The 50 Best *Real Deal* Kentucky Bourbons, Ranked

It’s often said Kentucky bourbon is the definition of bourbon. But what are the bourbons that define Kentucky?

Or, put another way, what are the best Kentucky bourbons available today? It’s a tricky question because, according to conservative estimates, north of 90% of all bourbon produced today is made in the Bluegrass State. Yes, bourbon can be made anywhere in the U.S.A., and there are definitely some incredible bourbons made elsewhere.

But let’s be honest… Kentucky is still king.

Today, we’ll do our best to get to the bottom of that question by tasting and ranking the absolute best bottles of Kentucky bourbon!

• • Here Are The 50 Best Bourbons Under $100, Ranked From Good To Great
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  • The 50 Best Rye Whiskeys Of 2024, Ranked
  • The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2024, Ranked
  • These Are The Upcoming Bourbons We’re Most Excited For In 2025

50. Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series High Wheat Bourbon

ABV: 53%
Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Origin Series, founded in 2023, began with three initial entrants, but this new 6-year-old High Wheat Bourbon marks the lineup’s first official expansion. By combining a low barrel entry proof with a high percentage of wheat (39%) in the grain recipe, the brand sought to extract the maximum amount of wood sugars.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The aroma of this Origin Series High Wheat Bourbon begins with a ton of crème brûlée and strawberries before a touch of oak, wheat funk, and caramel comes through. There are also a few dashes of clove and lemon zest to round things out.

Palate: Once on the palate, the strawberries and custard notes play a major factor as the remarkably creamy texture of the liquid coats your palate and finds every corner of the mouth. Mellow oak tones, vanilla frosting, and flaky pastry flavors also enhance the bourbon.

Finish: The finish here is surprisingly lengthy, with the strawberry note going from ripe berries to the dried variety as a touch of nutmeg creeps in and the gentle oak vibes fuse with honey.

Bottom Line:

Bardstown Bourbon Company already had a wheated bourbon in their Origin Series, and it’s a rock-solid option that has its fair share of admirers among those who have tasted the well-received lineup. That said, this High Wheat Bourbon is absolutely stunning, and not only does it one-up its wheated bourbon predecessor, but it also blows the rest of the stellar Origin Series out of the water. For half a hundred, this is a great pick-up that can stand tall against the best wheated bourbons on the market.

49. New Riff 8-Year Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $68

The Whiskey:

New Riff, out of Northern Kentucky, is a highly regarded craft distillery that’s increasingly adding age-stated products to their lineup. This new 8-year expression features a mash bill of 65% Corn, 30% Rye, and 5% Malted Barley.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The aroma of apple cider with mint sprigs punctuates the air around this glass and leaves just enough room for well-oiled leather to make an impression, too. It comes across as a lower proof when nosing it blindly, but only because the ethanol presence is light — the flavors it carries are rich.

Palate: Immediately, you’re struck by how well-structured this bourbon is. The mouthfeel is even-keeled, and the flavors in each sip are surprisingly well-behaved. Chocolate-dipped raspberries, notes of flan, and slightly overcooked caramel corn each take their turn to dance across the palate, never disturbing one another.

Finish: The finish is where that caramel corn note and a bit of honeyed oak close the ceremony. The finish is medium in length but high in pleasantness.

Bottom Line:

When New Riff first burst onto the scene with excellent 4-year-old whiskey, the industry rejoiced… and then they seemingly stalled out, with 4-year whiskey becoming their default for a spell. It turns out that they were merely biding their time to release some truly special bourbon with a higher age statement. Now that it’s finally here, we’re happy to sing its praises.

48. Henry McKenna 10-Year Bottled In Bond Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

Henry McKenna is Heaven Hill Distillery’s critically acclaimed 10-year-old single-barrel bourbon. Due to that critical acclaim, this expression has become far less readily available (and more high-priced), but it remains a stellar value in the Heaven Hill portfolio.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose begins with nail polish that soon cedes the way for cherry syrup, leather, rich oak, and honey-roasted almond aromas. It’s unbalanced, but it is still enjoyable.

Palate: On the palate, those first three notes from the nose make a solid initial impression as the nail polish/cherry syrup vibe strikes your palate before turning into more of a leather-inflected cherrywood note. It begins texturally robust but gradually thins out as the liquid unfurls over your palate and finds the edges of your tongue with a last gasp of caramel and faint smokiness before transitioning into the finish.

Finish: The finish is medium-length, but it’s here where the black cherry flavor finally plants its flag and welcomes even more dense oak and barrel char notes on the back end, allowing this bourbon to stick the landing.

Bottom Line:

As you know, dear reader, Henry McKenna Bottled in Bond, as a single-barrel expression, can offer a wide array of different flavors depending on which barrel your bottle is from, and this one falls in the middle of the range. Finding barrels that are this good from a brand notoriously known to be inconsistent is a treat, but the prospect of finding even better ones will keep you on the hunt.

47. Rebel 10-Year Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $96

The Whiskey:

Rebel’s 10-year single-barrel bourbon is an expression marked by a winding history that saw it go from production at the famed Stitzel-Weller distillery as a locally distributed bargain brand to becoming a surprise hit thanks to a Billy Idol song, being sold to current owners Luxco, and reimagined as a premium offering.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with the aroma of snickerdoodle cookies, inviting caramel and vanilla tones, and some fudge to round out the sweeter notes. On the earthier side, there’s the scent of clove and turmeric, in addition to the faintest shake of freshly cracked black pepper.

Palate: Once in the mouth, caramel, the burnt citrus flavor of a torched orange wheel, and vanilla introduce the senses to this lush bourbon. The mouthfeel is full-bodied with almonds and white pepper found in spades, though it skews more heavily toward the sweet tones. This lovely, well-balanced whiskey rewards chewing as it unlocks further cinnamon bark and wheat funk notes.

Finish: For its final act, Rebel 10-Year Bourbon features rich oak, honey-roasted peanuts, and vanilla that hangs around with considerable staying power.

Bottom Line:

Rebel 10-Year Bourbon has long been rumored to feature whiskey in the blend that significantly exceeds its age statement, and that speculation certainly passes the taste test. The liquid is a lush showcase of how depth can overcome the brevity of flavors to deliver a balanced and highly enjoyable bourbon.

46. Green River Full Proof Bourbon

ABV: 58.65%
Average Price: $40

The Whiskey:

Green River has been producing critically acclaimed, affordable bourbons since the brand was revived and started hitting shelves in 2022. For this relatively new extension in their lineup, Green River Full Proof, they opted for a mash bill of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley before bottling the juice at barrel strength.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Raisins and allspice jump out of the glass to greet the nose, along with a bit of sherried mushroom and coconut flake. This is such an atypical but alluring mix, and it really entices you to take a first sip.

Palate: Raisins, green grapes, cinnamon bark, and clove emerge on the palate, which is delightfully refined and compressed in the sense that the flavors feel densely packed. It also feels like the layers of flavor are distinct and well-developed, making sitting with it and picking it apart fun, as the medium-bodied bourbon offers just enough viscousness to hold your interest.

Finish: The end of each sip sees the addition of some fig newton and cracked black pepper as it sizzles away, leaving a strong impression on the palate through the delicious, lengthy finish.

Bottom Line:

While the mash bill in Green River Full Proof features some relatively high rye content, its sweetness and approachability win out over its spicier elements. While some bourbons are excellent for their brash, punch-you-in-the-face boldness, Green River Full Proof offers a bit more finesse for a sipping experience that puts panache before pugilism.

45. Old Forester Birthday Bourbon

ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $199

The Whiskey:

Louisville’s oldest distillery often tweaks the age and proof point of its annual Birthday Bourbon release. For this year, the 24th expression in the series matured for 12 years, the same as 2023’s release, but it’s bottled at its highest proof ever, 107 proof. Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris and Master Taster Melissa Rift personally selected the 209 barrels that comprised this blend with aid from Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo. The barrels themselves were matured in Warehouses G and L.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The aroma of juicy orange rind, fresh leather, apricots, apples, and red peppers leap out of the glass at first. There’s some barrel char, milk chocolate, and tobacco leaf notes swirling in the mix, as well as some buttercream frosting and black pepper.

Palate: Pound cake, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes greet the palate at first as the rich liquid sizzles past the tip of your tongue. At midpalate, things pick up momentum with caramel, tamarind, and grilled mango skin. It’s an intriguing melange that works well, and before the transition to the finish begins, you pick up some of the ripe fruits from the nose with apricots and apples accented by a touch of star anise.

Finish: There’s a nice, substantial flourish of flavor on the lingering finish, with vanilla and black pepper blending with sugar cookies for a balanced and sweet send-off.

Bottom Line:

What do I get for my Birthday (Bourbon)? Plenty of juicy fruit notes accompany restrained baking spices and some well-placed leather, which indicates this is a bourbon with substantial maturity. For its 24th Birthday Bourbon, Old Forester delivered an expression that proves the brand has fully come of age by upping the proof and unleashing a more comprehensive range of flavors than we’ve seen in previous years.

In short, this bourbon will make Old Forester fans’ wishes come true as it easily outpaces the ho-hum releases of the past few years.

44. 2XO Gem of Kentucky

ABV: 54%
Average Price: $230

The Whiskey:

2XO is the brand founded by rockstar blender Dixon Dedman just two short years ago, but he waited until 2023 to release the brand’s best work to date: The Gem Of Kentucky. Billed as “the only double-barreled single barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey on the market,” the brand released roughly 70 of those unique single barrels to market.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This bottle begins expressly fruity with red berries and orange zest leading the way to polished leather, an abundance of vanilla, and some surprising sandalwood.

