High-proof bourbon is nothing new. It’s been around for decades. That’s not the whole story though. There has been an absolute explosion in the number of brands releasing higher-proof bourbon whiskeys over the past decade or so. It’s gotten to the point where if you don’t have a higher-proof expression or barrel-proof version of your main whiskey, you’re basically leaving money on the table (and leaving customers pretty disappointed).
That means that there’s just a ton of it out there on shelves. And in order to make sure we’re not favoring the most widely known brands, we decided to taste them “double-blind.”
Before we kick off, “high-proof” covers everything above “bottled in bond” when it comes to ABVs. So above 50% or 100-proof. That means that the term does cover expression styles like barrel proof/strength (whiskey bottled without proofing after it came out of the barrel), full proof/barrel entry proof (whiskey bottled at the same proof that the whiskey went into the barrel at), and any whiskey that’s 50% ABV and above.
Very generally, look at it like this:
- Low-proof bourbon whiskey is 40.0% to 49.9%
- Bottled in Bond bourbon whiskey is 50.0% to 50.9%
- High-proof bourbon whiskey is 51.0% and up
It’s as simple as that. But of course, there are whiskeys that inch into categories without being part of them. Wild Turkey 101 is 50.5% and isn’t a bottled in bond whiskey. Knob Creek is exactly 50% ABV and it’s a bottled in bond either. There’s also an old way of thinking that says anything above a 40% or 80-proof bourbon is “high proof” but I find that completely outmoded in a world where that proof marker is no longer a norm.
Since this is a double-blind, I had my wife sift through my bourbon shelves and randomly grab anything with an ABV over 50%. I also asked her to avoid bottled in bond expressions just to keep this a little more clear-cut. She ended up picking a really interesting mix that I never would have put together myself [maybe that’s why your editor is always asking for double-blind articles! -ed].
It was actually a really fun panel of pours, so let’s dive right in!
Part 1 — The High-Proof Bourbon Tasting
Taste 1
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.
Initial Thoughts:
Wow! This is delicious. It’s so deep and satisfying.
Taste 2
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.
Initial Thoughts:
And this is f*cking delicious too. This has a tad more depth maybe but I’m going to have to go back to this and the first one a couple of times to confirm that before I rank these.
Taste 3
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.
Initial Thoughts:
This is also really good. It’s not quite as lush as the last two but still hits really nicely.
Taste 4
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.
Initial Thoughts:
This is hot but so goddamn well-balanced and tasty. I really like this. It opened up my senses and really grabbed my attention.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet woody notes next to oily vanilla open the nose with a rush of black peppercorns, red chili pepper, and a hint of dark caramel.
Palate: The taste delivers ripe peaches next to more peppery spice and a hint of Christmas spices, with the vanilla taking a backseat and the oak really stepping in to shine.
Finish: The end is spicy, hot, oaky, and peachy, with a hint of caramel corn that fades pretty quickly.
Initial Thoughts:
This was nice, standard bourbon with a lightness to it that didn’t help it stand out. It’s thin but still carries a solid profile.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a sense of old rickhouses and mincemeat pies with a hint of plum jam over buttermilk biscuits just kissed with clove and nutmeg.
Palate: Those biscuits turn into Christmas spice cakes with plenty of nuts and dried fruits with a candied orange hint next to caramel sauce and vanilla cake.
Finish: The end is lush at first with a nice earthiness that plays into rum raisin and brandy-soaked holiday cakes before fading abruptly.
Initial Thoughts:
This was so close but kind of stumbled on the finish. It just disappeared. Everything was great up to that point though.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet and buttery toffee is countered by burnt orange, old oak, and a hint of cumin and red chili pepper flakes.
Palate: The palate leans into soft vanilla pudding cups with a touch of butterscotch swirled in next to orange oils, nougat, and a hint of menthol tobacco.
Finish: The midpalate tobacco warmth gives way to a finish that’s full of woody winter spices and a whisper of Cherry Coke next to orange/clove by way of a dark chocolate bar flaked with salt.
Initial Thoughts:
This was pretty nice but obviously very cheap on the palate. It wasn’t thin so much as everything was very punctuated. It was very “this then this then this … done.”
Taste 8
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.
Initial Thoughts:
This was pretty nice overall but felt a tad standard. Good standard, don’t get me wrong. But there were no bells ringing and beckoning me back for more.
Taste 9
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.
Initial Thoughts:
Goddamn, this is tasty. This is another one that I’m going to need to revisit before I rank it. It’s deeply delicious.
