It’s been a hell of a year for bourbon releases. Like… awesome. And I’ve been lucky enough to taste so, so many of these new expressions that it’s dizzying. Making me uniquely qualified to call out the absolute best bourbons of 2023 so far.
Before I dive in, a warning — this list is very expansive. There are bourbons from all over the country. That means that some of them are going to be hard to find outside of their home regions. Moreover, the first half of any bourbon year is usually reserved for specialty releases. That in turn means that the huge-name releases like Buffalo Trace’s Antique Collection or the Pappy Van Winkle line and the like aren’t out this yet (they save those iconic expressions for the holiday rush). Still, there were so many new and great-tasting bourbons that I actually had to cut a few to keep it at 100.
In short, it’s a hell of a time to be alive if you love bourbon, folks. So dive into our ranking, featuring expressions from all your favorite distillers, some superb small batch bourbons, special barrel finishes, limited editions, bottled in bonds, single barrel bourbons, barrel picks, and plenty of local craft bottles.
Let’s dive right on in!
100. Square 6 High-Rye Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47.5%
Average Price: $89
The Whiskey:
This exclusive line from Evan Williams and Heaven Hill is a true craft bourbon experience from a huge distiller. The whiskey in the bottle was distilled and aged at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience on Whiskey Row in Louisville, Kentucky. The mash bill for this one is very high rye with 52% corn, 35% rye, and 13% malted barley. The whiskey then ages for just north of five years on Whiskey Row before it’s batched in extremely small batches and bottled with a touch of that local Kentucky limestone water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Black-tea-soaked dates, old figs dipped in pine-y honey, and rich (almost wet) pipe tobacco drives the nose with hints of old winter spices that lean sharp and woody.
Palate: Those spices really amp up on the palate with cinnamon sticks, clove buds, and allspice berries leading to a soft eggnog nutmeg creaminess with a hint of vanilla pods and dry cacao nibs.
Finish: The dryness of the vanilla and winter spices take over the finish as the sip fades, leaving you with powdery cinnamon, dark chocolate, and vanilla with a whisper of apple chips/bark in there too.
Bottom Line:
This is a really solid entry in the Square 6 line with serious depth. While this is a distillery exclusive, it’s worth tracking down, especially if you’re looking to bring something cool back from your trip to Kentucky bourbon country this year.
99. Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey, A Blend Reserve Blend by Flaviar Members “Dad’s Stash”
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $42
The Whiskey:
Colorado’s Breckenridge is hitting a sweet spot as a craft distiller (that’s code for their juice coming of age very nicely). This expression is a special release for Father’s Day/June that the members of Flaviar helped decide via blind-tasting samples sent out (already blended and proofed). The consensus sample was bottled with a little proofing from Breckenridge’s standard bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is buttery in all the right ways with plenty of your grandma’s butterscotch candies and salted caramel driving the nose toward peach and apricot (both fresh) and a hint of lychee dipped in dark chocolate.
Palate: There’s almost a rumminess to the taste with dark molasses vibes before the winter spice barks and vanilla pods kick in with a dried orange note.
Finish: The end circles back to the butteriness with a vanilla buttercream aura next to eggnog spiciness and creaminess with a nice sense of orange-infused marzipan covered in salted dark chocolate with a hint of milkiness.
Bottom Line:
This is a sweet bourbon. It works but if you’re looking for something dry or wood-forward, this is not the droid you’re looking for. On the other hand, if you have a sweet tooth, this 100% is going to be your jam.
98. Union Horse Distilling Co. Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $24
The Whiskey:
This Kansas whiskey is a neo-classic sour mash recipe of just corn and rye (no barley). The whiskey is distilled on copper pot stills before aging for over five years in Kansas’ rolling green hills and harsh winters. The final batch is touched with local water before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Hint of butterscotch and old oak pop on the nose with a dash of maple syrup and vanilla-forward pancakes with margarine (it weirdly works).
Palate: There’s a light nuttiness on the palate that’s akin to peanut shells that turn into a buttery peanut brittle on the palate before vanilla and cinnamon hot chocolate pop up.
Finish: That butterscotch comes back in full force on the end with more peanut and maybe some walnut shell with a hint of milk chocolate powder and vanilla pudding cups.
Bottom Line:
This feels very small but distinct. It simply gets the job done while delivering a nut-forward bourbon experience that’s very unique. Basically, if you’re in Kansas, you need to give this a try.
97. Wyoming Whiskey Wilderness Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 42%
Average Price:
The Whiskey:
This limited-edition whiskey from Wyoming Whiskey is a continuation of that brand’s work with Yellowstone Forever (the official nonprofit partner of Yellowstone National Park). The whiskey in the bottles is Wyoming Whiskey’s classic wheated bourbon (68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley — all local and non-GMO) that’s cut down with local limestone water from the warm spring-rich area (the water they use is actually from an aquifer that hasn’t seen light in 6,000 years, which is admittedly cool).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich salted caramel is accented by brioche with a sense of marmalade and salted butter on the nose.
Palate: That orange goes full creamsicle on the palate with rich and buttery vanilla next to mild notes of winter spice, candied orange peels, and red candied almonds.
Finish: The orange creamsicle really drives the finish as the almond turns into light marzipan with a dash of pear brandy and wild sagebrush rounding the end out.
Bottom Line:
This one is available in Yellowstone National Park and is used at the lodges as their house pour and cocktail base (again, that’s cool). Moreover, Wyoming Whiskey donates $5 from every bottle sold to Yellowstone Forever to help protect the park. That makes this the only whiskey you should be drinking if you’re visiting the park this year.
96. Mystic Farm & Distillery Broken Oak Small Batch Bourbon
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $149
The Whiskey:
This is a small and very local craft whiskey from North Carolina. The whiskey was “double oaked” due to broken barrels. That means that the original barrels had catastrophic leaks and the whiskey had to be transferred to new oak barrels for the rest of their maturation period.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a light sense of nutty spice cakes on the nose with a vanilla bean foundation with hints of dark cherry, burnt orange, and dried apple.
Palate: That sweet spice cake drives the palate with a hint of rum raisin and dark fruit leather rolled with butterscotch pudding and light orchard bark.
Finish: The end stays spicy and sweet as a hint of nuttiness and more dark fruit leather round things out.
Bottom Line:
This is just nice. It’s such an easy-going bourbon experience. It won’t challenge you but it will satisfy you.
95. Woody Creek Distillers Colorado Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $56
The Whiskey:
This Colorado craft distillery is all about that Rocky Mountain vibe. The whiskey is made from a 70% corn mash with a touch of local rye and malted barley mixed with Rocky Mountain spring water. The whiskey is aged for at least four years in deeply charred new oak before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a clear sense of crafty bourbon (light sweet grains) on the nose with a soft sense of winter spice, old caramel candies, and a hint of orange honey.
Palate: The taste leans into the peppery spice with an apple/pear vibe next to red fruit, vanilla beans, and caramelized grains.
Finish: The end is short and slightly spicy with an apple/pear pie filling vibe next to wet biscuit dough.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice crafty from Colorado and worth seeking out when you’re in the Rocky Mountain State.
94. Old Louisville Whiskey Co. Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 57%
Average Price: $180
The Whiskey:
This is from a brand new (opened in August 2022) blending and bottling house in Louisville, Kentucky. The whiskey in the bottle is a small-batch blend of seven to 10-year-old rye mash bourbon from MGP of Indiana. Those barrels are married and bottled with no proofing or filtering.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a classic sense of bourbon vanilla and caramel with a hint of sour cherry and pancake batter next to a whisper of leather and old marshmallow.
Palate: The palate has a sense of apple wood followed by black peppercorns, vanilla sauce, marzipan, and black cherries.
Finish: It finishes a little warm with a hint of winter spice and more of that cherry wrapped up in tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is just good. If you’re traveling Kentucky’s bourbon trail and looking for some truly great work in the blending/bottling sphere, track this down.
93. World Whiskey Society Class Collection Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished In Port Cask Aged 10 Years
ABV: 51%
Average Price: $164
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is distilled in Oklahoma but bottled in Georgia. The whiskey in the bottle is made from a mash bill (recipe) of 51% corn, 45% wheat, and 4% malted barley. That hot juice was then aged for almost a decade before going into a huge port cask for a final rest.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a sense of grape soda and orange zest on the nose with a hint of crafty bourbon grains, dry grass, and old oak.
Palate: The palate sort of leans into red fruit and dry grass with a light sense of orange and vanilla.
Finish: The end is short and has a touch of vanilla cake and holiday spice.
Bottom Line:
This mysterious Oklahoma whiskey (by way of Georgia) lit up the award scene over spring. Moreover, the juice in the bottle is pretty damn tasty. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next.
92. Jefferson’s Marian McLain Blend Of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys
ABV: 51%
Average Price: $299
The Whiskey:
This whiskey pays tribute to Jefferson’s founder Trey Zoeller’s grandmother — Marian McLain — who was an 8th-generation moonshiner and bootlegger back in the day (she’s one of the earliest documented women in American whiskey to boot). The whiskey Zoeller made to honor McLain is a blend of five whiskeys. 40% of the blend is an 11-year-old Kentucky bourbon, 21% is a 14-year-old Tennessee bourbon, 17% is a rum-cask finished bourbon, 14% is a wheated double-barreled bourbon, and 8% is an eight-year-old Kentucky bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a mix of old whiskey barrels wrapped in worn saddle leather with a sweet and creamy sense of honeyed oatmeal, vanilla, and old cinnamon sticks dipped in hot apple cider.
Palate: The palate is fruity with a sense of mango chutney and rum raisin next to dark chocolate-covered espresso beans, salted toffee, and banana bread inside of a cedar box with a twinge of smoldering wild sage.
Finish: The end is lush and full of dark holiday cakes brimming with soft spices, roasted nuts, and dark dried fruits next to more of that creamy honey and silken vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent Jefferson’s release. It’s deep and refreshing while delivering a great profile.
91. RD One Spirits Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished With Brazilian Amburana Wood
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $79
The Whiskey:
RD One is the new version of the Old Wm. Tarr whiskey lines out of Lexington, Kentucky. The whiskey in this bottle is four-year-old bourbon that was finished in Brazilian Amburana casks — which is a huge thing right now. That wood previously held cachaça down in Brazil before coming up to Kentucky and then filled with bourbon. Those barrels are batched and barely touched with water before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Huge notes of cinnamon-laced apple cider mixes with raw sugar syrup just kissed with stewed peaches, dry apricot, and a hint of oolong tea matcha balls on the nose.
Palate: The palate is lush and silky with a sense of spiced winter cakes stuffed with dried dates, prunes, and sultanas next to candied ginger and black tea-soaked blackberry hand pies with this whisper of white pepper and mocha lattes in the background.
Finish: The end stays super lush on the mouthfeel as that pepper mellows toward allspice and clove with a sweet cedar vibe attached to a creamy nuttiness that’s almost Nutella.
Bottom Line:
This is a solid example of the beautiful work Amburana wood can do with bourbon. It’s funky and fresh and worth checking out if you’re looking for something a little different.
90. Hotel Tango Reserve Bourbon American Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $75
The Whiskey:
This Indiana bourbon is from a veteran-owned brand. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of 34% five-year-old Indiana bourbon with a very high-corn mash bill (99% corn and 1% malted barley) with 66% six-year-old Ohio wheated bourbon (75% corn, 15% wheat, and 10% malted barley). That blend is proofed and then bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with salted caramel and buttercream with a hint of soft and wet brown sugar next to old boot leather and hints of stewed peach.
Palate: That stewed peach really pops on the palate with plenty of fall spices, more vanilla buttercream, and rich salted caramel next to a dash of old oak and more of that leatheriness.
Finish: The oak takes on a rich and sharp spiciness on the end with a dry sense of vanilla pods and peach pits with a hint of dried apricot.
Bottom Line:
This is another whiskey that’s just nicely balanced. It also supports veterans, which is a crucial part of this brand’s ethos and worth supporting too.
89. Watershed Distillery Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond Aged 4 Years
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is from a very local craft distiller in Ohio. The bourbon in the bottle is the distillery’s bespoke bourbon that’s been left alone for over four years before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Red apple skins and cinnamon sticks drive the nose toward salted butter creamed with brown sugar and allspice with a mild note of sweet and toasted oak that almost has a singed marshmallow vibe.
Palate: Chicory coffee grounds and black cherry ice cream pop on the palate as salted caramel, rich vanilla cake, and soft winter spice balance everything out.
Finish: That winter spice goes woody on the end with a dry vibe before soft vanilla creaminess smoothes everything out.
Bottom Line:
This is fruity and smooth with a nice sense of classic bourbon notes. This is definitely a distillery to keep an eye on going forward.
