We’ve covered the best bourbons under $60 and $100 for great holiday sipping. Now, it’s time to go big as we head home for the holidays. Let’s talk about some mic-drop bourbons to wow your family and/or crew this holiday weekend.
Below, we’re calling out 20 expensive bourbons that are perfect holiday sippers. The idea is that these bourbons are expensive, yes, but also exude holiday flavors and vibes in their flavor profiles. These are also just great whiskeys… that happen to be very expensive. But if the holidays aren’t the right time to finally splurge on some pricey whiskeys when is?
Before we dive in, a quick note on pricing. All of these whiskeys are highly allocated — meaning that only certain retailers and restaurants/bars receive a shipment of these whiskeys. Since they’re so rare, the price tag to the consumer will often be massively inflated. You know, like a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona or those Nike Airs that there were only 150 pairs of. The point is this: These whiskeys are rare and at times extremely expensive. But if you’re willing to pay the price, you can get every single one of these bottles right now.
Okay, capitalist economics out of the way — let’s dive in and find you the best bourbon to sip this holiday weekend.
20. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof Batch #22A
ABV: 66.1%
Average Price: $399
The Whiskey:
Stagg is Buffalo Trace’s Mash Bill no. 1 (a low-rye mash) turned up to MAX volume. The whiskey spends about a decade resting in the old Buffalo Trace warehouses before it’s batched and bottled (in this case in Spring 2023) 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is rich on the nose with deep senses of dark chocolate brownies just kissed with stewed black cherry and old vanilla pods before a soft sense of red chili tobacco and wet brown sugar tobacco lead to a whisper of smoldering fall leaves.
Palate: That dark chocolate and chili-laced tobacco drives the taste toward a Christmas cake brimming with candied cherry, orange rind, rum raisin, clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and creamy vanilla icing with a dash of salt, marzipan, and brandy-soaked apple and pear orchards.
Finish: The rich and boozy holiday cake fades on the finish as deep earthiness — think firewood bark and smudging sage — drives the end toward a big Kentucky hug of warmth that’s just right.
Bottom Line:
That bold and delicious “Christmas Cake” with all the trimmings is the star of the show on the mid-palate of this whiskey. That makes this a great place to start your holiday bourbon-sipping journey.
The biggest drawback here is the ABVs. They’re very high. Don’t be afraid to pour this over a big ol’ rock for holiday sipping. I would maybe shy away from mixing this into cocktails as those high ABVs will tend to blow out subtler flavors and get you lit very, very fast if hidden behind a lot of sugars.
19. Joseph A. Magnus Cigar Blend Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50.35%
Average Price: $194
The Whiskey:
This sourced bourbon is built from 11 and 18-year-old bourbon barrels. The real star of the show with this whiskey is that those bourbons were finished in Armagnac, Cognac, and sherry casks before vatting and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with sticky toffee pudding that amps up the cinnamon and nutmeg next to black-tea-soaked dates next to some stewed prunes wrapped in chili-chocolate-laced tobacco leaves and dripped in honey and then walnuts.
Palate: A savory fruitiness opens the palate with figs and pumpkin that leads towards an apricot jam with a hint of clove and cinnamon next to light touches of old library leather and funk.
Finish: A faint hint of dark berries arrives on the mid-palate before the finish luxuriates in burnt toffee, almond shells, more of that leather, and dried-out apricots.
Bottom Line:
This is a lovely balanced whiskey that feels like dessert in a glass. Slicing off some pumpkin pie or cherry chocolate cake? Pair it with this whiskey! The proof helps this maintain that balance, which also means that you can mix up a delightful old fashioned or Manhattan with this one.
18. 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 is like a nice glass of darkly fruity cognac meets Christmas sugar cookies with a hint of spice at the end. This might sound wild, but dip your Christmas cookies in this. It’s great. That all said, this is another whiskey with a lot of punch so we strongly recommend a little ice to calm it down for slow sipping.
17. Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish Blend
ABV: 57%
Average Price: $214
The Whiskey:
This new version of Legent leans into the marriage of Kentucky and Japan in the bottle. The whiskey is a straight bourbon from Beam that spent eight years mellowing in Kentucky. That whiskey was then sent to the Yamazaki Distillery outside of Kyoto, Japan where blending legend Shinji Fukuyo transferred the whiskey into French and Spanish oak casks for another rest before batching again and re-filling the whiskey into the incredible Yamazaki Spanish Oak whisky casks for a final rest before blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a leathery sense of old dried chilis that have just been kissed with heat before a sense of dried cranberry and rich malted chocolate take the nose toward soft plummy cakes full of soft powdered spices.
