Sazerac Rye is produced by Sazerac Company, Inc. at Buffalo Trace Distillery. Sazerac is headquartered in New Orleans and was founded in the 1800s. According to the company, the name Sazerac began with the cocktail, then the bar, and finally the company. Antoine Peychaud, a Creole immigrant, would mix brandy, absinthe, and bitters he created at his pharmacy located in the French Quarter. The cocktail became popular at the city’s “coffee houses,” which were the term used for drinking establishments at the time. Peychaud’s concoction became most strongly associated with one coffee house in particular, the Sazerac Coffee House located on Exchange Alley. The coffee house’s owner, Sewell Taylor, institutionalized the drink by using only Sazerac de Forge et Fils brandy, which he imported to the U.S. and sold exclusively. This cocktail earned its name as a result.

‍‍Thomas H. Handy acquired the Sazerac Coffee House in 1869 and then Peychaud’s bitters in 1873. Thereafter, in the 1890s, his company bottled and marketed the Sazerac cocktail, which is now made with rye whiskey instead of brandy. C.J. O’Reilly, Handy’s secretary, chartered the Sazerac Company.

‍‍Sazerac Rye Whiskey is released in three other variations: a limited 18 year old release (part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC)), Thomas H. Handy Sazerac (also part of BTAC), and an ongoing no-age statement release at 90 proof.

A warm and rustic aroma awakens your senses right from the onset. Orange peel, glazed donut, and rye spice lead, with light scents of brandy-soaked raisins, mint, and a faint hint of clove following behind. The aroma strikes a good balance between sweet and spice, which is a trait that carries into further portions of the sip. The aroma is very pleasing and surprisingly rich at times, and while straightforward, it does the most with what it has to offer.

A sweet and buttery mouthfeel greets you, delivering flavors of delicious candied orange slices, apricot, and candy corn. A touch of lightly seared mint adds complexity and contrast before transitioning to traditional notes of caramel and vanilla. The whiskey’s intensity comes across as perfectly dialed in, delivering strong flavor but keeping its sip approachable.

Spice reaches its zenith during the whiskey’s finish, but it’s not as punchy as you’d expect given its 100 proof. It combines with plum, black cherry, and date, grounding the sip, before pulling back and layering a dash of black pepper and barrel char. The finish turns a touch dry at this point, with a lingering rye spice note that takes its time to dissipate.

Buffalo Trace is well known for their expansive bourbon portfolio that includes mainstays like Blanton’s Original Single Barrel, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Eagle Rare, E.H. Taylor, and their limited offerings of Stagg, Weller, Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC), and Pappy Van Winkle bourbons. Rye plays a bigger role in BTAC, though, representing two out of five (soon to be six) whiskeys in the collection. Yet, rye in general plays a very small role in the company’s ever-growing whiskey portfolio overall.

The 90 proof Sazerac Rye has been a mainstay for the company because a good deal of the Sazerac Company’s history is based on the famous rye-based Sazerac cocktail. Given its importance, it’s surprising how little attention rye has been given by the company - until now. The jump to 100 proof isn’t quite what many expected a brand expansion would be. Bottled in 1-liter bottles, the move has more to do with bartenders’ desire for a slightly higher proof offering than satisfying whiskey enthusiasts. Yet, unexpectedly, a jump of 10 proof points proves to be more beneficial than one would expect it to be.

The increase in proof brings out the best qualities of Sazerac Rye. The additional proof enhances the sip overall. The aroma has much more zest, the palate accents its sugary and fruity notes to a greater degree, and the finish shows off more of its oak component. Though it’s not transformative, overly unique, or the 20-30 proof point increase many likely wanted, it not only gets the job done, but it’s a better whiskey for it.  

Like most of Buffalo Trace’s whiskeys, Sazerac Rye isn’t an always-on-the-shelf bottle in all regions of the country. Though it maintains better availability comparatively, even its $30 price point doesn’t seem to help make it the everyday sipper that it deserves to be, which makes the price point of the 100 proof version all the more perplexing. Perhaps because the 100 proof version was designed with bartenders in mind, Buffalo Trace chose to offer the higher proof version in a bigger 1-liter bottle at the same $30 price point. While it doesn’t make sense from an accounting standpoint, consumers are the winners this time out, being able to pick up a higher quality rye, in a bigger bottle, at the same price as the lower proof version. You’d better pinch yourself, as this doesn’t happen often.

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Sazerac Rye 100 Proof isn’t a transformative change from its 90 Proof version, but it’s all-around a better-tasting rye because of it. Sazerac Rye has always been an approachable rye that seemed designed for the folks who were scared off by rye whiskey’s typical boldness. It’s largely a straightforward pour that forgoes a challenging sip for one that anyone, regardless of experience with rye, can find something to enjoy. While the bump in 10 proof seems minor, it has an influential impact on the end product. Yes, oak notes are pronounced and rye spice hits a little hotter, but also the rye’s frontend is sweeter, accenting its fruity notes to a more pleasant degree. It may not be as spicy as some cocktail drinkers would like, but designed with a Sazerac cocktail in mind, the higher proof is what the brand probably should have always been. Price, flavor, and intensity all come together in perfect harmony, resulting in Sazerac Rye 100 Proof being an essential rye in anyone’s collection.