“Kentucky” and “bourbon” are nearly interchangeable phrases. You actually can’t consider one with out pondering of the opposite. Sure, even horses are available in second to bourbon relating to the Bluegrass State. And whereas bourbon doesn’t have to be made in Kentucky, it is the place the lion’s share is made and has been made for hundreds of years.
That’s all a great distance for me to say that it’s time to name out 100 nice bourbons from Kentucky. Sure, there’s sufficient bourbon from Kentucky that I can simply name out 100 scrumptious ones. Hell, this listing might be 500 bottles lengthy in the event you needed to get into classic bourbons and identify whole model lineups.
I’m certain you’ll agree that 100 entries is a lot so let me break down what’s under:
- Customary bourbons which you can get on any shelf that style nice.
- Extensively out there costly bourbons that additionally style nice.
- Restricted Editions, one-offs, and extremely allotted bourbons that you simply may solely style as soon as in your life…that style nice.
- A big swath of bourbon that was launched within the final yr and — you guessed it — tastes nice.
There aren’t any classic bourbons under. And I did maintain myself again from including whole model lineups (however there are nonetheless a number of entries from sure manufacturers). E.H. Taylor, Jr.’s complete line might be on this listing however that’d take up an excessive amount of house and remove too many different nice bourbons from Kentucky.
Lastly, there’s price-taggery. For essentially the most half, I’ve referred to as out the precise retail costs in the actual world (and never the fantasy of MSRPs). Each one among these bourbons is one thing you may get — simply click on on these value hyperlinks — however a few of them include an awesome value. You’ve been warned.
Let’s dive in!
Verify Out Our Better of Whiskey Lists for 2023:
100. J.T.S. Brown Bottled In Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $16
The Whiskey:
This can be a high quality whiskey from Heaven Hill’s basic bourbon mash invoice (78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye). Meaning this is identical base juice as Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, a number of Parker’s Heritages, and Henry McKenna. It’s a bottled-in-bond, which means it’s from related shares to their iconic Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond and some different whiskeys on this listing.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Cream soda with a splash of cherry opens the nostril subsequent to dry leather-based patches, caramel sauce, and a light-weight contact of floral honey.
Palate: The palate brings ahead dry and woody spices with a touch of eggnog creaminess main towards Graham Crackers and a candy tobacco chew.
End: The tip turns the woody spice into previous oak with extra vanilla, honey, and leather-based lingering the longest.
Backside Line:
Is that this bourbon going to style higher than the highest 50 on this listing? No. However this whiskey tastes higher than quite a lot of whiskeys that value $30-$60 on the market. So much higher.
This bourbon is a testomony to the old-school on a regular basis bourbons of yesteryear that don’t value a lot however pack an awesome punch of taste.
99. Wild Turkey 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50.5%
Common Worth: $19
The Whiskey:
Wild Turkey 101 begins with Turkey’s basic 75/13/12 (corn/rye/barley) mash invoice. The new juice then spends at the very least six years within the cask earlier than it’s batched and simply kissed with Kentucky limestone water earlier than bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This can be a cherry bomb on the nostril with deep notes of burnt orange, buttery toffee, previous oak staves, and cumin-heavy taco seasoning with a touch of previous leather-based gloves and clove buds.
Palate: The palate has a vanilla pudding cup vibe subsequent to butterscotch candies, nougat, and a twinge of menthol tobacco subsequent to clove-studded oranges on the mid-palate.
End: The tip of this can be a basic cascade of bourbon notes: caramel, vanilla, cherry, winter spices, and light-weight woodiness.
Backside Line:
That is basic bourbon by means of and thru — the spiced fruit and creamy base are tasty AF. Everybody ought to have a bottle of this for mixing and taking pictures.
98. Jefferson’s Reserve Very Previous Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Very Small Batch
ABV: 45.1%
Common Worth: $42
The Whiskey:
Jefferson’s hits it out of the park with their sourced whiskey. The “very previous” factor of this small-batched mix signifies that eight to 12 barrels of 4 distinctive bourbons had been chosen to be married, with the oldest clocking in at 20 years previous. That whiskey is then proofed with mushy Kentucky limestone water to carry it all the way down to a really approachable 90.2 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Notes of vanilla meet spicy tobacco, leather-based, oak, and really buttery toffee with a touch of popped corn and apple pie mingle on the nostril.
Palate: The palate holds to these notes whereas including a mellow cherry with an nearly cedar-infused cream soda.
End: The end is brief however filled with all these woody, spicy, and apple pie notes once more, with loads of buttery mouthfeel and a cedar field filled with wealthy tobacco leaves.
Backside Line:
This can be a nice gateway bourbon. It’s effectively constructed however mushy and approachable due to these low ABVs.
97. Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
ABV: 45%
Common Worth: $24
The Whisky:
That is Maker’s signature expression made with Crimson winter wheat and aged seasoned Ozark oak for six to seven years. This expression’s whiskey is then sourced from solely 150 barrels (making this a “small batch”). These barrels are then blended and proofed with Kentucky limestone water earlier than bottling and dipping of their iconic crimson wax.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril is stuffed with these closely charred oak barrel notes subsequent to basic hints of caramel and vanilla with a grassy underbelly.
Palate: That grassiness turns into vaguely floral as barely spiced caramel apples arrive, together with a chewy mouthfeel that leads in the direction of a mushy mineral vibe — sort of like moist granite.
End: The tip holds onto the fruit and sweetness because the oak and dried grass keep in your senses.
Backside Line:
That is one other basic bourbon that provides a contact of floral grassiness that’s very a lot a vibe. It’s an awesome mixer to have readily available.
96. Jim Beam Double Oak Twice Barreled Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 43%
Common Worth: $19
The Whiskey:
Initially solely launched on the worldwide market, the expression grew to become so common that buyer demand led to it hitting U.S. cabinets a few years in the past. That is customary Jim Beam that’s aged for round 4 years that’s then re-barreled into new oak barrels for an additional shorter relaxation. Lastly, these barrels are batched and proofed for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: There’s a touch of dry firewood sitting in black soil on the nostril that results in extra basic Beam notes of cherry vanilla cream soda, dry apple, buttery caramel sauce, and a touch of previous oak staves.
Palate: There’s a candy sense of creamed honey on cinnamon toast on the palate that results in singed marshmallows and spiced-cherry tobacco leaves with a touch of cedar lurking behind it.
End: The tip has a pleasant sense of woody vanilla pods and cherry bark subsequent to darkish chocolate laced with cinnamon and tobacco.
