I like rye. Was in the mood for some last night, in fact, possibly as a result of reading this thread.
I dusted off an old drink recipe from the '30’s, when folks were drinking more rye. It was a concoction called an Oriental Cocktail. I have no idea if it was ever popular, but it tasted great.
Jigger of rye, 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth, 3/4 oz. Cointreau, 1/2 oz. lime juice. Shake with crushed ice, strain into cocktail class with a cherry.
Went down easy, and hit like a sledgehammer. Nice.
I’ll second that. My favourite tipple is Gibson’s Finest, though I once drank some Gooderham & Worts, and it was divine.
That is so informative. I guess I was too influenced by the Bogey movies they mentioned. I thought I was being a regular guy ordering a rye and here I was being out-of-date. I’ve bought Old Overholt a few times, just based on low price, and like it. Actually, I bought it first to fill one of those decanter sets mentioned in the OP.
It’s funny, the liquor people are trying their darndest to create new drinks every year and here’s one they’ve let fall into disuse. Guess they need different flavors. If Rock And Rye can come pre-mixed, why not Kiwi And Rye for today’s host to bring out at party time 
Nah, Red Bull 'n’Rye.
I meant to comment on the vodka and gin aspect of this, too, as even taking the popularity of those drinks into account doesn’t explain rye’s rapid disappearance from the whiskey world. As I stated, rye used to be far more popular than bourbon.
It’s an interesting interpretatin you have there about it being an “in-between” whiskey, but I’m not sure I wholly agree, especially since there’s plenty of scotch out there that is not overtly smokey (at least not to me…take, for example, The Glenlivet 12), and the younger ones tend not to have the earthy peatiness of the older ones. I find rye to have a character completely its own-but I’m unsure how exactly to describe it. It’s drier and perhaps “grainier” or “huskier” than bourbon. It is a lovely drink and it’s a shame it hasn’t become more popular.
Nah, if it became popular, it wouldn’t be cool anymore! 