88. Blackwood Toasted Bourbon Batch #3
ABV: 59.3%
Average Price: $149
The Whiskey:
This new brand has Kentucky Derby history running deep. Guinness McFadden co-founded the brand with the partners behind Justins’ House Of Bourbon. McFadden also happens to be the co-owner of 2019 Kentucky Derby winner Country House and built this whiskey around his stables in eastern Kentucky. The juice in the bottle is local bourbon with a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. After a good spell of resting, the whiskey is re-barrelled in a fresh toasted oak barrel for a final maturation before bottling as-is straight from the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a deep sense of fresh vanilla pods and rich salted caramel with a sense of old wicker lawn furniture on a sunny day, soft pipe tobacco kissed with cherry, and a light sense of mincemeat pies and toffee dipped in dark chocolate.
Palate: Pecan and maple drive the taste towards a rush of Kentucky hug warmth, dry cedar, and old glove leather with a hint of dried mint and maybe some chocolate-covered espresso beans cut with vanilla and clove.
Finish: The spices take on a woodiness and blend with dry cedar bark, old vanilla pods, and chewy pipe tobacco with a dash of salted caramel butteriness and pecan waffle comfort.
Bottom Line:
This is a great example of toasted bourbon. It’s easy-drinking and serves as a great everyday sipper/cocktail base.
87. Freeland Spirits Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished In Pinot Noir Casks (S1B55)
ABV: 57.67%
Average Price: $56
The Whiskey:
This single barrel pick from ReserveBar is a great entry point for the Portland, Oregon-based Freeland. The whiskey in the bottle is made from a five-year-old bourbon made from a mash of 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley. That whiskey was then loaded into an Elk Cove Pinot Noir barrel for a final one-year-long rest before bottling completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Leathery red fruit and old vanilla cake with a hint of caramel and dry cranberry mingle with a nice mellow touch of eggnog spices and burnt orange that feels dry.
Palate: There’s a clear cherry pie vibe that leads to a hint of dank red berry and oak cellars with a dry leatheriness tied to the dark fruit and vanilla with a soft sense of dry sweetgrass in the far background.
Finish: The end starts off red and lush and then dives into a cherry apple pie vibe with a dry woody spiced edge.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent barrel pick and really shines a light on the prowess of this new Portland distillery.
86. O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 52.5%
Average Price: $69
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is all about aging/finishing. The whiskey in the bottle is a sourced wheated bourbon that’s aged on a first-of-its-kind floating barrelhouse on the Mississippi River in Ballard County, Kentucky. Those barrels spend years with the river gently rocking them before batching and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is like walking through an orchard full of fresh apples and cherries next to a flutter of wildflowers, old oak spices, and soft creamed honey.
Palate: That spicy oakiness drives the palate toward orange-infused marzipan with a hint of spiced apple cider, tart cherry, and soft vanilla oils.
Finish: That vanilla creates a lush finish full of salted toffee syrup, more marzipan, and a hint of cinnamon candy.
Bottom Line:
This is a great table whiskey. It’s easygoing and serves any purpose you need a bourbon for.
85. Square 6 Wheated Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 52.5%
Average Price: $89
The Whiskey:
This new whiskey from Heaven Hill’s Artisanal Distiller Jodie Filiatreau and Evan Williams is all about that wheat. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of two “artisanal” bourbons made at the Evan Williams Experience in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The first mash is a 74% corn, 16% wheat, and 10% malted barley recipe while the rest is a 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley mash. Those whiskeys are blended and bottled as-is otherwise at nearly cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This bursts forth on the nose with a deep salted caramel sweetness next to rich and oily vanilla, bright yet almost tart cherry, and a sense of dried figs and dates with a hint of orchard woods.
Palate: The palate leans into the caramel with a touch of coffee cake loaded with raisins, walnuts, and raw sugar with plenty of winter spices and a load of buttery goodness.
Finish: The nuttiness veers into marzipan on the finish as those spices take on a grassiness (hello, wheat) with a nice layer of Cherry Coke on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is just good whiskey. It’s nutty and sweet in all the right ways and balanced with the right amount of warming spice. I’d say track down a bottle and save it for mixing up Manhattans this winter.
84. Castle & Key Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 2023 Batch 1
ABV: 49%
Average Price: $50
The Whiskey:
Castle & Key Distillery is the renovated Old Taylor Distillery outside of Frankfort, Kentucky. This distillery has spent years contract distilling for other brands, until this year when they released their first batch of this expression in April. The juice is a mash of 73% white corn, 17% malted barley, and a scant 10% rye. After four years, 80 or so barrels are chosen for this small-batch expression and proofed down with local water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a sense of unbaked sourdough cinnamon rolls next to Graham Crackers dipped in vanilla-creamed honey served with a warm can of peach soda.
Palate: The palate leans into the fruitiness with a pink taffy vibe that’s countered by slight pepperiness, a touch of “woody,” and more of that creamy honey laced with vanilla.
Finish: The fruity take on a savory essence — think cantaloupe — on the mid-palate before circling back to the pepperiness with a bit of woody spice on the short end.
Bottom Line:
Castle & Key are refining by leaps and bounds with each new batch and this year’s is a prime example of that. This is good bourbon, folks.
83. Traverse City Whiskey Co. Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Seasoned Sherry Casks
ABV: 47.5%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
This is classic award-winning Traverse City high-rye bourbon that’s re-barrelled in sherry casks for a final rest. Those sherry casks were then blended, proofed with local Michigan water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is lighter but leans into rum raisin and caramel with a hint of Cherry Dr. Pepper and cinnamon toast.
Palate: There’s a good amount of cinnamon and vanilla on the palate with a touch of walnut bread with plenty of butteriness, clove, and anise.
Finish: The end hints at apple cinnamon tobacco and vanilla beans but ends very lightly.
Bottom Line:
This is a great example of sherry finished bourbon. If you’re up in Michigan, definitely snag a bottle or two.
82. 291 Bad Guy Colorado Bourbon Whiskey Aspen Stave Finished
ABV: 57.8%
Average Price: $109
The Whiskey:
This Colorado whiskey is made from a mix of local corn, malted wheat, malted rye, and beech-smoked malted barley. As per 291’s classic aging methods, the whiskey is aged for about two years with aspen wood staves in the barrel to accelerate the aging process. Finally, this is batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a whole fruit basket of fruitiness with stone fruit really shining through — think apricots and peaches — next to old tart apples, cinnamon sticks, toffees dusted with crushed almonds, and a murmur of chamomile tea.
Palate: The palate has a dry crafty graininess that’s akin to oatmeal cookie dough wrapped in corn husks with a hint of nuttiness, brown sugar, cinnamon, and something slightly floral but woody.
Finish: The end brings the apricot back as a spicy jam with a little vanilla creaminess and tannic florals.
Bottom Line:
This is a delicious but very bold bourbon. That boldness plays well with the profile and delivers a must-have bourbon the next time you’re in Colorado.
81. Rieger’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
This small craft whiskey is made with a mash of 56% corn, 30% rye, and 14% malted barley. The whiskey was left to age for six years before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is old and leathery with a good layer of salted caramel over pecan waffles with buttercream and cinnamon syrup next to a hint of black peppercorn and woody orchards.
Palate: Maple syrup attaches to the pecan waffles with a sense of Christmas nut cake, dried cranberry, and vanilla cream with a touch of winter spice barks and burnt orange.
Finish: The end has a classic warmth derived from spiced wood notes next to a hint of winter cake tobacco with plenty of dark and spicy syrup and buttery caramel.
Bottom Line:
This is an extremely well-balanced pour of whiskey that serves as a solid cocktail base and easy-going everyday sipper (over some ice).
80. Penelope Straight Bourbon Whiskey Double Cask Finish Rio
ABV: 49%
Average Price: $99
The Whiskey:
This is damn near a classic now. This year’s Rio is still Penelope’s batch of four-grain bourbon (the blends of barrels work out to 74% corn, 14% wheat, 9% rye, and 3% malted barley). The ripple is that once batched the whiskey is re-barrelled into American honey and Brazilian Amburana oak casks. Those casks are then batched, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The honey is super creamy on the nose with a hint of pine forest next to hot cinnamon sticky buns with melting buttercream frosting and plenty of winter spice next to a hint of pecan.
Palate: The spiced rolls drive the palate toward a darker gingerbread with fresh and orange-infused honey adding a sharp contrast before the barkier elements of the spices and nuts roll back in.
Finish: The end leans into almost savory figs and date leather with a sense of winter spice barks, burnt orange rinds, and singed vanilla pods next to a hint of marzipan tobacco and soft fresh honeycomb.
Bottom Line:
This is light and airy while delivering a great, unique profile that feels very “summer.”
79. Swilled Dog Spirits Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Strength
ABV: 58.5%
Average Price: $54
The Whiskey:
First off, this has a great name and reimagined logo (these are the new bottles for 2023). Secondly, the whiskey is made from a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley so we know this is MGP distillate, and that usually means high-quality booze.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Leather and spiced cherry drive the nose toward meaty dates and wet brown sugar with a very classic bourbon vibe.
Palate: That brown sugar turns a little molasses-y on the palate as vanilla cream pie drizzled in toffee leans toward spiced milk chocolate powder and a hint of hazelnut cream.
Finish: That creaminess drives the finish toward leathery dried fruits and dates next to a cherry/vanilla/spiced tobacco buzzing warmth.
Bottom Line:
This is another very easy-going and classic bourbon that just delivers. You can’t go wrong grabbing one of these.
78. 1845 Distilling Company Preemption Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $72
The Whiskey:
This is a Texas grain-to-glass craft bourbon made with local corn, Elbon rye, and malted barley. The whiskey ages for over three years before batching and proofing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Cherry Coke cut with vanilla dances with a sense of salted caramel over oatmeal cookies with light dashes of old oak and floral honey.
Palate: The palate leans into orange tea steeped with cinnamon next to dark chocolate over orange cake with a light sense of soft oak and light tobacco leather.
Finish: Nasturtiums and cinnamon drive the finish back toward old oak and orange tea as a light sense of winter spice keeps things warm.
Bottom Line:
This is another big award winner this year. It’s a very local Texas bourbon that’ll surely only gain more momentum as their bourbon ages.
77. Bradshaw Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 51.9%
Average Price: $52
The Whiskey:
Bradshaw Bourbon is made by Green River Distilling Company in Owensboro, Kentucky. The bourbon is a collab between former Super Bowl champ Terry Bradshaw and Silver Screen Bottling Company, which acts as a sort of bottling fixer between a celebrity and a distiller or barrel house. The whiskey is a two-year-old bourbon made with 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley, proofed to a hefty 103.8.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with Werther’s Originals and old library books, with a whiff of aftershave on the nose that’s oddly comforting.
Palate: A soft spice drives the palate as dry reeds lead towards cherry toffee and apple candies.
Finish: The spice warms slightly on the finish as the tobacco dries out and those reeds make a return.
Bottom Line:
This is a great classic bourbon. It feels nostalgic from top to bottom. So if you’re looking for that old-school bourbon vibe, this is the play.
76. Green River Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Sour Mash Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $37
The Whiskey:
This new release from Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Green River distillery is a wheated classic. The whiskey in the bottle is made from a mash bill (recipe) of 70% Kentucky-grown corn, 21% wheat, and 9% malted 6-Row barley. That whiskey then spends four to six years mellowing before batching, proofing, and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This pops on the nose with rich caramel next to soft roasted peach and apricot, cinnamon bark and nutmeg with a creamy vibe, and a hint of Cream of Wheat cut with maple syrup.
Palate: Toffee drives the palate toward Nutella and honey over buttermilk biscuits with an apple/pear tobacco aura that leads to a soft orange.
Finish: The end is rich and full of stewed fruits — peach, pear, orange, raisins — and a mild sense of oaky spice and a mild graininess.
Bottom Line:
This is a great addition to Kentucky wheated bourbons. It’s gentle but delivers big flavor notes, especially in whiskey-forward cocktails.
75. Milam & Greene Very Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch 1.2
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $69
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is from Master Blender Heather Greene who picked 75 barrels for the blend. The blend is a mix of contract-distilled Kentucky whiskey with Tennessee whiskey rounding out the mix. The batched barrels were vatted in a 1,000-gallon tank before being re-barrelled into French oak for a final rest.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is light but runs deep with walnuts, vanilla flowers, soft custard cut with nutmeg and clove, and a light sense of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Palate: The palate is like walking through a fruit orchard in full bloom with a hint of wet black tea next to buttermilk biscuits dripping with butter and honey.
Finish: The finish gets slightly dry with a sense of dry and barky winter spices, dried red berries, and apple chips next to a light sense of brandy-soaked oak staves.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice light summery bourbon. It feels like the perfect pour over a glass of ice with a dash of bubbly water and a citrus garnish. It’s a pure refresher.