Palate: A hint of maltiness comes through early on the palate with a fleeting sense of smoked red berries before deep vanilla buttercream creates a luscious foundation for rich pipe tobacco, cranberry sauce cut with anise, clove, and nutmeg, sticky toffee pudding, and mulled wine cut with toffee and dry reeds.
Finish: The spices warm on the finish before descending toward soft nutcakes and winter-spiced doughnuts with a light sense of stewed plum and pear over old saddle leather and rickhouse dank.
Bottom Line:
This is a creamy and rich pour that feels like figgy pudding in whiskey form. Overall, this is just a really nice slow sipper with or without a rock that also works wonders in any holiday-flavored whiskey-forward cocktail.
16. Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 70.45%
Average Price: $249
The Whiskey:
This year’s Cowboy Bourbon from Garrison Brothers is a blend of only 118 barrels of six-year-old Texas bourbon. 1,000 bottles of the crafty Texas whiskey will be available in mid-September at the distillery with an additional 8,600 bottles going out nationwide the first week of October.
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 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:
Dark chocolate and spiced Christmas cakes? Sounds perfect right about now. Pour this over a single large ice cube and let it wash over you.
15. Heaven’s Door Bootleg Series Vol. V 18-Year-Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged in Spanish Vermough Rogue Casks
ABV: 57%
Average Price: $599
The Whiskey:
The new Bootleg Series from Heaven’s Door is here! This year’s edition is an 18-year-old bourbon that’s finished in Spanish Vermouth Rouge casks. The whiskey was batched and bottled as-is with a one-of-a-kind piece of art from Bob Dylan serving as a label that’s reminiscent of going on the road with Steinbeck or Kesey.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old honey pots with crystalized honey at the bottom open the nose toward rich and salted caramel next to a moist and lush vanilla cake dotted with dried brandied cherries and a note of old oak wrapped in tobacco leaves.
Palate: That tobacco marries to the salted caramel on the palate as the vanilla and cherry swim in brandy with rum raisin and a whisper of smudging sage smoldering in the background with some more tobacco.
Finish: The honey sweetness takes on a crisp and clear sharpness on the finish as the cherry gets tart and then sweet like a cherry cake with whispers of chili-chocolate tobacco and old barrelhouses on a cold fall day full of leaves brings it all to an end.
Bottom Line:
Throw on Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart album and pour this into a nice big glass. You’ll be set for great holiday sipping.
14. Booker’s “Charlie’s Batch” 2023-01 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 63.3%
Average Price: $199
The Whiskey:
This first Booker’s release of 2023 was an hommage to Charlie Hutchens — the woodworker who makes Booker’s boxes 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 a very classically hewn Kentucky bourbon with a kick. Pour this over a single large rock to get a deep creaminess that turns that almond into marzipan and the cherry chocolate into Black Forest cake with a spiced holiday vibe.
13. George Dickel Bourbon Whisky Aged 18 Years Limited Release
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $484
The Whisky:
The latest Dickel release is a monumental one. The whiskey is an 18-year-old Tennessee bourbon (made with a corn-heavy mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley). The batch was made from a very small selection of barrels that were left to do their thing in Cascade Hollow’s famed single-story rickhouses in very rural Tennessee. Once batched, the whiskey was proofed and bottled otherwise as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a lush crème brulée served with a peach cobbler on the side before dark notes of winter spice barks and buds lead to a whisper of piney honey layered into tobacco that’s been braided with smudging sage and dry sweetgrass next to this hint of musty leather in an old cheese cellar.
Palate: That lush crème brulée drives the palate toward silken eggnog vibes with a sense of creamed honey, soft winter spice cakes brimming with dried fruit, nuts, and candied citrus before a dark sense of cellar floor dirt and old oak staves arrive with more of that tobacco braid.
Finish: The end leans into the lushness of it all and leaves you with a sense of walking through an old rickhouse that’s been standing for 100 years while holding a chocolate-dipped orange vanilla cigar in one hand and a smoldering marshmallow in the other.