Backside Line:
Jim Beam has the bandwidth to make quite a lot of low cost however excellent bourbon. This expression provides just a little contact of oaky spice to steadiness the cherry sweetness in all the appropriate methods. Drink it nevertheless you prefer to drink your whiskey.
95. Fern Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $55
The Whiskey:
This new bottler is sourcing some severe Kentucky bourbon barrels. This small batch is comprised of a mash of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley. That whiskey is left to age for 5 years and 10 months earlier than batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Buttery berry crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream dominates the nostril with a touch of cinnamon toast and freshly cracked black pepper.
Palate: That creamy vanilla dries the palate towards spiced oak with cinnamon bark, clove, and allspice subsequent to woody berries and a touch of tobacco heat.
End: That spiced oak drives the end with a touch of blackberry and vanilla tobacco packed into an previous cedar field.
Backside Line:
That is a kind of bottles that you simply’ll see within the Ohio Valley principally. In case you are in Kentucky, give it a shot as a mixer or simple on-the-rocks sipper. It’s a strong after-dinner pour with a slice of pie with an enormous ol’ scoop of ice cream.
94. Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Common Worth: $19
The Whiskey:
That is Evan William’s small-batch bourbon reissue. The expression is a wedding of 200 barrels of Heaven Hill’s basic bourbon (78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye). That whiskey is batched after which proofed all the way down to 90 proof (as an alternative of the previous 86 proof) and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This has a really distinct nostril that ventures from vanilla-soaked leather-based to a really clear sense of allspice berries and floor clove with a touch of cornbread batter and mushy oak.
Palate: There’s a light-weight sense of caramel apples on the palate main towards Johnnycakes lined in butter and honey with a light-weight nutmeg lurking within the background.
End: The end arrives with a touch of dry reeds that find yourself on a vanilla cream with brown spices.
Backside Line:
Heaven Hill is one other distillery that may churn out nice and cheap booze for the lots. That is the right place to start out. This whiskey is easygoing and gives a pleasant basic steadiness of Kentucky bourbon vibes.
93. Bradshaw Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 51.9%
Common Worth: $52
The Whiskey:
Bradshaw Bourbon is made by Inexperienced River Distilling Firm in Owensboro, Kentucky. The bourbon is a collab between former Tremendous Bowl champ Terry Bradshaw and Silver Display Bottling Firm, which acts as a form of bottling fixer between a celeb and a distiller or barrel home. The whiskey is a two-year-old bourbon made with 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley, proofed to a hefty 103.8.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This opens with Werther’s Originals and previous library books, with a whiff of aftershave on the nostril that’s oddly comforting.
Palate: A mushy spice drives the palate as dry reeds lead in the direction of cherry toffee and apple candies.
End: The spice warms barely on the end because the tobacco dries out and people reeds make a return.
Backside Line:
This can be a very nostalgic whiskey. Folks pay a ton for old-school classic bourbons which have this taste profile. So in the event you’re on the lookout for a glance again at how bourbon tasted within the Seventies and Nineteen Eighties, seize this.
92. Previous Grand-Dad 114 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 57%
Common Worth: $24
The Whiskey:
Hailing from the James B. Beam stills and warehouses, this “Previous” whiskey is a fan favourite. The whiskey is from Beam’s excessive rye mash invoice. The new juice is then matured till it’s excellent. The barrels are blended, the whiskey is simply touched with water to carry the proof down, and it’s bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Vanilla tobacco meets hints of rye spiciness with a dose of caramel and previous oak on the nostril.
Palate: The palate holds onto that rye spice as notes of cherry and oak dominate the vanilla and toffee sweetness.
End: The tip returns to the spice with a chewy tobacco edge that lingers for a short while however leaves you wanting extra.
Backside Line:
Talking of beloved bourbon from the 70s and 80s, this can be a stone-cold basic. Playing cards on the desk, this doesn’t dwell as much as the variations from again within the day, however it’s nonetheless a top quality bourbon with nice depth and steadiness. Combine with it and benefit from the basic Kentucky heat.
91. Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47%
Common Worth: $25
The Whiskey:
That is Elijah Craig’s entry-point bottle. The mash is corn-focused, with extra malted barley than rye. The whiskey is then rendered from “small batches” of barrels to create this proofed-down model of the long-lasting model.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: There’s a light-weight sense of rickhouse wooden beams subsequent to that delicate taco seasoning on the nostril with caramel apples, vanilla ice cream scoops, and a touch of recent mint with a candy/spicy edge.
Palate: The palate opens with a critically easy vanilla base with some winter spice (particularly cinnamon and allspice) subsequent to a touch of grain and apple pie filling.
End: The tip leans in the direction of the woodiness with a touch of broom bristle and minty tobacco lead undercut by that easy vanilla.
Backside Line:
Heaven Hill can’t miss with nice and reasonably priced bourbon. This expression is an entry level to an excellent model of bourbon. Total, this can be a utility bourbon for mixing, sipping, or taking pictures because the sipper sees match.
90. Buffalo Hint Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Common Worth: $28
The Whiskey:
That is the whiskey that heralded a brand new period of bourbon in 1999. Famed Grasp Distiller Elmer T. Lee got here out of retirement to create this bourbon to have a good time the renaming of the George T. Stagg distillery to Buffalo Hint when Sazerac purchased the joint. The remaining, as they are saying, is historical past, particularly since this has develop into a touchstone bourbon for the model.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Basic notes of vanilla come by means of subsequent to a darkish syrup sweetness, a flourish of recent mint, and uncooked leather-based that veers in the direction of uncooked steak.
Palate: The palate cuts by means of the sweeter notes with loads of spices — like clove and star anise — subsequent to a touch of tart berries beneath all of it.
End: The tip is lengthy, velvety, and actually delivers on the vanilla and spice.
Backside Line:
That is your gateway to all issues Buffalo Hint. This bourbon is tremendous approachable and has a pleasant even circulate. In the long run, you’ll need to make cocktails with this one (when you recover from the thrill of ingesting one thing from Buffalo Hint that’s).
89. Barton 1792 Distillery Thomas S. Moore Cabernet Sauvignon Completed Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47.65%
Common Worth: $81
The Whiskey:
This launch from Sazerac’s different distillery, Barton 1792 Distillery, has develop into a yearly customary launch. The whiskey within the bottle is mostly stored below wraps. We do know that the bourbon is completed in Cabernet Sauvignon casks for a spell earlier than mixing, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Stone fruit and vanilla lead on the nostril with hints of sugar cookies, vivid peach, and old-yet-soft oak.