74. Chestnut Farms From Barton 1792 Master Distillers Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $119
The Whiskey:
This particular release is part of Total Wine’s Spirits Direct (their barrel pick program). The whiskey in the bottle is a six-year-old high-rye bourbon made at the famed Barton 1792 Distillery (Sazerac’s other famed distillery in Kentkcy — besides Buffalo Trace). The batch of whiskey is bottled with a touch of limestone water to bring it down to 100-proof and bottled otherwise as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This whiskey is a vanilla bomb from the jump with a deep sense of vanilla malts layered into a white cake with white vanilla frosting that’s cut with a rush of sharp and very fresh mint.
Palate: Soft vanilla pudding drives the taste as hints of winter spices via eggnog creaminess mingle with a touch of ripe peaches and pears next to a whisper of mint syrup and orange oil.
Finish: The end leans toward rich and salted buttercream with a nice layer of dark fruit leather, sharp winter spice barks, dried red berries, and a hint of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Bottom Line:
This is a complex and very interesting sip of bourbon. It is lush and kind of just keeps going. This is a great option for a rewarding pour on a long, sunny day (or a killer mint julep base).
73. Monk’s Road Small Batch Wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $42
The Whiskey:
This wheated whiskey from Log Still is all about highlighting that grain. The bourbon is sourced (for now) and aged and bottled by the Dant Family in Gethsemane, Kentucky.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is a stone-cold classic bourbon nose of dark Cherry Coke, spiced winter cakes, and salted caramel with an old oak barrel sense.
Palate: The palate leans into the spiced dark cherry with a hint of root beer (maybe even Dr. Pepper) next to singed apple and cinnamon bark with this fleeting sense of peanut brittle underneath it all.
Finish: The end leans into the smoldering woody spices and orchard barks with a hint of marzipan and burnt orange rounding things out.
Bottom Line:
This new wheated bourbon from the Dant family is a homerun. If you’re looking for a great cocktail base, this is it.
72. Blue Note Crossroads Straight Bourbon
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $41
The Whiskey:
This is the same bourbon as above but finished in toasted French oak. Those barrels are blended in Memphis and proofed down to a little higher proof, allowing more of that toasted barrel to shine through.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: That oak comes through on the nose with a mix of dry cedar and resin-heavy pine as more standard notes of toffee, vanilla, and cherry shine.
Palate: The palate largely follows that path with the mid-palate leaning into dried fruit and more of a dry tobacco leaf.
Finish: The finish is short and sweet with a dry woodiness that’s part old cedar box and part moldy wicker deck furniture with a hint of hot mulled wine.
Bottom Line:
This is a whiskey that gets better every year. A couple of years ago, I wasn’t quite on board yet, but this year’s version got me there. This is a good everyday sipper that also makes a mean cocktail.
71. Whiskey Thief Distilling Company Single Barrel 12 Riders on the Storm
ABV: 53.25%
Average Price: Distillery Only
The Whiskey:
This is a big outlier in that it’s from a Kentucky bottler that lets you sample barrels and buy a bottle from those barrels (as a consumer). They also put out incredible single barrels via whiskey clubs and some retailers. This particular release is an Indiana bourbon that Whiskey Thief finished by adding charred oak staves into the barrels to give it that little extra oomph.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose smells classic with thick layers of vanilla pods, winter spices, dark fruits (think cherry, date, plum), and a dark and creamy sense of mocha lattes.
Palate: That mocha latte leans into creamy chocolate and vanilla syrup on the palate as black cherry and apple tree bark drive the palate toward a rich and moist winter spice cake full of dates, walnuts, and buttercream.
Finish: The end is slightly dry thanks to a deep oakiness that leads to sharp winter spice barks, dried cherry, dried cranberry, and burnt orange rinds.
Bottom Line:
This feels classic and lush from top to bottom. You really cannot beat this if you’re looking for a quintessential bourbon experience.
70. Hidden Barn Whiskey Kentucky Straight Bourbon Small Batch Series Two Batch 002
ABV: 54.8%
Average Price: $74
The Whiskey:
This new series from Master Blender Jackie Zykan combines only 10 barrels of whiskey. The mash is rye-heavy with 60% corn from Christian County Grain, 35% rye from Walnut Grove Farms, and 5% malted barley from Southfork Malt House all in Kentucky. After double pot distilling, the hot juice is left to rest for five to six years before Zykan blended this expression and bottled it uncut at batch strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old porch wicker, boot leather, salted caramel candies, vanilla cakes, and a hint of dried mango rolled in salt lead the way on the nose.
Palate: The palate leans into sharp yet sweet cinnamon with burnt orange and dried plums layering into a spiced fruit cake with a hint of sage and thyme.
Finish: The end has a lightly dried rose vibe with some soft marzipan covered in dark chocolate and layered into an old fruit cake with candied and dried fruits, citrus, nuts, and plenty of dark winter spice.
Bottom Line:
This a great evolution of Hidden Barn with serious depth. I really dig this as an easy-going everyday sipper over a single large ice cube.
69. Uncle Nearest Master Blend Edition Single Barrel Whiskey Batch No. 028
ABV: 60.8%
Average Price: $150
The Whiskey:
While Uncle Nearest is distilling their own juice these days, this is still the work of Master Blender Victoria Eady Butler with carefully sourced Tennessee whiskey barrels. In this case, Eady Bulter hand-selected the best-of-the-best from their inventory to create the perfect whiskey to exemplify the brand and Tennessee whiskey traditions.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose leans into sticky toffee pudding with a sense of black licorice that’s almost absinth adjacent as soft caramel and winter spice round things out.
Palate: Gingerbread cookies and stewed pears mingle with sharp chili spice, red peppercorns, and a hint more of that dark licorice on the palate with this mild sense of creamy vanilla oils and maybe some maple syrup fresh from the tap.
Finish: The pepperiness really drives the finish toward a creamy vanilla cake end with a nice balance of woody winter spices and a hint of soft leather.
Bottom Line:
This is a great example of the hard work the Uncle Nearest team is doing down in Tennessee. Enjoy it however you like to drink your whiskey.
68. Cedar Ridge Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch No. 0001
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $39
The Whiskey:
This Iowa whiskey is all about the Iowa corn. The mash is 74% corn, 14% malted rye, and 12% malted barley that is rested in oak for a few years. Since the temperature in Iowa swings by 100 degrees through a single year, aging doesn’t need to last forever. When the barrels are just right, they’re batched and bottled completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a nice sense of orchard fruits and barks that leads to a dry grassy graininess (hello, craft whiskey) with a soft apple pie and peach cobbler vibe that leads to a floral honey cut with clear Caro corn syrup sweetness.
Palate: That sweetness attaches to the dry grains on the palate with a sense of white cornmeal over smudging sage with a hint of orchard and winter spice bark rounding out the palate before the ABVs start to rise.
Finish: The rise of the ABVs peak pretty quickly with a pleasant buzzing, more honeyed sweetness, and dry prairie grasses on a summer’s day.
Bottom Line:
This is a great example of the good work coming out of Iowa’s Cedar Ridge right now. Their whiskey is really aging well and this one is a great sipper or mixer.
67. Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Original Cask Strength
ABV: 57.9%
Average Price: $80
The Whiskey:
The newest release from Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley is an evolution of their brand. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of three bourbons which create a four-grain bourbon. That blend was then bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a balance of old leather boots and freshly cracked black pepper next to a hint of walnut shell, vanilla pod, and orange zest.
Palate: The palate leans into what feels like star fruit as orange marmalade, salted butter, and fresh honey drip over rye bread crusts.
Finish: The end comes with a good dose of peppery spice and old leather as those walnuts and orange combine with a handful of dried fruit and a dusting of winter spices on the finish.
Bottom Line:
These whiskey releases continue to wow and are no-brainer buys if you’re looking for good sipping or mixing whiskey.
66. Chattanooga Whiskey Straight Bourbon Whiskey Tennessee High Malt 111 Proof
ABV: 55.5%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This Tennessee whiskey is hewn from a mash bill (recipe) of classic yellow corn, malted rye, caramel malted barley, and honey malted barley. The ripple here is that the fermentation of those grains with water and yeast lasted for seven whole days (basically three times as long as most fermentation runs). The distilled juice was filled into toasted and charred oak and left alone for over two years. The final batch was pulled from no more than 12 barrels for this release.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Chocolate malts cut with spiced cherry syrup drive the nose with a hint of cinnamon bark and eggnog nutmeg next to soft orchard vibes.
Palate: That chocolate maltiness leans into honey-dipped graham crackers with a hint of allspice and clove over gingerbread and dark-chocolate-covered dried cherries.
Finish: A hint of cinnamon bark dark cherry tobacco mingles with malty spiced vanilla cookies and a hint more of that honeyed sweetness with deep chocolate lurking beneath it all.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice unique bourbon that feels special. It makes a mean cocktail but you can 100% sip it over ice.
65. Frey Ranch Malted Grain Series 100% Malted Corn Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is a unique concept from out in Nevada. The bourbon is made with 100% malted corn that’s grown and malted at Frey Ranch. That corn has to be grown in the summer to save it from frost. Once fermented and distilled, the hot juice rested for exactly five years and 10 months before it was batched and bottled as-is with a touch of local water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one is wild — it meanders through floral and citrus forward notes that are kind of like an old-school West Coast IPA with dank hoppiness next to savory melon, dry smudging sage, and a hint of lard-filled tamales.
Palate: The palate leans into fresh honeycombs next to orange and grapefruit peels soaked in apple cider with a fleeting sense of anise.
Finish: The end really leans into the floral and citrus dank with an underlying sense of a corn field right after the harvest when everything is still green.
Bottom Line:
This is a great example of how far Frey Ranch has come with its grain-to-glass operation. This feels like one-of-a-kind bourbon that no one else is making, and it’s pretty damn tasty.
64. New Riff Silver Grove Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof Aged 4 Years
ABV: 56.8%
Average Price: $55
The Whiskey:
This new and very limited release from New Riff (it’s a distillery-only release for now) is an hommage to Cincinnati’s Carthage neighborhood and the Edward Brinkmann Distillery’s 1933 bottling of “Silver Grove.” The actual whiskey in the bottle is made from a mash of 65% corn, 30% malted rye, and 5% malted barley. That whiskey was left alone for four years before batching and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet salted caramel and dusty old cinnamon sticks lead to oily vanilla pods, red chili spiced cherry syrup, and a sense of cedar planks soaked in red fruit and maple syrup.
Palate: Dried blueberries and woody huckleberries combine with rich salted caramel and ground almond with a sense of classic cherry vanilla bourbon notes adhering to a light sense of chewy tobacco.
Finish: That tobacco really leans into the caramel/cherry/vanilla on the finish as the bourbon-y-ness of everything peaks with a soft Kentucky hug and subtly sweet end.
Bottom Line:
This is a great table bourbon for drinking however you like to drink your whiskey.
63. The Left Cross Puncher’s Chance Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Jamaican Dark Rum Casks Aged 14 Years
ABV: 48%
Average Price: $149
The Whiskey:
This sourced bourbon from Bruce Buffer (of UFC fame) is an old whiskey. The bourbon in the bottle is a 14-year-old Tennessee whiskey made with 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. After around 14 years, that whiskey is re-filled into freshly dumped Jamaican rum casks that held rum for 12 years. After two to six months of additional maturation, those barrels are batched before proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose has a classic sense of old oak, dark vanilla, black cherry, and woody spices with a hint of spearmint-spiked molasses.
Palate: The palate has a mild hogo funk with bananas foster cut with brandy, old raisin boxes, winter spices, and a soft vanilla cake frosted with rum-raisin and dark cacao.
Finish: Soft brown sugar gives way to a warming mulled wine vibe with plenty of star anise, clove, and cinnamon next to plummy rum sweetness and Cherry Coke spiced tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is another excellent high-age bourbon from Puncher’s Chance. If you’re even remotely a UFC fan, then this is the whiskey for you.
62. Old Elk Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Barrels
ABV: 54.05%
Average Price: $94
The Whiskey:
This Colorado whiskey is made with a base of 51% corn, 34% malted barley, and 15% rye. That whiskey rests for five years before it’s batched and re-barrelled into 59-gallon port casks from Portugal. After 10 months to a year, those barrels are batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is crafty bourbon turned up to 11 with a sweet porridge nose, raw leather, cold apple cider, and a hint of fresh oak.
Palate: There’s a honey-apple crisp sweetness on the opening of the palate that leads right back into that slurry of sweet porridge — now with a white grits edge — before a nice ABV buzz (not burn) leads to orchard barks, winter spice mixes, and a soft sense of cherry bark.
Finish: The finish holds onto the buzziness as the fruit wood and spice settle into a soft and sweet grit ending.
Bottom Line:
Old Elk continues a winning steak with this excellent finished whiskey.
