Ragtime Bottled In Bond Rye Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: C+

(Credit: New York Distilling Company)

Much of the buzz surrounding 2015 release of New York Distilling Company’s inaugural Ragtime Rye was aimed at the mixology audience, with the whiskey billed as tailored for a classic Manhattan. That flagship whiskey was made with 75% New York-grown rye, 13% corn and 12% malted barley, and then aged for a minimum of three years in full-sized, new oak barrels. Thus, it is a whiskey quite reflective of “Craft Whiskey 2.0,” a stage marked by the move away from tiny barrels.

The follow-up release of Ragtime Bottled in Bond is even more reflective of current affairs in the craft whiskey scene, which has a growing set of bottled in bond whiskeys on offer. Although many of the big distiller, mass market bourbons and ryes are aged about four to six years, and the minimum for bottled in bond status is just four years (and is often that four years on the dot in practice), only the worst kind of snob would try to argue against the maturity of a whiskey meeting the standards of the 1897 Bottled in Bond Act.

So, this is a somewhat older, 100 proof version of Ragtime, presumably aimed more at whiskey drinkers than the cocktail crowd. Concurrent with its launch, the old not-bonded flagship was replaced by a new brand, Empire Rye, which is named for the group of New York State craft distillers building an identity around Empire State rye whiskeys.

The Whiskey
A pour of Ragtime Bonded has a light copper look, with a swish of the liquid forming a beady crown and dropping a few skinny legs into the glass. The nose is a sweet one, but also full of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and turmeric. The scent closes with a little peppery note on the end.

The flavor also runs sweet, with plenty of vanilla showing off the new white oak barrel. It’s not as spicy on the palate as on the nose, but the cinnamon and nutmeg are still fairly pronounced, even if all the other elements are reduced to mere traces.

The finish, however, was short, even abbreviated. It ran mildly spicy, but was too light and over too quickly for me to gain much more from it. A whiskey’s finish is not a very crucial element in a cocktail, but it is something to miss when sipping neat.

The Price
Ragtime Bonded Rye fetches $50 a bottle.