Palate: The palate leans into cherry bark with plum, mulled wine, vanilla, and sharp sassafras.
End: The spice on the mid-palate results in some previous leather-based, extra of that mushy oak, and a touch of candy potting soil with a plummy end.
Backside Line:
This can be a good bourbon for the wine lovers in your life. It really works as a meals pairing whiskey. It additionally provides nice depth to cocktails.
88. 4 Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Common Worth: $28
The Whiskey:
4 Roses Small Batch Bourbon is a mix of 4 whiskeys. The mix is break up evenly between the excessive and low-rye bourbons with a deal with “slight spice” and “wealthy fruit” yeasts — meaning OBSK, OESK, OBSO, and OESO are within the combine (right here’s what all of meaning). After six to seven years of growing older, the whiskey is mixed, lower with mushy Kentucky water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Comfortable and candy apple and cherry woods greet with an excellent dose of bitter crimson berries dusted with brown winter spices, particularly clove and nutmeg.
Palate: The palate leans into mushy and salted caramel with a touch of these berries beneath whereas the spices get woodier and a skinny line of inexperienced sweetgrass sneaks in.
End: The end is silky and boils all the way down to blackberry jam with an excellent dose of winter spice, previous wooden, and a touch of vanilla tobacco.
Backside Line:
That is the bottle you attain for once you need one thing extra out of your bourbon. The floral and fruity vibes shine by means of, particularly in cocktails, with this one.
87. Jim Beam Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 54%
Common Worth: $20
The Whiskey:
Every of those Jim Beam bottlings is pulled from single barrels that hit simply the appropriate spot of style, texture, and drinkability, in response to the grasp distillers at Beam. Meaning this juice is pulled from lower than one p.c of all barrels in Beam’s warehouses, making this a really particular bottle at a bafflingly reasonably priced value.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with basic notes of vanilla sheet cake, salted caramel, wintry mulled wine spices, and a way of cherry pie in a lard crust subsequent to a touch of dried corn husk, previous broom bristle, and darkish chocolate pipe tobacco.
Palate: The palate layers in floral honey and orange zest subsequent to sticky toffee pudding, previous leather-based, and cherry tobacco layered with the darkish chocolate with this lingering sense of coconut cream pie lurking someplace within the background.
End: The end leans into extra woody winter spices (particularly cinnamon bark and nutmeg) with wealthy toffee and cherry-chocolate tobacco braided with dry sweetgrass and cedar bark.
Backside Line:
That is one other whiskey that simply has no enterprise costing so little for the wonderful high quality of the juice within the bottle.
86. Shortbarrel Single Barrel Sequence Kentucky Straight Bourbon
ABV: 62.8%
Common Worth: $74
The Whiskey:
These Shortbarrel Single Barrel releases are throughout 4 years previous and sourced both from Inexperienced River Distilling in Kentucky or MGP in Indiana. On this case, the whiskey was made in Kentucky and bottled in Georgia.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: There’s a transparent sense of recent orange zest and darkish cherry on the nostril with a touch of winter spice, previous dried prunes, and a touch of black tea.
Palate: The winter spice results in creamy vanilla and eggnog on the style as a peach cobbler with recent vanilla whipped cream results in warming tobacco spices and hints of previous oak.
End: Marmalade and leathery dried apricot counter the vanilla creaminess with a light-weight sense of winter spice barks rolled up with mushy pipe tobacco leaves and dipped in black cherry soda.
Backside Line:
This single barrel of Inexperienced River whiskey is a good sipper or mixer, and a shining instance of the nice stuff popping out of that distillery proper now.
85. Jim Beam Black Additional-Aged Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 43%
Common Worth: $18
The Whiskey:
This expression changed the previous Jim Beam Black Label 8 12 months, which was an enormous favourite amongst the old-school Beam heads. The whiskey on this bottle is aged longer than your common four-year-old Beam, however there is no such thing as a age assertion on precisely how lengthy. I’ve heard issues, however solely rumors. The easiest way to think about it’s that it’s aged for so long as it must be earlier than batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: A transparent sense of costly vanilla beans subsequent to apple cotton sweet, honey-buttered cornbread, mushy oak staves, and Dr. Brown’s Cherry work by means of the nostril.
Palate: The style has a touch of sourdough apple-cinnamon old school doughnuts subsequent to vanilla pound cake with a touch of poppy seed and orange zest, a whisper of clove and anise, and a smidge of pecan pie.
End: The tip has a dried vanilla tobacco vibe by the use of spiced apple cider and previous cinnamon sticks subsequent to a touch of raisins and bruised peach skins.
Backside Line:
That is one other Jim Beam whiskey that simply slaps. It’s easy, certain. Nevertheless it will get the job finished with actual depth, sippability, and mixability at an awesome value.
84. Bulleit Bourbon 10 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45.6%
Common Worth: $45
The Whiskey:
That is basic (sourced) Bulleit Bourbon that’s aged as much as 10 years earlier than it’s blended and bottled. The barrels are hand-selected to essentially amplify these basic “Bulleit” flavors that make this model so rattling accessible (and beloved) within the first place.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: So much is occurring with butter and spicy stewed apples, maple syrup, Christmas desserts filled with nuts and dried fruit, and a touch of savory herbs all pinging by means of your nostril.
Palate: The palate brings about easy and creamy vanilla with loads of butter toffee, sourdough crust, extra X-mas spice, cedar bark, and a touch of dried roses.
End: The end is lengthy, warming, and actually embraces the toffee and spice with a touch of these roasting herbs sneaking in late.
Backside Line:
I do know it’s early within the listing, however I’ve to say it. For those who get just one bottle of Bulleit Bourbon on your dwelling bar, that is it. This whiskey can do no matter you need it to do.
83. Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $18
The Whiskey:
Heaven Hill makes nice whiskey, particularly cheap bottled in bonds (as we’ve proven on this listing). This “b-i-b” is tailor-made for the Evan Williams taste profile. Nonetheless, that is Heaven Hill, so we’re speaking about the identical mash invoice, similar warehouses, and similar mixing crew as beloved bourbons like Elijah Craig and all different Heaven Hill bourbon releases. That is merely constructed to match a higher-end Evan Williams vibe.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: There’s a stunning nostril at play with mushy taco combine spice subsequent to creamy vanilla, caramel-dipped cherries, a touch of pear skins, and loads of nutmeg.