61. Larceny Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch No. B523
ABV: 62.2%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
The spring edition of Larceny is here. The whiskey is a barrel-strength version of Larceny wheated bourbon (68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley) created for a small batch of six to eight-year-old barrels. Those barrels come together and go into the bottle 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose runs deep with dark chili pepper spice next to salted caramel, cherry cake, and rich vanilla with a hint of nuttiness.
Palate: The taste is lush with a deep sense of creamy winter spices mixed into mincemeat pies and eggnog next to malted buckwheat pancakes drizzled in toffee syrup and sprinkled with roasted walnuts, pecans, and almonds with a whisper of wild sage.
Finish: Sharp cinnamon bark and cherry vanilla tobacco round out the finish with a nice balance of creaminess and sharp woody spice leading to a warm and long Kentucky hug (ABV warmth).
Bottom Line:
This is a really tasty whiskey, albeit very warm. I’d mix cocktails with it or serve it over ice.
60. George Dickel Tennessee Whisky Singel Barrel Aged At Least 15 Years (S1B43)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $60
The Whisky:
This is a very old whiskey for a great price. The whiskey is from single barrels, aged 15 years or more, and the proof varies accordingly (sometimes it’s cut with water, too). Like the 9-year single barrel, this is made from an 84% corn mash and stored in Dickel’s famed single-story warehouse.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is all about the cherry pie with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream next to a slight apple-tobacco vibe with a clear multi-vitamin chalkiness.
Palate: Red berries lead toward a cherry-choco soda pop, more vanilla cream, and a light touch of bourbon-soaked oakiness on the taste.
Finish: That woodiness leans into a musty corner of a cellar as a spicy cherry tobacco finish leaves you with a dry, almost chalky, yet sweet mouthfeel.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the best deals on the list given that the actual barrel for this barrel pick was 18 years old. That’s $60 for an 18-year-old single barrel bottle of whiskey. Wild.
59. Doc Swinson’s Alter Ego Triple Cask Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47.9%
Average Price: $56
The Whiskey:
This whiskey from out in Washington is a blend of two bourbons with an array of finishings. The blend is a mix of a 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley bourbon with a 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley bourbon. After several years, those whiskeys were refilled into European oak casks, namely cognac, Olorosso sherry, and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks from anywhere from three to 16 months of finishing before batching and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark oak and leather dance with caramel peanuts and peanut brittle with a good dose of spiced cherries dipped in dark chocolate.
Palate: Rich marzipan leads on the palate with more of that choco-cherry feel next to vanilla-laced whipped cream, nutmeg, clove, red berry fruit leather, and a whisper of fresh and sharp spearmint.
Finish: Brandied cherries with orange peel and clove settle on the finish with a nice sense of buttery salted caramel and creamy nuttiness.
Bottom Line:
This is a great place to start with Washington’s Doc Swinson. From here, you can dive deep into the rest of their wildly fun finishes.
58. Stellum Single Barrel Bourbon Leo Topflight Series By ReserveBar
ABV: 50.25%
Average Price: $52
The Whiskey:
This single-barrel pick from Stellum utilizes a classic sourced bourbon with 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley from Indiana. Those barrels are transported over the Ohio River to Louisville, Kentucky where they finish their four to six-year-long rest. This release was chosen by the team at ReserveBar and released as a single barrel pick in their Topflight Series.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a classic sense of spiced cherry with cinnamon cookies cut with raw brown sugar and vanilla next to a hint of taco seasoning spice packets.
Palate: The palate is lush with a sense of dark creamy chocolate, smoldering marshmallows, honey-dipped Graham crackers, and a light sense of peach tobacco.
Finish: The honey sweetens the finish with a sense of old oak and a dirt cellar floor next to a walnut cake and a mild warming buzz.
Bottom Line:
This is another barrel pick that’s wildly good at a great price. Get it while you can.
57. Still Austin Bottled In Bond Red Corn Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $80
The Whiskey:
This brand-new whiskey — the first is a series of four new releases — from Austin’s Still Austin is about special corn. In this case, Jimmy Red corn thrown in the mash. That makes the recipe 36% Jimmy Red corn, 34% white corn, 25% rye, and 5% malted barley.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich, wet, and earthy masa drives the nose toward dark fruit leather, old spice bottles, and soft floral honey just touched with vanilla.
Palate: Freshly cut oranges are dipped in maple syrup on the palate with a sense of soft vanilla custard, pumpkin pecan pie, and plenty of winter spice that amps up toward black peppercorns.
Finish: That black pepper makes for a spiced finish as the pecan pie, orange, and custard all slowly fade away with a fleeting hint of an earthy cornfield after the rain.
Bottom Line:
This highlights the corn while still feeling fully formed and deeply hewn. It’s a tasty and unique bourbon worth tracking down, especially if you’re in Texas.
56. 15 STARS Triple Cask Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 52.5%
Average Price: $179
The Whiskey:
This new release from 15 STARS is a blend of two bourbons with a big finishing run. The whiskey is made from an eight and 16-year-old blend that was finished in Kentucky in port, cognac, and rum casks for eight additional months before batching and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Woody huckleberry jam over raisin scones mingle with eggnog spices and brown sugar cookies, spiced cherry fruit leather, and a twinge of sweet yet old oakiness.
Palate: That dark fruit leather leans into brandy-soaked dates and prunes with a sense of old oak cellars next to rich vanilla, soft apples, and sticky toffee pudding.
Finish: There’s a dark cherry spiced vibe to the finish that leans into fresh chewy tobacco packed into an old oak box and then wrapped in leather with a burnt orange rind and winter spice bouquet on top.
Bottom Line:
This is delicious though fleeting. You’ll have to be in Kentucky to snag a bottle. It’s worth it though.
55. Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof A123
ABV: 62.8%
Average Price: $87
The Whiskey:
This year’s first Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is hewn from Heaven Hill’s classic bourbon mash bill of 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye. That hot juice is loaded into charred American oak barrels and left to rest for 12 long years before batching and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a classic nose that leans towards toasted chocolate beans, dried chili pepper flakes (and maybe even some fresh green chili), burnt vanilla pods, singed cherry bark, and old leather dipped in caramel.
Palate: Bold! The palate opens with a sense of sweet stick toffee pudding (dates, cinnamon, nutmeg, salted caramel sauce) before hitting a high note on the ABVs with a spicy heat that’s immediately countered by a rich cherry syrup and caramel sauce.
Finish: Another wave of heat arrives late and ushers in a light sense of old oak staves and cinnamon bark with a mild sense of apple tobacco and maybe some cedar kindling with a fleeting sense of leather and cherry stems.
Bottom Line:
This is a good bourbon. I like it neat, on the rocks, and in a cocktail.
54. Larceny Barrel Proof Batch No. A123 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 62.9%
Average Price: $69
The Whiskey:
This year’s first Larceny Barrel Proof is made with Heaven Hill’s standard wheated bourbon mash bill of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. The batch is made from a combination of six to eight-year-old barrels from Heaven Hill’s rickhouses. The final blend is bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Chili pepper spice and almost damp masa come through on the nose with a hint of mustiness next to nut loaf cut with a twinge of apple cider juice and some orchard tree branches with a hint of apple caramel candy lurking underneath.
Palate: Sweet vanilla cake leads to a hint of cinnamon bark and creamy eggnog with plenty of nutmeg before a light ABV heat rises and leads to apple cores and soft leather.
Finish: A sharp winter spice dominates the end with a sense of old apple bushels, broken-down used bourbon barrels, and a hint of caramel vanilla creaminess.
Bottom Line:
Again, great bourbon. Works well however you want to use it.
53. Kentucky Owl Batch #12 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 57.9%
Average Price: $375
The Whiskey:
Kentucky Owl’s batch releases are always adored when they drop. The latest batch — just dropped in late December 2022 — is a blend of seven to 14-year-old bourbons blended with four-year-old bourbon to create a deep and engaging flavor profile at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose feels quintessential from the jump with sweet and creamy toffee, woody winter spices, and orchards full of dry and ripe winter fruits (think pears, tangerines, and maybe even some pomegranate) with a hint of nasturtium.
Palate: The taste is soft and lush with a sharp winter spiciness — think cinnamon bark, star anise, and clove buds — beside burnt orange and salted caramel candies over a hint of figs and plums next to creamy vanilla just kissed with mint.
Finish: That creaminess drives the finish toward an orange marmalade tobacco end that’s full of subtle notes of spice, vanilla, and apple/pear/cherry cream soda and cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
This is a really good version of Kentucky Owl and worth checking out, if price isn’t an issue that is.
52. Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This brand-new release from Bardstown Bourbon Company is 100% their own whiskey. The juice is made from a wheated bourbon mash bill — 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley — down in Bardstown, Kentucky. The whiskey spends about six years mellowing before it’s just kissed with local water and bottled at 100 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a sense of orange Jolly Ranchers, powdered cacao, and stewed peaches with classic bourbon vanilla and an oaky vibe.
Palate: The palate is a mix of apricot jam, pear cores, and red berries with a mix of spiced orange candy tobacco wrapped around dry wicker and cedar bark.
Finish: The end leans into the sweet and spiced orange while the tobacco slowly fades through sweet caramel and vanilla buttercream toward a silky finish.
Bottom Line:
This is a great start to Bardstown Bourbon Company’s new Origin Series line. Pretty much an instant classic.
51. Fox & Oden Double Oaked Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 49.5%
Average Price: $90
The Whiskey:
This sourced whiskey (from MGP of Indiana) is all about finding the best barrels and batching them to create something more. The whiskey in this small batch bourbon is rendered from MGP’s 21% and 36% rye bourbon mash bills. The barrels are between eight and 15 years old. Once vatted, the whiskey is just touched with water before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A rich buttery note comes through on the nose with a hint of salted corn next to savory figs with a hint of honey and freshly ground nutmeg mixed with some vanilla cream.
Palate: The palate turns that butteriness into salted caramel with a hint of sticky toffee pudding with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg next to a thin line of charred oak underneath it all.
Finish: The end dries out with a sense of old leather wrapped around an old and dry tobacco leaf with a twinge of raisin.
Bottom Line:
This is a great classic bourbon that runs so deep. I do think it’s a little more suited to fall/winter sipping but that shouldn’t stop you from trying it now and then dreaming of all the ways you’ll use it when those leaves start to fall.
50. Rattle & Snap Tennessee Straight Whiskey Aged 4 Years
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $37
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is sourced from Tennessee. The four-year-old barrels are sent up to Kentucky where they’re batched, proofed, and bottled by the famed Dant family (icons in Kentucky whiskey-making going back to the early 1800s).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a sense of classic bourbon cherry on the nose with a hint of apricot jam over warm buttermilk biscuits with a hint of cinnamon and a faint whisper of Big League Chew gum.
Palate: An earthy vanilla vibe drives the palate toward cherry bark and light grassiness with a hint of apple cider just kissed with a floral vibe.
Finish: The end leans into an apple woodiness with a dry sense of cloves and old vanilla pods.
Bottom Line:
This really shines as a very easy-drinking bourbon that runs deep. Enjoy it however you like.
49. Jack Daniel’s 10 Years Old Tennessee Whiskey, Batch 2
ABV: 48.5%
Average Price: $199
The Whiskey:
This age statement released from Jack Daniel’s is a throwback to a bygone era in Tennessee Whiskey. The whiskey is aged for at least 10 years before batching. During that time, the barrels spend time in the “Buzzard’s Roost” at the top of the rickhouse. Once they hit the right flavor profile, those barrels are moved to the bottom floors of other warehouses to slow the aging down. Finally, the whiskey is batched, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a rich matrix of cherry syrup, apple cores, sticky toffee, vanilla ice cream, and a bold line of wet and sweet oak with a mild earthiness.
Palate: The palate opens up towards the dark fruit but dries it out and marries it to a woody and spicy tobacco leaf alongside toasted cedar soaked in salted caramel paired with dry corn husks that are just singed.
Finish: The finish really takes its time as the cherry attaches to an old cinnamon stick and the tobacco takes on a sticky chewiness with an almost smoked oak woodiness.
Bottom Line:
This year’s Jack Daniel’s 10 was far woodier than last year’s. While that’s not for me, I can see this really lighting up a lot of whiskey lovers’ lives. It’s damn good whiskey.
48. Booker’s “Charlie’s Batch” 2023-01 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 63.3%
Average Price: $97
The Whiskey:
This limited edition 2023 release from Beam is an hommage to Charlie Hutchens — the woodworker who makes Booker’s boxes that the whiskey comes in and a long-time family friend to the Noe family who makes Beam whiskeys. The whiskey is a blend of mid to high-floor barrels from five warehouses. Those whiskeys were batched and bottled 100% as-is at cask strength after just north of seven years of aging.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Toasted almonds and walnuts lead the way on the nose with a deep and rich vanilla cake lightly dusted with cacao, dry cherry, and cinnamon with a touch of old oak cellars and black-mold-encrusted old deck furniture.