Bottom Line:
This is a super dessert pairing whiskey, especially after a huge holiday meal. Those soft holiday notes are so vibrant thanks to the lower proof on this one — so don’t sleep on making a beautiful Manhattan with this.
12. Wild Turkey Generations Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 60.4%
Average Price: $449
The Whiskey:
This brand-new release from Wild Turkey is the first time Bruce Russell’s name has appeared on a bottle. Bruce teamed up with with dad (Master Distiller Eddie Russell) and his granddad (Master Distiller and legend Jimmy Russell) to create a bourbon that spoke to all three of their whiskey palates. The whiskey in the bottles ended up being a blend of 9-, 12-, 14-, and 15-year-old bourbon that all three of the Russells selected together. Once batched, that bourbon was bottled 100% as-is without filtering or proofing to highlight the beauty of the whiskey being made at Wild Turkey.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Lush vanilla oils are cut with salted caramel and dark cherry root beer made with real sasparilla next to warming winter spices (clove, anise, and allspice) that lean toward mulled wine, cherry-laced tobacco, and hints of dry smudging sage braided with sweetgrass.
Palate: That woodiness leads on the palate before a rush of vanilla buttercream and toffee rolled in roasted almond and dusted with dark chocolate powder shifts the taste toward warm apple pie filling cut with more cloves and allspice and washed down with cherry cola.
Finish: That dark cherry is just kissed with floral honey on the backend as the spices take on a woody bark vibe and the toffee makes a buttery and lush return with a near marzipan feel before old oak staves from a musty rickhouse lead to another braid of sage, cedar, and tobacco on the chewy and silky end.
Bottom Line:
This whiskey is all about a family working together — a grandfather, his son, and his grandson — to make a whiskey that is a little bit of each of them. Add in the deep holiday flavor notes and you pretty much have the perfect high-end bourbon to drink with your family.
11. Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine Barrels
ABV: 59.1%
Average Price: $229
The Whiskey:
This is the 12th Cask Strength Bourbon release from Angel’s Envy but the first under new Master Distiller Owen Martin. Martin brings a deep knowledge of craft Colorado whiskey making and Scotch whisky to the table and it shows in this new release. The whiskey is a masterful blend of Angel’s Envy’s port-finished bourbons at cask strength, allowing the barrels to shine through. As a limited edition, there were only 22,656 bottles produced. The good news is that they’re going out to all 50 states.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Spiced cherry cake mingles with rich and buttery caramel sauce, toasted marshmallows, rum raisin, black-tea-soaked dates cut with cinnamon and nutmeg, and a deep sense of mulled wine cut with dark chocolate.
Palate: The palate leans into the mulled wine and sticky toffee pudding with a flourish of sea salt and orange zest next to lush vanilla buttercream, dark cherry spiced tobacco leaves, and old motorcycle jacket leather.
Finish: The end leans into brandy-soaked cherries dipped in dark chocolate next to dry sweetgrass, smudging sage, and cedar bark braided and stacked in an old cigar humidor next to a dry red wine cork with winter spice cakes, pear brandy marzipan, and deep dried fruits rounding out the end.
Bottom Line:
This is the best bourbon Angel’s Envy has ever released. If you can get your hands on a bottle, you’ll be for a deeply quintessential bourbon with deep holiday vibes. Moreover, the cask strength’s high(ish) ABV is well-balanced and never feels hot. It’s more like a warm hug on a winter morning.
10. Bomberger’s Declaration Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 2023 Release
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $179
The Whiskey:
This whiskey heralds back to Michter’s historical roots in the 19th century before the brand was even called “Michter’s.” The old Bomberger’s Distillery in Pennsylvania is where the brand started way back in the day (1753). The whiskey in the bottle is rendered from a very small batch of bourbons that were aged in Chinquapin oak. The staves for that barrel were air-dried for three years before coppering, charring, and filling. The Kentucky bourbon is then bottled in an extremely small batch that yields around 2,000 bottles per year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet mashed grains — think a bowl of Cream of Wheat cut with butter and molasses — mix with sticky toffee pudding, old saddle leather, old cellar beams, and sweet cinnamon with a hint of candied orange and dark chocolate next to luscious eggnog with a flake of salt.
Palate: The palate is super creamy with a crème brûlée feel that leads to soft winter spices, dry cedar, and orange chocolates with a hint of pear-brandy-soaked marzipan in the background.