Palate: The palate has a minor notice of cornbread muffins subsequent to cherry-vanilla tobacco with a splash of leather-based and toffee.
End: The tip leans into some recent gingerbread with a vanilla frosting subsequent to hints of pear sweet lower with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Backside Line:
Once more, this feels criminally under-priced for a way good the whiskey within the bottle is. It’s not mind-blowing however it’s nonetheless scrumptious.
82. Michter’s US*1 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45.7%
Common Worth: $43
The Whiskey:
Michter’s actually means the phrase “small batch” right here. The tank they use to marry their hand-selected eight-year-old bourbons can solely maintain 20 barrels, in order that’s what number of go into every small-batch bottling. The blended juice is then proofed with Kentucky’s famously mushy limestone water and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril on that is very fruity with a mixture of bruised peach, crimson berries (nearly like in a cream soda), and apple wooden subsequent to a plate of waffles with brown butter and an excellent pour of maple syrup that results in a touch of cotton sweet.
Palate: The sweetness ebbs on the palate as vanilla frosting results in grilled peaches with a crack of black pepper subsequent to singed marshmallows.
End: The tip is plummy and filled with wealthy toffee subsequent to a splash of cedar bark and vanilla tobacco.
Backside Line:
That is Michter’s gateway bourbon, however don’t let that maintain you again. This is a wonderful cocktail bourbon that’ll make any whiskey-forward cocktail shine. It additionally works completely effectively as a sipper over some rocks.
That’s versatility!
81. Peerless Double Oak Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 53.55%
Common Worth: $114
The Whiskey:
This whiskey from Kentucky Peerless is round 5 to 6 years previous and comes from one barrel that lets the grains shine by means of earlier than it goes into one other new oak barrel for a last maturation to let the oak shine by means of. That last barrel is bottled at cask power, as-is, permitting all that lovely bourbon and oak growing older to shine brightly.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This opens with a nostril filled with salted butter subsequent to hints of very mushy leather-based, mild notes of vanilla bean, a contact of toffee sweetness, and freshly cracked walnuts with a dry edge.
Palate: The style leans into that oak barrel with dashes of woody spices (assume allspice berries, star anise, and cinnamon sticks), dry cherry tobacco leaves, salted caramel, and extra of that tremendous mushy leather-based.
End: That leads in the direction of a mid-palate of darkish crimson fruits stewed in mulled wine spices and lower with a dollop of recent honey earlier than the (lengthy) end dries out in the direction of an previous wicker chair, a really distinct trace of a cellar funk, and a contact of dried mint.
Backside Line:
This can be a huge and daring sipping whiskey. For those who’re on the lookout for a brash rush of woody spices balanced by deep sweetness, that is going to be your jam.
80. Larceny Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch No. B523
ABV: 62.2%
Common Worth: $59
The Whiskey:
The spring 2023 version of Larceny is a banger. The whiskey is a barrel-strength model of Larceny wheated bourbon (68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley) created for a small batch of six to eight-year-old barrels. These barrels come collectively and go into the bottle 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril runs deep with darkish chili pepper spice subsequent to salted caramel, cherry cake, and wealthy vanilla with a touch of nuttiness.
Palate: The style is lush with a deep sense of creamy winter spices combined into mincemeat pies and eggnog subsequent to malted buckwheat pancakes drizzled in toffee syrup and sprinkled with roasted walnuts, pecans, and almonds with a whisper of untamed sage.
End: Sharp cinnamon bark and cherry vanilla tobacco spherical out the end with a pleasant steadiness of creaminess and sharp woody spice resulting in a heat and lengthy Kentucky hug (ABV heat).
Backside Line:
There are three Larceny Barrel Proof drops yearly. For those who’re on the lookout for one which’s nonetheless on the shelf, that is the one to purchase. It’s deeply hewn, balanced, and really tasty as a sipper or cocktail base.
79. Maker’s Mark Cask Power Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
ABV: 56.25%
Common Worth: $42
The Whisky:
This particular launch from Maker’s Mark is their basic wheated bourbon turned up a number of notches. The batch is comprised of not more than 19 barrels of whiskey. As soon as batched, that whiskey goes into the barrel at cask power with no filtering, simply pure whiskey-from-the-barrel vibes.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Burnt caramel candies and luxurious vanilla prepared the ground on the nostril with hints of dry straw, bitter cherry pie, and spiced apple cider with a contact of eggnog lushness.
Palate: The palate has a way of spicy caramel with a vanilla base that results in apricot jam, southern biscuits, and a flake of salt with a mushy mocha creaminess.
End: The tip is all in regards to the buzzy tobacco spiciness with a mushy vanilla underbelly and a touch of cherry syrup.
Backside Line:
That is Maker’s for hardcore bourbon followers. It’s wonderful in your favourite whiskey-forward cocktail or as a gradual sipper over some good ice.
78. Evan Williams Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 43.3%
Common Worth: $38
The Whiskey:
That is Heaven Hill’s hand-selected single barrel Evan Williams expression. The whiskey is from a single barrel, labeled with its distillation yr, proofed simply above 86, and bottled as is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This has a pleasant nostril filled with woody cherry and salted caramel with a tart apple edge and a mushy leatheriness.
Palate: The palate feels and tastes “basic” with notes of wintry spices (eggnog particularly) with a lush creaminess supported by mushy vanilla, a touch of orange zest, and loads of spicy cherry tobacco.
End: The tip is supple with a touch of tart apple tobacco with a light-weight caramel sweet end.
Backside Line:
After you’ve tried the opposite Evan Williams on this listing, that is the place you find yourself for all times. That is the Evan Williams that you simply purchase a case of for sipping all through the entire yr.
77. Previous Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky 1920 Prohibition Type
ABV: 57.5%
Common Worth: $62
The Whisky:
Getting again to the years on the bottles, this expression “celebrates” the Volstead Act of 1920, which just about banned alcohol within the U.S. What that is actually celebrating is that Previous Forester was one among solely six distilleries that had been in a position to preserve making and promoting whisky (for medicinal functions) throughout Prohibition. And that period’s manufacturing is what this mix mimics.
Tasting Word:
Nostril: That basic choco-cherry notice that quite a lot of Previous Forester has come by means of on the highest of this nostril with maple syrup-soaked cedar subsequent to a faint contact of caramel apple.
Palate: The palate is barely nutty, bordering on Pecan Sandies, with a continuation of that maple syrup main in the direction of mild pepperiness that’s nearly like cumin because the cedar comes again into play.
