Celebrity booze is nothing new. Sammy Hagar launched Cabo Wabo Tequila all the way back in 1996. Hell, Frank Sinatra and Jack Daniel’s were so synonymous since the 1940s that it may as well have been his brand — he certainly made that brand the international mainstay it still is today. Wine, beer, tequila, whiskey, whatever… famous people have always been inextricably linked to alcohol.
That said, there has been a pretty big uptick in the amount of celebrity-associated booze recently (I’m using “associated” here because it’s a wide and murky landscape with partial ownerships with huge conglomerates, endorsement deals, or one-off partnerships, and sometimes just barrel picks with long-standing brands alongside true passion projects). That surge is plainly due to the massive boom the whole spirits industry is going through currently. There’s money to be made, fan bases to hold onto, and tons of barrels to go around.
All of that means that it’s time to do another blind tasting of celebrity whiskeys! This time, I’m focusing on American whiskeys — bourbons, ryes, or a blend of whiskeys. That means A$AP Rocky’s Mercer + Prince or Nick Offermann’s Lagavulin releases aren’t included since they’re Canadian and Scottish respectively. There’s still plenty to talk about, don’t worry.
Our lineup up today is:
- Blackened A Blend of Straight Whiskeys Finished in Black Brandy Casks (Metallica)
- Three Chord Cask-Finished Bourbon & Corn Whiskey Finished in Honey & Toasted Barrels (Neil Giraldo)
- Willett Distillery Kiamichi A Family Reunion Whiskey Straight Rye Whiskey (Kings of Leon)
- Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Chris Stapleton Barrel Pick
- Bradshaw Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (Terry Bradshaw)
- Eric LeGrand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Silverbelly Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (Alan Jackson)
- Balcones ZZ Top Tres Hombres Texas Whisky 2022 Edition
- Heaven’s Door Decade Series Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 10 Years (Bob Dylan)
- Puncher’s Chance Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (Bruce Buffer)
My wife was kind enough to organize the blind tasting for me and pour these whiskeys. After I tasted through, I ranked them according to a very simple criterion: What tasted best? It’s really that simple folks, so let’s dive right in!
Part 1 — The Celebrity Whiskey Blind Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is a classic bourbon with deep caramel sweetness and buttery vibes next to mild dark fruit, winter spice, and leatheriness with a hint of honey grits.
Palate: The lush honey drives the palate toward clove and allspice layered into cherry fruit leather with a very faint hint of fresh spearmint sharpness.
Finish: The end stays pretty classic with a touch of maple syrup and nuttiness (kind of like a pecan waffle) with that dark fruit, spice, and caramel staying pretty present throughout.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a pretty standard but very nice bourbon. It feels classic from top to bottom.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a nice spiciness to the nose that leans into cedar and smudging sage with a hint of nasturtiums, creamy honey, and gingerbread cookies.
Palate: The mouthfeel is lush with a nice layering of corncake with honey, vanilla malt with a cherry on top, and bold winter spice barks and botanicals with a hint of burnt orange and red chili pepper.
Finish: The spice ramps up on the end with a good Kentucky hug (more a buzz than a burn) next to light white grits cut with butter, honey, and caramel with a hint of orchard fruit lurking behind it all.
Initial Thoughts:
This is nice and a bit different in a good way. There’s a lot of corn and I kind of dig it.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This nose is gorgeous with subtle notes of tart cherries tossed with flakes of salt next to dark plum jam laced with soft cinnamon, ground clove, and nutmeg, vanilla pound cake with poppy seeds, red and orange nasturtiums, floral honey, and salted cashews.
Palate: The taste is fruity but moves more toward pineapple cores, peach skins, and lemon pith next to a soft dry sweetgrass braid twisted up with wild sage and cedar bark with notes of pine-infused honey, old black tea leaves, and cinnamon sticks that have just been singed on the mid-palate.
Finish: The end is lush and beautifully layered with real sourdough rye crusts, honey-dipped Graham Crackers, dark chocolate-dipped sour cherries, and a hint of walnut bread with plenty of wintry spices and butter.
Initial Thoughts:
This is outstanding rye whiskey. This is the whiskey to beat.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dried dark fruits and a hint of vanilla wafers mingle with fig fruit leather, a touch of orchard wood, and a deep caramel on the nose.
Palate: The palate holds onto those notes while layering in dark berry tobacco with sharp winter spices, new leather, and a singed cotton candy next to a cedar box filled with that tobacco.
Finish: The finish lingers on your senses for a while and leaves the spice behind for that dark, almost savory fruit note with an echo of blackberry Hostess pies next to soft leather pouches that have held chewy tobacco for decades and a final hint of old porch wicker in the middle of summer.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a stone-cold classic bourbon with an exceptional flavor profile. This is special stuff.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is a wild nose that goes from Wether’s Originals to leather-bound books to drug store aftershave before hitting on classic cherry and vanilla bourbon vibes with a nice winter spice feel.
Palate: The palate is all about those soft winter spices with a light wood vibe that’s a little bit wicker and a little bit oak before veering back toward a cherry vanilla Coke taste.