Palate: The soft caramel and vanilla open the palate before a rush of woody and sharp spices — clove, anise, allspice, red chili pepper — arrive with a sense of old wood chips on a workshop floor leads to salted toffee dipped in roasted almonds and dark salted chocolate with a whisper of cherry cordial backing it all up.
Finish: That soft sweetness counters the hot spices for a while on the slow finish as the spices take on an orange/cherry/vanilla Christmas cake vibe with plenty of nuts and ABV heat.
Bottom Line:
This is essential Kentucky bourbon.
47. Sweet Grass Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $74
The Whiskey:
This bourbon is bottled in South Carolina from sourced barrels. The whiskey in those barrels is a mash of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley that’s left to age before small batch bottling after six years.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of raisins and nuts that leads to vanilla pods, rich cherry cake, and a light sense of old winter spice steeped with apple cider.
Palate: The palate is lush and hits on butterscotch and apple chips with a light sense of vanilla frosting over cherry-chocolate cake with a whisper of mint in the background.
Finish: The end leans into the warmth of the spices with a woody edge that then slowly fades through orchard fruit creamed with vanilla honey.
Bottom Line:
This is another great new bourbon that deserves your attention. That said, you’re probably only going to find it on a trip to South Carolina at this point.
46. Wyoming Whiskey The Ten Anniversary Edition Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 51.7%
Average Price: $249
The Whiskey:
This is a low-corn bourbon made with a mash of 68% corn, 20% rye, and 12% malted barley that’s left to rest for 10 long years. The barrels were hand-selected by Master Distiller and legend Steve Nally and Master Blender and Master Distiller Nancy Fraley, giving the final product some serious pedigree for the whiskey nerds.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This leans into classic bourbon notes of black cherry, sticky toffee pudding, pecan pie, and marmalade before veering toward dried ancho chili powder and a touch of pistachio and honey.
Palate: That dark cherry turns syrupy before maple sap kicks in with a sense of toasted marshmallow, creamed honey, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and blueberry pie with a big dollop of bourbon vanilla ice cream.
Finish: The end has a sense of sweet potato pie covered in candied pecans next to toasted oak that’s been dipped in cherry tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is the best release from Wyoming Whiskey, full stop.
45. Stellum Bourbon Single Barrel Perseus Selected by Topflight Series by ReserveBar
ABV: 57.59%
Average Price: $52
The Whiskey:
Perseus is the latest in the astronomical lineup from Stellum Bourbon. This whiskey starts off with a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. That hot juice then rests for at least four to six years before single barrels are picked for bottling. In this case, ReserveBar snagged this barrel for their Top Flight program as a special barrel pick.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Candied pecans cooked into crispy, vanilla-forward waffles dance on the nose with a touch of sour cherry tossed in sea salt, a deep winter spice bark medley, and old leather tobacco pouches.
Palate: The taste moseys through salted dark chocolate squares next to maple syrup-dipped graham crackers, dried wild sagebrush, and a rush of sharp spearmint with black cherry lush sweetness at the base.
Finish: That black cherry drives the finish toward salted caramel and dried red chili pepper spice next to a whisper of orchard bard, woody spice, and soft and chewy tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is another great barrel pick at a great price. Get it while it lasts. Hell, get two — it’s that tasty.
44. Kentucky Senator Bourbon Release #3 John C. Carlisle
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $120
The Whiskey:
This old-school Kentucky whiskey is made from sourced juice from Kentucky. In this case, it’s made with seven-year-old barrels of Kentucky bourbon with a classic mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. The bourbon was made in honor of late 1800s Kentucky Senator John G. Carlisle who was one of the last “Bourbon Democrats” — a now-dead wing of the Democratic party that traded in classical liberalism with a deep sense of fiscal conservatism.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is deep and classic with a sense of roasted nuts, toffee, and vanilla cake next to subtle winter spices, apple cider sharpness, and a hint of oak-toasted marshmallows.
Palate: The spice melds with the nuttiness in a holiday cake with a can of cream soda on the side before orchard bark and porch wicker arrive with a sense of old gingerbread cookies dipped in dark chocolate.
Finish: Toffee tobacco and singed applewood drive the palate toward a big Kentucky hug (warmth) of winter spice barks and old cellar oak and rich marzipan just kissed with apple brandy.
Bottom Line:
This is a very solid bourbon that truly delivers a deep flavor profile. Buy one of the political scientist in your life.
43. 2XO The Phoenix Blend Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 52%
Average Price: $103
The Whiskey:
This is the new whiskey from famed blender Dixon Dedman (former head of Kentucky Owl). The whiskey is sourced and highlights the best of the best barrels that Dedman was able to get his hands on.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a deep sense of creme brûlée drizzled with salted caramel and cut with a woody tart apple and light yet sweet oak.
Palate: Red berries and vanilla pods lead to warming winter spices with a woody edge next to apple pies and orange chocolate candies.
Finish: The end has a deep pepperiness that leads back to the winter spices before descending toward that creamy vanilla and soft apple pie filling with a touch of brown butter.
Bottom Line:
This is a really good bourbon. This is also a super whiskey nerd bottle. You kind of have to follow blenders in Kentucky to even know it exists. But that’s part of the fun, right?
42. Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Straight Bourbon Whiskey Made With Peated Malt
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $46 (.375ml bottle or half bottle)
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is made from an experimental mash bill of high-rye bourbon that replaces the classic malted barley with peated malted barley. That’s barley that’s kilned (dried to stop germination) with peat as a heat source, which imbues smoke (phenols if you want to get all sciencey about it) into the barley grains. The whiskey was distilled and barreled back in November 2012 in only six barrels. Those barrels were stored on low floors of warehouses C and D for 10 years. Over that time, 65% of that whiskey evaporated. Finally, the whiskey was batched and proofed down before bottling before a run through a chill filter.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a mild sense of old cigar smoke in a leathery old library with a layer of vanilla pods, dark chocolate-covered marzipan, and rich and butter toffee next to deeply stewed stone fruits with a dash of woody spice.
Palate: The palate is silken and lush with a sense of gomme syrup (it’s almost velvety) that gives way to brown butter vanilla malt over salted toffee and smoky campfire burnt marshmallow with a faint whisper of smoked prune and cherry.
Finish: The end leans into the campfire smokiness as the vanilla, fruit, and marzipan fade out, leaving you with a sense of burnt sugars and vanilla tobacco pouches next to a lingering sense of burning sage, cinnamon bark, and allspice leaves that just inch into ashy bitterness.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the most unique bourbons on the list and of the year. It’s peated bourbon and it works shockingly well. If you’re looking for a bridge from Islay to Kentucky, you found it.
41. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch No. B523
ABV: 62.1%
Average Price: $69
The Whiskey:
The latest Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is here (number two of three for 2023). This edition is a batch of bourbons that are a minimum of 11.5 years old (down from the usual 12-year age statements). The batch is bottled completely as is without cutting with water or chill filtration.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a nice sense of funk and fruit on the nose — think standing by a barn in an apple orchard — that leads to salted caramel, cherry tobacco, and rich dark chocolate cut with red chili pepper flakes with a lush vanilla foundation of almond cakes and powdered sugar icing.
Palate: Rich winter spice cakes with a hint of rum raisin drive the taste toward dark cherry spiced tobacco with a rush of ABVs that cause a deep buzz before old cellar dirt floors and oak arrive with a dark sense of chocolate and espresso all kissed with salt.
Finish: Cherry Coke and gingerbread drive the finish with a lush and vibrant sense of red chili pepper spice, black pepper woodiness, and cinnamon bark softness before stewed apple and buttery pie crust lead back toward a vanilla almond cake vibe with a lingering warming sensation.
Bottom Line:
This is yet another excellent Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. I like this a tad more than the first release this year in that it’s more of a quintessential bourbon profile.
40. Maker’s Mark 2023 Limited Release BEP Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Finished With 10 Virgin Oak Staves
ABV: 55.35%
Average Price: $69
The Whisky:
This is the final chapter of this series Maker’s Mark “Wood Finish Series” before the next set starts dropping. The whiskey in the bottle is made from classic Maker’s that’s batched at Barrel Entry Proof (BEP), which is 110-proof (the average bourbon goes into the barrel at 125-proof) and then finished with ten bespoke wooden staves inside the barrel, all made from new (or “virgin”) oak.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Roasted vanilla beans and pan-toasted winter spices (nutmeg, clove, allspice, and cinnamon) mingle with lush and butter caramel sauce, brown-sugar rock candy, and a whisper of old wicker furniture with a hint of pipe tobacco.
Palate: That brown-sugar sweetness drives the palate toward woody and warm winter spices with a creamy eggnog edge next to vanilla sheet cake sprinkled with toffee chards and dried orchard fruits.
Finish: The end dries out a tad as the spices ramp up toward a holiday cake made with plenty of vanilla, brown sugar, buttercream, and toasted woody spices before being kissed with fresh pipe tobacco that was left in a cedar box for a spell.
Bottom Line:
This is my favorite Maker’s release so far this year. It’s just really delicious stuff.
39. Fortuna Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 51%
Average Price: $85
The Whiskey:
This whiskey — a revival of a centuries-old dead brand — is from the new company founded by partners Pablo Moix and Peter Nevenglosky, based around the Rare Character Whiskey shingle. The whiskey in the bottle is rendered from six barrels of six-year-old whiskey that’s expertly batched and bottled with just a touch of local Kentucky water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a beautiful sense of fresh orange blossom and nasturtiums on the nose with a lush honeycomb vibe next to stewed plums with hints of clove and allspice.
Palate: The palate is luxurious with a sense of salted caramel, cherry Dr. Pepper, and sticky toffee pudding with plenty of winter spice, salted toffee, orange zest, brandy butter, and black-tea-soaked dates.
Finish: The end has a sense of plum pudding with burnt sugars and orange tobacco kissed with anise and clove and rolled up with wild sage and cedar bark and wrapped in old leather pouches.
Bottom Line:
This is classic bourbon through and through. I dig sipping it over a large rock or mixing it into killer whiskey-forward cocktails.
38. Boondocks Eighteen-Year-Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey Cask Strength
ABV: 52.7%
Average Price: $279
The Whiskey:
This limited edition release is all about who’s making the whiskey. Legendary Master Distiller David Scheurich is behind this blend. For those not in the know, he came up the ranks working at Seagram (now MGP), Wild Turkey, and Brown-Forman before starting his own shingle. Scheurich selected very rare barrels that were at least 18 years old for this release and ended up with a mere 1,620 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Salted toffee dipped in ground winter spice opens the nose toward pecans rolled in maple syrup, dark cherry bark, and a sense of dry spice barks and buds next to this faint flutter of dried mimosa blooms.
Palate: Rich vanilla pods mingle with that salted toffee on the front of the palate as dark chocolate-covered coffee beans lead to a dark and sweet cherry syrup, old oak staves, and a rush of orchard fruit and bark.
Finish: The end is lush and full of soft vanilla and cherry notes that fold into a spiced tobacco leaf and old cedar box.
Bottom Line:
This is a masterclass in well-aged old bourbon. This is subtly appealing with a classic profile.
37. Hirsch The Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Finished In Cognac Casks
ABV: 63.5%
Average Price: $210
The Whiskey:
This cask-strength version of Hirsch is made from a classic bourbon mash of 72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% malted barley. That hot juice then rests for six years in new American oak. Those barrels are batched and then re-filled into 30-year-old Hine XO fine cognac casks for another year-and-a-half of resting. Finally, the whiskey is batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose feels lush and oaky with a sense of Christmas cookies, mincemeat pies, and sticky toffee pudding next to stewed plums over fresh scones with a hint of brandy butter.
Palate: Old leather boots filled with cinnamon bark and a medley of dates, figs, and prunes lead to chocolate cut with red chili and vanilla and kissed with salt and dry cedar.
Finish: That cinnamon bark intensifies with dark red fruit, light chili pepperiness, and a sense of old malted cookies dipped in vanilla toffee on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This Hirsch release is one of my favorites. It just hits so well and serves as the perfect flask of whiskey to take hiking in the backcountry.
36. Garrison Brothers Guadalupe Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in a Port Cask
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $149
The Whiskey:
This Texas whiskey is hewn from 90 30-gallon barrels of four-year-old bourbon that were transferred into 26 59-gallon Tawny Port casks for a final maturation of over one year. That whiskey is then bottled as-is after a touch of water was added.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this bursts with raspberry, blackberry, redcurrant, and blueberry all stewed with plenty of holiday spices and folded into a cobbler topped with dense buttery buttermilk biscuits.
Palate: The palate leans into the spice with a focus on clove, nutmeg, and a very small whisper of anise as the berry turns more towards a fresh strawberry with dark chocolate-covered espresso beans chiming in on the mid-palate.