End: The mid-palate sweetens fairly dramatically with a Caro Syrup really feel to it because the spice hits on a wintery vibe and the style ends with a end of (nearly smoked) darkish chocolate powder on the very backend.
Backside Line:
There are cheaper Previous Foresters to start out with, however that is so good (each as a sipper and mixer) that you simply actually can leap forward within the pack and begin right here.
76. Blackwood Toasted Bourbon Batch #3
ABV: 59.3%
Common Worth: $149
The Whiskey:
This new model has Kentucky Derby historical past that runs deep. Guinness McFadden co-founded the model with the companions behind Justins’ Home Of Bourbon. McFadden additionally occurs to be the co-owner of 2019 Kentucky Derby winner Nation Home and constructed this whiskey round his stables in japanese Kentucky. The juice within the bottle is native bourbon with a mash invoice of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. After an excellent spell of resting, the whiskey is re-barrelled in a freshly toasted oak barrel for a last maturation earlier than bottling as-is straight from the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril attracts you in with a deep sense of recent vanilla pods and wealthy salted caramel with a way of previous wicker garden furnishings on a sunny day, mushy pipe tobacco kissed with cherry, and a light-weight sense of mincemeat pies and toffee dipped in darkish chocolate.
Palate: Pecan and maple drive the style in the direction of a rush of Kentucky hug heat, dry cedar, and previous glove leather-based with a touch of dried mint and perhaps some chocolate-covered espresso beans lower with vanilla and clove.
End: The spices tackle a woodiness and mix with dry cedar bark, previous vanilla pods, and chewy pipe tobacco with a splash of salted caramel butteriness and pecan waffle consolation.
Backside Line:
This small bottler continues to be very area of interest. So in the event you’re in Kentucky and trying to carry dwelling a superb bottle to wow your loved ones or crew, seize a few these.
75. Johnny Drum Personal Inventory 101 Kentucky Bourbon
ABV: 50.5%
Common Worth: $44
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is hewn from Kentucky Bourbon Distillery barrels (often known as Willett). The barrels are batched and proofed down with native Bardstown water for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This begins out with apple pie filling overstuffed with quite a lot of cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, and vanilla that every one leads towards salted caramel.
Palate: The style has this delicate orange really feel with a notice of darkish chocolate, cinnamon cream soda, and apple fritters with a touch of sourdough funk to them.
End: The tip has a lightness that appears like Dr. Pepper with a touch of cherry syrup subsequent to woody winter spices and a contact of alcohol heat (or a “Kentucky Hug” if you’ll).
Backside Line:
This can be a great spot to start out your Willett obsession (with out breaking the financial institution). This can be a excellent sipper over ice or cocktail base for any cocktail you want.
74. Henry McKenna Single Barrel Aged 10 Years Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $79
The Whiskey:
This very reasonably priced providing from Heaven Hill is tough to beat at its value. The juice makes use of a contact of rye within the mash invoice and is then aged for ten lengthy years in a bonded rickhouse. The perfect barrels are chosen by hand and the whiskey is bottled with only a contact of water to carry it all the way down to bottled-in-bond proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens barely tannic with wealthy orange zest and vanilla cream subsequent to woody winter spice, recent mint, and moist cedar with a touch of gingerbread and burnt cherry.
Palate: The palate hits on mushy vanilla white cake with a salted caramel drizzle and burnt orange zest vibe subsequent to apple/pear tobacco leaves dipped in toffee and almond.
End: The tip has a bitter cherry sensation that results in wintery woody spices, cedar bark, and previous cellar beams with a lush vanilla pod and cherry stem end.
Backside Line:
That is a kind of whiskeys that will get a ton of hype. Fortunately, that hype is sporting off and you may get this once more at MSRP (I noticed six sitting on the shelf this week at my native liquor retailer). Seize some and see what all of the fuss is about (spoiler alert: It’s actually tasty basic bourbon).
73. Heaven Hill Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled-In-Bond
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $56
The Whiskey:
This expression has been a touchstone “bottled-in-bond” since 1939 and stays a go-to for a lot of bourbon lovers. The whiskey is the basic Heaven Hill bourbon mash invoice that’s left to age for an additional three years in comparison with Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond (additionally from Heaven Hill and the identical base spirit).
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril attracts you in with this wealthy and creamy vanilla ice cream (you recognize the type that’s probably labeled “Tahitian”) that’s drizzled with a buttery and salty caramel sauce subsequent to mushy leather-based and dried apple blossoms with a touch of previous cedar bark braids.
Palate: A floral honey vibe melds with Graham Crackers on the palate as creamy toffee lined in crushed almonds mingles with vanilla-laced pipe tobacco and previous leather-bound books.
End: There’s a little bit of freshly floor nutmeg close to the tip that results in a light-weight cherry tobacco notice with whispers of previous cellar beams and winter spices on the end.
Backside Line:
This was created to fill within the hole when Henry McKenna 10 was unobtainable. It’s the identical juice only a tad youthful. However I’d argue that that is the prime bourbon now. It’s a superb cocktail bourbon which you can additionally simply sip over an enormous rock.
72. Inexperienced River Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Bitter Mash Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Common Worth: $37
The Whiskey:
This 2023 launch from Bardstown Bourbon Firm’s Inexperienced River distillery is a wheated basic. The whiskey within the bottle is comprised of a mash invoice (recipe) of 70% Kentucky-grown corn, 21% wheat, and 9% malted 6-Row barley. That whiskey then spends 4 to 6 years mellowing earlier than batching, proofing, and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This pops on the nostril with wealthy caramel subsequent to mushy roasted peach and apricot subsequent to a rush of cinnamon bark and nutmeg with a creamy vibe.
Palate: Toffee drives the palate towards Nutella and honey over buttermilk biscuits with an apple/pear tobacco aura that results in a mushy orange.
End: The tip is wealthy and filled with stewed fruits — peach, pear, orange, raisins — and a gentle sense of oaky spice and a gentle graininess.
Backside Line:
This can be a nice entry into the Kentucky wheated bourbon scene. This whiskey makes a killer quaint.
