Old Overholt Is the Perfect Cheap Rye for Cocktails, Says Pro Bartender

Sother Teague is a spirits guru. The professional bartender is the beverage director of Amor y Amargo, an award-winning bitters-focused bar in New York, and author of I'm Just Here for the Drinks, a highly-regarded compendium on all things booze and cocktails. Surely, such an esteemed drink-slinger has an equally refined palate, honed from decades of mixing, shaking, and stirring.

So, on a recent call, when Men's Journal floated him the question, "What's your favorite whiskey right now?," we shut up and listened.

"I'm a huge fan of Old Overholt Rye Whiskey," he said. "It's the longest, continuously produced rye whiskey in the world. A lot of people have never even heard of it. And I tell them, well, you've never heard of it because they don't give a shit about advertising. What they give a shit about is making whiskey, every day, for longer than anybody else has."

Now owned by conglomerate Suntory Global Spirits, Old Overholt was established in 1810 by Abraham Overholt, the son of Mennonite farmers from rural Pennsylvania. His company A. Overholt & Co. was passed down to family until 1919, when U.S. Treasury Secretary and businessman Andrew Mellon took over and ushered it through Prohibition as a medicinal whiskey. Not many other brands were lucky enough to survive those years, which is why Old Overholt maintains the title of the oldest American rye still in production.

Want the latest whiskey news, deals, and reviews? Sign up for the Whiskey Wednesday newsletter.

In 1987, production processes moved from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, where it's made today on the Jim Beam campus. Aged for four years in new charred oak barrels, Old Overholt is a full-bodied, 86-proof rye whiskey.

"It's kind of bulletproof, in my opinion," said Teague. "It has notes of pencil shavings and peanut shells. Like when you're at a ball game and you eat peanuts, and get a little bit of the peanut shell in your mouth. It's got that kind of vibe going."

Perhaps the best part of Old Overholt, however, is the price. It costs just a hair over the $20 mark at most online retailers, an ideal ratio of value-to-quality—especially if you're whipping up a bunch of old fashioneds, which is Tague's favorite use for the stuff.

And if you're looking for an upgrade, Teague recommends the brand's newest offering: A. Overholt.

Made of 80 percent rye and 20 percent malted barley—no corn to be found—A. Overholt turns up the heat to 95-proof. It tastes of brown butter, clove, seasoned oak, and that peppery spice for which rye whiskey is beloved. And it's not even significantly more expensive—online retailers sell it for under $40.

"It's Monongahela style, which is where [the Overholt family] originated, up in up in Broadford, PA," he said. "It's a spicier, more aggressive version of the whiskey that I've loved for years."

Because Overholt is owned by Suntory, it's widely available across the U.S., which is important to Teague. As he works on recipes for his next book, he wants to make sure his cocktails are easy to replicate—no rare or expensive ingredients required.

"It's no fun to read about something and then have no access to being able to make it," he said. "I reach for things that are pretty common to have around."

So, if you're looking for something tasty and affordable on your next trip to the liquor store, try an Overholt offering. Or, maybe even buy both—they'll still cost you less than one bottle of most Scotches.

Related: 15 Best Rye Whiskeys to Spice Up a Sazerac or Manhattan