Single-barrel expressions of any whiskey are meant to be refined, rewarding, and rare(ish). Single-barrel bourbons are often a brand’s prime example of the best of the best barrels they make. So naturally, it’s supposed to be delicious, high-level stuff. And it usually is.
That rarity and deliciousness mean that single-barrel whiskeys (bourbon or not) aren’t particularly cheap. But I assure you that there are some great single-barrel bourbons out there that won’t break the bank. I’m going to help you find those today — via a blind taste test of single-barrel bourbon whiskeys all under $100.
For this blind tasting, I grabbed eight single-barrel bourbons that I know taste good to find a true winner. They’re all under the $100 price tag. While I bumped right up against that ceiling on a couple of these bottles, I did keep it realistic. What does that mean? Well, a bottle of Blanton’s Single Barrel or E.H. Taylor Single Barrel which have MSRPs (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) of $50-$70 but actually cost the consumer hundreds of dollars more because of the aftermarket are not featured in this tasting. It just didn’t seem fair.
That makes our lineup the following bottles of single-barrel bourbons:
- New Riff Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof
- Southern Star Paragon Single Barrel Cask Strength Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey Limited Series
- Baker’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel 1007 Proof 8 Years 1 Month
- Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel
- Shortbarrel Single Barrel Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- Barrell Bourbon Single Barrel Cask Strength
- Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select Tennessee Whiskey
- Green River Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Full Proof
After my lovely and very patient lady shuffled, poured, and cataloged these bourbon pours for me, I jumped in a blindly tasted them. After that tasting, I ranked these based on taste alone. Need more specifics? That’s a trifecta of depth, nuance, and overall enjoyment. Let’s jump right in!
Part 1 — The Single Barrel Bourbon Blind Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is soft, kind of like freshly baked rye bread, with notes of eggnog spices, slick vanilla flan, thin caramel sauce, and hints of spicy orange zest.
Palate: The palate amps everything up as the orange peel becomes candied and attaches to a moist holiday cake, dried cranberry and cherry, more dark spice, a touch of nuttiness, and plenty of that vanilla.
Finish: The end takes its time as the whole thing comes together like a rich and boozy fruit cake as little notes of leather and tobacco spice keep things interesting on the slow fade.
Initial Thoughts:
This is really nice. It was a little warm on the finish, but that’s nitpicking more than anything.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose presents with a light sense of orchard in full bloom with apple cores and peels next to honeyed walnuts, Graham Crackers, a touch of vanilla cream, and classic notes of spiced oak.
Palate: That honeyed walnut pops on the palate with more of that Graham Cracker graininess next to light notes of vanilla pudding, apple pie, and winter spice barks.
Finish: The end leans into the spice with a warming/buzzing heat next to a rich vanilla softness that just touches on eggnog and pound cake.
Initial Thoughts:
This was very nice too. The graininess gave away a slight craftiness, but it worked with the overall profile.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose leans toward old leather tobacco pouches before hitting a classic cherry vanilla cake vibe accented by green herbs and old sourdough bread crusts with a hint of caraway.
Palate: That cherry vanilla stays moist on the palate as sharp cinnamon, allspice, and clove drive the palate back toward green floral rye dill, caraway, and fennel with a sweet pear candy cider vibe.
Finish: The end holds onto the fruit candy as a rush of soft nutmeg eggnog arrives and is countered by a slow warmth from Hot Tamale candy-laced tobacco.
Initial Thoughts:
This is nice and funky. It’s an outlier for sure but works as a sipper with a nice sweet/hot spicy finish.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
Nose: You’re met with creamy depths of vanilla next to pound cake, spicy tobacco, sweet oak, and a clear hit of orange oil.
Palate: That vanilla really amps up as hints of rose water-forward marzipan lead towards cedar, more vanilla, and a dash of Christmas spices.
Finish: On the finish, a really deep dark chocolate smoothness arrives with a more nutty almond that’s reminiscent of an Almond Joy straight from a special candy shop.