Palate: Once on the palate, this pour opens with more fruit as the flavor of cherries and clementines burrow deep into your tongue while mature oak and leather notes find the edges of the tongue and the cheek. There’s a gently pulsing influence of baking spice throughout, with black pepper, allspice, and sage becoming most expressive as this pour transitions to the finish.

Finish: The finish welcomes more allspice and sage, and it’s surprisingly lengthy, allowing the fruit-forward notes to reemerge as well as the satisfying taste of vanilla ice cream.

Bottom Line:

Dixon Dedman is no stranger to mingling delicious barrels of sourced whiskey, and the experience he’s accrued from blending previous projects has him in peak form here. 2XO’s more affordable options are well worth your attention as an entry point into the nascent brand. Still, once you try their premium offering, you’ll fully appreciate just how stellar this new category of double-barreled single barrels can be.

43. Blackwood Distilling Single Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 59%
Average Price: $200

The Whiskey:

All of Blackwood Distilling’s criminally underrated whiskeys undergo a proprietary toasting process that helps to set them apart and make them shine, and that includes these standout single-barrel expressions. Finished in Kelvin Cooperage barrels, it should be noted that while these offerings are not age-stated, previous releases have featured bourbon that is nearly 8 years old, which would likely put this edition in the same range. The mash bill is made up of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with honeyed black tea, a touch of sage, and big jammy raspberries. There’s a whisp of spearmint and a bevy of dense oak that help to prop up all of those aromas, while your prototypical toasted vanillas and caramels are also evident.

Palate: Once on the palate, what’s most immediately remarkable about this bourbon is the texture, which is heavy, and it utilizes that heft to burrow its array of flavors deep into your taste buds. Those flavors are largely composed of the same notes from the nose, with jammy raspberries, oak, sage, and black tea taking center stage as cacao, sandalwood, and cinnamon provide some depth to that robust base.

Finish: The lengthy finish welcomes some rising spice as clove and black pepper cover the classic toffee, chocolate, and oak tones.

Bottom Line:

As we mentioned at the outset, Blackwood Distilling is among the most underrated brands in the entire bourbon world, and with great releases like this, that’s destined to change in 2025. You should be eagerly hoarding these bottles before the general population gets wise because if the single barrels are this great, that bodes incredibly well for the future of their blends and the brand as a whole.

42. Augusta Distillery 10-Year Single Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 63.2%
Average Price: $150

The Whiskey:

Augusta Distillery is becoming well known for its high-quality sourced bourbon single-barrels at 8, 13, 15, and 17 years old, but honestly, despite how good those are, the ten-year is the sweet spot. The single-barrel bourbon offerings they release at this age exemplify that.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is robust with black cherry, stewed dates, peppercorn, and oak leading the way and hanging in the air for quite a while, giving it a full-bodied first impression that will beckon you in for an initial sip.

Palate: Once on the palate, those impressions hold true as the flavors match the nosing notes with a bit of cinnamon and vanilla added to the mix. The mouthfeel strikes that fantastic balance between oily viscousness and sprightly vivaciousness, which is what makes Buckner’s bourbon such a winner at ten years old. You truly get the best of both worlds.

Finish: The finish sinks its hooks in and has a lengthy extension with a faint touch of mocha and dark chocolate joining the oak and black cherry from the tasting notes.

Bottom Line:

If you’re looking for a justification for the price of these Buckner’s single-barrels, the best thing they have going for them is quality. While they’ve previously released award-winning whiskey at various age statements (13, 15, and 17), these 10-year single barrels are the ones you’re most likely to encounter in the double-digit range, and they deliver every single time.

41. Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon 70th Anniversary

ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

Created in honor of Jimmy Russell’s historic 70th year working for Wild Turkey, this brand-new, 8-year-old version of the brand’s iconic 101-proof bourbon is truly a dual testament to time. Both Jimmy’s seven decades of dedication to excellence and the impact of eight long years on Wild Turkey’s phenomenal whiskey.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: On the nose, this one has all the hallmarks of classic Wild Turkey 101 bourbon, which you’re probably familiar with already, but it brings a level of richness and a slightly darker bouquet of aromas into the fold. Vanilla, torched orange wheel, honey, and cinnamon all have their say, but there’s a simmering brown sugar note that combines with the underlying oak, which will keep you exploring the edges of your glass at length.

Palate: Once on the palate, the liquid delivers on the promise of its nose with all of those classic Wild Turkey notes standing tall and coming across as distinct from one another despite combining to create a sum better than its parts. Buttercream, savory dates, and honey-sweetened black tea add further richness and nuance to this beautiful blend that you’ll want to pick apart at length.

Finish: The finish on Wild Turkey 8-Year 101 70th Anniversary Bourbon continues the overarching theme of everyday decadence with a rich, sweet ending that comes complete with gentle nutmeg and black pepper spice, which runs a ring around your tongue, corralling the sweeter notes in the middle for extended enjoyment.

Bottom Line:

For 70 years, Jimmy Russell has been a staid force for good in the bourbon world, and despite a few surprises along the way, what can best be said about the legend’s career is that he delivered consistent, predictably high-quality bourbon whenever he was tasked with doing so. Does it really come as any surprise that the best anniversary gift he could give us is more of the same?

40. Peerless Cognac-Finished Bourbon

ABV: 53.50%
Average Price: $180

The Whiskey:

Peerless has been producing fantastic bourbon since filling its first barrel in the modern era back in 2015, and its finishing program has been spreading its wings in recent years. For this brand-new expression, they’ve taken their base sweet mash bourbon, which is always non-chill filtered, and finished it in premium cognac barrels for an undisclosed period of time.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The cognac is well integrated on the nose, with dates and mocha modifying the bourbon slightly and elevating the toffee pudding and stewed apple notes. There are also aromas of raisins and sweet tobacco contributing to the overall pleasantness.

Palate: The flavors of port wine, chocolate, and sweet tobacco stand out on the palate, which further underlines the influence of the cognac cask. It has a velvety mouthfeel that goes a step beyond the very clean and lean texture of Peerless’ typical bourbon, which makes this one well-worth consideration.

Finish: On the finish, the whiskey has moderate length, and the toffee and red raisins persist along with dense oak tones, adding to the savoriness of each sip.

Bottom Line:

Peerless bourbon just keeps getting better, even without the benefit of a finishing cask. That said, the way they’re able to artfully combine their baseline bourbon with these assertive Cognac casks without allowing either participant to overpower the other deserves a ton of credit.

39. Knob Creek 18-Year Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $180

The Whiskey:

Knob Creek 18-Year-Old Bourbon is bottled at the highest age the lineup has ever seen. Are you not entertained? While the majority of the production process remains the same for this hyper-limited release compared to more readily available versions, this one was distilled at a slightly different temperature and strategically aged in specific points of Beam’s many rickhouses.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Unlike the nose on Knob Creek’s 15-Year expression, this 18-Year variant feels surprisingly vibrant. Manuka honey, crème brulée, well-aged oak, cigar wrapper, and hazelnut all have a home with this decadent bouquet of aromas unfurling above the glass and greeting the senses.

Palate: The palate welcomes wood sugars, crème brulée, hazelnut, and well-worn oak tones almost immediately as the sweetness envelopes your tongue with one sip. As the liquid coats your palate and begins to thin out, you’ll pick up notes of black pepper spice, black tea, cherry bark, and clove.

Finish: The finish continues the party that the palate started by closing out with some smoked cherry bark, cinnamon, orange blossom, and nougat notes.

Bottom Line:

If you want to taste Knob Creek bourbon pushed to its absolute limits, then this 18-year-old expression is what you should be seeking out. While the 15-year version of Knob Creek seems a bit thin, as though the whiskey’s maturation were on a downward swing, it comes roaring back to life with a surprisingly viscous texture and remarkably well-developed flavors that make this bottle 100% worth the price associated.

38. Larceny Barrel Proof (Batch B524)

ABV: 62.7%
Average Price: $75

The Whiskey:

Larceny Barrel Proof has become one of the most anticipated batched releases of the bourbon calendar each year since its inception in January 2020 (remember those times?). This year’s second batch of the wheated bourbon is aged, as always, for 6-8 years. The mashbill is 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Candied orange, dipped in chocolate, comes through on the nose in rich waves. Oak soon takes the wheel, but it’s joined by more cocoa notes riding comfortably in the passenger seat.

Palate: Once on the palate, that initial impression of orange marmalade coats the tongue on the heels of some high heat. Once acclimated to that heat, one discovers a nice note of cinnamon bark and even some surprising bits of pistachio.

Finish: The finish is lengthy with a spiced orange wheel and the slightly nutty quality of the palate — now reminiscent of toasted almonds — making for the perfect marriage.

Bottom Line:

Larceny Barrel Proof is somehow still underrated among bourbon enthusiasts, but the consistently strong expression had a banner year in 2023, and the 2024 releases were just as solid. Things are continuing to trend upward for Heaven Hill’s premier wheated bourbon, which may someday soon compete with the most hallowed names for wheated bourbon supremacy.

