Bourbon Vs Rye Question

[Zak]

Im not quite sure how to ask this, so bear with me here. As far as my whisk(e)y experience, i started with scotch, then bourbon, then rye. My first bourbon was makers, and due to the wheat had a very light taste. I was lead to believe that rye adds a lot of spice and flavor to a whiskey, and i can agree when i compare Makers to Woodford, Four Roses, Old Grand Dad, and finally Rittenhouse. I am currently sitting down with Old Grand Dad 100BIB, and for tasting sake, i poured a swallow of Rittenhouse to compare side by side. The Rittenhouse was actually much smoother, and went down much easier than the Old Grand Dad. (Im still enjoying OGD dont get me wrong.) Now i know whiskey isn't a science, and there is no perfect formula, but i'm still going to ask. If rye is the spicier grain, that adds that extra kick to bourbons like Four Roses, Granddad, maybe Woodford (18%rye), then why is it that the actual rye whiskey i'v tasted is so much smoother and lighter? And does anyone know the percentage of rye in Rittenhouse? I know it has to be at least 51%.