Finish: That chocolate-bitter vibe drives towards a finish full of cinnamon-spiked dark chocolate tobacco leaves, stewed plums, and a dollop of floral honey.
Bottom Line:
At this point, we’re into such good whiskey that I’m running out of things to say. This is amazing. Get it.
35. Peerless Double Oak Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 53.55%
Average Price: $114
The Whiskey:
This whiskey from Kentucky Peerless is around five to six years old and comes from one barrel that lets the grains shine through before it goes into another new oak barrel for a final maturation to let the oak shine through. That final barrel is bottled at cask strength, as-is, allowing all that beautiful bourbon and oak aging to shine brightly.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a nose full of salted butter next to hints of very soft leather, light notes of vanilla bean, a touch of toffee sweetness, and freshly cracked walnuts with a dry edge.
Palate: The taste leans into that oak barrel with dashes of woody spices (think allspice berries, star anise, and cinnamon sticks), dry cherry tobacco leaves, salted caramel, and more of that super soft leather.
Finish: That leads towards a mid-palate of dark red fruits stewed in mulled wine spices and cut with a dollop of fresh honey before the (long) finish dries out towards an old wicker chair, a very distinct hint of a cellar funk, and a touch of dried mint.
Bottom Line:
This whiskey gets better with each passing year and this year’s is excellent. This is the one craft bourbon to get the next time you’re in Louisville.
34. Old Carter Straight Bourbon Whiskey Very Small Batch 3-KY
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $180
The Whiskey:
Old Carter is a hidden-away bottler right off Whiskey Row in Louisville. It’s still very insider. Their process is all about finding great barrels of whiskey, blending them, and bottling them for whiskey lovers in the know. In this case, that was a very small batch blend that yielded only 1,116 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A thickness comes through on the nose with creamy vanilla and maple syrup vibe with a buttery underbelly accented by old corn husks, woody cinnamon, allspice, and lush nutmeg with a hint of hazelnut.
Palate: Thick salted caramel sauce vibes with a black-tea-soaked date feel as cinnamon syrup and smoldering orchard wood leads to a big mid-palate Kentucky hug.
Finish: That warmth fades quickly as hints of dried cranberry tobacco and cedar braids filled with wicker and sweetgrass end the sip on a dry note with a touch of floral honey lurking underneath it all.
Bottom Line:
This is a very insider/whiskey nerd bottler that happens to bottle superb bourbon. If you can find it, get it.
33. Nelson Bros. Whiskey A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Finished in Trubee Honey Casks
ABV: 53.6%
Average Price: $199
The Whiskey:
This whiskey starts off by seasoning used whiskey barrels (from Nelson’s Green Brier’s warehouse) with honey. The distillery sends its barrels to TruBee Honey Farm in Arrington, Tennessee where the barrels are filled with wildflower honey. After the honey has finished its rest, the barrels are emptied and sent back to Nashville. Once they arrive at Nelson’s, they’re filled with Belle Meade’s award-winning bourbon for a six to eight-month rest where the honey makes its mark on the whiskey.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of a fruit orchard on a sunny day with subtle spice barks and floral honey next to a moment of leather, caramel tobacco, and almond.
Palate: Those almonds take on some toast on the palate as vanilla cake cut with buttercream and floral honey leads to a sense of honey sesame crackers and sharply spice oak staves.
Finish: A bright pepperiness drives the finish into spiced honey with a touch of toasted oats, marzipan, and burnt orange with a whisper of chamomile tea.
Bottom Line:
This is the best honey cask bourbon on the shelf. Period.
32. Daniel Weller Emmer Wheat Recipe Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $499
The Whiskey:
We finally have a brand-new Weller release from Buffalo Trace (at an incredible cost). The whiskey in the bottle is an experimental wheated bourbon made from Emmer wheat (an ancient Egyptian strain). That whiskey is then left alone to mature for 12 years before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose feels like a slice of emmer wheat sourdough bread covered in seeds that you get in a very good bakery somewhere like Germany (I honestly cannot think of a U.S. analog for it) next to Nutella, fresh orange zest, and salted caramel with a hint of marzipan.
Palate: Bright orchard fruits pop on the palate as fresh honeycombs (with a hint of earthiness) vibe with more marzipan, deep sourdough bread notes, and a good bit of old oak in old rickhouses just kissed with falling leaves and soft rain.
Finish: That Buffalo Trace leatheriness comes through on the finish with more of that oak and warehouse vibe next to orchard bark, dark winter spice, and creamy honey kissed with rum raisin.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those bottles that I need to try a few more times before I make any huge declarations. In the meantime, this is unique enough that it deserves your attention. There’s nothing quite like it out there and it works.
31. Frank August Case Study: 01 Mizunara Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 62.2%
Average Price: $165
The Whiskey:
For this first “case study,” the team at Frank August picked five bourbon barrels to finish in Japanese Mizunara casks. While those barrels were finishing the elixir within, the team checked the whiskey every 30 days to assure they batched and bottled the whiskey at just the right moment.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a rich sense of butterscotch candy on the nose with freshly fried sourdough doughnuts dusted in brown sugar, cinnamon, and maybe some spearmint next dusting of white pepper.
Palate: The taste starts off creamy and full of toffee as apple pie filling with plenty of cloves and cinnamon leads to peppery mint chocolate and salted caramel drizzle with a twinge of pine resin.
Finish: The end is lush and spicy with a hint of caraway-encrusted rye next to cinnamon bark and clove buds next to warm menthol tobacco dipped in dark chocolate and wrapped with cedar bark and wild sage.
Bottom Line:
This is a delicious release from Frank August.
30. Woodford Reserve Historic Barrel Entry Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45.2%
Average Price: $129
The Whiskey:
This 2022 Master’s Collection (that was released in February 2023) experiments with entry proof. Master Distillers Chris Morris and Elizabeth McCall loaded this whiskey into barrels at a low 100-proof and let it do its thing (125 proof is the industry standard though that varies wildly these days). Once the whiskey in those barrels hit the best flavor profile, it was bottled completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with real vanilla pods layers into apple-cinnamon coffee cake, spice-rich eggnog, hazelnut cream, black cherry pie filling, and a flutter of fresh and sharp spearmint dipped in creamy dark chocolate and then hit with a flake of smoked salt.
Palate: The coffee cake leans toward banana bread with walnuts on the palate as huckleberry jam leans into an almost sour creamy espresso with a shot of mint chocolate syrup.
Finish: Burnt orange arrives late to cut through the sweetness and adds some more bitterness as old oak and dry tobacco round things out.
Bottom Line:
This is Woodford Reserve amped all the way up and it’s delicious. If you’re already a fan, this will make you a devotee for life.
29. Doc Swinson’s Exploratory Cask French Toasted Bourbon
ABV: 54.3%
Average Price: $99
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is a blend of two MGP bourbons — their classic 75/21/4 corn/rye/malted barley mash bill with their very high rye 60/36/4 corn/rye/malted barley mash. Those whiskeys rested for 5.5 years before blending and re-barrelling into new French oak from Taransaud Cooperages that’s made with trees from the famous Troncaise forest. After about three months, those barrels were batched and this whiskey was bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a creamy almost maltiness to the nose with a deep vanilla coffee cake, clove-studded orange, and pecan waffles with more creaminess with a buttery edge.
Palate: Apricot leather and apple fritters drive the palate with a spiced cinnamon toastiness next to a light drizzle of salted dark chocolate.
Finish: Cinnamon bark and sweet orange marmalade mingle on the finish with a light sense of spiced apple cider, wet orchards in the late fall, and creamy pear pudding.
Bottom Line:
Delicious. That’s really all you need to know. Get some.
28. Barrell Bourbon Cask Strength Batch# 034 A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys
ABV: 57.31%
Average Price: $84
The Whiskey:
The latest Batch from Barrell Bourbon is a blend of bourbons from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana. The barrels in the mix are between six and 15 years old. Those barrels are masterfully blended and bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a dry apple cider vibe that leans into orange marmalade, dried apricot, and moist almond cake dipped in luxurious eggnog on the nose.
Palate: There’s a woody huckleberry jam vibe on the front of the palate that leads to old-fashioned cinnamon apple fritter, pecan waffles, more orange marmalade, and nutty almond cookies dusted in powdered sugar and nutmeg.
Finish: There’s a hint of dry sweetgrass and dried pear chips with a hint of sasparilla root, sea salt flakes, and this fleeting sense of cold slate on a rainy day balanced by rich yet dry chili spice and dark and burnt orange and espresso beans.
Bottom Line:
This blend is an old-school bourbon through and through — seriously, it was like taking a sip of something from 20 years ago. It’s also just really freaking tasty.
27. Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel Barrel Strength
ABV: 65%
Average Price: $99
The Whisky:
This is classic Old Forester from a single barrel that’s not cut with any water. When you find these, they’ll generally be a pick from a retailer or bar program. That means they’ll vary slightly, depending on what the person picking the barrel was looking for. Still, there’s a consistency of “Old Forester” running through them all.
Tasting Note:
Nose: There’s a clear sense of dark fruit, especially cherry, that becomes stewed with dark winter spices on the nose with a good dose of dry tobacco in an old cedar box that’s wrapped up in old leather.
Palate: A hint of old dry roses sneaks in on the palate as those spices and syrupy cherry and berries intensify and attach to the chewy tobacco.
Finish: The mid-palate sweetens with an almost rose-water marzipan vibe as the cherry tobacco dried out pretty significantly, leaving you with a sense of pitchy pine sap and your grandparent’s old tobacco pipe that’s still hot to touch.
Bottom Line:
The best Old Forester (besides limited editions) are their single barrels. Always grab one when you see one.
26. Bainbridge Whiskey Forty Saloon Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch Organic Bottled In Bond
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $79
The Whiskey:
Bainbridge Organic has been making seriously great whiskey for years now up in Washington. This whiskey is their first foray into bourbon. Overall, the mash bill is a classic 60% heirloom corn., 25% old variety Triticale (a rye-wheat hybrid), and 15% soft white wheat mix. The whiskey is left alone for five years and six months before batching and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a sense of old corn husks that gives way to salted caramel candies dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with dried lavender and burnt orange on the nose.
Palate: The caramel and chocolate sweetness drives the palate toward vanilla-cherry ice cream with a super creamy feel next to mild hints of grassy spices and new oak barrels fresh off the assembly line (think sweet and freshly toasted wood).
Finish: The grassy spice and toasted sweet oak dry the finish out as more cherry-vanilla creaminess balances out the finish with a hint of marmalade and scone on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is a wildly unique bourbon that feels like a great lesson for your palate — a fun lesson too. This is palate-expanding stuff that tastes wonderful. It’s a great combo.
25. Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine Barrels Cask Strength
ABV: 59.9%
Average Price: $229
The Whiskey:
This modern classic is a yearly limited release from the beloved Lousiville distiller. The juice is made from a mix of locally sourced barrels that are finished in Ruby Port casks. The best of the best are hand-selected by Angel’s Envy’s team for as-is batching and bottling with only 14,000 odd bottles making out this year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a deep sense of blackberry jam over a Southern biscuit with plenty of brown butter, vanilla sauce, and apple fruit leather with a dash of cinnamon, allspice, and star anise next to a whisper of cherry cream soda and orange-chocolate tobacco packed into a cedar box.
Palate: The palate is soft and supple with a brandy butter vibe next to mince meat pie with powdered sugar icing, meaty dates, black tea, and rich Black Forest cake.
Finish: The end subtly meanders through shaved dark chocolate and stewed cherry, eventually landing on a vanilla-laced tobacco leaf rolled up with apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks and old wicker canes.
Bottom Line:
This is the one bottle of Angel’s Envy to always buy. Every year’s version gets better and more refined and this one truly shines.
24. New Riff Blue Clarage Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $56
The Whiskey:
This brand-new distillery-only release from New Riff goes hard on the grain-to-glass ethos. The whiskey is made with heirloom corn — Blue Clarage, to be specific — that was developed by local Ohio farmer Edmund Clarridge back in the 1920s. New Riff had some more grown for this whiskey and created a mash bill (recipe) of 65% Blue Clarage corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley. That whiskey aged for five years before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is super fruity in fascinating ways with fresh red and green chilis next to ripe peach and marmalade all cut with sharp cloves and allspice with a mild sense of old leather wrapped around chili-infused tobacco leaves.
Palate: The palate is super lush with a sense of dark cherry Black Forest cake next to dried chili pepper, soft vanilla buttercream cut with salted caramel, and a sense of orchard tree bark.
Finish: That bark doesn’t take away from the lushness of the finish as soft leather and apple pie tobacco mingle with soft dates and figs next to a light sense of that marmalade on the end.
Bottom Line:
This new New Riff is fantastic. Get some the next time you’re hanging out in Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky.
