Old Overholt

Rye
Purchase Price: $14 (1 Liter)
Place of Purchase: Warehouse - New York, NY
Rating: 8.5

I love rye, but most people don’t even know it exists or think that it has something to do with bread or something. Balderdash. It exists and it’ll scuff your nose and box your ears if you don’t afford it some of that proper “old school” respect. Rye used to be the number one drink in the nation, back when the world was recorded in black and white and men wore hats everywhere and to me, Old Overholt will always be the classic rye—sharp and spicy and liable to bite if you so much as even look at it sideways. And believe me, that is a hearty endorsement. For a long time, I thought it was George Washington on the label, a misconception bolstered by the fact that the label itself appears as if designed in George Washington’s time. This is priced within reach of just about everybody, including people with squares of cardboard lashed to their feet with pilfered twine, which has given this brand a bit of a downscale reputation over the years. Don’t let this dissuade you from warmly welcoming a bottle into your home. It’s a classic American tipple!