There used to be a big gap between spring and fall releases in the bourbon world. Today, that gap has a thick asphalt bridge connecting the super highway of bourbon from May to September so that new whiskeys can hit the shelves ever faster and constantly. These days, it just never ends. That means that finding new, unique, and interesting bourbons is easier than ever. It also kind of means that there’s more bullshit on the shelf too.
It’s time for another bourbon blind taste test, folks. This time around, I’m grabbing brand-new and unique bourbons that have just hit shelves. There’s a little bit of everything in this blind taste test from barrel-proof small batches to special mash bills, experimental releases, special oak finishes, bottles in bonds, and even a blend of Irish whiskey and bourbon whiskey. It’s a wide net.
That makes our lineup the following bottles of bourbon:
- Pinhook Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Flagship Bourbon 2023
- Old Scout Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey Topflight Series by ReserveBar
- Keeper’s Heart Whiskey Irish + Bourbon Cask Strength
- Frey Ranch Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey Farm Strength Uncut
- Still Austin Bottled In Bond Red Corn Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Rabbit Hole Dareringer Founder’s Collection Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in PX Sherry Casks Limited Edition
- New Riff Yellow Leaming Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
- Daniel Weller Emmer Wheat Recipe Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Milam & Greene Very Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch 1.2
- Booker’s Bourbon “Apprentice Batch” 2023-02 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
My wife was kind enough to shuffle and pour these for the blind tasting. After I tasted each one, I ranked these according to taste. That means I was looking for depth, balance, and overall enjoyment. Luckily, it wasn’t too hard as a few of these were absolute killers and stood out from the crowd very easily. Let’s dive in!
- The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys From Kentucky, Ranked
- The Absolute Best Bottle Of Whiskey From Each Of The 50 States
- Our Head Drinks Critic Reveals The Expensive Bourbons He *Won’t* Pay Above Retail For
- The 100 Best Bourbons That *Aren’t* From Kentucky, Ranked
- The 100 Best Bourbons Under $100 Right Now, Ranked
Part 1 — The New Bourbon Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Grandma’s butterscotch candies and leathery apricot drive the nose toward almost warm s’mores with gooey marshmallows, milk chocolate, and a fresh Graham Cracker with a nice touch of dry red chili.
Palate: There’s a sense of fancy dark chocolate peanut butter cups on the taste that leads to espresso beans, Red Hots, and a nice lush crème brûlée.
Finish: The vanilla cream keeps the finish soft as light winter spice, a hint of oak, and more chocolate and espresso round out the finish.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a really nice bourbon. It’s classic but goes further on the profile, providing serious depth and enjoyable moments.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Salted caramel candies and dried apricot dominate the nose with a sense of old boot leather, sweet popcorn, and a hint of candied orange wedges.
Palate: The palate veers dramatically from the sweet candy toward dried lavender over spiced nut cakes with a hint of dried sage lurking next to old cedar cigar humidors.
Finish: That sage, cedar, and tobacco drive the finish toward a touch of mincemeat pie, old figs, and more leathery dried apricot.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a lush and fun whiskey. It’s delicious.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Hints of chocolate malts mingle with dark caramel and old oily vanilla pods with a touch of apple/pear in the background with a note of woodpiles.
Palate: Spiced apple cider with a hint of sweet oak drives the palate toward vanilla cream with burnt sugars next to a hint of apple crumble with plenty of brown sugar, butter, and winter spice.
Finish: There’s a twinge of black pepper on the woody finish with dark vanilla and toffee next to a soft graininess and a hint more of that sweet oak and apple orchard.
Initial Thoughts:
This was nicely soft. It’s tasty but not overly memorable… yet.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose bursts forth on this one with deep cinnamon candy, nutmeg-heavy eggnog, creme bruleé, salted caramel, and buttery croissant next to old cedar kindling, dark boot leather, and a hint of dusty old wine cellar.
Palate: There’s a Black Forest cake vibe on the front of the palate that leads to clove-studded oranges, leathery apricot, black-tea-soaked dates, and rich and moist pound cake just kissed with poppy seeds and vanilla oils.
Finish: The end leans into black cherry with a flake of smoked salt, dark orange, and fresh cacao with a return of that cedar kindling and old boot leather next to this faint note of old rickhouses full of well-aged barrels of whiskey.
Initial Thoughts:
This is f*cking great. Outstanding. Delicious.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich, wet, and earthy masa drives the nose toward dark fruit leather, old spice bottles, and soft floral honey just touched with vanilla.
Palate: Freshly cut oranges are dipped in maple syrup on the palate with a sense of soft vanilla custard, pumpkin pecan pie, and plenty of winter spice that amps up toward black peppercorns.