Finish: The finish holds onto the spice and warms up considerably before veering headfirst into apple candy sweetness with a hint of caramel and cinnamon.
Initial Thoughts:
This is nice standard bourbon.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a nice and soft nose with classic bourbon notes of cherry, spice, vanilla, and oak with a nice hint of deeper cherry leather and vanilla cake.
Palate: The palate largely follows the nose with a stone-cold classic bourbon mix of soft cherry, lush vanilla, and mild spices tied to a slight oakiness.
Finish: The finish is light (this must be a pretty low-proof whiskey) with a short and sweet bourbon vibe.
Initial Thoughts:
This is very standard bourbon too, it’s got a nice feel to it.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose greets you with an old boot leather vibe next to salted caramel, ripe tart apples, sour cherry, and corn muffins with a hint of butter and salt.
Palate: The palate has a light graininess that leans into soft oatmeal raisin cookies with a hint of walnut and nutmeg and a drizzle of caramel sauce with clear vanilla tying it all together.
Finish: The end wraps those cookies in a soft leather sheet and adds in some cinnamon-apple tobacco with a very slightly thin finish.
Initial Thoughts:
Again, a good standard bourbon with a nice balance. Nothing less, nothing more.
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a Digestive Biscuit with a hint of brown butter, brown sugar, and pecan leading to a moment of dried juniper next to floral citrus, fresh spearmint, and creamy toffee with a whisper of dark chocolate-covered espresso beans.
Palate: The palate is bright with a grapefruit soda vibe — more Fresca than Jarritos — as a moment of cumin dances with some suede, grape must, and a salty cracker next to old corn husks and buttery vanilla cookies.
Finish: The end leans into the floral side of the citrus while adding in a hint of fresh ginger spice and apple cider cinnamon candies.
Initial Thoughts:
This is just interesting and refreshing. It’s not a bourbon or a rye but it’s really good.
Taste 9
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a tannic old oakiness on the nose (this is older) with hints of pecan waffles covered in maple syrup with vanilla butter.
Palate: The taste is pure silk with salted caramel, vanilla cream, black licorice, marzipan, and a hint of cinnamon-pecan ice cream with a dusting of powdery chocolate in malt.
Finish: The end has a moment of warmth thanks to that cinnamon before lunging toward old porch wicker, cinnamon bark, star anise, pear tobacco, and old leather with a hint of potting soil.
Initial Thoughts:
This is lush and f*cking delicious.
Taste 10
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a slightly tannic nose (think old, red-wine-soaked oak) with woody vanilla, nutmeg, and a lush vibe.
Palate: The palate mixes up the sweet vanilla with sweet yet sharp spice, some dark chocolate, and a hint of orange zest.
Finish: The end combines everything into a lush finish that highlights old oak, soft nutmeg, and a soft orange-chocolate vibe with a hint of clove and anise.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a pretty good standard bourbon with a few bells and whistles but nothing extravagant.
Part 2 — The Celebrity Whiskey Ranking
10. Eric LeGrand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 6
ABV: 44%
Average Price: $42
The Whiskey:
This whiskey — from former college football star Eric LeGrand (whose career was cut short due to a spinal injury while playing for Rutgers) — is made from classic Kentucky bourbon. The juice is distilled in Owensboro, Kentucky, and then batched and bottled in Bardstown (via the Bardstown Bourbon Company). The whiskey is classic corn, rye, and barley mash made with that iconic Kentucky limestone water.
Perhaps more importantly, Eric LeGrand donates $5.20 of every case sold of this bourbon to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
Bottom Line:
This is a solid bourbon. I’d use it for mixing as it’s a little thin as a sipper. Still, there are no faults and it drinks cleanly and easily.
9. Silverbelly Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 7
ABV: 45.5%
Average Price: $40
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is a sourced Kentucky Bourbon that’s built for country music legend Alan Jackson. The juice is named after the color of Jackson’s iconic “silverbelly” hat. That juice is made in Owensboro, Kentucky, and then built from barrels that Jackson hand-selected with his daughter Mattie Jackson Selecman, who’s a certified sommelier by day.
Bottom Line:
This is another bourbon that works. It has a tad more depth than a regular $25 from a huge brand, but it still feels like a mixing whiskey more than anything else.
8. Puncher’s Chance Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 10
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $32
The Whiskey:
This is a celebrity-owned bourbon from UFC’s Bruce Buffer. The juice in the bottle is a blend of four to six-year-old bourbons from Kentucky that are touched with a little proofing water after blending.
Bottom Line:
This is a really easy-to-drink whiskey that offers a slightly more deep and distinct bourbon flavor profile. The overall vibe of this is just really solid mixing bourbon.
7. Bradshaw Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 5
ABV: 51.9%
Average Price: $52
The Whiskey:
Bradshaw Bourbon is made by Green River Distilling Company in Owensboro, Kentucky. The bourbon (and now a rye) 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 juice is a two-year-old bourbon made with 70 percent corn, 21 percent rye, and nine percent malted barley. It’s proofed to a hefty 103.8.
