Small-batch bourbon whiskeys are the ones a lot of us got started on. They’re the bourbons that are inherently cheaper, often under $50. That means if you were looking to drink a good bourbon (that wasn’t too bold) as a newbie, you’d likely be directed towards a small-batch bourbons post haste. And that would be the right call.
Since so many small-batch bourbons are gateways to the wider world of bourbon drinking, I figured it was very high time for another big bourbon blind tasting. But before I dive into the tasting, it’s important to know what exactly “small batch” means when you see it on a whiskey label. “Small batch” simply means one less barrel than a regular batch of the main bourbon released from any brand. For instance, if a regular batch of straight bourbon whiskey is 1,250 barrels, then any expression that the brand releases between 1,249 all the way down to two barrels is a “small batch.” (One barrel in a whiskey release is a “single barrel” of course).
So, when you see “small batch” on a straight bourbon label, it can… mean kind of anything. There are bourbons on the shelf right now that are labeled “small batch” that have more barrels in that batch than a regular batch of Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 (about 375 barrels per batch). Meaning that there is a little bit of bullshit in this destination. Because besides the sort of unwritten rule of “one less barrel than a regular batch,” there’s no actual rule or law for what makes something a “small batch” product.
So what are these brands really saying when they put “small batch” on their label? They’re talking about a step more refinement. Small-batch bourbons are a touch more refined than standard releases. That’s it.
Generally speaking, the hierarchy of bourbon refinement with brands is as follows:
- Bourbon Whiskey
- Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Bottled In Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey
That puts small-batch bourbons right in the middle of the cheap shit and the good stuff both flavor and price-wise. Of course, there are mixes of those designations on labels (bottled in bond single barrels, small batch bottled in bonds, and so on), but that’s the general gist.
All of this leads me to our lineup of small-batch bourbons today:
- Cedar Ridge Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch
- Union Horse Distilling Co. Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch
- Woody Creek Distillers Colorado Straight Bourbon Whiskey Hand-Crafted in Small Batches
- Deadwood Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled in Small Batches
- Knob Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years
- Doc Swinson’s Session Blend Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 5 Years Bottled in Small Batches
- Rabbit Hole Cavehill Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 4 Grain Small Batch
- E.H. Taylor Jr. Small Batch Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
- Michter’s US*1 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Bib & Tucker Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey Aged 6 Years
I purposefully chose a wide array of small-batch bourbons, all under $50, from all over the scene. I did add one ringer — an allocated (small distribution) $45 small batch bourbon that sells for three times that at most retail. I wanted to see if it was really that much better in a big blind taste test and worth that inflated price tag or something closer to its actual one.
After my wife shuffled and poured these for me, I dove in and started ranking. I was honestly kind of shocked at how this one shook out — a big outlier stole the whole show. Let’s dive in!
Part 1 — The Small Batch Bourbon Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a nice sense of orchard fruits and barks that leads to a dry grassy graininess (hello, craft whiskey) with a soft apple pie and peach cobbler vibe that leads to a floral honey cut with clear Caro corn syrup sweetness.
Palate: That sweetness attaches to the dry grains on the palate with a sense of white cornmeal over smudging sage with a hint of orchard and winter spice bark rounding out the palate before the ABVs start to rise.
Finish: The rise of the ABVs peak pretty quickly with a pleasant buzzing, more honeyed sweetness, and dry prairie grasses on a summer’s day.
Initial Thoughts:
Wow, this was just really goddamn nice whiskey. Even the higher proof was excellently balanced and never overpowered the rest of the pour.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Hint of butterscotch and old oak pop on the nose with a dash of maple syrup and vanilla-forward pancakes with margarine (it weirdly works).
Palate: There’s a light nuttiness on the palate that’s akin to peanut shells that turn into a buttery peanut brittle on the palate before vanilla and cinnamon hot chocolate pop up.
Finish: That butterscotch comes back in full force on the end with more peanut and maybe some walnut shell with a hint of milk chocolate powder and vanilla pudding cups.
