Whiskey Review: Clyde May’s Straight Rye Whiskey

Introduction

Today, we’re checking out Clyde May’s Straight Rye Whiskey, the second bottle in the three-sample Clyde May’s lineup we’ve been working our way through.

Last time around, the Clyde May’s Straight Bourbon surprised us in a big way. Neither of us had especially high expectations going in, and we came away impressed by how much flavor it delivered at a relatively modest proof.

So naturally, the rye had something to live up to. Like the bourbon, this is a sourced whiskey from an undisclosed Indiana distillery. The mash bill isn’t disclosed either, although there are some obvious possibilities if you know your large Indiana whiskey producers.

What we do know is that this rye is 94 proof and three years old. That puts it right around the age where rye can start getting interesting. Rye tends to mature a little faster than bourbon, but once you get much younger than three years, the raw grain and alcohol can still take over pretty quickly.

After how much we enjoyed the bourbon, we were hoping Clyde May’s could pull off the same trick again. For the most part, it did.

This review is taken from our episode "In Bruges (2008) / Clyde May's Straight Rye." Click the link to listen to this review in audio format.

Nose

Brad: This is a nice, simple rye nose. There’s mint, cinnamon, allspice, a little bit of brown sugar, and vanilla. There’s nothing here that makes me go crazy, but there’s also nothing that makes me turn up my nose. It’s just a pleasant, straightforward rye nose. 7.5/10

Bob: I’m at a 7/10. It’s a little bit muted. I was worried last week that the lower proof on the bourbon was going to make it feel watered down, and I kind of get that on the nose of this rye.

It’s nice and floral. There’s some green apple to it. But I also get a strong ethanol note. It doesn’t smell like young grain, exactly, but it almost smells like rubbing alcohol. It doesn’t feel quite as matured in that way. So I’m coming down just a little bit here.

Taste

Brad: On the palate, the rye comes through nice and strong.

It’s got a really fresh, minty vibe. There’s vanilla and brown sugar.

There’s nothing complex about this, but it has a really nice, well-balanced experience where you get a little sweetness, a little mintiness, and it all works together really well.

I’m sticking at 7.5/10.

Bob: I've got to be honest, man. I am really digging these Clyde May’s. They’re like flavor bombs that you’re not expecting at a lower proof.

That green apple was present on the front of my tongue, both natural green apple peel and green apple candy. As it moves toward the back of the palate, the alcohol finally starts to come through. The baking spices show up, there’s a blast of vanilla, and then I got this fresh, tart mandarin orange note that I was not expecting.

At the very back, as you swallow, you finally get more of that classic rye character. Last week I said the bourbon was an autumn whiskey. This feels like a summertime rye. It reminds me of bright neon colors, oranges, limes. 8.5/10

Finish

Brad: The finish is where I really fell in love with this rye. There’s black pepper and oak. The mint sticks around, and the rye flavor comes through strongly. But it also has this nice simple-syrup sweetness to it.

It reminded me of those caramel apple suckers—the sour candy with the caramel wrapped around it. That’s where my mind went on the finish. 8.5/10

Bob: The finish is probably my least favorite part of the whole experience. The youth of the grain starts to show up here, along with some bitterness from the oak and more medicinal notes.

The whole thing had been pretty sweet up to this point, so that last note feels a little disjointed to me. It lands more heavily on barrel char and bitterness than I’d like. 7/10

Balance

Bob: Even though I don’t love the finish, I still think this is a really well-balanced whiskey overall. The nose promised things the palate delivered, and the palate actually upped the ante.

The finish doesn’t suddenly introduce something completely alien. It just emphasizes the barrel char and bitterness more than I would prefer. Still, taken as a whole, this works really well. 8/10

Brad: I’m at 8/10 as well. This thing packs a lot of flavor for the proof point it’s sitting at. I don’t know a lot of 94-proof ryes that have this much punch. I’m all in on this whiskey.

Value

Clyde May’s Straight Rye carries an MSRP of about $42. That’s not outrageous by modern whiskey standards, but both of us felt like the sweet spot was probably a little lower.

Brad: At $42, I think this is a relatively good price. If it was in the 30s, I would be really, really pumped about it. At $42, it’s a tiny bit on the expensive side, but I’m not going to ding it that much for that. 7.5/10

Bob: For some reason, I had Clyde May’s mentally filed away as more of a value brand, and that’s not really fair. If this were a $30 bottle of rye—especially considering that it’s a three-year-old sourced rye—I’d say that was both fair and a really good value.

At $35, I’d still happily shell out for it. But another seven bucks on top of that? I do feel like I have to ding it a little bit. It’s still a darn good whiskey. 7/10

Final Scores

Bob: 37.5/50

Brad: 39/50

Average Score: 38.25/50

This is the second Clyde May’s bottle in a row that significantly outperformed our expectations.

Bob: If you live somewhere where whiskey actually goes on sale and you can find this for $35, I think it becomes a no-brainer pickup. At $42, it’s asking just a hair too much for me. And I know that sounds like I’m nitpicking and haggling, but seven bucks is seven bucks.

Brad: At $42, I still think this is worth a pickup. Prices have gone up a lot over the last couple of years, so while $35 to $38 would feel better to me, it makes sense that this is sitting just above $40 now. 

At Film & Whiskey, 35/50 is typically where we start recommending that you try a pour at a bar or consider buying a bottle. A score of 40/50 is great, while 45/50 is excellent territory.

At 38.25/50, Clyde May’s Straight Rye lands firmly in the recommendation zone and just short of that “great” benchmark.

What makes it work is how much flavor it manages to deliver at only 94 proof. Green apple, mint, vanilla, brown sugar, mandarin orange, black pepper, cinnamon, and baking spice all show up without the whiskey ever feeling like it’s trying too hard.

Bob was cooler on the finish, while Brad thought that was actually the best part of the pour. But both of us ended up in essentially the same place overall: this is a very good rye that punches above its proof.

The $42 price is the only real sticking point. Find it in the mid-$30s and don’t overthink it.