71. Jim Beam Lineage Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey A Father And Son Collaboration
ABV: 55%
Common Worth: $250
The Whiskey:
This whiskey was launched for the struggling journey retail market final yr after which acquired a distillery bottle store launch as effectively. The whiskey within the bespoke bottle is a 15-year-old basic Beam bourbon that was aged on particular ricks in Warehouse Okay (essentially the most famed warehouse on the Clermont, Kentucky campus). Father and son Fred and Freddie Noe each chosen the barrels to make this mix and launched it nearly utterly as-is with only a drop of that mushy Kentucky limestone water.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril is basic from the leap with a mushy caramel sweet with vanilla buttercream frosting over spiced choco-cherry cake, a contact of clove-studded burnt orange rind, and mushy marzipan with a touch of previous oak cellars.
Palate: The palate is lush with a way of Black Forest cake — stewed cherries, vanilla cream, moist chocolate cake, dry darkish chocolate shavings — subsequent to a bunch of woody and barky winter spices with a touch of hazelnut and burnt orange.
End: The tip leans ever-so-slightly into previous cedar bark and wealthy spiced cherry tobacco layered with darkish chocolate-covered espresso beans and a touch of sharp mint and perhaps some extra of that clove.
Backside Line:
That is the mountaintop of Jim Beam. For those who’re a fan of their whiskey even remotely, this shall be an exquisite deal with to graduate to.
70. 2XO Gem of Kentucky Barrel #01 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 54%
Common Worth: $227
The Whiskey:
Dixon Dedman’s 2023 launch is from his personal double-barreled shares of barrels. On this case, Dedman selected a high-rye bourbon mash invoice that spent and further yr in new charred oak earlier than bottling with a drop of water.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Darkish chocolate lower with cinnamon and crimson chili pepper is countered by completely roasted marshmallows, prunes, dates, and figs with deeply creamy nutmeg-heavy eggnog.
Palate: That eggnog spice kicks up on the palate with further allspice, clove, and cinnamon subsequent to brandy-soaked dates and pears with a touch of freshly cracked black pepper lurking beneath all of it.
End: That pepperiness kicks up a bit extra on the end with extra woody spice barks and buds layered into creamy vanilla and pear brandy-soaked marzipan dipped in darkish chocolate.
Backside Line:
This can be a distinctive and really deep whiskey. For those who’re on the lookout for one thing that really stands out in your assortment, get this.
69. Jeptha Creed RWB Heirloom Mash Invoice Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $82
The Whiskey:
This whiskey was launched for Veteran’s Day late final yr. The mash is a mixture of 25% Bloody Butcher corn, 25% heirloom white corn, 25% Bruce’s Blue corn, 20% malted rye, and 5% malted barley. That juice is aged for at the very least 4 years earlier than mixing, proofing, and bottling for this particular once-per-year launch.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with hints of wicker, previous leather-based, apple and pear cider, and an excellent dose of burnt orange and previous oak.
Palate: The palate has a salted caramel vibe that results in pecan waffles with loads of maple syrup and butter subsequent to burnt orange tobacco leaves and a contact of vacation spices.
End: The tip leans into these woody vacation spices with a way of caramel candies and allspice-spiked apple cider with a touch of previous apple orchard wooden and bark.
Backside Line:
This can be a nice Kentucky artful so as to add to your bar cart. It’s 100% its personal factor with a novel taste profile that leans into basic bourbon notes alongside deep artful notes (this feels prefer it was made by hand).
68. Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45.2%
Common Worth: $49
The Whiskey:
This expression takes customary Woodford Bourbon and provides it a of completion. The six to eight-year-old bourbon is mixed and moved into new barrels which have been double-toasted however solely frivolously charred. The whiskey spends a last 9 months resting in these barrels earlier than proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: There’s a welcoming aroma of butterscotch, blackberry, toffee, and recent honey subsequent to an actual sense of pitchy, dry firewood.
Palate: The style drills down on these notes because the candy marzipan turns into extra choco-hazelnut, the berries develop into more and more dried and apple-y, the toffee turns into nearly burnt, and the wooden softens to a cedar bark.
End: A wealthy spicy and chewy tobacco arrives late because the vanilla will get tremendous creamy and the fruit and honey mix on the gradual fade.
Backside Line:
That is the highest of Woodford Reserve’s mainstream line, and it’s an awesome goddamn whiskey. Combine it, sip it, hell, shoot it and also you’ll be in good palms.
67. Bardstown Bourbon Firm Origin Sequence Botted-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $49
The Whiskey:
This brand-new launch from Bardstown Bourbon Firm is 100% their very own whiskey. The juice is comprised of a wheated bourbon mash invoice — 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley — down in Bardstown, Kentucky. The whiskey spends about six years mellowing earlier than it’s simply kissed with native water and bottled at 100 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril attracts you in with a way of orange Jolly Ranchers, powdered cacao, and stewed peaches with basic bourbon vanilla and an oaky vibe.
Palate: The palate is a mixture of apricot jam, pear cores, and crimson berries with a mixture of spiced orange sweet tobacco wrapped round dry wicker and cedar bark.
End: The tip leans into the candy and spiced orange whereas the tobacco slowly fades by means of candy caramel and vanilla buttercream towards a silky end.
Backside Line:
A part of Bardstown Bourbon Firm’s first absolutely own-make sequence, this whiskey slaps as a straightforward on a regular basis sipper or killer cocktail base.
66. Michter’s US*1 Restricted Launch Barrel Power Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 55.3%
Common Worth: $109
The Whiskey:
Michter’s fills their barrels with 103-proof sizzling juice off the stills. After a handful of years spent growing older, that proof inches upwards because the angels take their share. Often, the whiskey is lower with that mushy Kentucky limestone water earlier than bottling however not on this case. That is pulled from single honey barrels that had been simply too good to chop and bottled on the Fort Nelson Distillery proper on Louisville’s Whiskey Row.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril attracts you deep into the basic bourbon ecosystem of wealthy buttery toffees subsequent to salted darkish chocolate-covered cherries, a contact of smoked stone fruits, and a minor notice of spicy tobacco leaf.
Palate: The palate delivers on these notes because the tobacco spice amps up earlier than being smoothed out by wealthy and creamy vanilla, salted caramel, and apricot stone dryness.
End: That dryness drives the mid-palate in the direction of the end with a pecan shell vibe subsequent to barely bitter singed cedar bark.
Backside Line:
That is Michter’s bourbon turned as much as max quantity. The wonder right here is that boldness doesn’t overpower the refined steadiness of the basic bourbon. Drink this one nevertheless you prefer it and also you’ll be in for an awesome pour of Kentucky bourbon.
