I’ve been getting into making cocktails as a hobby for the past year, and more recently have been upgrading to better spirit brands as I finish a bottle. After some poking around, I decided my next bottle of rye would be Rittenhouse. Out of curiosity I poured a shot of Jim Beam and Rittenhouse and took a sip of them side by side, but I couldn’t make out much of a meaningful difference.

Am I somehow tasting it wrong? Should the whiskey be chilled first? I don’t normally drink spirits straight, so it could be I just don’t know what to look for.

What are your guys’ thoughts? Am I a heathen for thinking Jim Beam tastes more or less the same as Rittenhouse?