Bottom Line:
This is where we bump up in quality a fair amount. This is still a cocktail bourbon but there is more here than just standard stuff. It’s also really nostalgic. I’ve tasted Wild Turkey and Old Crow from the 1980s and this bottle reminds me of them in a small way. Still, I’d make cocktails with this and pour it over some rocks as a table whiskey.
6. Three Chord Cask-Finished Bourbon & Corn Whiskey Finished in Honey & Toasted Barrels — Taste 2
ABV: 55.65%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
This is from a wide-ranging whiskey brand created by Neil Giraldo (Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame guitarist and producer behind Pat Bantar and Rick Springfield’s biggest hits). The whiskey in this expression is hewn from a high-rye five-year-old MGP bourbon, a standard six-year-old MGP bourbon, and an eight-year-old Kentucky corn whiskey. Those barrels are batched and the whiskey is re-barrelled into toasted barrels from ISC and Speyside cooperages for three months. Then those barrels are batched and that whiskey is then re-barreled once more into Fern Valley Farms honey casks for one final month of mellowing.
Bottom Line:
This was really nice and stood out with a deep profile. It was a little on the hot side, so I’d recommend adding some water or a big ice cube. Likewise, that heat would play well in a cocktail too.
5. Blackened A Blend of Straight Whiskeys Finished in Black Brandy Casks — Taste 1
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $34
The Whiskey:
This is the flagship whiskey that was created by Master Distiller Dave Pickerell (America’s whiskey Johnny Appleseed) for and with Metallica. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of bourbon and ryes. Once batched, that whiskey is finished in black brandy casks that are bombarded with very loud Metallica playing in the rickhouse.
Bottom Line:
I like to think the vibration of the sound waves adds to the aging process. There’s science there. But that’s almost inconsequential because this whiskey tastes good. It’s not mind-blowing but it gets the job done as an easy table whiskey for on the rocks pours and cocktails.
4. Balcones ZZ Top Tres Hombres Texas Whisky 2022 Edition — Taste 8
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $60
The Whiskey:
ZZ Top worked directly with Master Distiller Jared Himstedt (over Zoom) to blend three Balcones whiskies together. The blend is one part Balcone’s signature Blue Corn Whisky, one part Texas Single Malt, and one part Texas Rye. The idea behind the blends was to build the sip from a bold and oily base towards a fruity mid-palate that ends up nice and spicy.
Bottom Line:
This was the funkiest whiskey on the panel. It was also a pretty nice sipper with a great and varied profile. This isn’t for everybody but that’s why it’s enticing. I’d drink this over a rock when I’m looking for something completely unique and tasty.
3. Heaven’s Door Decade Series Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 10 Years — Taste 9
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $95
The Whiskey:
This is the first release in the new series of Bob Dylan’s Heaven’s Door Tennessee whiskeys. The juice is a 10-year-old straight bourbon that was made in Tennessee but wasn’t charcoal filtered before or after aging. The sourced barrels were blended and just proofed down before bottling without any other fussing.
Bottom Line:
Look, these top three are basically tied for first place. This was simply delicious. It was so vibrant and classic while taking you on a journey.
2. Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Chris Stapleton Barrel Pick — Taste 4
ABV: 50%
Average Price: Charity only
The Whiskey:
That whiskey was hand-picked by Chris Stapleton for his charity work. The whiskey in the bottle is a 12-year-old E.H. Taylor that Stapleton picked last year. It was then cut down very slightly to bottled-in-bond proof, or 100-proof, with that famously soft Kentucky limestone water.
Bottom Line:
This is pretty much the perfect Kentucky bourbon. While getting your hands on this exact bottle is hard, you can find E.H. Taylor Single Barrel for a price and it’ll be very close to this.
1. Willett Distillery Kiamichi A Family Reunion Whiskey Straight Rye Whiskey — Taste 3
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $149
The Whiskey:
This whiskey from the new Kings of Leon’s collaboration is their entry point to the trio of bottles released this year. The juice is a 12-barrel blend a mix of two Willett rye mash bills that were aged in both char 5 oak (a very heavy alligator char) and 24-month cured oak from Hoffmeister Cooperage. Those extremely rare barrels were then batched and just kissed with water and then bottled in only 2,780 bottles.
Bottom Line:
This is still one of the best ryes I’ve tasted in a long time. It’s so nuanced and delicious while never once feeling overwrought or inaccessible. I adore this whiskey.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Celebrity Whiskeys
Brasstacks, folks, the top three whiskeys are the ones you want to chase down, and they’re the whiskeys that are going to be the most pain in the ass to find. Sorry about that but… thems the breaks. The good news is that the rest of the whiskeys on this list are pretty easy to find.
I’d focus on numbers five through seven the most as they’ll be widely available in a lot of regional markets. Plus, they’re super solid all around. That said, you really can’t go wrong with any whiskey on this list. Even the bottom three are still perfectly good standard bourbons.
The ball’s in your court.