23. Old Forester King Ranch Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 52.5%
Average Price: $72
The Whiskey:
The new release from Old Forester leans into heavy char and special charcoal filtering. The heavily charred barrels hold classic Old Forester bourbon that’s filtered through mesquite charcoal from Texas’ King Ranch before batching and bottling with a touch of proofing water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is a classic Old Forester cherry bomb on the nose with cherry cotton candy, dried cranberry, old saddle leather, candied pecans, and rummy molasses.
Palate: Dark cherries are dipped in salted dark chocolate on the palate as fresh firewood, walnut shells, and old leather tobacco pouches lead toward a hint of smudging sage and toasted marshmallow.
Finish: Pecan cinnamon rolls and maple bars drive the finish with another note of fresh firewood, dark soil, and mossy bark with a deep woody spice warmth.
Bottom Line:
That Old Forester cherry is perfectly balanced with a deep earthiness to create a killer version of their bourbon. Get yourself a bottle if you’re traveling to Texas.
22. Southern Star Paragon Single Barrel Cask Strength Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $103
The Whiskey:
This North Carolina bourbon is starting to make some serious waves (it’s been winning some serious awards for a couple of years now). This very limited batch of single-barrel bourbon is made from wheated bourbon mash bill with 70% corn, 16% wheat, and 14% malted barley. The hot juice was left for around four years before the barrel was hand-picked and bottled as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of orange blossoms and an apple orchard with a hint of pear and plum next to walnut shells, old honey bottles, and rich vanilla sauce with a hint of poppy seed.
Palate: The palate has a touch of dark chocolate powder sweetness that melds with walnuts and honey to make a cluster before the brown spice kicks in with sharp cinnamon and a touch of root beer.
Finish: The end leaves the spice and warmth behind for smooth vanilla walnut cake with a hint of apple-honey tobacco wrapped up with old cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
I just sampled the latest batch of this over the weekend. I think it’s even better than last year’s batch (which also won a ton of awards). If you can find this, get some ASAP.
21. Hardin’s Creek ‘Clermont’ Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $169
The Whiskey:
This brand-new release from Jim Beam explored the effects of maturation at individual Beam campuses. In this case, the whiskey is a 17-year-old bourbon that spent its life resting at the Clermont, Kentucky Beam campus. The barrels were batched and barely proofed before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark caramel and old vanilla pods lead on the nose with a fleeting sense of cherry syrup cut with clove and anise before a soft oakiness takes over.
Palate: The oak takes on a dark and almost smoky vibe as cinnamon sticks and clove buds lead to old saddle leather and damp pipe tobacco with a hint of cherry apple lurking beneath it all.
Finish: Singed marshmallow and old firewood bark lingers with some sense of vanilla cream and old dried cherries rolled in tobacco and cedar bark and dipped in dark chocolate with hints of salt.
Bottom Line:
This is an incredible Jim Beam whiskey. It’s so lush and deep. This is worth the trip to the distillery to pick up.
20. Bardstown Bourbon Company Discovery Series #10 A Blend Of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys
ABV: 57.12%
Average Price: $139
The Whiskey:
This brand-new Discovery Series edition from Bardstown Bourbon Company is a masterful blend. The whiskey is a mix of three Kentucky bourbon, one Georgia bourbon, and one Tennessee whiskey all with rye and wheated bourbon mash bills. The barrels were six to 13 years old when batched and bottled as-is without filtering or proofing water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Caramelized pecan pie slathered in maple syrup runs deep with Black Forest Cake and soft winter spice next to a hint of old boot leather and cedar humidors with a touch of hazelnut.
Palate: That hazelnut turns into Nutella on the luxurious palate as buttercream and vanilla cake mingle with woody spices and a hint of candied cherry and orange peels.
Finish: The end is pure silk with a sense of those dry winter spice countered by soft nutty creamed vanilla custard and a light note of wild smudging sage.
Bottom Line:
This is f*cking delicious.
19. William Heavenhill 9th Edition 15-Year-Old Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 54.5%
Average Price: $1,199
The Whiskey:
The latest edition of Heaven Hill’s super exclusive William Heavenhill release was made from just 34 barrels. Those barrels were from a specific floor of a specific warehouse where they rested for 15 long years before batching and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: That oak comes through like a dank old cigar box with a sense of cinnamon bark, whole nutmeg bulbs, and stewed cherry syrup with a whisper of sassafras and marzipan.
Palate: The palate is lush with a sense of old rye bread crusts next to huckleberry cobbler, more marzipan, orange oils, vanilla oils, and a touch of singed cedar kindling.
Finish: Salted caramel peanut clusters and thick cherry tobacco chewiness mingle with old oak cellars with dirt floors and a fleeting sense of falling fall leaves.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the best bourbons from Heaven Hill. That’s all you need to know.
18. Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 13 Years Old
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $173
The Whiskey:
This whiskey was made by Eddie Russell to celebrate his 40th year of distilling whiskey with his dad, Jimmy Russell. The blend is a collection of a minimum of 13-year-old barrels that Eddie Russell hand-picked. Those barrels were married and then bottled as-is with no proofing or filtration.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet and dried fruits invite you on the nose as a touch of fresh, creamy, and dark Black Forest cake mingles with mild holiday spices, dried almonds, and a sense of rich pipe tobacco just kissed with sultanas.
Palate: That dark chocolate and cherry fruit drive the palate as a hint of charred cedar lead towards vanilla tobacco with more of that dark chocolate and a small touch of honey, orange blossom, and a whisper of dried chili flake.
Finish: That honey leads back to the warmth and spice with a thin line of cherry bark smoke lurking on the very backend with more bitter chocolate, buttery vanilla, and dark cherry all combining into chewy tobacco packed into an old pine box and wrapped up with worn leather thread.
Bottom Line:
Wild Turkey truly hit it out of the park with this expression, and this year’s release is somehow even better…?!?! It’s just excellent.
17. Jim Beam Lineage Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey A Father And Son Collaboration
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $250
The Whiskey:
This whiskey was released for the struggling travel retail market late last year. The whiskey in the bespoke bottle is a 15-year-old classic Beam bourbon that was aged on specific ricks in Warehouse K (the most famed warehouse on the Clermont, Kentucky campus). Father and son Fred and Freddie Noe both selected the barrels to make this blend and released it almost completely as-is with just a drop of that soft Kentucky limestone water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is classic from the jump with a soft caramel candy with vanilla buttercream frosting over spiced choco-cherry cake, a touch of clove-studded burnt orange rind, and soft marzipan with a hint of old oak cellars.
Palate: The palate is lush with a sense of Black Forest cake — stewed cherries, vanilla cream, moist chocolate cake, dry dark chocolate shavings — next to a bunch of woody and barky winter spices with a hint of hazelnut and burnt orange.
Finish: The end leans ever-so-slightly into old cedar bark and rich spiced cherry tobacco layered with dark chocolate-covered espresso beans and a hint of sharp mint and maybe some more of that clove.
Bottom Line:
This is another excellent release from the Noe’s out at Jim Beam this year. It’s truly a great version of Jim Beam that’ll completely obliterate any preconceived notion you might have about Jim Beam.
16. Old Charter Oak Spanish Oak Barrel Aged Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 46%
Average Price: Coming Soon
The Whiskey:
Buffalo Trace’s Old Charter Oak series is expanding with a Spanish Oak edition this month. The whiskey in the bottle is from the famed Mash Bill No. 1, which forms the base spirit for Old Charter, Eagle Rare, Stagg, Benchmark, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, and Taylor expressions. In this case, the whiskey in the bottle is completely aged in new Spanish oak barrels (bourbon laws only require “new oak” aging and do not specify an oak species) for around nine years before batching, proofing, and bottling completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a deep sense of dates, plums, and mild winter spice barks and berries next to rich bourbon vanilla buttercream, soft chewy tobacco, and a hint of tart cherry.
Palate: That tart cherry darkens on the palate toward a honeyed sweet biscuit with marmalade and leathery dried prunes next to a murky dark chocolate with salt and some dried lavender underneath it all.
Finish: The end softly lands on dark yet tart cherry chewing tobacco next to gentle woody spices, floral black tea leaves, and a moist sticky toffee pudding with a touch more of that honey sweetness.
Bottom Line:
Buffalo Trace has been putting out these special oak releases for years now. In the year 2023, they nailed it. This is the best one to date.
15. Parker’s Heritage 16th Edition Double Barreled Blend 13 & 15-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 66.1%
Average Price: $999
The Whiskey:
This year’s Parker’s Heritage starts off with Heaven Hill’s classic bourbon mash bill of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley. From there, it’s all about where and how that whiskey aged. The lion’s share, 67% of the blend, comes from a 13-year-old double-barreled bourbon from the 5th-7th floors of Rickhouse Q. 33% of the blend comes from a 15-year-old bourbon that was aged on the 2nd and 5th floors of Rickhouse II. Those barrels were batched and then bottled 100% as-is without any filtering or proofing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Salted toffee rolled in almonds and dark chocolate is packed into an old oak stave chocolate box and wrapped with old leather and caramel tobacco with a fleeting sense of dried ancho chilis and sour cherry juice next to singed hickory.
Palate: The palate has a deep woody winter spiciness — cinnamon bark, whole nutmeg, star anise, allspice berries — next to sweet oak and dry sweetgrass with a mild sense of cherry cream soda and salted black licorice over woody tobacco.
Finish: The end leans towards sweet and salted dark chocolate with a rummy plum pudding full of dark spice and dried fruits with a fleeting sense of that dried chili on the very back end with some very old oak and leather.
Bottom Line:
This is another pretty much perfect bourbon from Heaven Hill.
14. Rabbit Hole Heigold Singel Barrel Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 52.8%
Average Price: Distillery Only
The Whiskey:
This is a four-year-old single-barrel version of Rabbit Hole’s beloved Heigold expression. That’s the brand’s double malt (malted rye and malted barley) that has a high-rye bourbon mash bill (70/25/5 corn/malted rye/malted barley).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is lush with deep layers of maple syrup over pecan waffles with a good hit of salted butter (really good butter) next to dark chocolate chips, old boot leather, smudging sage that’s just smoldering, and a fleeting sense of old rickhouses on a crisp fall day.
Palate: The palate follows the nose’s path with caramelized pecans finished with floral honey and dusted with candied orange peels, ground pear chips, and very dark chocolate with a pinch of salt and apple blossom before the sharp and woody winter spice kicks in.
Finish: The end leans into the dryness of the winter spice mix before silky marzipan and maple syrup creamed with butter creates a luscious finish that slowly fades from warm to comforting.
Bottom Line:
I just tried this again over the weekend, and — goddamn — this is delicious whiskey. If you can get your hands on this single-barrel release, buy two. Long story short, I know there are several bottles that’ll make the end-of-the-year best bourbon list and this is definitely one of them.
13. Elijah Craig Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Private Barrel S2B2
ABV: 61.95%
Average Price: $82
The Whiskey:
This barrel pick from ReserveBar is a masterpiece bourbon. The whiskey in the bottle is a nine-year-old barrel made with Heaven Hill’s classic bourbon mash bill (78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley). The barrel rested in Heaven Hill’s famed warehouse KK for all nine of those years before it was bottled for this special release.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich cherries soaked in maple syrup mingle with a light sense of cedar cigar humidors, apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, and cloves buried in orange peels with a hint of marzipan lurking in the background.
Palate: That cinnamon and clove blend with eggnog and nutmeg as the palate leans into mincemeat pie, vanilla cake, and a hint of toasted marshmallow dipped in dark chocolate.
Finish: The end gets a little dry as white pepper and old boot leather mingle with rich maple syrup over blueberry pancakes with a light sense of vanilla sugar cookies.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the best Elijah Craig expressions I’ve tried in a while — no disrespect to the Barrel Proof releases. This is everything you want from an iconic Kentucky bourbon. Buy it now before it sells out.
12. Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey Private Select Single Barrel
ABV: 57.2%
Average Price: $99
The Whiskey:
This craft distillery out in Washington is starting to create a big footprint nationwide. This release is a single barrel pick of five-year-old local grain-to-glass Washington bourbon. The barrel spent exactly five years and four months aging in Central Washington during deeply cold winters and very hot high-desert summers, accelerating the aging process significantly. It was then barreled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A dark and almost dried cherry greet you on the nose with a sense of toasted Graham Crackers, maple syrup, and huckleberry pie next o hints of spiced winter cakes and salty dark chocolate.
Palate: Those spicy winter cakes follow on the palate as salted caramel and vanilla cake lead back to a lush cherry ice cream with a hint of dark chocolate and almond.
Finish: That dark chocolate gets creamy and sweet on the finish with a hint of floral honey and nasturtium spice next to a mild sense of old yet sweet oak.
Bottom Line:
This is a fantastic version of Woodinville bourbon. Just fantastic. Again, buy it now before it sells out and see why everyone loves this Washington distillery.