Initial Thoughts:
This was nice. It was pretty standard with a lean toward nuttiness. Overall, just nice.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a clear sense of crafty bourbon (light sweet grains) on the nose with a soft sense of winter spice, old caramel candies, and a hint of orange honey.
Palate: The taste leans into the peppery spice with an apple/pear vibe next to red fruit, vanilla beans, and caramelized grains.
Finish: The end is short and slightly spicy with an apple/pear pie filling vibe next to wet biscuit dough.
Initial Thoughts:
This was a tad grainy and could have used a touch more balance between the crafty sweet grains and the classic bourbon notes.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is lighter but does have a lot of sweet dry corn, old orchard vibes, hints of leather, and a touch of tobacco spice.
Palate: The palate is full of stewed fruits and winter spices with a hint of lemon pepper and creamed honey over lightly aged oak.
Finish: The spice and fruity sweetness kick up on the finish with a mild sense of proofing water and smoldering oak staves.
Initial Thoughts:
This was a good standard table whiskey. Nothing special, nothing wrong, nothing more.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this feels classic with a bold sense of rich vanilla pods, cinnamon sharpness, buttered and salted popcorn, and a good dose of cherry syrup with a hint of cotton candy.
Palate: The palate mixes almond, orange, and vanilla into cinnamon sticky buns with a hint of sour cherry soda that leads to a nice Kentucky hug on the mid-palate.
Finish: That warm hug fades toward black cherry root beer, old leather boots, porch wicker, and a sense of dried cherry/cinnamon tobacco packed into an old pine box.
Initial Thoughts:
This had a lot going on with a big finish (warm). It was good, but not “wow” good. It felt like a really solid Kentucky bourbon.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a sweet candied almond vibe next to a vanilla sheet cake, dark chocolate nibs, rum-soaked raisins, brandy-soaked cherries, and plenty of woody winter spice.
Palate: Dark and spicy dried fruits with plenty of buttercream drive the palate toward pecan waffles with real maple syrup, singed marshmallows, and dark winter spices barks tied up with dried orange slices and old tobacco leaves.
Finish: That spice and tobacco rise on the finish with a sense of stewed pears, oranges, and cherries rolled into a winter nutcake with a mug of warm apple cider-spiked mulled wine on the side.
Initial Thoughts:
This is some delicious whiskey. It’s very holiday-forward and dark, which is a good thing.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a lot of apple cobbler on the nose with sweet and bright stewed apples, plenty of dark brown spices, brown sugar, buttery pastry cobbles, and a touch of honey sweetness.
Palate: The honey becomes creamy and spiked with orange zest as the malt shines through as a digestive cookie with a hint of fresh mint and more of that honey with a flake of salt.
Finish: The finish brings about that spice again with a little more of a peppery edge this time as the fade slowly falls off, leaving you with a creamy vanilla tobacco feeling.
Initial Thoughts:
This is another really nice whiskey overall. No notes!
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of soft leather with a hint of fresh green chili, Saigon cinnamon (a little sweet), orchard tree bark, and the black mildew that grows on all the whiskey warehouses in Kentucky.
Palate: The palate leans into buttery toffee with a twinge of black licorice next to cinnamon-spiced dark chocolate tobacco and a hint of huckleberry pie with vanilla ice cream.
Finish: The end has a salted caramel sweetness that leads back to a hint of sweet cinnamon and dark tobacco with a light sense of the fermentation room with a hint of sweet gruel.
Initial Thoughts:
This was really nice too. If I had to nitpick, I’d say the end was a little light, but that’s really splitting hairs on a great pour.
Taste 9
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this is very fruity with a mix of bruised peach, red berries (almost like in a cream soda), and apple wood next to a plate of waffles with brown butter and a good pour of maple syrup that leads to a hint of cotton candy.
Palate: The sweetness ebbs on the palate as vanilla frosting leads to grilled peaches with a crack of black pepper next to singed marshmallows.
Finish: The end is plummy and full of rich toffee next to a dash of cedar bark and vanilla tobacco.
Initial Thoughts:
This is incredibly well-balanced. It’s weird to say this but it’s almost too clean.
Taste 10
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft and sweet apple and cherry woods greet with a good dose of sour red berries dusted with brown winter spices, especially clove and nutmeg.