65. New Riff Excessive Word Sequence: Bohemian Wheat Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 8-12 months-Previous
ABV: 58.95%
Common Worth: $69
The Whiskey:
This late 2023 launch from New Riff is all in regards to the wheat. The whiskey is made with 65% non-GMO corn, 18% Bohemian floor-malted wheat, 10% unmalted wheat, and seven% darkish wheat. The whiskey was then small batched and bottled 100% as-is to focus on the work that the wooden and wheated bourbon underwent over years of resting on the Ohio River.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril appears like strolling into an previous bread bakery in Central Europe early within the morning earlier than hitting this notice of freshly fried apple fritters and old school doughnuts, a contact of prune, plum, and date, and an excellent dose of sentimental winter spice.
Palate: The palate is dry however filled with sourdough bread crusts, Graham Crackers, and Fig Newtons with a contact of huckleberry jam, dry sweetgrass braided with smudging sage, and a contact of straw bale earlier than the woody spice kicks in with a cinnamon bark focus.
End: The tip leans into the woody spices with a contact of clove, allspice, and nutmeg earlier than sweetgrass and bread crusts take over with a touch of buttery cream.
Backside Line:
New Riff is at all times going to have a unbelievable and one-of-a-kind whiskey out there at their bottle store. This is likely one of the greatest ones — not simply of the final yr — however usually. If you may get some, get a case as a result of we could by no means see this one once more.
64. Kentucky Senator Bourbon Launch #4: John Sherman Cooper Very Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 8 Years Previous
ABV: 54%
Common Worth: $134
The Whiskey:
That newest version of Kentucky Senator honors one among Kentucky’s largest names within the Senate within the twentieth century. Senator Cooper was an expensive buddy of JFK and served as all the pieces from a choose to international ambassador. The whiskey within the bottle is a Bardstown bourbon made with 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. That sizzling juice was aged for eight years earlier than six barrels had been chosen for this small batch. As soon as batched, the whiskey was simply touched with water earlier than bottling, yielding just one,000 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Comfortable spiced stewed cherry lower with orange oils and lined in salted caramel and vanilla crumble mingles with mushy oak on the nostril with this fleeting sense of Cherry Dr. Pepper and cedar kindling.
Palate: Walnut bread with a whisper of orange and banana drives the palate towards dried cherries dipped in salted darkish chocolate and piled excessive on a pecan waffle with salted caramel drizzle and whipped buttercream earlier than a touch of white pepper sneaks in.
End: Orange-cinnamon syrup drives the end towards leathery tobacco rolled with cedar bark and smudging sage on the gradual and heat end.
Backside Line:‘
Kentucky Senator has a penchant for choosing wonderful barrels for his or her small batch releases and this model is a chief instance of that. That is simply actually good whiskey, people. Want I say extra?
63. Rooster Cock Crimson Stave Petite Sirah Barrel End Kentucky Straight Bourbon
ABV: 51.2%
Common Worth: $199
The Whiskey:
Rooster Cock is nice at dropping huge restricted releases yearly. 2023’s huge bourbon was a “Crimson Stave” Kentucky straight bourbon comprised of a mash invoice of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley. That whiskey is left to age for an undisclosed period of time earlier than being re-barrelled into choose J. Wilkes Petite Sirah barrels for a last mellowing run.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a candy mulled wine lower with piney honey, loads of spice barks, and hints of dried crimson berries earlier than veering towards creamy toffee and vanilla beans.
Palate: Wild berry jam and daring winter spices mingle with wealthy darkish chocolate, creamed honey, and vanilla lattes on the palate earlier than the mulled wine spices begin sneaking in and constructing.
End: The mulled wine-soaked crimson berries and raisins drive the end towards a lush toffee and vanilla cream with a daring warming winter spice layered right into a wealthy pipe tobacco.
Backside Line:
That is one other nice and distinctive pour that pushes past the basic or common into one thing really particular. Test it out, particularly in the event you’re on the lookout for a fruit-forward creamy bourbon expertise.
62. Hirsch The Cask Power Kentucky Straight Bourbon Completed In Cognac Casks
ABV: 63.5%
Common Worth: $210
The Whiskey:
This cask-strength model of Hirsch is comprised of a basic bourbon mash of 72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% malted barley. That sizzling juice then rests for six years in new American oak. These barrels are batched after which re-filled into 30-year-old Hine XO positive cognac casks for an additional year-and-a-half of resting. Lastly, the whiskey is batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril feels lush and oaky with a way of Christmas cookies, mincemeat pies, and sticky toffee pudding subsequent to stewed plums over recent scones with a touch of brandy butter.
Palate: Previous leather-based boots full of cinnamon bark and a medley of dates, figs, and prunes result in chocolate lower with crimson chili and vanilla and kissed with salt and dry cedar.
End: That cinnamon bark intensifies with darkish crimson fruit, mild chili pepperiness, and a way of previous malted cookies dipped in vanilla toffee on the very finish.
Backside Line:
That is one other whiskey that’s simply nice. It really works wonders as a winter sipper or cocktail base for whiskey-forward cocktails. However don’t let that cease you from pouring this whereas sitting round a campfire in the summertime both. Simply roast some marshmallows and it will pair completely.
61. Baker’s Single Barrel 13 Years Minimal Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 53.5%
Common Worth: $450
The Whiskey:
This 2023 re-release of Beam’s Restricted Version “Minimal 13 12 months” Baker’s is a must have bottle. The whiskey within the bottle is from single barrels that hit simply the appropriate mark for one thing particular. Past that, there’s not a lot else to know in addition to that is Baker’s at a excessive age that shines vivid.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: There’s a pleasant sense of dried sweetgrass, salted ballpark peanuts, and previous vanilla pods that results in softer notes of marzipan, vanilla sheet cake, and delicate cherry.
Palate: Comfortable winter spices and minty tobacco drive the palate towards smudging sage and roasting herbs with a way of marzipan slowly constructing on the mid-palate with a minor key of orange and cherry.
End: The vanilla sneaks in on the end with extra roasting herbs and dry grassiness with a touch of menthol, peanut shell, and distant oak.
Backside Line:
That is so outdoors of the norm relating to Beam whiskey. That makes this a particular whiskey that’s additionally very tasty as a gradual sipper.