37. Elijah Craig 18-Year Single-Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 45%
Average Price: $250

The Whiskey:

Elijah Craig’s 18-year single-barrel expression is a dinosaur in more ways than one. First, it’s a long-standing hyper-aged bourbon expression in a whiskey world that’s only now reintegrating an influx of similarly aged bourbons. Second, it’s the last surviving member of the Elijah Craig lineup’s hyper-aged expressions, which used to include 20 -, 21 -, and 23-year-old offerings.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is rich with dense, well-aged oak and caramel candies at first, but those notes merely open the curtain to reveal layers of plum, dark chocolate, and leather resting below the surface.

Palate: On the palate, Elijah Craig 18 swiftly finds every corner of your taste buds and floods them with vanilla buttercream, leather, and caramel candy flavors. The understated fruit tones from the nosing experience are buried beneath lush waves of caramel and vanilla. Still, they ultimately emerge and take shape at midpalate as bananas and shaved coconuts.

Finish: The finish is curt but marked by the richness of the coconut and caramel flavors, which satisfyingly coat the palate before ceding your taste buds to white pepper and vanilla before undulating gently out of existence.

Bottom Line:

The common criticisms following Elijah Craig 18 come from a two-pronged attack that says it is either under-proofed or overoaked. Both lines of fault-finding miss the mark.

Appreciated on its face, as well as for its rarity, Elijah Craig 18 is a mellow, multifaceted whiskey that plumbs a depth of flavor that can’t be found in more moderately aged expressions. With a price point that typically follows the “$10 per year” rubric and an anecdotally increasing supply, Elijah Craig 18 is beyond reproach for bourbon fans more attuned to the subtleties it has in vast supply.

36. Woodford Reserve Double Double Oak

ABV: 45.2%
Average Price: $200

The Whiskey:

Woodford Reserve’s Double Double Oaked isn’t named by mistake. Launched initially as a member of the Distillery Series in 2015, the longtime distillery-exclusive fan-favorite features Woodford bourbon that rested for 5-7 years before being finished in a second, heavily toasted, lightly charred, new oak barrel.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this bourbon opens with cedar, rich brown sugar, cinnamon, and nougat. It’s an alluring medley that draws you deeper into the glass and reveals subtler hints of dark chocolate chunks, black pepper, and sticky toffee.

Palate: Once on the palate, this bourbon detonates with a richness the nose only hinted at. The flavors of milk chocolate, cedar, sage, cinnamon, vanilla pods, and brown sugar cascade over the tongue and cling to the palate convincingly. This is a bourbon that spites its proof by being relentless from start to finish, and that’s worthy of extended appreciation.

Finish: The finish ties a tight bow on those many layers of flavor with a sage smudge ribbon accented by cinnamon flecks, sunflower butter, and semi-sweet dark chocolate.

Bottom Line:

While the price point and relatively low proof might give you pause, make no mistake — this is delicious whiskey. Woodford Reserve is famed for its 90.4 proof point, and this is the best bourbon they’ve ever released that fits those specs.

35. Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bottled In Bond Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $55

The Whiskey:

Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bottled In Bond Bourbon is a distillery exclusive that showcases unfinished Angel’s Envy whiskey for the first time ever. Even more remarkable is the fact that through careful aging and blending, this bourbon meets all of the Bottled In Bond requirements without requiring water for proof, making it a barrel-proof Bottled In Bond bourbon, one of if not the first on the market.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Cherries, leather, and molasses rise out of the glass at first in a tightly fused ball that bounces from nostril to nostril with brown sugar and wheat bread joining as well. There’s also a distinct oak undertone to go with some milk chocolate, cardboard, and stewed rhubarb, making for an extremely expressive and impressive nose.

Palate: Brown sugar, allspice, raspberry jam, and leather are the most immediately recognizable flavors on the palate, but what’s most impressive is that even as you’re teasing those notes apart, you get a glimpse of a much larger whole. This is an extremely multi-layered pour, packed with flavors you’ll need extended consideration to get halfway through appreciating.

Finish: The finish sees hazelnuts, raspberry jam, and allspice taking turns at the wheel as it gently pulses over your tongue, hanging on for dear life before leaving your palate after a lengthy period.

Bottom Line:

We’ve been beating the drum about how good this bottle is since it was initially released, so we were pleased to see that it cracked the top 50 bourbons of the year in 2024. This Kentucky bourbon is worth trying because it checks several atypical boxes you can’t get elsewhere. The first Angel’s Envy expression that isn’t finished? Check. The first cask-strength bottled-in-bond bourbon ever? Check again. But Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bottled In Bond Bourbon isn’t only an awesome oddity; it’s straight-up awesome.

34. Old Grand-Dad 16-Year Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $500

The Whiskey:

New for 2024, Old Grand-Dad’s first age-stated expression is a hefty 16-year-old bourbon proofed down to 50% ABV. This expression joins Old Grand-Dad, Old Grand-Dad Bonded, and Old Grand-Dad 114 in the lineup.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Cornbread and caramel fill the air at first, with notes of brown sugar, peanuts, and wheat toast closely following behind for a classic Jim Beam-esque profile with added depth and nuance.

Palate: Well-aged oak, cinnamon, brown sugar, tobacco leaf, and Chex Mix make for the most striking flavors on the palate, which is even-keeled and even a bit restrained, which is typical of bourbon in this age range. The texture is admittedly quotidian, given this whiskey’s moderate proof point. Still, there’s no denying the depth of flavor, as the mature oak tones provide plenty of runway for the rest of the tasting notes to develop to their fullest potential.

Finish: Old Grand-Dad 16 concludes with a medium finish that’s slightly drying with heavy spice and peanut shell vibes punctuating the end of every sip.

Bottom Line:

The newest Old Grand-Dad in Jim Beam’s portfolio, this stellar 16-year-old bourbon pushes the OGD flavor wheel to new heights with increased richness and beautiful depth of flavor previously out of reach for the lineup. We’ll be the first to admit this one isn’t without its flaws, but even as we ponder what it could’ve been (16-year OGD 114, anyone?), there’s no denying that this is a well-constructed and balanced bourbon.

33. Michter’s Bomberger’s Declaration PFG (Precision Fine Grain)

ABV: 50.1%
Average Price: $380

The Whiskey:

Michter’s brand-new expression of Bomberger’s Declaration, which they call PFG, or Precision Fine Grain, is a fun one. For this release, they take their aged bourbon and dump it in a second new French fine grain oak barrel with proprietary toasting and a uniquely specified char level. That secondary barrel is also made using a blend of oak from various places, including the Tronçais, Allier, Nevers, and Vosges forests, and staves that naturally air-dried outdoors for a minimum of 40 months.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nosing notes are full of allure, with cedar, Brazil nuts, French vanilla, black cherry, red peppers, star anise, blood orange, and black pepper making up its tightly-wound core. It’s a multi-layered experience that will have you discovering new nuggets each time you bring your nose to the glass.

Palate: The palate comprises gooey caramel and black cherry notes, which coat the tongue with accents of cedar, clove, and sage which fan out from that base of flavors. It’s remarkably smooth and viscous. Dark chocolate, toasted coconut, and allspice emerge at the back end.

Finish: The influence of caramel, star anise, dark chocolate, and candied walnuts marks the medium length finish along with some cinnamon bark and cedar.

Bottom Line:

I don’t know what’s more remarkable, this bourbon, or the hot streak that Michter’s has been on for the last two years. Despite the heights they’ve soared to in recent years, this new Bomberger’s release (and 2024’s bourbon of the year) proves they still have plenty in the tank.

I’m impressed with standard Bomberger’s Declaration annually, but this diffusion brand might be their best yet.

32. Four Roses Small Batch Select Bourbon

ABV: 52%
Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

Four Roses Small Batch Select uses six of the brand’s ten recipes (OBSV, OBSK, OBSF, OESV, OESK, and OESF) for a unique blend concocted by Master Distiller Brent Elliott and ages the liquid for six to seven years before batching, lightly proofing, and bottling it all up.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: On the nose, Four Roses Small Batch Select offers cola nut, bright red cherries, black pepper, nutmeg, and clove with some oak and caramel tones following behind those initial top notes. It’s robust and inviting, with a lovely baking spice presence that displays a ton of balance.

Palate: Four Roses Small Batch Select hits the palate with a full-bodied richness that coats your tongue and sends you mining your taste buds to discover the flavor of jammy cherries, nutmeg, black pepper, and honeyed black tea. The texture would count as its defining quality if it weren’t for the impressive balance of the flavors ever-so-slightly outperforming the viscous mouthfeel.

Finish: The lingering finish is where you’ll find vanilla extract, raspberries, brown sugar, and a light mint note — which reminds you that this is a robust Four Roses bourbon.

Bottom Line:

Four Roses Small Batch Select is such a great option to buy under $100. Because it tends to get overlooked when folks are shopping for bottles under $50 and passed over for pricier bottles when they’re feeling spendier you might not have this one on your radar, but that needs to change today.

31. 5-Year Bourbon “Make It Make Sense”

ABV: 65%
Average Price: $100

The Whiskey:

Binder’s Stash is a premium non-distilling producer bottling top-shelf whiskey from Indiana and Kentucky. The brand’s fervent digital presence has been documented here before, with this particular single-barrel, “Make It Make Sense,” being one of the budding brand’s newer releases.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Black cherry, grapefruit, and allspice aromas are the opening act. Next up, palo santo, chocolate wafer cookies, and maple candy hang in the air in the background.