Palate: The palate leans into soft and salted caramel with a hint of those berries underneath while the spices get woodier and a thin line of green sweetgrass sneaks in.
Finish: The finish is silky and boils down to blackberry jam with a good dose of winter spice, old wood, and a hint of vanilla tobacco.
Initial Thoughts:
This is so succinct and deeply tasty.
Taste 11
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a light sense of rickhouse wood beams next to that mild taco seasoning on the nose with caramel apples, vanilla ice cream scoops, and a hint of fresh mint with a sweet/spicy edge.
Palate: The palate opens with a seriously smooth vanilla base with some winter spice (especially cinnamon and allspice) next to a hint of grain and apple pie filling.
Finish: The end leans towards the woodiness with a hint of broom bristle and minty tobacco lead undercut by that smooth vanilla.
Initial Thoughts:
This felt like classic bourbon and that’s it. It’s very, “Yup, that’s good bourbon!”
Taste 12
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Raw leather and wet cedar mix with vanilla cream and a sense of black licorice protein powder on the nose.
Palate: The palate leans into ginger spiciness with yellow masa and cinnamon-heavy apple cider and vanilla wafers rounding things out.
Finish: The finish is light and has a black Necco Wafer vibe next to winter spices and apple tobacco warmth on the end.
Initial Thoughts:
This was pretty nice overall. It’s clearly from Tennessee but hits high bourbon-heavy notes.
Part 2 — The Small Batch Bourbon Ranking
12. Woody Creek Distillers Colorado Straight Bourbon Whiskey Hand-Crafted in Small Batches — Taste 3
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This Colorado craft distillery is all about that Rocky Mountain vibe. The whiskey is made from a 70% corn mash with a touch of local rye and malted barley mixed with Rocky Mountain spring water. The whiskey is aged for at least four years in deeply charred new oak before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was a tad grain-forward. It wasn’t off balance but just needs a little more of something. That all said, I can see this working nicely in highballs with good fizzy water and a nice garnish from the garden.
11. Deadwood Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled in Small Batches — Taste 4
ABV: 40.5%
Average Price: $18
The Whiskey:
This sourced whiskey is made from two-year-old barrels in small batches of no more than 20 barrels each. The whiskey is MGP of Indiana bourbon with 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. Those barrels were sent down to Kentucky where they were batched and bottled with that Kentucky limestone water.
Bottom Line:
This was perfectly fine bourbon. It was balanced and tasted like standard good ol’ bourbon. Use it in highballs or garage pours with your pals. It’ll be fine.
10. Union Horse Distilling Co. Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch — Taste 2
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $24
The Whiskey:
This Kansas whiskey is a neo-classic sour mash recipe of just corn and rye (no barley). The whiskey is distilled on copper pot stills before aging for over five years in Kansas’ rolling green hills and harsh winters. The final batch is touched with local water before bottling.
Bottom Line:
This is a pretty good bourbon overall. I’d use it more for whiskey cocktails (sours, smashes, etc.) than as a sipper, but it’ll be fine over rocks.
9. Knob Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years — Taste 5
ABV: 50%
Buy Here: $45 (one-liter)
The Whiskey:
This is Jim Beam’s small batch entry point into the wider world of Knob Creek. The juice is the low-rye mash aged for nine years in new oak in Beam’s vast warehouses. The right barrels are then mingled and cut down to 100 proof before being bottled in new, wavy bottles.
Bottom Line:
This is a classic Kentucky bourbon … for cocktails. This is fine over some rocks but it really shines brightest in whiskey-forward cocktails.
8. Rabbit Hole Cavehill Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 4 Grain Small Batch — Taste 7
ABV: 47.5%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This four-grain Kentucky bourbon is made with 70% corn, 10% malted wheat, 10% honey malted barley, and 10% malted barley. That spirit is then aged for three years in toasted and charred barrels before it’s batched from 15 barrels, proofed, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This is very much the same as above. It’s really good standard Kentucky bourbon that’ll shine in cocktails but can totally work over rocks on any ol’ day of the week.
7. Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 11
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $25
The Whiskey:
This is Elijah Craig’s entry-point bottle. The mash is corn-focused, with more malted barley than rye. The whiskey is then rendered from “small batches” of barrels to create this proofed-down version of the iconic brand.
Bottom Line:
This was a notch above standard. Still, this felt like an old fashioned cocktail base more than anything.
6. Bib & Tucker Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey Aged 6 Years — Taste 12
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $44
The Whiskey:
Bib & Tucker pulls barrels of Tennessee whiskey from an old and quiet valley in the state. They then blend those barrels to meet their brand’s flavor notes. While they are distilling their own whiskey now, this is still all about blending those barrels in small batches.
Bottom Line:
This had a nice extra layer in its profile that help elevate it. Those Tennessee sweet earthy tones and choco-powder vibes add an extra something. I’d sip this in a nice whiskey-forward cocktail happily.
5. Doc Swinson’s Session Blend Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 5 Years Bottled in Small Batches — Taste 6
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $32
The Whiskey:
This blend from Washington is made with MGP bourbons that are at least five years old. The lion’s share of the blend is a 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley bourbon married to a 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley bourbon.
Bottom Line:
This dives deep into the slow-sipper territory. This is a really good whiskey. I want to add a little water or a rock to let bloom in the glass. This also feels like it’s going to make a killer Manhattan come winter.
4. E.H. Taylor Jr. Small Batch Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond — Taste 8
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $45
The Whiskey:
Buffalo Trace’s Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch is an entry point to the other 12 expressions released under the E.H. Taylor, Jr. label. The whiskey is made from Buffalo Trace’s iconic Mash Bill No. 1 (which is a low rye recipe). The final whiskey in the bottle is a blend of barrels that meet the exact right flavor profiles Buffalo Trace’s blenders are looking for in a classic bottled-in-bond bourbon for Taylor.
Bottom Line:
This is a very on-point whiskey. I’m surprised to see it at 4th, but we’re already into the really good whiskeys and this had a softer landing than the next three.
3. Michter’s US*1 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 9
ABV: 45.7%
Average Price: $46
The Whiskey:
Michter’s really means the phrase “small batch” here. The tank they use to marry their hand-selected eight-year-old bourbons can only hold 20 barrels, so that’s how many go into each small-batch bottling. The blended juice is then proofed with Kentucky’s famously soft limestone water and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This was the most balanced whiskey on the list. I wanted a little more though. That said, this is clearly a great cocktail whiskey that’ll make a dope whiskey-forward cocktail all day long.
2. Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 10
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $35
The Whiskey:
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon is a blend of four whiskeys. The blend is split evenly between the high and low-rye bourbons with a focus on “slight spice” and “rich fruit” yeasts — that means OBSK, OESK, OBSO, and OESO are in the mix. After six to seven years of aging, the whiskey is blended, cut with soft Kentucky water, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This was interesting and very dialed-in. I wanted to take another sip as a neat sipper. That’s high praise.
1. Cedar Ridge Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch — Taste 1
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $44
The Whiskey:
This Iowa whiskey is all about the Iowa corn. The mash is 74% corn, 14% malted rye, and 12% malted barley that is rested in oak for a few years. Since the temperature in Iowa swings by 100 degrees through a single year, aging doesn’t need to last forever. When the barrels are just right, they’re batched and bottled completely as-is.
Bottom Line:
This was just delicious. It’s deep and old-school and fresh and fun. It’s everything you want in a small-batch bourbon with some kick. I really want to make a Manhattan with this.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Small Batch Bourbons
This is a very top five heavy blind tasting. I really do recommend any of the top five whiskeys above. They’re all very different but all offer something truly special.
What’s clear though is that the E.H. Taylor Small Batch which is supposed to cost $45 but does cost $150 (in most retail) actually feels right at home among bourbons that still actually cost $45. You can take that fact to the bank, folks.
And to be completely fair, the rest of the whiskeys ranked on this list were perfectly good whiskeys. There are no faults, no hard passes, and no embarrassments. They’re just average ~ good ~ bourbons. So if that’s what you’re looking for, knock yourself out!