Initial Thoughts:
This is quintessential bourbon.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a clear sense of fresh orange zest and dark cherry on the nose with a hint of winter spice, old dried prunes, and a hint of black tea.
Palate: The winter spice leads to creamy vanilla and eggnog on the taste as a peach cobbler with fresh vanilla whipped cream leads to warming tobacco spices and hints of old oak.
Finish: Marmalade and leathery dried apricot counter the vanilla creaminess with a light sense of winter spice barks rolled up with soft pipe tobacco leaves and dipped in black cherry soda.
Initial Thoughts:
This is good, classic, and tasty bourbon. It didn’t quite have the depth of some of the other pours though.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rummy spice and fruit open the nose with a sense of nutty winter cakes, caramel sauce, and soft kindling with a light whisper of tobacco just kissed with chili chocolate.
Palate: The palate leans into the chili-chocolate vibes with plenty of winter spice barks, rich marzipan, soft vanilla lusciousness, and a good dose of mincemeat pie.
Finish: Stewed plums and dates drive the finish toward sharp spice barks, more tobacco, and a whisper of walnut bread.
Initial Thoughts:
A lot is going on with this pour and I felt like I needed another 30 minutes, some water, and maybe an ice cube to really get into it.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Bright fruit notes — cherry, apple/pear, peach, banana, mango — pop on the nose with a clear sense of toasted oak, dark cherry jam, apple tobacco, and a hint of molasses.
Palate: That oak is the underpinning for notes of caramel corn, mild winter spice barks, and plenty of oily vanilla beans that are all countered by a soft cherry soda with a whisper of clove.
Finish: The sweet banana fruit is there on the end and marries well to a peppery spice, cherry gum, and mulled wine that amps up as the end draws near with plenty of that toasted wood lingering the longest.
Initial Thoughts:
This is so bright and, dare I say, fun. It’s light and airy at first and then takes a deep dive into ideal bourbon notes. This was a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Cream soda and honeycomb greet you on the nose with a light sense of spiced holiday cakes, vanilla sheet cake, soft-dried chili, and old woody spice.
Palate: The honey and vanilla bond on the palate to create a luscious mouthfeel that leads to balanced notes of sharp dried chili spice, soft worn leather, pipe tobacco, and rich walnut bread with plenty of butter, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
Finish: The end leans toward the leather and tobacco with a chili-choco vibe that’s accented by soft walnut and even softer vanilla.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a deeply hewn and very exemplary bourbon. This had depth and was still a little fun and playful.
Part 2 — The Single Barrel Bourbon Ranking
8. Shortbarrel Single Barrel Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon — Taste 5
ABV: 62.8%
Average Price: $74
The Whiskey:
These Shortbarrel Single Barrel releases are all over four years old and sourced either from Green River Distilling in Kentucky or MGP in Indiana. In this case, the whiskey was made in Kentucky and bottled in Georgia.
Bottom Line:
This was perfectly good bourbon with a nice profile. The only drawback was the lack of depth. But that can be easily fixed by using this to build a solid whiskey-forward cocktail.
7. Baker’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel 1007 Proof 8 Years 1 Month — Taste 3
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
Baker’s is pulled from single barrels in specific warehouses and ricks across the Beam facility in Clermont, Kentucky. The bourbon is always at least seven years old. In this case, it was aged eight years and one month before bottling as-is.
Bottom Line:
This wasn’t the biggest outlier on the list, but it was close. This is an acquired taste bourbon that leans more toward rye whiskey notes than classic bourbon ones. That said, if you’re in the mood for something different that’s also really tasty, this is the bottle to grab.
6. New Riff Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof — Taste 1
ABV: 54.25%
Average Price: $58
The Whiskey:
The juice in the bottle is New Riff’s standard bourbon mash of 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley. The spirit is aged for at least four years before they’re bottled individually without cutting or filtration.