Finish: That black pepper makes for a spiced finish as the pecan pie, orange, and custard all slowly fade away with a fleeting hint of an earthy cornfield after the rain.
Initial Thoughts:
This is really good too. It’s not “oh my sweet lord!” good but close.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Thick vanilla custard and walnut cake drive the nose toward musty sherry oak still in the cellar next to dark raw sugar syrup over a spiced fruit cake.
Palate: The dark winter spices from the nut cakes drive the palate toward large stretches of cinnamon bark, old oak staves, and dark cherry with a hint of Meyer lemon and tart currants.
Finish: Mulled wine and salted toffee round out the finish with a return to the walnut cake and plenty of sherry-soaked old oak.
Initial Thoughts:
This is nice whiskey. It was very classic in all the best ways but didn’t go that extra mile.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a medley of vanilla pods, caramel chews, and dry apple chips next to stewed peaches drizzled with floral honey and this light sense of dry sweetgrass and smudging sage.
Palate: The palate is light but full of cinnamon sticks and black peppercorns with a nice balance of that floral honey, more caramel, and plenty of vanilla with a whisper of rum raisin.
Finish: The spice pops on the finish for a moment before fading toward dried orchard fruits and a soft sense of honey and caramel.
Initial Thoughts:
This was fine but a little light overall.
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is very grainy with a sense of sourdough rye that hasn’t been baked yet next to Nutella, fresh orange zest, and salted caramel with a hint of marzipan.
Palate: Bright orchard fruits pop on the palate as fresh honeycombs (with a hint of earthiness) vibe with more marzipan, deep sourdough bread notes, and a good bit of old oak in old rickhouses just kissed with falling leaves and soft rain.
Finish: Leatheriness comes through on the finish with more of that oak and warehouse vibe next to orchard bark, dark winter spice, and creamy honey kissed with rum raisin but then kind of just disappears.
Initial Thoughts:
This is funky and fresh but kind of fumbles the landing.
Taste 9
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is light but runs deep with walnuts, vanilla flowers, soft custard cut with nutmeg and clove, and a light sense of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Palate: The palate is like walking through a fruit orchard in full bloom with a hint of wet black tea next to buttermilk biscuits dripping with butter and honey.
Finish: The finish gets slightly dry with a sense of dry and barky winter spices, dried red berries, and apple chips next to a light sense of brandy-soaked oak staves.
Initial Thoughts:
This is light but in all the right ways. It’s fresh and funky but also fun and deep.
Taste 10
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with brandy-soaked holiday cake with a deep layer of rich vanilla, candied orange, candied cherry, stewed pear, and deeply sharp winter spices.
Palate: The taste is winter nut bread forward and spiced with real clove, allspice, and nutmeg next to apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, eggnog creaminess, and floral honey.
Finish: The end really amps up those spices with a very barky vibe as the orange turns to marmalade and just keeps going and going until the heat overtakes everything and then crashes down, leaving your tongue buzzing.
Initial Thoughts:
There’s a lot going on with this sip of whiskey. But the finish just sort of takes it all away. Still, there’s a lot to like here.
Part 2 — The New Bourbon Ranking
10. Daniel Weller Emmer Wheat Recipe Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 8
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $499
The Whiskey:
We finally have a brand-new Weller release from Buffalo Trace (at an incredible cost). The whiskey in the bottle is an experimental wheated bourbon made from Emmer wheat (an ancient Egyptian strain). That whiskey is then left alone to mature for 12 years before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was simply too one note with a flubbed finish. The grains were great but there wasn’t really anything else to grab your attention. There are simply better Weller products at a much more accessible price point.
9. Rabbit Hole Dareringer Founder’s Collection Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in PX Sherry Casks Limited Edition — Taste 6
ABV: 51.9%
Average Price: $312
The Whiskey:
This new Founder’s Collection release from Rabbit Hole is a doozy. The whiskey in the bottle is made from wheated bourbon, aged in well-charred Pedro Ximenez sherry casks from Spain’s renowned Casknolia Cooperage. Just 15 barrels were selected for this tiny small batch offering and bottled 100% as-is.
Bottom Line:
I wrote down in my tasting book “This is fine.” That should tell you everything. It’s just fine. Nothing special but it does taste, well, fine. Looking at the price now and it’s hard to justify.
8. New Riff Yellow Leaming Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond — Taste 7
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $55
The Whiskey:
This new release from indy-darling New Riff is made with heirloom corn as an experimental line. The mash bill starts off with 65% Yellow Leaming corn — which is an old Indigenous corn strain — that is grown by New Riff’s partner farmer Charles Frogg out in Greensburg, Indiana. The mash is supported by 30% rye and 5% malted barley. The whiskey is then aged for five years before batching and bottling at bottled in bond proof.