Palate: This bourbon begins chocolatey as hell and heavy on the palate, making it taste like whiskey more than twice its age with cherries and rich oak with leather and vanilla pods. It’s drying at the edge of the tongue with a sort of grainy texture that’s intriguing and, again, gives it the impression of much older whiskey.

Finish: The finish has bubblegum and cinnamon, and it’s medium to long with some more vanilla coming in, giving it a sweet send-off that makes you want more immediately.

Bottom Line:

This is a remarkable and remarkably well-named whiskey. Credit to Binder’s Stash for pulling it at five years old and resisting the urge to entice consumers with a higher age statement. This offering proves there’s no telling when a bourbon is ready, but it will tell you itself, and it can knock you sideways when it hits that sweet spot.

30. Rare Breed Bourbon

ABV: 58.4%
Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

Wild Turkey Rare Breed was initially introduced as Wild Turkey’s (really Jimmy Russell’s) response to the launch of Jim Beam’s Booker’s. Launched at a time when high-proof bourbon was less en vogue, it reflects Jimmy’s prescience in predicting the market’s future.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Honeysuckle, bright red cherries, and cinnamon rolls delight the senses once Rare Breed tumbles into your glass. Given some time to sit, you’ll find well-aged oak, clove, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and toasted almonds all elevate the aroma profile of this bourbon.

Palate: The flavors in this bourbon are rich and well-developed, with each of the nosing notes coming through on the palate. Those flavors are bolstered by a bit of cooked apple and pie shell for a robust yet clearly defined cavalcade of notes with a spry texture that deceptively coats your palate after several sips.

Finish: Lengthy and lingering, the finish on Rare Breed is balanced and delicious as it deftly combines sweetness and spice — leaving you wondering which one will last the longest. The answer is typically the spice.

Bottom Line:

Rare Breed is frequently cited as a limited edition whiskey hiding in plain sight, and that reputation is well earned. With a flavor profile that brings an abundance of red berries, vanilla, and baking spice, Wild Turkey Rare Breed has an enchanting combination of mature flavor, delicate balance, and stern force that makes it a world beater.

Wild Turkey may have several brand-new expressions coming down the pipeline in 2025, but we still can’t recommend this classic enough.

29. Baker’s High Rye Bourbon

ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $80

The Whiskey:

Baker’s brand-new High Rye expression is said to have twice as much rye in its mash bill as its classic cousin, Baker’s Single Barrel Bourbon. Furthermore, what separates it from other high-rye bourbons in the Beam portfolio like Basil Hayden and Old Grand-Dad is the fact that this liquid was distilled to a lower proof, matured in specific warehouses, and features an age statement, unlike the majority of Basil Hayden and Old Grand-Dad expressions.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Baking spice and mint notes rush out of the glass along with caramel and cedar for a sequence of nosing notes that immediately reveal this bourbon’s “high rye” nature. A bit of hazelnut and dilute maple syrup can also be found after a few waves of the hand.

Palate: The palate on Baker’s High Rye Bourbon holds true to the nosing notes, with black pepper and honeyed mint tea leading the charge while pie crust and creme brulee notes follow closely behind, giving this whiskey a significant amount of rye spice that is gently tempered by the more neutral pastry flavor and delightful sweet tones.

Finish: The finish is impressively lengthy, with all of that rye spice goodness coming to the fore over a bed of candied mint leaf and honeyed herbal tea.

Bottom Line:

In what will be remembered as a banner year for Jim Beam, the distillery’s new Baker’s High Rye Bourbon stands among the best of a voluminous bunch. Given the ubiquity we’re already seeing with this one on liquor store shelves (YMMV in your local market), this might be the biggest winner of all their 2024 releases because it’s both readily available and exceedingly full-flavored.

28. River City Whiskey “Beaver Bridge Barrel”

ABV: 57%
Average Price: $105

The Whiskey:

River City Whiskey is the newest brand on this list. This expression, from founders Da’Mon Brown and Ricky Rice, is a natural outgrowth of what began as a barrel pick group that the two started. Now, entering the arena of creating a brand, they’ve brought this inaugural expression “Beaver Bridge Barrel” to market using the single-barrel format they’ve perfected to present a cask-strength bourbon, aged for nine years, and made with a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The aroma notes open with bruised pears, apple skin, singed orange peel, vanilla custard, black pepper, sage, and barrel char. The aromas are impressively well-developed and delicate but distinct, leading to extended appreciation before you venture in for the first sip.

Palate: The lighter, sweet notes come through on the palate, with peach rings, dried apricot, and scraped vanilla pod seizing your attention at first. The whiskey then turns a bit floral at midpalate before ceding ground to the flavors of restrained oak and honeyed black tea as it fans out over the tongue and begins transitioning to the finish.

Finish: The finish is robust but brief, expanding rapidly with full flavors before gently concluding with vanilla wafers, orange blossom, and white pepper lingering at the end of the party.

Bottom Line:

This is simply great whiskey that shines on the front end with distinct, well-developed flavors that come together harmoniously before blossoming at mid-palate and succinctly shedding its petals on the finish. The price of admission is perfect, and as this bourbon flows with far more peaks than valleys from beginning to end, it shows that River City Whiskey is ready to open the floodgates of their hand-selected high-quality single-barrel Kentucky-sourced bourbons.

27. Frank August Single Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 62%
Average Price: $140

The Whiskey:

Frank August is a brand that’s so new that they’re only on their second round of single-barrel bourbon releases. Be forewarned: this time around, they’re blowing their inaugural offerings out of the water. 2024’s award-winning range of single barrels were bottled at cask strength, between 114.6 – 125.4 proof, and are all at least six years old.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this bourbon features ripe stone fruits dusted with clove, cumin, and cayenne pepper. After a few waves of the hand, deeper accents of Tahitian vanilla and cacao nibs become apparent, along with turmeric and dark chocolate.

Palate: The baking spices rise to the top of this whiskey once it enters the mouth, as cinnamon and turmeric are folded into the ebullient stone fruit notes that make up the backbone of every sip. Some gentle rye spice helps those fruit notes express themselves, as does a touch of citrus. The mouthfeel is perfectly middle of the road, with a slightly viscous texture on the back end, which aids the entire affair when it transitions to the finish.

Finish: The finish is tempered, with spice and fruit notes presenting themselves in a balanced fashion as it lingers with medium length.

Bottom Line:

What Frank August succeeds, or rather excels at, with this release is in capturing a bevy of fruit-forward notes and offsetting them with a measured deployment of spice, making for an incredibly balanced bourbon that most blenders dream of. To capture such lighting in a bottle of single-barrel Kentucky bourbon is an exceptional treat.

26. Heaven Hill Grain To Glass Wheated Bourbon

ABV: 60.5%
Average Price: $100

The Whiskey:

Heaven Hill’s Grain To Glass series emphasizes the import of grain varietals in whiskey and the brand’s commitment to family and quality. With this inaugural fleet of releases, they partnered with two family-owned companies and sought the ideal non-GMO corn varietals for bourbon production.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The aroma of cinnamon and blackberry jam is so inviting on the nose that it feels almost foolhardy to move beyond them — it smells so immediately enticing. Pushing past that initial rush of aromas, one finds sweet oak, mocha, some slight salinity, and a faint petrichor note, making for an intriguing mix of scents.

Palate: This bourbon is immediately dense, which pairs well with the jammy flavor profile as the blackberries from the nose morph into sugar-sweetened raspberries, a bit of airy custard, and freshly ground cinnamon. At midpalate is where you’ll find an explosion of oak and black pepper, which give this whiskey the impression of being aged for about nine years before the flavor of hazelnuts and chocolate truffle dust marks the transition to the finish.

Finish: On the finish, there’s a touch of vanilla ice cream with mint sprigs that pairs well with the persistent raspberry jam notes. It’s medium-to-long in length, and that extended journey helps elevate one’s appreciation of the density of the liquid and the depth of each flavor note.

Bottom Line:

When I first had the pleasure of trying this bourbon alongside Heaven Hill’s bigwigs while being serenaded by a live band in one of the distillery’s Cox’s Creek rickhouses, I was of two minds: one, surely this is excellent bourbon, and two, surely the setting elevated the experience. Now, with an opportunity to revisit the liquid in a sterile environment, I’m positive the former is true, but I have doubts about the latter. This bottle slaps in any setting, and getting it for $100 flat feels like stealing.

25. Old Forester 1924 (Batch 2)

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $230

The Whiskey:

Old Forester 1924 is the first expansion of the brand’s “Whiskey Row” series in several years, and it’s the first iteration to feature an age statement. Using the same mashbill as Brown-Forman’s budget bourbon, Early Times, this more mature whiskey was first released earlier this year.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The rich nose, resplendent with ripe plums, honey, and buttery pie crust aroma makes you immediately take notice. After a few swirls in the glass, you’ll find black cherry, leather, and polished oak emerging from this whiskey as well. It’s definitely a delightful melange.

Palate: On the palate, it’s those notes of black cherry that really take the reins, along with a touch of oiled leather. It’s hard to deny how perfectly proofed this whiskey is, as the viscousness coats your palate, and the flavors you get from 10+ years in a barrel are on full display without ever becoming overoaked.

Finish: On the finish, there are slight signs of hyper-aging as it becomes a bit drg, and the length is disappointingly short, considering how rich the flavors are.

Bottom Line:

The primary knock against Old Forester 1924 (aside from the price) is the fact that it gets progressively weaker as you go from the aroma to the flavor and, finally, the finish. That said, it starts off strong and still finishes well above average, as repeat sips will allow you to unlock deeper layers of flavor.