Bottom Line:
This is another solid bourbon. Sip it neat, pour it over ice, or mix a cocktail with it. You won’t be disappointed. The only reason that it’s a little lower on this ranking is that it was a tad warm on the mid-palate and finish — basically, it was asking for ice.
5. Southern Star Paragon Single Barrel Cask Strength Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey Limited Series — Taste 2
ABV: 54.9%
Average Price: $99
The Whiskey:
Southern Star Paragon has been racking up the awards over the last couple of years. This new limited edition bottle (just released in October 2023) is a single-barrel version of their beloved whiskey. The wheated bourbon (70% corn, 16% wheat, and 14% malted barley) was left to age for just over five years before a single barrel was chosen and bottled 100% as-is at barrel proof. The whiskey was then branded to commemorate the Carolina Panthers’ 2003 NFC Championship NFL run — their hometown heroes.
Bottom Line:
I mean, if you’re a fan of the Carolina Panthers, this is a no-brainer buy. I would argue though that this is also a no-brainer to give you a taste of the great work Southern Distilling is doing down in North Carolina right now. This is a very good bourbon after all.
4. Barrell Bourbon Single Barrel Cask Strength — Taste 6
ABV: 53.42%
Average Price: $99
The Whiskey:
This single-barrel pick from ReserveBar is a very unique bourbon. The whiskey in the bottle is made from 99% corn and 1% rye Indiana bourbon. The team at ReserveBar picked one special eight-year-old barrel of that whiskey and bottled it 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent whiskey that goes deep. Almost too deep, maybe. The whiskey just keeps giving you flavor notes from classic to new to deep to light and so on. If you’re looking for a bit of homework and palate extending, give this one a try.
3. Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel — Taste 4
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $84
The Whiskey:
Jimmy and Eddie Russell — Wild Turkey’s Master Distillers — hand-select these barrels from their vast warehouses for just the right bourbon flavor. The bourbon is bottled with a touch of water added to highlight the beauty of Wild Turkey’s multi-generational whiskey-making prowess.
Bottom Line:
This is the bottle to buy if you’re looking for a stone-cold classic bottle of bourbon that hits every single note perfectly. Pour this over some rocks or build it into your favorite whiskey-forward cocktail and you’ll be all set.
2. Green River Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Full Proof — Taste 8
ABV: 59.5%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
The latest addition to the core Green River lineup is a doozy. The Kentucky whiskey is a rye-forward single-barrel bourbon. The mash bill is 70% Kentucky-grown corn with 21% rye and 9% malted barley. That whiskey rests for at least five years before water is added to bring the proof back down to entry proof, hence “full proof”. The whiskey is then bottled directly from the barrel as-is.
Bottom Line:
This pour went beyond the classic and offered a little bit more depth to help it stand out from the crowd. That said, this still feels like a perfect mid-week sipper or solid cocktail base for your favorite cocktail more than anything else. It’s the perfect balance of straightforward yet deep.
1. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select Tennessee Whiskey — Taste 7
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $65
The Whiskey:
This single-barrel product from Jack Daniel’s was first introduced in 1997. The whiskey is hand-selected (usually by retailers, bars, and restaurants) from barrels on the upper floors of Jack’s vast rickhouses. The whisky is bottled at a slightly higher proof to allow the nuance of the single-barrel whiskey to shine.
Bottom Line:
As I mentioned above, this was a ray of sunshine. It’s so bright and fun while still delivering a truly deep and ideal profile. It’s complex but in a playful way. It’s deep and you never get lost in it. It’s just really nice sipping whiskey.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Single Barrel Bourbons
Look, all of these whiskeys are very drinkable and very good. They all offer something different though. I would go back through and find the tasting notes that really speak to your palate and then find that bottle. Then I’d go through and find the tasting notes that challenge your palate and try that whiskey too!
Also… and I hope you do trust me on this — get a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select. It’s just ~fun~ while also offering serious depth. And yes, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey is bourbon.