Finish: The end has a creamed honey vibe next to brandy-soaked figs and rum-soaked prunes with fresh chewing tobacco and salted dark chocolate leading back to dark chocolate and old cellar floors with a touch of smoldering orchard bark.
Bottom Line:
This might be the most refined holiday sipper on the list, making a great mid-point for this list. It’s just so easygoing when poured neat that you really won’t need much else until 2024.
9. Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 17 Years Old (BTAC 2023)
ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $1,849
The Whiskey:
This year’s Eagle Rare ended up being 19 years and three months old (the “17 Years” on the label denotes the youngest barrels used for the brand overall). This year’s release was distilled and barreled back in the spring of 2004 and then left to rest all those years around the Buffalo Trace campuses in warehouses C, I, K, M, and Q. Once the barrels were batched, the whiskey was proofed and bottled as-is otherwise.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is like eating a moist and perfectly balanced Black Forest cake while walking through an old barrel house and out into a fallow fruit orchard with fall leaves crunchy underfoot and rain barely misty the air with hints of cinnamon cake, smudging sage, and sweetgrass rounding things out.
Palate: Orange cake and salted caramel lead on the palate with a sense of dark chocolate tobacco moving the mid-palate toward dry roasting herbs and a touch of nuttiness.
Finish: Cinnamon sticks and nutmeg pop up on the finish with a hint of vanilla buttercream and eggnog before the spices dry out with a sense of mince meat pie and old leather tobacco pouches.
Bottom Line:
This is pretty much a perfect Kentucky bourbon with deeply spiced holiday vibes. It’s also not over-proofed, meaning that you can easily sip this one all day long as you wrap presents, coo, and chill by the tree.
8. Knob Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 18 Years
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $224
The Whiskey:
This is a super rare limited release for fall 2023. The whiskey in the bottle is Beam’s standard mash bill that’s distilled at a slightly different temperature and treated with a little more care during aging by placing barrels in very specific locations throughout their vast warehouses. After 18 long years, the best of the best barrels are small batched, and just proofed before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark molasses and pecan clusters with salted dark chocolate lead to brown butter, old figs, and salted caramel with a woody sense of cherry and apple bark next to cinnamon-laced cedar sticks with burnt orange.
Palate: The palate is full of lush vanilla notes next to singed cherry bark and apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, star anise, salted black licorice, and dark chocolate-covered espresso beans with a hint of dried red chili spice turning up the heat on the mid-palate.
Finish: The end has a floral honey sweetness that balances everything toward orange blossoms and bruised peaches, cherry tobacco, and clove tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This has a Christmas candy bowl vibe with a hint of nutty spiced fruitcake (but the good ones from Europe). Overall, pour this after the big meal and let it mingle with sweet treats through all the festivities.
7. Bardstown Bourbon Company Collaborative Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished In Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout Barrels
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $169
The Whiskey:
This new release from Bardstown Bourbon Company is a collaboration with Chicago’s Goose Island’s iconic Bourbon County Stout. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of six- and seven-year-old Kentucky bourbons that are batched and then re-barreled into Bourbon County stout barrels. 12 months later, the whiskey is blended with another 9-year-old Kentucky bourbon, barely proofed, and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A moment of honey draws you in on the nose before veering toward rich and very dark chocolate with a deeply stewed cherry cut with oily vanilla, mulled wine spices, and pear brandy-soaked marzipan with a hint of candied orange zest, dry espresso beans, and moist tobacco leaves.
Palate: There’s a moment of malted chocolate shakes on the taste that leads to a rich spiced Christmas cake brimming with walnuts, sultanas, candied cherry, candied lemon rinds, and leathery dates that lead to moments of creamy and very boozy eggnog poured over a Black Forest Cake.
Finish: The Christmas spices, fruit cake, dried fruit, and eggnog all combine on the finish to create a rich and sumptuous finish full of luscious textures and just the right amount of spiced whiskey warmth.
Bottom Line:
This is a bourbon that’s finished with Christmas-y stout oak. That’s about as “holiday vibes” as you can get. It also helps that this is a delightfully dark and spicy sipper that’ll make a divine cocktail base for holiday-themed whiskey cocktails.
6. Michter’s US*1 Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Old
ABV: 47.2%
Average Price: $367
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 singed marshmallow on the very end.