Despite the short finish, this is a delicious, balanced whiskey. You might need several sips to appreciate it fully, and we aren’t complaining about that.

24. Maker’s Mark Cask Strength

ABV: 54.5%
Average Price: $45

The Whiskey:

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Bourbon is the fully amplified, small-batch version of one of the best-selling whiskeys in the world. Released in small batches throughout the year, with their identifying codes found on the front label, this expression showcases Maker’s Mark in its purest form.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: On the nose, this whiskey begins with plenty of honeysuckle and toffee before the sweeter notes break rank and allow oak, red berries (think bright cherries and ripe raspberries), and a combination of oak and leather to rise out of the glass.

Palate: The first sip of Maker’s Mark Cask Strength is a revelation, resplendent with more pronounced red berry and caramel flavors than the nose at first indicated. Those flavors are far-reaching, with a refinement that rewards chewing the whiskey and allowing the viscous liquid to seep deep and then deeper still into your palate.

Finish: For the lengthy finish, Maker’s Mark Cask Strength offers a fresh cavalcade of accenting notes, ranging from vanilla and mellow oak to clove, orange blossom, and truffle honey. It’s a complex and captivating way to close this robust, elegant bourbon.

Bottom Line:

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength is the unsung king of affordable bourbon; frankly, not enough people know it. While standard Maker’s Mark enjoys ubiquity at bars and liquor stores, this slightly harder-to-find offering tends to fly under the radar despite its incredible quality. Let that be the case no more. With the price of high-quality bourbon rising across the board, this is a bourbon that ain’t going anywhere. You can still readily find it in the $50 price range.

23. William Larue Weller

ABV: 62.9%
Average Price: $1,800

The Whiskey:

Aged on the lower floor of an undisclosed Buffalo Trace warehouse, this year’s William Larue Weller offering was matured for 12 years before being bottled at full cask strength. While the barrel entry proof on this liquid was a modest 114 proof, through the process of aging, 2024’s edition of the vaunted William Larue Weller crept all the way up to 125.8 proof.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nosing notes on this one open with dense caramel, rich cherries, and an alluring splash of milk chocolate. The aromas of sweet oak, clove cigarettes, and honey-drizzled mint sprigs also come wafting out of the glass after a few waves of the hand.

Palate: The impressiveness of this bourbon begins with the dense texture, which efficiently coats your palate with brown sugar, black pepper, apple leather, and candied walnuts. Each of those notes is really rich and well-developed, leading to you sucking your teeth and mining your tastebuds to see just how deep those flavors will seep into your palate.

Finish: Cinnamon, red pepper flakes, and honeyed black tea mark the lengthy finish. As the oak begins to encroach on each of those sweet notes, some brown sugar also curtails the drying and leaves you drooling for more.

Bottom Line:

We get that you may think this one is too low on the list, but here’s the case: the 2024 William Larue Weller is a triumph that carries the mantle well and continues the brand’s reputation as being one of the finest bourbons on the market today. That said, it’s definitely seen brighter days and better releases. All told, this is a delicious pour that is a treasure worth seeking out, as even in an off year, it’s one of Kentucky’s best bourbons.

22. Old Rip Van Winkle Bourbon

ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $950

The Whiskey:

Old Rip Van Winkle is the opening entry in the Van Winkle family’s insanely popular range of wheated bourbons. Aged for 10 years, this whiskey is bottled at 107 proof and pulled from the same lot of barrels that make up most, if not all, of the Weller range of bourbons.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is somewhat simple but incredibly satisfying, as the aroma of cherry hand pies fills the air, complete with a bit of caramelized sugar, cinnamon, and honeyed pastry tones.

Palate: In the mouth, those nosing notes ring true, but unlike hand pies, which are led by the boldness of their fruit tones, the cherry note found on the palate of Old Rip Van Winkle is more restrained and less tart, fuller, and sweeter. It comes across as a more subdued maraschino cherry note, nestled in the aforementioned bakery notes of honeyed pastry and caramelized sugar, along with some freshly cracked black pepper, vanilla extract, and gentle oak.

Finish: The moderately lengthy finish on this viscous bourbon is where the oak notes are most forceful, though they’re curtailed by a faint touch of hazelnut, honey sweetness, and white pepper along with the ever-persistent rich cherry tones.

Bottom Line:

Look, I think this is the most underrated whiskey in the entire Pappy Van Winkle lineup. Even at only ten years old, this is a sublime bourbon with great balance and a rich bevy of flavors that simultaneously make it decadent and crushable. However, it isn’t nearly worth the prohibitive prices that far too many stores list it for, which dings its reputation even if it does not affect its quality.

21. Baker’s 13-Year Single Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $230

The Whiskey:

This brand-new re-release of Baker’s 13-Year Bourbon is new for 2024 and follows in the footsteps of the brand’s previous release. That is to say, this is standard Baker’s bourbon but with anywhere between 5-6 extra years of age, bottled at the brand’s classic 107-proof point.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Honey roasted peanuts, cayenne pepper, and orange rind with some nougat underneath make up the nosing notes, which are impressively rich and harmoniously blended for a sum greater than its parts.

Palate: It starts off a bit hot, but it quickly cools, allowing the flavors of nougat, golden raisins, allspice, and almonds to shine. Brown sugar and orange rind come rushing in soon after to pick up the slack. The balance of flavors is a delight, and the sweet notes’ restraint allows them all to blend well.

Finish: The finish has a lot of cayenne, black pepper, and clove. It’s where both the spice and the ethanol are most evident, which is a departure from the mellow sweetness found earlier in each sip.

Bottom Line:

This is a bourbon that shocked me, not just because it was damned good, but because I couldn’t believe there were twenty Kentucky bourbons capable of outpacing it. For their second edition of Baker’s 13-Year Bourbon, Jim Beam succeeded in delivering a totally well-rounded expression that represents their distillery’s stellar baseline output while elevating the Baker’s brand to new heights. If you can find it, this one is an immediate must-buy.

20. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon (Batch B524)

ABV: 65.3%
Average Price: $85

The Whiskey:

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is often heralded as the single best value in all of bourbon. Why? Because it’s a consistent product, released three times a year, that clocks in at full barrel strength and aged for at least 11 years. This year’s “B” Batch, B524, was aged for 11 years and two months.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: My initial nosing notes say, “This is just dope.” I hope that begins to explain what’s going on here. The aroma of buttery croissants and cinnamon reaches the nose, along with some hazelnut spread, sticky toffee, and honey brioche buns.

Palate: The palate finds earthy toasted almond notes with decadent dark chocolate and more buttery, flaky, croissant flavors. Excuse my French, but pain au chocolat ain’t got shit on this. The texture is well-fused and oily, which causes it to stick to your teeth despite the high-octane proof point, which makes this one dangerous pour.

Finish: The finish is lengthy and introduces a bit of walnut meat, hazelnut, and a few shakes of clove and nutmeg to the palate. All in all, it’s a really satisfying send-off.

Bottom Line:

Simply put, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is one of the best barrel-proof bourbons on the market, cost be damned. After a solid but polarizing “A” batch to kick off 2024, Elijah Craig came back on its “A” game with last year’s second release, making it one of the premier barrel-proof bourbons to hunt down right now. No matter the year or batch, this is a must-have bottle in your collection.

19. Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 55%
Average Price: $75

The Whiskey:

Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon is one of the quintessential bourbons on the market today. The brand was first launched in 2013 on the heels of Wild Turkey’s success with Russell’s Reserve Small Batch. Non-chill filtered and always proofed to 55% ABV, this release features both a general release and private barrel selections.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This whiskey opens with a rich interplay of thick cherry syrup and vanilla ice cream with honey, white pepper, clove, and oak aromas, and it noses as one of the best damn desserts Lawrenceburg, KY, can offer.

Palate: Cola nut, Luxardo cherries, and French vanilla hit the palate first before this rich bourbon invites white pepper and some faint barrel char notes to join them. As the liquid travels to the back of your palate, it begins bringing peanut brittle, black pepper, oak, and a faint green apple flavor to the fore.

Finish: The medium-length finish has cooked red apple and cinnamon, with restrained barrel char having the final say.

Bottom Line:

What happens when you bottle up some of Wild Turkey’s finest, hand-selected barrels, proof them to 110 without chill filtration, and pour it in a glass? Absolute magic. You can visit your local liquor store and inquire about the standard version of this offering, or you can go the extra mile and seek out single-barrel selections from folks whose palate you trust. Either way, you’re sure to hit on a winner.

18. Old Commonwealth Cask Strength Bourbon

ABV: 65.915%
Average Price: $200

The Whiskey:

The very first expression from Old Commonwealth Distillery is this Old Commonwealth 10-Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Cask Strength Bourbon. History lesson: Old Commonwealth is an iconic brand created in the 1970s by Julian Van Winkle II, the son of “Pappy” Van Winkle, and in those days, it utilized liquid from the legendary Stitzel-Weller Distillery. Fast-forward to 1997-2002, Julian Van Winkle III was selling a version of Old Commonwealth that was proofed to 107 and utilized a wheated mash bill just like his father did decades before. This contemporary recreation has been five years in the making, and though it uses a mash bill sans any wheat, its founders felt that this whiskey was exceptional enough to carry the banner and continue the legacy.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: When you first pour Old Commonwealth into your glass, it opens with the aroma of blueberries and rosewater before deferring to some sweet tobacco, earthy oak, and a fat scoop of vanilla ice cream. It picks up some cherry cordial and leather as it sits in the glass. This is well-layered, lovely stuff.

