Head to head · unusually close flavour match
Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond vs Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select
One axis separates these two: spicy, 9 against 6.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond | Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Rye | Bourbon |
| Origin | Kentucky, United States | Kentucky, United States |
| Age | 4 years | No age statement |
| Strength | 50% ABV | 45.2% ABV |
| Cask | New charred oak barrel | New charred American oak |
| Bottle | 750 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £32 | £38 |
| Per 10cl | £4.27 | £5.43 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £85 | £120 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both Kentucky whiskies, from different distilleries.
Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond is a rye, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select a bourbon.
Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond states 4 years; Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select states none.
Cask as each producer describes it: Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond in new charred oak barrel, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select in new charred american oak.
Neither states chill filtration.
What the price buys
Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select is £6.00 dearer a bottle than Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond.
Different bottle sizes, 750 ml against 700 ml, so per 10cl it is £4.27 against £5.43.
Strength keeps that ordering: £85 a litre of pure alcohol for Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond against £120.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond is the cheapest and Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select 9th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond | Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 5 | 6 |
| Fruity | 4 | 5 |
| Spicy | 9 | 6 |
| Woody | 6 | 6 |
| Sherried | 1 | 1 |
| Cereal | 4 | 4 |
| Oily | 7 | 6 |
That is the only axis of the eight to reach 3 points. Next widest is sweet, 5 against 6.
Identical on peaty, woody, sherried and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond
Sharp rye spice and cinnamon at 100 proof. The bartender's rye, and rightly so.
Bottled-in-Bond legally requires exactly 100 proof and at least four years in a federally supervised warehouse, so the 4-year figure may be the statutory floor rather than a distinct age statement. It also keeps the Scottish spelling 'whisky' despite being Kentucky rye.
Full record →Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select
Dried fruit, mint and cocoa. Rounder and less sweet than most at the price.
Woodford is the rare Kentucky bourbon distilled in copper pot stills. The 45.2% we list is the producer's own figure (90.4 proof); a 43.2% UK/EU bottling is widely reported but we could not verify it on any producer or retailer page. Despite common belief, Woodford publishes no mash bill percentages anywhere.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond for cocktails, manhattan and value, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select for mint julep and cocktails that need body.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond and Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select: heavenhilldistillery.com, woodfordreserve.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.