Taste 10
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a lovely sense of vanilla pods and orange blossom with a hint of old saddle leather and cedar bark next to wild sage, cinnamon and caramel apple fritters, and salted black licorice with a bundle of holiday spices and barks tied up with burnt orange and pine.
Palate: The palate is lush with a cream soda float with malted vanilla ice cream cut with cherries, dark chocolate chips, and espresso flakes next to cinnamon cherry bark tobacco on the mid-palate.
Finish: The end dives toward a thick braid of cedar bark, sage, and blackberry tobacco with a thin line of sweetgrass and vanilla pods woven in there.
Initial Thoughts:
This runs deep too. There was maybe a hint of lightness but I’m really reaching for something to pick at with that note. It’s just good whiskey.
Part 2 — The High-Proof Bourbon Ranking
10. Wild Turkey 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 7
ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $19
The Whiskey:
A lot of Wild Turkey’s character comes from the hard and deep char they use on their oak barrels. 101 starts with a high-rye mash bill that leans into the wood and aging, having spent six years in the cask. A little of that soft Kentucky limestone water is added to cool it down a bit before bottling.
Bottom Line:
I kind of figured this was something like 101 when I tasted it. Again, it’s not thin but it just feels a little lesser, and by the book. That said, this was a perfectly tasty pour that feels like a great building block for a decent cocktail.
9. Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Original Cask Strength — Taste 8
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.
Bottom Line:
This was nice with a good standard/classic bourbon vibe. Nothing more, nothing less. I’d build some nice cocktails with this one.
8. Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 5
ABV: 60.1%
Average Price: $45
The Whiskey:
This is Bulleit letting its whiskey shine at full force. The bourbon is small-batched from hand-selected barrels and bottled at the new Bulleit distillery in Kentucky with their own juice mixed in with some old sourced barrels that they’ve been stewarding for years now.
Bottom Line:
This was good too. I’m not going to deny that. It just didn’t have the oomph of other pours on this panel. Still, I can see this making a mean old fashioned or easy going on the rocks pour any ol’ day of the week.
7. Maker’s Mark Bill’s Recipe French Oaked No. 46 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky Cask Strength — Taste 6
ABV: 55.15%
Average Price: $68
The Whisky:
This version of Maker’s 46 is all about shining a light on the brilliance of their stave program. The wheated bourbon is a small batch (made in a 1,000-gallon vatting tank) that’s re-barreled into used Maker’s Mark barrels that are fitted with heavily seared French oak staves. That whisky rests for another few months before bottling 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
Goddamn, if this had a stronger finish, it would have been top three. It just sort of petered out in the end. That says to me that you can use this to make a great cocktail as a foundation whiskey to build upon.
6. Stellum Bourbon Single Barrel Perseus Selected by Topflight Series by ReserveBar — Taste 3
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.
Bottom Line:
This is getting into the stellar pours. This was the lightest of those heavy hitters but still had a great overall profile. Get this if you’re looking for an easy everyday sipper or a great cocktail mixer.
5. Weller The Original Wheated Bourbon Antique 107 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 10
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $50
The Whiskey:
This is a non-age-statement bourbon that’s called “Old Weller Antique” (OWA) by those who love the old-school vibes of the expression’s previous iteration. The ripple with this expression is the higher proof. The barrels are vatted and barely proofed down to 107 proof before bottling (the entry proof is 114).
Bottom Line:
This is just good. And I know that it makes a killer cocktail since this is my house cocktail pour for everyday mixing.
4. 15 STARS Triple Cask Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 9
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.
Bottom Line:
This runs so deep. The only reason it’s a little lower on the ranking is that it didn’t go full “wow.” Still, it delivered a great sipping experience.
3. Booker’s “Charlie’s Batch” 2023-01 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 4
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.
Bottom Line:
This is delicious whiskey. I’d recommend pouring it over a rock to calm it down a skoosh and let the creaminess really mount.
2. Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Batch Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 2023 Release — Taste 1
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.”
Bottom Line:
This is amazingly tasty. It’s basically tied for first.
1. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch No. B523 — Taste 2
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.
Bottom Line:
I’m shocked I picked this. I always harp on that it needs ice or I use it for cocktails. I evidently really like it because it kind of blew me away on this panel.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the High-Proof Bourbons
I guess I really like that Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. It just hits this great balance of running deep and unique with a purely classic Kentucky bourbon vibe. It’s hard not to love. The same goes for the Woodford Barrel Proof. It’s just freaking delicious.
Honestly, every whiskey on this panel was great in one way or another. If you’re looking for something you can easily find, then go with Stellum, Bulleit, or Turkey. Otherwise, take your time and track down any of the top five entries from this list. They’re all worth the time, effort, and cash.