Bottom Line:
This too was just fine. It just didn’t pop on this panel. That said, this is tasty and interesting but very light. I’d recommend trying New Riff’s Blue Clarage Bourbon first.
7. Keeper’s Heart Whiskey Irish + Bourbon Cask Strength — Taste 3
ABV: 59%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This new release from Keeper’s Heart continues their tradition of blending Irish whiskey with classic American whiskeys. In this case, the whiskey in the bottle is a blend of triple pot still Irish whiskey (made with malted and unmalted barley) that aged for over four years in ex-bourbon barrels, a grain whiskey (made with corn and malted barley) that spent over four years in ex-bourbon barrels, and classic bourbon (made with 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley) that aged for four years before batching.
Bottom Line:
This was a nice pour of whiskey. It wasn’t exciting but got the job done. I can see using this for solid cocktails.
6. Booker’s Bourbon “Apprentice Batch” 2023-02 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 10
ABV: 62.75%
Average Price: $249
The Whiskey:
The second batch of Booker’s has arrived. This batch is named after the relationship between Booker Noe (who helped define Beam in the 20th century) and his mentor, Carl Beam, back in the 1950s. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of a lot of barrels from prime spots in several warehouses across the Beam campus. The end blend ended up being 7+-year-old bourbon that’s bottled completely as-is without proofing or filtering.
Bottom Line:
This is a bold whiskey with a lot of heat. If there wasn’t so much going on before the finish, it wouldn’t be ranked this high. But there is a lot to enjoy here and this will definitely bloom with a rock in the glass or a little water.
5. Milam & Greene Very Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch 1.2 — Taste 9
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $69
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is from Master Blender Heather Greene who picked 75 barrels for the blend. The blend is a mix of contract-distilled Kentucky whiskey with Tennessee whiskey rounding out the mix. The batched barrels were vatted in a 1,000-gallon tank before being re-barrelled into French oak for a final rest.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice and almost summery whiskey with a good depth to it. I can see this shining in light but whiskey-forward summer cocktails.
4. Pinhook Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Flagship Bourbon 2023 — Taste 1
ABV: 50.74%
Average Price: $42
The Whiskey:
The new Flagship release from Pinhook is made from a three-year-old set of barrels from Castle & Key. The bourbon is a contract-distilled mash of 75% corn, 15% rye, and 10% malted barley aged in the old Old Taylor warehouses. Those barrels were then batched and bottled at a lower cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This is getting into the good stuff. I liked this a lot. That said, this is classic and feels like the perfect whiskey to make your favorite cocktails with rather than a slow sipper. But I can see this working well over some ice too. Don’t get me wrong.
3. Still Austin Bottled In Bond Red Corn Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 5
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $80
The Whiskey:
This brand-new whiskey — the first is a series of four new releases — from Austin’s Still Austin is about special corn. In this case, Jimmy Red corn thrown in the mash. That makes the recipe 36% Jimmy Red corn, 34% white corn, 25% rye, and 5% malted barley.
Bottom Line:
This is really tasty and unique. Get this if you’re looking for something a little different that still delivers everything you want from a good bourbon pour.
2. Old Scout Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey Topflight Series by ReserveBar — Taste 2
ABV: 57.9%
Average Price: $69
The Whiskey:
This barrel prick from ReserveBar is from a six-year-old barrel stored out in West Virginia. The whiskey in that barrel was made in Indiana from a mash bill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barely. The barrel was sent out to West Virginia to age in the misty Appalachian hills before it was bottled 100% as-is.
Bottom Line:
This is just delicious. It’s deep and balanced with a killer profile. Drink it however you like to drink your whiskey.
1. Frey Ranch Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey Farm Strength Uncut — Taste 4
ABV: 62.15%
Average Price: $79
The Whiskey:
This new release from Nevada craft farm distillery, Frey Ranch, is a true grain-to-glass experience. The mash is Frey Ranch’s classic four-grain mash of 66% non-GMO corn, 12% Two-Row malted barley, 11.4% Winter rye, and 10% Soft White Winter wheat — all grown on the ranch. After almost five years of aging in the mountains of Nevada, the whiskey was batched and bottled 100% as-is.
Bottom Line:
This is a great pour of bourbon. Great. It has everything you want from a slow sipper — depth, nostalgia, balance. I’d buy a case.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the New Bourbons
I’d say the top four whiskeys are the ones that you really want to focus on here. The rest were good to fine with the last two or three, honestly, being kind of disappointing (especially when I learned what they were).
Anyway, brass tacks, you want to get that Old Scout barrel pick or Frey Ranch release. They’re great bottles of whiskey that deliver. The best part is that you can get them fairly easily by just clicking on those price links (depending on where you live of course).