Palate: Cherry and caramel notes come barreling down the middle of the palate with some faint coconut flakes and well-defined oak undergirding the entire affair. A second sip welcomes clove, hazelnut, and honeyed green tea as the dense liquid begins coating your palate, making you salivate for more.

Finish: The finish is lengthy with white pepper, sweet tobacco, dark chocolate chunks, and sticky toffee all making an impression.

Bottom Line:

This is delicious stuff that belies the 5-year journey Old Commonwealth underwent from ideation to creation. In speaking with the founders, they indicated just how thorough the process was to land on the ideal liquid for this project. The results are as follows: their efforts have been rewarded with this robust, rich whiskey that deserves high praise on its own merits, as well as for the beautiful green-tinted bottle that houses it — a nod to its legacy from decades ago.

17. Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2024

ABV: 59.65%
Average Price: $350

The Whiskey:

Maker’s Mark’s sole age-stated product, Cellar Aged, is now in its second year of production. This year’s release features 15% 12-year-old bourbon and 85% 13-year-old bourbon, making it their oldest release to date.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Dark chocolate truffle dusting, orange blossom, and floral aromas kick off this aromatically impressive bourbon. Further notes of brown sugar, lavender honey, faint umami, wet soil, and coconut soon follow.

Palate: Citrus and red berries with vanilla and black pepper hit the palate at first, with heavy dark chocolate notes following thereafter. The texture is very creamy up front, with a tasty pop of cinnamon on the back end. Luscious caramel and toasted coconut notes develop at midpalate.

Finish: The finish is silky and lengthy, with dried strawberries, black pepper, gentle oak, and vanilla making the final impression.

Bottom Line:

The question you may have is whether or not 2024’s Cellar Aged is better than 2023’s edition. The answer: it depends. While last year’s version is full of caramel tones that are very true to Maker’s Mark’s standard product, this year has much more chocolate and an atypical coconut note that will bring newcomers into the fold. Last year’s Cellar Aged is definitely the best yet in our opinion, and not only that, it’s the most unique Maker’s Mark bourbon ever.

16. Fortuna Barrel Proof Bourbon 8 Summers Old

ABV: 60.73%
Average Price: $100

The Whiskey:

Fortuna Barrel Proof Bourbon is the pinnacle of the revived Fortuna brand from Rare Character. Always aged for at least seven years, the bourbon is sourced from an undisclosed distillery in Kentucky and blended in three-to-five barrel lots.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with boozy cocktail cherries, cinnamon bark, rich oak tones, and even a hint of mocha. After a wave of the hand, as the liquid tumbles around your glass, aerating it will reveal further aromas of butterscotch, black pepper, cacao nibs, and strawberry jam.

Palate: The nosing notes offer a solid roadmap for what follows on the palate as blackberry jam replaces the strawberries found on the nose while cinnamon, almond extract, dense oak, and sticky toffee run rampant on the tongue. The texture is robust and offers a fullness that allows each flavor to present itself distinctly, revealing its impressive richness.

Finish: The finish is long-lasting and introduces clove, freshly grated ginger, and black pepper for one final baking spice sizzle before the syrupy black cherry notes leave a sweet final impression.

Bottom Line:

Fortuna Barrel Proof entered the market with a splash, immediately challenging the supremacy of several cask-strength stalwarts on this list. Now, with some distance from its debut, it’s become clear that it isn’t just beginner’s luck that warrants its place in the conversation. Fortuna Barrel Proof Bourbon recently landed in the top two on our best bourbons to buy under $100 for 2025 and with its placement on this list, it should be clear to you that it’s one of the best bourbons at any price point.

15. Booker’s The Reserves

ABV: 62.95%
Average Price: $130

The Whiskey:

Booker’s The Reserves is a new, annual limited-release series from Jim Beam by Freddie Noe to commemorate his grandfather and Beam’s 6th Generation Master Distiller, Booker Noe. This elevated take on classic Booker’s bourbon features a more limited blend of 8 to 14-year-old barrels drawn from the same center cut of the warehouse that Booker himself always favored.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this whiskey really socks it to you at first with a surprising initial richness. It leaps out of the glass with enchanting floral notes, French vanilla, stewed plums, and ripe grapes. After a few waves of the hand, it turns a tad more savory with cloves and dates.

Palate: Dense oak tones crash against the sumptuous flavors of dark chocolate, French vanilla, and dates when you first sip this bourbon. Some black cherries appear at midpalate, along with polished leather and a slightly dusty quality that adds depth. As for the mouthfeel, it’s full-bodied and anxiously coats your palate for the duration of each sip, remaining slow to recede through the finish.

Finish: The finish on this bourbon is medium to long, and that affords it plenty of runway space to allow the French vanilla and date flavors to stick around while a slight uptick in black pepper can be found before it fully dissipates.

Bottom Line:

Booker’s The Reserves is just one of a plethora of new releases from Jim Beam in the past year, many of which have made this list. I’m pleased to report that it’s the best of the bunch. With plenty of heat to please the proof hounds and a full-bodied mouthfeel to satiate those looking for the incredible depth of flavor cask strength bourbon is known for, this release checks all the boxes and succeeds in elevating standard Booker’s while remaining true to its creator’s vision.

14. Pappy Van Winkle 15-Year Bourbon

ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $4,400

The Whiskey:

Julian Van Winkle III himself has cited Pappy Van Winkle 15 as his favorite among his family’s range of vaunted bourbons. Aged for 15 years, this wheated bourbon is cherry-picked from among the best barrels in Buffalo Trace’s inventory and given the final okay by the Van Winkle family.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on Pappy Van Winkle 15 is marked by honeysuckle, vanilla ice cream, and Rainier cherries — not an uncommon bouquet of aromas for a Buffalo Trace wheated bourbon. However, the richness and definition of those notes are simply remarkable, with each of them penetrating the senses and seemingly sitting on your palate before you’ve even taken your first sip.

Palate: A gentle backbone of oak tannins offers structure to the sweet honeysuckle, stewed apples, Rainier cherries, and mellow allspice that hits your palate after the first sip of Pappy Van Winkle 15-Year. What you may immediately perceive as complexity is instead depth, as you’ll discover nuance in each of those entrancing flavor notes. With regards to the texture, it’s impressively viscous, rolling over the tongue with the ease of rainwater over an oil slick.

Finish: The finish finds a touch of allspice and oily vanilla pod as the oak tones get ratcheted up a bit, and the honey provides a gentle landing spot for those baking spices. It’s medium to long in the finish, and that’s the perfect amount of time for the depth of those flavors to fully unfurl.

Bottom Line:

There are a spoiled few who lament that Pappy 15 ain’t what it used to be. Then there are the rest of us who only hope for the opportunity to try this beautiful, mythical whiskey at least once per year. For the latter camp, rest assured, Pappy 15’s unicorn status is well earned as it takes everything there is to love about Buffalo Trace’s wheated bourbon and showcases that flavorful bounty of riches at a mature age.

13. E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof Bourbon

ABV: 63.65%
Average Price: $480

The Whiskey:

E.H. Taylor Jr. Barrel Proof bourbon is the pinnacle of the E.H. Taylor range, bottled at cask strength and released in annual batches.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: On the nose, there’s a distinct vinegar-based barbeque note that comes through, along with cornbread, cinnamon, and cocktail cherries. It’s a complex assortment of aromas that begin a bit muddled, but because they bleed together, it makes it more intriguing to tease them out.

Palate: The palate very much holds true to the nose’s indications that this would be a densely packed pour with secrets to uncover. In the mouth, the flavors of Manuka honey and cocktail cherries become evident but elusive, weaving in and out of perception behind layers of mature oak, vanilla cone, allspice, and tobacco leaf.

Finish: The finish is long and heavily dominated by baking spices like allspice and cinnamon, while the sweet cocktail cherry flavors from earlier in the sip power through to the end, offering balance.

Bottom Line:

E.H. Taylor Jr. Barrel Proof Bourbon is one of the most underrated whiskeys in Buffalo Trace’s entire portfolio. While, yes, like most of their range of products, this bourbon is highly sought-after and only infrequently available, it truly deserves a wider reputation for delivering a flavor experience that is on par with the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.

12. Premier Drams Bourbon “Bourb Your Enthusiasm”

ABV: 56.8%
Average Price: $220

The Whiskey:

Premier Drams is a new brand that was launched early this summer by the same man behind Washington D.C.’s legendary whiskey bar, Jack Rose, Bill Thomas. 8 years ago, Thomas began procuring contract-distilled whiskey from an elusive producer in Bardstown, Kentucky, and aging it at the site of the historic Old Taylor Distillery, which today is the home of Castle & Key. Due to Castle & Key’s uniquely cool maturation facilities, many of the barrels that went into these Premier Drams single barrels saw a significant drop in ABV, with the majority hovering right around the 100-proof mark at cask strength.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Strawberry saltwater taffy escapes the grasp of the glass to greet the nose at first before evolving into a cherry Luden’s note and partnering up with truffle honey, white pepper, and peanut brittle for a mellow and intriguing medley.

Palate: On the palate, it’s a delight to discover that the Luden’s cherry note has evolved into a full-blown Rainier cherry, carrying white pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and honey in tow. The flavors here are markedly rich, defying its moderate proof and delivering a depth and richness that will have you sucking your molars, frantically trying to prevent even a single drop from slipping through the cracks.

