balancing sweetness, and this is very oily and warming. The mouthfeel is thick.

Finish: Medium-long, still very warming, and the herbal and dirty earthy notes become more prominent. There's still plenty of cinnamon spice, though the oak influence is more mild in the finish; in the aftertaste, it's more drying than sweet.

Final Note: This is a very nice rye whisky, and we love that barrel proof presentation, though it can come across as a little bit hot; cinnamon was definitely a focus across the tasting in our experience, with the rye notes lingering in the background a lot of the time. A very good whisky, one we would be happy to have on our shelf.

All of that said, we have trouble justifying the secondary prices for this rye. At the original $125, we would definitely snag a bottle; we probably wouldn't go much higher than $150, if we're basing the value just on the flavor and disregarding the exclusivity.

Our Average Rating: 7.8 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 3.07

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.

Me, My Wife & Whisky
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