Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 93 |
| Style |
Rye American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 63.6% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $149.99 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Reviewed | 2024-11-05 |
Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye Whiskey 2024 Review
The youngest of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection releases, Thomas H. Handy is a barrel proof rye expression that generally clocks in at just over six years old. The 2024 release is no exception, the whiskey herein going into the barrels at 125 proof just over six years ago. Ultimately, this year’s Handy rye was bottled at 127.2 proof, a slight bump from last year’s 124.9.
But while Thomas H. Handy is young compared to its BTAC brethren, it’s rarely if ever short on flavor. Personally, I often find it to be among the most consistently delicious of the five Antique Collection expressions; occasionally, and depending on the year, it will even rise to the top as my favorite of the lineup.
Let’s see how this year’s Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye stacks up!
Thomas H. Handy Rye 2024: Stats and Availability
Like all BTAC expressions, in 2024, Thomas H. Handy boasts an MSRP of $150, up $25 from last year. And like all other BTAC bottlings, it often commands a significant premium at retail, sometimes going for several times the manufacturer’s suggested listing.
While Buffalo Trace doesn’t publicize specific bottle counts, it’s generally believed Thomas H. Handy is one of the larger BTAC releases from year to year. That belief, coupled with its relatively low age statement, means Handy doesn’t command the same exorbitant premiums as bottles like Sazerac 18 or Eagle Rare 17. It’s rare to see this one on a shelf for over $500, and in recent years, I’ve anecdotal seen markups dropping a bit.
Thomas H. Handy Rye 2024 Review
Similar to all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
The nose kicks things off with lots of sweet oak, barrel char, menthol, dusted dark cocoa, and pine sap. A series of spices is up next, and in quick succession: cinnamon sticks, baked cloves, szechuan peppercorns, cardamom pods, and finally, some barely-there star anise. When it comes to Thomas H. Handy, from one year’s batch to the next, I usually smell Chinese five-spice powder; 2024 certainly continues that trend.
Scents soon shift to fruit and some green, herbal notes. Lemon oil pairs with light bermuda grass, both of which are enhanced by some continued menthol that stretches from a first sniff all the way through, even as oak notes fall slightly by the wayside.
It’s a punchier, more wood-forward nose compared to last year’s barrel proof rye, but nothing about nosing the 2024 Thomas H. Handy screams “hot” or ethanol burn. Rather, the aromas are tannic and barrel-driven from the start, robust but not jarring.
But as is always the case with Handy, the palate is make or break. Time to sip.
Taste
The nose already primed me for cinnamon, but it stands even more at first sip, coupled with a truly hefty dose of dried sandalwood. Clove and black pepper are also present and accounted for. Some of the other spiced elements from the nose — cardamom, anise — are largely gone, as are those green, grassier notes.
(If you had told me a small portion of this whiskey was finished in European oak with its elevated spice influence, I might have believed you.)
The oak is more toasted stave than barrel char, and when it comes to whiskeys aged in American oak, this year’s Handy might be the best example of “wood spice” I’ve tasted in some time. And that’s carried by a noteworthy, viscous mouthfeel, one factor Handy rye continues to knock out of the park.
It takes three or four sips for me to move beyond the cinnamon, wood spice, and sandalwood (though those never truly subside). Eventually, strawberry candy builds just along the midpalate; that suddenly shifts to diluted grenadine and Fruit Gushers. The back palate is more of the same, heavy on cinnamon and some lingering spiced strawberry cobbler.
Finish
The 2023 Thomas H. Handy featured a lovely, molasses-adjacent final act. But 2024 is a different beast, really continuing those punchy wood spices straight on through. It’s unapologetic and unwavering in its profile. Even with a few drops of dilution (always fun to try with these releases), the rye whiskey is cinnamon-meets-toasted wood shavings almost all the way down.
Thomas H. Handy Rye 2024 Rating
93/100
Recap
This year’s Thomas H. Handy rye is going to please a lot of drinkers who like their whiskey heavy on wood and spice. Indeed, it’ll be tough to find another six year old American rye with flavors this pronounced and impactful.
That said, I also think this could be one of the more polarizing Handy releases in quite some time. To my palate, the flavor band was a bit narrower than it’s been in a few years. That results in a rye that does a few things very well while sidestepping the breadth of flavor we know this expression can offer. It’s certainly an enjoyable dram, just one I might alternate with other whiskeys instead of enjoying straight through an evening.
*Image retrieved from the Buffalo Trace Distillery.
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