11. Blood Oath Pact No. 9 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks
ABV: 49.3%
Average Price: $139
The Whiskey:
This is a classic and very high-end luxe blend of bourbons from Lux Row. The whiskey is made with one 16-year-old bourbon barrel married to two 12-year-old barrels. That batched whiskey was then blended with three seven-year-old bourbons that were finished in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, all sourced from the Sherry Triangle region in Southwest Spain.
Once batched, the whiskey is bottled as-is with no proofing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose runs deep with a sense of red fruit leather, dark yet sharp woody spice barks, salted toffee rolled in toasted almond, and a fleeting whisper of dark chocolate sauce cut with salt, lavender, and red chili.
Palate: The palate opens with juicy pears and grilled peaches next to stewed plums and leathery prunes over rum raisin dipped in that dark and spicy chocolate with a hint of creamy cherry butteriness.
Finish: The woody chili spice and creamy dark fruit kicks up on the end with a sense of sticky toffee pudding tobacco, old cedar humidors, and a bushel of dried vanilla pods layered with smudging sage.
Bottom Line:
Unique, one-off, limited … however you define it, this whiskey is special. It also lives up to the hype in the flavor department, making it worthy of your time and money.
10. Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey, Batch 1
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $84
The Whiskey:
Jack Daniel’s doesn’t hide any of its processes. The mash at the base of this whiskey is a mix of 80% corn, 12% barley, and 8% rye. Those grains are milled in-house and mixed with cave water pulled from an on-site spring and Jack Daniel’s own yeast and lactobacillus that they also make/cultivate on-site. Once fermented, the mash is distilled twice in huge column stills. The hot spirit is then filtered through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal that’s also made at the distillery. Finally, the filtered whiskey is loaded into charred new American oak barrels and left alone in the warehouse. After 12 years, a handful of barrels were ready; so they were batched, barely proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is creamy with deep notes of old boot leather, dark and woody winter spices, black-tea-soaked dates, plum jam with clove, and an underbelly of chewy toffee-laced tobacco.
Palate: That creaminess presents on the palate with a soft sticky toffee pudding drizzled in salted caramel and vanilla sauce next to flakes of salt and a pinch of orange zest over dry Earl Grey tea leaves with a whisper of singed wild sage.
Finish: The end leans into the creamy toffee chewy tobacco with a hint of pear, cherry, and bananas foster over winter spice barks and a deep embracing warmth.
Bottom Line:
This might be my favorite Jack Daniel’s ever. It’s amazing. Also, if anyone mutters that Jack Daniel’s isn’t any good, this is the definitive proof that they have no idea what they’re talking about.
9. Booker’s Bourbon “Apprentice Batch” 2023-02 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 62.75%
Average Price: $249
The Whiskey:
The second batch of Booker’s has arrived. This batch is named after the relationship between Booker Noe (who helped define Beam in the 20th century) and his mentor, Carl Beam, back in the 1950s. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of a lot of barrels from prime spots in several warehouses across the Beam campus. The end blend ended up being 7+-year-old bourbon that’s bottled completely as-is without proofing or filtering.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is nutty in the way that a rich and brandy-soaked holiday cake is with a deep layer of rich vanilla, candied orange, candied cherry, stewed pear, and deeply sharp winter spices.
Palate: The taste is very soft by way of a winter nut bread that’s spiced with real clove, allspice, and nutmeg next to apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, eggnog creaminess, and a bright rush of wild sage and maybe a hint of bouquet garni dipped in floral honey.
Finish: The end really amps up those spices with a very barky vibe as the orange turns to marmalade and the nuts turn to marzipan and pecan waffles with a sense of creamed vanilla honey dashed with sweet cedar kindling wrapped with leathery tobacco leaves that have just been singed.
Bottom Line:
Delicious. It’s bold and warm but goddamn delicious. This is iconic Kentucky bourbon.
8. Lost Lantern 2023 Single Cask #3 Watershed Distillery Ohio Straight Bourbon Whiskey 7 Years Old
ABV: 66.1%
Average Price: $119
The Whiskey:
The latest Lost Lantern single barrel release is a five-grain bourbon from our in Ohio. Watershed Distillery used corn, rye, wheat, malted barley, and locally-grown spelt for the mash of this bourbon. The whiskey then spent five years mellowing in Ohio before the barrel was shipped to Vermont for two more years of mellowing. Finally, the team at Lost Lantern thought this one was ready and bottled it as-is only yielding 65 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This smells rich and lush with deep creamy eggnog next to sweet dark fruit leather, old oak cellars, and a sniff of vanilla cake bespeckled with crumbled-up hard-toffees covered in dark salted chocolate.
Palate: Those toffee chocolate candies drive the palate toward spiced oatmeal cookies with walnuts and raisins dipped in vanilla buttercream and dashed with brown sugar and salt with a fleeting sense of orange and vanilla.
Finish: Spiced cookies with plenty of fatty nuts appear on the finish as a matrix of orchard fruits — cherry, plum, orange — slowly fade toward burnt ends of rock candy dipped in winter spice liqueur with a brazen heat to it.
Bottom Line:
This is sold out… Still, if you can find a pour/bottle, you’ll be in for a true treat.
7. Nelson Bros. Whiskey Black Brier A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Finished in Imperial Stout Casks
ABV: 54.9%
Average Price: $125
The Whiskey:
This whiskey takes Nelson Brother’s bourbon (sourced from Indiana and Tennessee) and re-loads it into beer casks for a special finish. The bourbon is re-filled into freshly emptied imperial stout casks from Blackstone Brewing Company for a final maturation before batching and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a fascinating balance of mocha lattes made with cream counterpointed by orange creamsicles on the nose with a deep and most vanilla white cake frosted with a whisper of Almond Joy icing.
Palate: Almost waxy cacao comes through on the palate before the almond and toasted coconut drive the taste toward Nutella-smeared croissants and a flutter of cinnamon-heavy mulled wine with a nice sweetness to it a whisper of dried red berries.
Finish: Cinnamon bark and dark chocolate-covered espresso beans come through late with a creamy sense of that Nutella and mocha latte layering into a faint burnt orange tobacco vibe.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the best stout-cask-finished bourbons you can ever hope to buy.
6. Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Batch Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 2023 Release
ABV: 62.35%
Average Price: $129
The Whiskey:
This brand-new Batch Proof release from Woodford Reserve is all about the process. The blending process of amazing cask strength barrels is front and center thanks to the whiskey going into the bottle untouched by water, leaving it “batch proof.”
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Deep marzipan and dark cherry pop on the nose with a sense of zucchini bread full of winter spice, brown butter, and walnuts next to bright orange zest and a dash of black peppercorns tied to old oak and light boot leather.
Palate: Those winter spices really amp up on the palate with a sense of clove, cardamom, and nutmeg next to old vanilla pods, dried glove leather, and a hint of dank pine resin tied to a hint of cherry bark.
Finish: That woodiness and dank drive the finish toward a layer of spice nut cake swimming in buttercream with a nice dose of smudging sage and cedar bark leading to old tobacco pouches.
Bottom Line:
This is another great Woodford release. It’s so unique while staying delicious and comforting. It’s a great balance — has to be to finish this high in the rankings.
5. Garrison Bros. Cowboy Bourbon Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 67.4%
Average Price: $239
The Whiskey:
Cowboy Bourbon is Garrison Brother’s signature bottle of whiskey. This year’s release was made from 118 hand-selected 25-gallon barrels, aged between eight and nine years. Master Distiller Donnis Todd went through all of their small-format barrels over the course of the year to find a dozen or so that he thought met the high standards of Cowboy Bourbon without filtering or cutting with water. That makes this a very as-is representation of what makes Garrison Bros. special.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a rush of sharp cinnamon bark wrapped up with old saddle leather, freshly fried apple fritters, walnuts, old cedar bark braids twisted up with dried wild sage, and a hint of dried yellow mustard flowers with an underlying sense of maple syrup over pecan waffles.
Palate: The palate leans into the spice with a hint of allspice and ginger next to apple pie filling with walnuts, brandy-soaked raisins, and plenty of brown sugar next, next to spiced Christmas cake dipped in dark chocolate sauce.
Finish: The end takes its time and meanders through salted caramel, stewed plums with star anise and sharp cinnamon, a hint of vanilla Dr. Pepper, and a mild sense of chocolate-cinnamon-spiced chewing tobacco buzziness with a warming Texas hug that’s part Hot Tamales and part chili-spiced green tea.
Bottom Line:
This is the best Texas bourbon right now.
4. Nashville Barrel Company Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel 6 Years Old UPROXX January 2023 Barrel
ABV: 59.08%
Buy Here: $119
The Whiskey:
The barrel was chosen and bottled at the tail end of 2022 on a visit to Nashville Barrel Company. The whiskey in the bottle is a 6-year-and-two-month-old bourbon from MGP of Indiana. The high rye mash bourbon (75/21/4 corn/rye/malted barley) aged for five years in Indiana before moving to Nashville for an additional 14 months of resting. The bourbon went in the bottle at cask strength straight from the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with toffee, mild leather, orchard barks, blood orange, soft sweet grains, cinnamon sticks, cherry tobacco, plum, and a whisper of old pine accented by a touch of thyme.
Palate: The taste meanders through salted caramel, dates, cinnamon bark, cardamon pods, clove buds, and soft vanilla cake before leaning slowly into a spiced warmth.
Finish: The end arrives with sweet and chewy pipe tobacco, orange bitters, rock candy, and very light yet creamy cacao lushness next to hazelnut Manner Neapolitan Wafers and dry oak.
Bottom Line:
I picked this barrel and it’s a smash hit. Get yourself a bottle to see what my palate favors while enjoying some damn fine whiskey to boot.
3. Heaven’s Door The Bootleg Series Volume IV Wheated Bourbon Finished in Islay Scotch Casks Aged 11 Years Cask Strength
ABV: 55.5%
Average Price: $499
The Whiskey:
This late 2022 release from Heaven’s Door carries on the tradition of the Bootleg Series being stellar. The whiskey in the bottle is a wheated bourbon that spent 11 years mellowing before being re-casked in old Islay Scotch whisky casks. After a final rest, those barrels were batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old lawn wicker and worn-out leather tobacco pouches mingle with Christmas plum pudding, rich and most marzipan, and campfire-kissed marshmallow with this faint trace of burnt incense ash.
Palate: There’s a sense of old corn husks that leads to old oak staves, orchards full of dead leaves, sour cherry, marzipan cut with dark orange oils, and this fleeting speck of beef tallow.
Finish: That whisper of umami leads back to the dark orchard fruits, soft nuttiness, and mild medley of botanical winter spices with a chewy fresh tobacco vibe.
Bottom Line:
This is a fantastic Heaven’s Door release and another great bridge between smoky Islay malt and bourbon.
2. Michter’s Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Old 2023 Edition
ABV: 47.2%
Average Price: $185
The Whiskey:
The whiskey barrels sourced for these single-barrel expressions tend to be at least 10 years old with some rumored to be closer to 15 years old (depending on the barrel’s quality, naturally). Either way, the whiskey goes through Michter’s bespoke filtration process before a touch of Kentucky’s iconic soft limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon down to a very crushable 94.4 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a peppery sense of cedar bark and burnt orange next to salted caramel and tart red berries with a moist and spicy sticky toffee pudding with some brandy butter dancing on the nose.
Palate: The palate blends vanilla tobacco with salted dark chocolate-covered marzipan while espresso cream leads to new porch wicker and black peppercorns.
Finish: The end has a pecan waffle vibe with chocolate chips, maple syrup, blackberry jam, and minced meat pies next to old tobacco and cedar with a sweet yet toasted marshmallow on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is quintessential Kentucky bourbon. It’s a must-have.
1. Augusta Distillery Buckner’s Aged 13 Years Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 60% (varies)
Average Price: $199
The Whiskey:
This is a very niche brand out in rural Kentucky that’s sourcing old barrels. The whiskey in the bottle is a Kentucky straight bourbon that rested for 13 years before it was bottled completely as-is both unfiltered and at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of old barrel houses full of sweet and spice bourbon next to a gentle moment of creamy vanilla honey with old corn husks stuffed in the honey which is poured over spiced winter nut breads with a hint of butteriness and earthy nutshells.
Palate: The clove, allspice, and anise of the nut bread amp up the buttery palate with a sense of Earl Grey tea leaves, salted caramel, and mocha-heavy espresso beans next to a light marzipan moistness and hints of burnt orange next to old dry black cherry bark.
Finish: The end lingers for a while as the marzipan and orchard barks fade toward sharp eggnog spices and soft creaminess before the vanilla creamed honey slathers old oak staves with a good dose of earthy fall vibes kind of like a forest floor on a frosty day.
Bottom Line:
This was just crowned the world’s best bourbon of 2023 by the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. That’s a seal approval that’s unassailable. Get it while you still can.
