Thomas H Handy Whiskey
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Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye is one of the most sought-after American whiskeys in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Named after the New Orleans bartender closely associated with the Sazerac cocktail's move from Cognac to rye whiskey, it connects Kentucky distilling with one of America's great drinking traditions.
Produced by Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, Thomas H. Handy is released annually in limited quantities as an uncut, unfiltered straight rye. Unlike Sazerac 18 Year Old, the other rye in the Antique Collection, Handy is younger, higher in strength and more overtly powerful, with each vintage varying slightly in age, proof and flavour profile.
The whiskey is typically bold, spicy and richly textured, with notes of rye grain, toffee, dark fruit, orange peel, baking spice, mint, oak and warming alcohol. Its barrel-proof presentation gives it intensity and immediacy, while the best releases balance that strength with sweetness, aromatic lift and a long, peppery finish.
Thomas H. Handy is not designed as a gentle introduction to rye. It is a collector's whiskey and a full-throttle expression of the style: limited, high-proof and deeply tied to the Sazerac name, with enough spice and structure to satisfy drinkers who want American rye at its most assertive.