Finish: Vanilla pods, salted butter, fatty Brazil nuts, and white pepper prevail on the finish with a dollop of honey and Rainier cherries, adding a sweet closing kiss as it succinctly slides off your palate.

Bottom Line:

Premier Drams is quietly revolutionizing the modern bourbon landscape by delivering cask-strength bourbon at a moderate proof point. Take note of that. In the fashion of any groundbreaking innovator, I’m not entirely sure the public is ready for it yet, but that’s what makes discovering excellent single-barrel offerings like this so awesome. I suspect that, in due time, these stellar new releases will be even more coveted than they already are.

11. Michter’s 10-Year Single Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 47.2%
Average Price:$400

The Whiskey:

Michter’s 10-Year Single Barrel Bourbon is one of the more rigorously refined bourbons on the market. That’s not just lip service. Master Distiller Dan McKee and Master of Maturation, Andrea Wilson, painstakingly comb through Michter’s voluminous well-aged barrel inventory for this release annually and subject it to their own proprietary custom filtration process to dial in the flavor. Sure, there’s a big fat 10-year age statement on it, but as the two of them are fond of saying, “We don’t just age it for 10 years and a day.”

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Incredibly refined and dense oak notes combine with mature leather on the nose. It’s rewarding that this immediately comes across as a hyper-aged bourbon. My notes say, “satisfyingly sexy oak” and while I’m not entirely sure what that means, I hope you know what I meant.

Palate: Buttery viscosity leads the charge as this pour sets out to conquer four of your five senses (it looks dark and inviting in the glass, as well). There’s a decadent vanilla cream note that sits atop the mature leather and dense oak tones that are impossible to turn away from. The taste of black cherry enters before the transition to the finish and pools at the middle of the tongue before branching out along the roof of the mouth.

Finish: Tasted blind, I was impressed at how lengthy the finish on this whiskey was, but upon learning it’s only 94.4 proof, I became doubly so. There are gentle baking spices on the back end to go along with those oak tones, but the earthy, mature bourbon notes really carry it through.

Bottom Line:

Yes, Michter’s 10-year bourbon is typically excellent, but it deserves extra credit for being such a lush, flavorful bourbon, all at a modest 94.4 proof, which is atypically low for contemporary bourbon releases of this caliber. Nevertheless, quality always wins out, and this expression proved it repeatedly in recent years in UPROXX blind tastings.

10. Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Bourbon “Trinidad Sour” Barrel #5222

ABV: 71.2%
Average Price: $950

The Whiskey:

Willett Family Estate Bourbon is well-known as some of the most exclusive, exorbitantly priced, and, yes, excellent bourbon on the market. Drawing barrels from various sources (including their self-distilled whiskey, which is now approaching its teenage years) and maturing them at the distillery’s property in Bardstown, Kentucky, is part of the magic, making every single barrel akin to a snowflake: unique and never to be seen again. This particular barrel produced just 124 bottles and was selected by Bill Thomas for the Jack Rose Dining Saloon in D.C., who was famously among the first three people to select a single barrel from Willett.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The aroma is immediately evocative of this single barrel’s nickname, as the scents of dunder, maple candy, cinnamon sugar, lime rind, and mocha waft upward to greet the nose.

Palate: The palate welcomes more of the same, with some mocha, brown sugar, toasted coconut, torched orange wheels, and crème brûlée flavors washing over the tongue and pooling at midpalate with some serious staying power. Cinnamon, clove, and pops of barrel char give this whiskey an earthy grounding that allows those earlier sweet notes a base from which to tease the edges of the tongue.

Finish: The finish on this whiskey is prominently lengthy, with the torched orange wheel flavor extending a trunk that allows brown sugar, toasted coconut, vanilla extract, and cinnamon to branch off.

Bottom Line:

Willett Family Estate Bourbon enjoys a venerated space near the top of bourbon’s ever-changing Mount Olympus — and for good reason. This has been both one of the hardest to find and the most high-quality bourbon lineups on the market for the past ten years, and I don’t expect that to change any time soon.

9. Old Forester President’s Choice

ABV: 60%
Average Price: $2,300

The Whiskey:

Unbeknownst to many, Old Forester President’s Choice was America’s first single-barrel bourbon. The expression, which can be traced back to 1962, originally got its name because Old Forester’s President hand-selected the barrels that went into it. Today, Old Forester President’s Choice single barrels are always bottled at full cask strength, although when it was introduced, there was also a 90.3-proof small batch version.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this whiskey is chock-full of layers with maple candy, deep caramel, and milk chocolate brownies representing the sweeter contingent as a fruity black cherry aroma pairs with sandalwood, clove, and vanilla on the other end of the spectrum.

Palate: Brownie and black cherry are most evident initially, enveloping your palate in a dark, rich sweetness. Initially, it has some heat on it, but it’s just enough to prod you and let you know it’s there. The liquid is full-bodied and silky, hanging out on the back palate with a touch of leather and mesquite barbeque sauce flavor.

Finish: The finish contains a bit of smoked black cherry to go along with the familiar taste of corner brownies and lovely oak tones.

Bottom Line:

Old Forester President’s Choice recently claimed the top spot in our “best of Old Forester” ranking, and given how iconic the brand is, it should come as no surprise to see its best offering listed in this year’s top ten. This single-barrel expression is reliably delicious, and difficult though it may be to find, those who seek them out will be met with quite the bounty.

8. Rare Character Pride of Anderson County Bourbon

ABV: 60.3%
Average Price: $1,400

The Whiskey:

The bourbon in these legendary bottles was famously sourced from Wild Turkey, making it one of the rare bourbon releases that actually states its distillery of origin — and a world-class one at that. Last year’s twin Pride of Anderson County Bourbon expressions sold out in a flash, and this year’s dual releases met the same fate. This 14+ year bottle hails from Wild Turkey’s Camp Nelson Rickhouse E, having been distilled in the spring of 2010 and limited to fewer than 600 bottles.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this whiskey features that familiar candy apple and oak profile that one has a tendency to expect from certain Russell’s Reserve single barrels but with a deep, thrumming, clove note that permeates throughout and pastry notes reminiscent of a vanilla custard-filled pretzel cronut. It’s damn difficult to turn your nose away from this glass, but our first sip beckons.

Palate: On the palate, I’m immediately struck by a vanilla buttercream note that gently recedes, revealing some of the ripe red apple flavors that the nose promised, alongside some mature oak, cocoa, and gooey caramel. Further investigation reveals some cinnamon, candied ginger, and honeyed black tea notes. Lastly, the mouthfeel here is incredible, as it warmly coats your palate, with the viscous liquid which rewards “chewing” and sucking your teeth to unearth new layers of flavor.

Finish: The finish is remarkably long, with red apples, a twist of lime, oak, and cinnamon seizing the lead while black pepper and clove come along for the ride.

Bottom Line:

One glass of this elusive liquid was enough for me to know that it would approach the top of my personal list for 2024’s best bourbon releases. The selectivity that Rare Character’s founder, Pablo Moix, exhibits in curating the casks that wind up in the brand’s premium lineups is second to none, and these Pride of Anderson County limited editions exemplify that. Many brands funnel their best bourbon into annual releases to be a part of the conversation. Rare Character saves its best bourbon for this annual release to make a statement.

7. George T. Stagg

ABV: 68.05%
Average Price: $830

The Whiskey:

George T. Stagg Bourbon, first launched in 2002, has since taken the whiskey world by storm, introducing consumers to a brand of full-throated, high-intensity bourbon that has slowly become the most coveted expression of the category by enthusiasts. The 2024 George T. Stagg was matured for 15 years and 2 months.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The aroma of cinnamon rolls, with their beautifully sweet blend of baking spice, vanilla frosting, and baked pastry dough, comes tumbling out of the glass at first. Soon to follow are some impressive Rainier cherry notes, which is an unexpected zag given the proof and Stagg’s prototypical dark cherry vibes. Finally, there are some blood orange and nutmeg notes, which add nuance, along with some dark chocolate, tobacco leaf, and mature oak tones.

Palate: This bourbon entrances your palate with a sensuous, multi-layered experience right off the bat. We’re talking about cooked apples and Rainier cherries, joined by cinnamon rolls and allspice, honey, and peanut brittle, with freshly cracked black pepper and barrel spice showing up late to the party. The mouthfeel is dense, bordering on decadent, and the liquid subsumes your senses, forcing you to contend with each layer of full-bodied flavor.

Finish: The lingering finish continues the complexity found at midpalate as red apples, oak, cinnamon bark, and black pepper all have equal footing as this bourbon takes its time leaving your palate.

Bottom Line:

Simply put, George T. Stagg is the reigning king of Buffalo Trace’s Antique Collection lineup. Not only does it have the most lengthy finish and a formidable nose, but it delivers an incredible amount of densely packed flavor on the palate, checking every box for sublime bourbon you could ask for. In a loaded list of worthy contenders, George T. Stagg is the power hitter that regularly makes Buffalo Trace such a laudable distillery.

6. Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon 2024

ABV: 54.1%
Average Price: $220

The Whiskey:

Four Roses’ highly anticipated Limited Edition Small Batch for 2024 has finally been announced, and we were able to get a first taste of it. For this year’s release, Master Distiller Brent Elliott opted to blend three of Four Roses’ ten bourbon recipes with a 12-year-old OBSV, 15-year-old OESK, 16-year-old OESF, and more OBSV, this time at 20 years old, to create the final product.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is initially floral with ripe apples, butterscotch, and butter pecan ice cream. Faint bits of dark chocolate, star anise, and tobacco leaf help to round out the beautiful bouquet of aromas.

Palate: The butterscotch and apple note really pops on the palate off the bat. The whiskey is well-rounded with a mellow black pepper baking spice tone to go with a more pronounced helping of cinnamon bark, pecans, and brown sugar. The range of flavors reminds me a lot of fried apple pie with a splash of citrus zest. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied and enhances the depth of the flavors without becoming an attraction unto itself.

Finish: The finish has a mature oak backbone with the additional flavor of caramel chews and Fuji apple skin. It’s medium-length, but that brevity really works, urging your focus on the next sip rather than your last.

Bottom Line:

Look, 2024 was one of the best years for bourbon releases in recent memory, and the fact that this expression landed just outside our top 5 for Kentucky alone is proof of that. Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch is annually considered one of the stars of American whiskey’s autumn release schedule and its consistently high quality is indicative of why.

5. Russell’s Reserve 15-Year Bourbon

ABV: 58.6%
Average Price: $250

Russell’s Reserve 15 is Wild Turkey’s latest age-stated release, and boy, has it been met with enthusiasm. The brand’s digital launch caused its website to crash both days; it made the expression available online, and the legend of the liquid in the bottle has only grown legs since then. This bourbon is non-chill filtered, and given Wild Turkey’s track record, one can safely assume there’s whiskey aged for even longer than 15 years in this blend.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Syrupy fig, mature oak tones, and rich leather fill the room once you pour this whiskey, and medicinal cherry notes and milk chocolate join them chocolate. There’s no mistaking the fact that this is a bourbon of a certain age. With further investigation, your nose will bump up against cloves and cinnamon as the aroma of vanilla pod takes root. Finally, a faintly floral note reminiscent of rosewater can be found.

Palate: Black cherries covered in chocolate truffle dust hit the palate at first; this is distinctly different than, say, cherry cordials as there’s a ripeness to the fruit and an almost chalky textural component to the chocolate. On the second sip, observe nougat, caramel, vanilla, and rich oak. While the nose gave the impression that this would be over-oaked, the palate greatly alleviates those concerns as each of the hallmarks of hyper-aging has its say without muddling any of the others.

Finish: Lengthy, balanced, and delicious, the finish is marked by black cherries, clove, and cacao nibs as it grips your palate for dear life, refusing to dissipate until minutes after the last sip.

Bottom Line:

Russell’s 15-Year Bourbon is truly a world beater. When it was initially released, expectations for this bottle were sky-high, and our impression of it has remained there throughout the year. Sure, Russell’s Reserve 15-Year is one of the best bourbons available today, but taking the superlatives a step higher, this might go down in the pantheon as one of the best bourbons in the Wild Turkey brand’s entire history.

4. King of Kentucky 16-Year Single Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 65.2%
Average Price: $2,500

The Whiskey:

King of Kentucky is the Brown-Forman brand’s most regal annual release. For 2024, it features a fleet of single-barrel bourbons, all aged for at least 16 years. With 5,100 bottles produced from just 63 barrels distilled between July 19, 2007, and November 15, 2007, this expression’s popularity and relative rarity make it difficult to find.

Bottom Line:

King of Kentucky’s bulletproof quality makes it a perennial contender for bourbon of the year, and after a ho-hum 2023 release, the brand is back with a vengeance. Hell, King of Kentucky hasn’t been this good in almost six years, and so that makes last year’s 2024 version that much more impressive, showcasing the beauty of Brown Forman’s formidable whiskey stock and the prowess of the folks tasked with stewarding it.

3. Oakley Spirits Collectors Edition 20-Year Kentucky Bourbon

ABV: 61%
Average Price: $1,000

The Whiskey:

Oakley Spirits is a brand-new producer with some absolutely jaw-dropping whiskey in its portfolio. Case in point: its inaugural release, a 20-year Kentucky Bourbon forged from single barrels and aged to its optimal peak.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with stunning force as fresh Brazil nuts, gooey caramel, and mature oak aromas set the tone. From there, crisp red apples, marzipan, and palo santo notes emerge alongside honeycomb, cinnamon, peanut butter, and white pepper. It’s the sort of nose that makes the hair on the back of your arm stand up as you anticipate the first sip.

Palate: Caramel sweetness seizes the palate, allowing the flavors of Rainier cherries, vanilla bean ice cream, stunning oak, milk chocolate, and faint whisps of polished leather to take turns delighting the center of the tongue. At the tongue’s edges, you’ll pick up more forceful oak and baking spice tones like cinnamon and clove, which help to balance the sweetness and elevate its richness.

Finish: The long and lingering finish welcomes the reincorporation of Rainier cherries and an uptick in the vanilla bean flavors, while dark chocolate chunks and well-developed oak notes offer earthier layers of nuance that enhance each sip.

Bottom Line:

From a quality standpoint, there’s no good reason why Oakley Spirits’ inaugural bourbon offering should be flying under the radar. The combination of an unknown name in the space and a prohibitive price point is surely to blame, but tasting is believing, and we’ve been head-over-heels in love with this bourbon from the first sip, so much so that we have it earmarked as an early bourbon of the year contender.

While the first two barrels from this lineup took a few hours before being hunted into extinction, the brand’s third release of these 20-year-old bourbon barrels met its fate earlier this week in mere seconds. These incredible Collector’s Edition offerings are the real deal.

2. Rare Character Brook Hill 15-Year Bourbon

ABV: Varies by batch
Average Price: $1,000

The Whiskey:

Brook Hill is the ultra-premium release from Rare Character that has everyone in American whiskey buzzing. The brand comprises carefully curated bourbon and rye from various sources selected by Rare Character’s founder, Pablo Moix. This as-yet-unreleased 15-year version, soft-launched at the Black Bourbon Run event late last year, features the oldest whiskey the brand has ever bottled, presented at cask strength and free from chill filtration.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a faintly dusty aspect, to be expected with well-aged Kentucky bourbon, before bubbling over with the aroma of dried black cherries, sticky toffee, worn leather, clove, and cinnamon. This is a balanced, demure bouquet of aromas you’ll want to explore at length.

Palate: As the liquid first trickles over your tongue, it’s that beautiful balance from the nose that serves to impress. Figs and black cherries lead the fruit-forward flavors, while cloves and cinnamon take care of the spice as reserved, mature oak tones and reserved leather provide an impressive depth to the entire affair.

Finish: The finish is remarkably round and supple, leaving your tongue coated with each of the flavors and slowly dissipating from the palate even as more flavor attempts to burrow along your jawline, eager to stay for extended savoring.

Bottom Line:

Rare Character is growing up before our eyes. While other brands have enjoyed prodigious beginnings that quickly lost steam, Brook Hill is no longer just the latest whiskey wunderkind. It can now be considered the definitive single-barrel series in the bourbon world with the variety, age statements, and superlative quality to back it up.

1. Michter’s 20-Year Bourbon

ABV: 57.1%
Average Price: $1,200

The Whiskey:

Heralded as one of the most exceptional bourbons of the modern era, Michter’s 20-year bourbon is a rare treat that hasn’t been released since 2022. For the production of this expression, Michter’s — which was recently named the World’s Most Admired Distillery — utilizes bourbon of the highest quality, which has rested for a minimum of 20 long years in new American white oak barrels before it’s approved for bottling by the distillery’s tasting panel which includes Master Distiller Dan McKee and Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this bourbon immediately announces itself as a mature expression with hot cocoa and seasoned oak emanating from the glass, riding a cinnamon bark raft with a leather sail over waves of brown sugar, coffee beans, vanilla ice cream, and savory dates — the sort you would cook in a Moroccan tajine alongside a succulent chicken dish. I’m already salivating.

Palate: The tasting experience with Michter’s 20-year bourbon seals the deal in a single sip. This is decadent whiskey. The velvety texture brushes your palate with thick layers of flavor, coating your tongue with a primary base of chocolate truffle dust, brown sugar, and roasted coffee beans. From there, an intermediate layer is laid, resplendent with cooked dates, ripe plums, and juicy black cherries. At last, the topcoat of vanilla bean ice cream, wildflower honey, and a caramelized orange wheel begins to set, seeping into your tongue and sneaking between your teeth, allowing you to enjoy each distinct flavor at length.

Finish: The lengthy, lingering finish is the perfect reward for such an enveloping blanket of flavor, as the palate’s greatest hits float to the surface as you savor the end of each sip. Expect vanilla bean, dark chocolate chunks, mature oak, Maduro cigar leaf, blood orange juice, and ripe black cherries to be among those indulgent closing notes with polished leather bounding them all together.

Bottom Line:

Michter’s 20 is Kentucky’s best bourbon, and we’ll keep telling it to anyone who will listen. Others succeed with finely threaded balance, some with an extraordinary depth of flavor, and still others earn high marks with a lengthy, lip-smacking finish. What are we to make from a whiskey that capably achieves all three?

This is a bourbon whose age reflects its maturity, resplendent with complexity, forged under the hammer of two decades evolving in oak. Zora Neale Hurston famously said, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” For nearly every year, that asks, “What is Kentucky’s best bourbon?” Michter’s 20-Year Bourbon is the answer.