Bottom Line:
Marzipan and marshmallows help this one really shine this time of year. This is probably the best overall pairing whiskey on the list for all things holiday. You can pair this one with wrapping presents, eating sweets, the big meal, or just slow sipping next to the fire in a fantastic old fashioned.
5. Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 13 Years
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $289
The Whiskey:
This whiskey was made by Eddie Russell to celebrate his 40th year of distilling whiskey with his dad, Jimmy Russell. The juice 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 leads toward 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:
This is a delicious whiskey that balances dark fruit and woody spice with a deep Kentucky bourbon sweetness. Re-read those tasting notes and tell us that this doesn’t fit perfectly into a holiday weekend full of sweets, mulled wines, and holiday flavors. We triple-dog dare you!
4. Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 15 Years Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $2,999
The Whiskey:
This is where the “Pappy Van Winkle” line truly shines. The whiskey in this expression is pulled from wheated bourbon barrels that are at least 15 years old. Once batched, the whiskey is just touched with water to bring it down to a sturdy 107-proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with freshly fried sourdough fritters dusted with ground almonds, sharp cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, burnt sugars, and maple frosting with a hint of old vanilla pods next to soft figs.
Palate: The palate leans into rich toffee with a sense of minced meat pies covered in powdered sugar frosting right next to sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel, orange zest, and tons of brown wintry spice countered by a moment of sour mulled red wine cut with dark maple syrup.
Finish: The end has a soft cedar vibe that leads to vanilla and dark cherry tobacco leaves and a hint of pine next to old white moss.
Bottom Line:
This is the time of year when you finally pop a bottle of Pappy. And if you’re going to do it, it might as well be the best one of the current lineup. This whiskey is everything you want it to be and then some. It’s beautifully nuanced and balanced while being full of flavor notes that pair with holiday food and vibes. Plus, how bad-ass is it to show up to a holiday party with a bottle of freaking Pappy? The most.
3. Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey, Batch 1
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $537
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 is the perfect dessert bourbon to have around during the holidays. This whiskey is just so damn delicious that you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t like it immediately.
2. Old Forester President’s Choice Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58.5%
Average Price: $599
The Whiskey:
This year’s President’s Choice Single Barrel bourbon from Old Foresters is yet another masterpiece from the Louisville brand. The whiskey in this case is a 10-year-old barrel that rested in a specific location in the West Louisville warehouses. Once it was just right, the whiskey was bottled as-is with a touch of water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The whiskey opens with a salted caramel apple nose that edges towards apple saltwater taffy with a creamy layer of spicy dark chocolate and a touch of orange blossoms and barrelhouse beams.
Palate: The palate takes the wintry spices and attaches them to the creaminess, creating an egg nog feel to the taste that leans into dark fruits and a hint of toasted coconut cream pie.
Finish: The end holds onto the spice but focuses more on anise (and maybe fennel) while the caramel and spice attach to sticky tobacco with a warming end.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those whiskeys that wow. It’s so concise and delicious from top to bottom while offering such a wide range of flavors that pair with everything holiday-themed from the tree to the big holiday meal to the pile of cookies and chocolates waiting for you to eat too many of. It’s just wonderful.
1. William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof (BTAC 2023)
ABV: 66.8%
Average Price: $1,799
The Whiskey:
This is Buffalo Trace’s classic wheated bourbon. This year’s Weller BTAC was distilled back in the spring of 2011 and left to rest in warehouses C, L, M, and N for 12 long years. Those barrels were batched and this whiskey was bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Deep and dark candied black cherry mingles with dry cedar bark, molasses, real vanilla beans, nutty brown butter, and old leather rolled in pipe tobacco and just kissed with smoldering sage and dry chili pepper flakes.
Palate: The palate opens with a full blast of ABVs, making the front of your tongue tingle, as floral honey, cherry cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream, and brown butter streusel cut with nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove lead to a hint of dry orange tobacco.
Finish: Cinnamon sticks and clove buds floating in maple syrup arrive on the finish with a sense of old leather boots, the oak in an old rickhouse, orchard barks, and soft notes of vanilla and cherry cake.
Bottom Line:
This is another bourbon that’s so special and just plain delicious. The magic trick this whiskey pulls off is that those very high ABVs (proof) are so well-balanced that you barely feel them. Instead, you’re treated to this sense of slow warmth that’s like sitting next to a crackling fire while you sip perfectly made bourbon with deep holiday themes.