60. Woodford Reserve Historic Barrel Entry Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45.2%
Common Worth: $129
The Whiskey:
This 2022 Grasp’s Assortment (that was launched in February 2023) experiments with entry proof. Grasp Distillers Chris Morris and Elizabeth McCall loaded this whiskey into barrels at a low 100-proof and let it do its factor (125 proof is the business customary although that varies wildly as of late). As soon as the whiskey in these barrels hit the most effective taste profile, it was bottled utterly as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril attracts you in with actual vanilla pods layers into apple-cinnamon espresso cake, spice-rich eggnog, hazelnut cream, black cherry pie filling, and a flutter of recent and sharp spearmint dipped in creamy darkish chocolate after which hit with a flake of smoked salt.
Palate: The espresso cake leans towards banana bread with walnuts on the palate as huckleberry jam leans into an nearly bitter creamy espresso with a shot of mint chocolate syrup.
End: Burnt orange arrives late to chop by means of the sweetness and provides some extra bitterness as previous oak and dry tobacco spherical issues out.
Backside Line:
This can be a large whiskey on the entrance finish that will get refined and fruity because it fades by means of your senses. It’s an exquisite trip as a gradual sipper, particularly over an enormous piece of ice.
59. Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $149
The Whiskey:
Buffalo Hint’s Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch is an entry level to the opposite 12 expressions launched below the E.H. Taylor, Jr. label. The whiskey is comprised of Buffalo Hint’s iconic Mash Invoice No. 1 (which is a low rye recipe). The ultimate whiskey within the bottle is a mix of barrels that meet the precise proper taste profiles Buffalo Hint’s blenders are on the lookout for in a basic bottled-in-bond bourbon for Taylor.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a way of sentimental corn mush with a touch of recent inexperienced chili, Saigon cinnamon (just a little candy), orchard tree bark, and the black mildew that grows on all of the whiskey warehouses in Kentucky.
Palate: The palate leans into buttery toffee with a twinge of black licorice subsequent to cinnamon-spiced darkish chocolate tobacco and a touch of huckleberry pie with vanilla ice cream.
End: The tip has a salted caramel sweetness that leads again to a touch of candy cinnamon and darkish tobacco with a light-weight sense of the fermentation room with a touch of candy gruel.
Backside Line:
That is the whiskey you graduate to when you’ve bored with Buffalo Hint Bourbon. Whereas this can be a completely nice sipper, it makes killer whiskey-forward cocktails.
58. Wild Turkey Uncommon Breed Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58.4%
Common Worth: $53
The Whiskey:
That is the mountaintop of what the primary line of Wild Turkey can obtain (that is simply discovered on liquor retailer cabinets for essentially the most half). This can be a mix of the prime barrels which are married and bottled untouched. Meaning no filtering and no reducing with water. This can be a basic Turkey bourbon with nowhere to cover.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This opens like a dessert desk through the holidays with crème brûlée subsequent to an enormous sticky toffee pudding with orange zest sprinkled excessive subsequent to a bushel of recent mint.
Palate: The palate hits an early notice of pine resin because the orange kicks up in the direction of a daring wintry spice, mushy vanilla cream, and a touch of honeyed cherry tobacco.
End: The tip retains the winter spices entrance and middle as a lush pound cake feeling results in mushy notes of cherry-spiced tobacco leaves folded into an previous cedar field with a whisper of previous vanilla pods lurking within the background.
Backside Line:
Wild Turkey will get wonderful on the upper finish (even with the nationally out there bottles like this). That is just about excellent bourbon from prime to backside. It really works as a splendidly basic sipper or in your favourite cocktail.
57. Legent Yamazaki Cask End Mix
ABV: 57%
Common Worth: $214
The Whiskey:
This new model of Legent leans into the wedding of Kentucky and Japan within the bottle. The whiskey is a straight bourbon from Beam that spent eight years mellowing in Kentucky. That whiskey was then despatched to the Yamazaki Distillery outdoors of Kyoto, Japan the place mixing legend Shinji Fukuyo transferred the whiskey into French and Spanish oak casks for an additional relaxation earlier than batching once more and re-filling the whiskey into the unimaginable Yamazaki Spanish Oak whisky casks for a last relaxation earlier than mixing, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a leathery sense of previous dried chilis which have simply been kissed with warmth earlier than a way of dried cranberry and wealthy malted chocolate take the nostril towards mushy plummy desserts full of sentimental powdered spices.
Palate: A touch of maltiness comes by means of early on the palate with a fleeting sense of smoked crimson berries earlier than deep vanilla buttercream creates a luscious basis for wealthy pipe tobacco, cranberry sauce lower with anise, clove, and nutmeg, sticky toffee pudding, and mulled wine lower with toffee and dry reeds.
End: The spices heat on the end earlier than descending towards mushy nutcakes and winter-spiced doughnuts with a light-weight sense of stewed plum and pear over previous saddle leather-based and rickhouse dank.
Backside Line:
Legent has been in the marketplace for a number of years now, and it’s an awesome Manhattan base. This takes that nuanced and vibrant whiskey and amps it as much as even increased ranges of decadence. This can be a distinctive and new feeling bourbon that’s a must-try for anybody on the lookout for a luxurious expertise of their bourbon glass.
56. Rabbit Gap Heigold Singel Barrel Cask Power Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 52.8%
Common Worth: $173
The Whiskey:
This can be a four-year-old single-barrel model of Rabbit Gap’s beloved Heigold expression. That’s the model’s double malt (malted rye and malted barley) that has a high-rye bourbon mash invoice (70/25/5 corn/malted rye/malted barley).
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril is lush with deep layers of maple syrup over pecan waffles with an excellent hit of salted butter (actually good butter) subsequent to darkish chocolate chips, previous boot leather-based, smudging sage that’s simply smoldering, and a fleeting sense of previous rickhouses on a crisp fall day.
Palate: The palate follows the nostril’s path with caramelized pecans completed with floral honey and dusted with candied orange peels, floor pear chips, and really darkish chocolate with a pinch of salt and apple blossom earlier than the sharp and woody winter spice kicks in.
End: The tip leans into the dryness of the winter spice combine earlier than silky marzipan and maple syrup creamed with butter create a luscious end that slowly fades from heat to comforting.
Backside Line:
Rabbit Gap is a strong art-forward distillery in Louisville. The perfect place to start out your journey with this bespoke whiskey is to dive proper into their single-barrel releases. They’re at all times nice in their very own approach, so that you’ll get one thing particular and distinctive with every one. Plus, you’ll get a cool piece of artwork on every label.
55. Misplaced Lantern Single Cask Sequence New Riff Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58.1%
Common Worth: $90
The Whiskey:
This single cask bottling from Misplaced Lantern is a one-of-a-kind Kentucky barrel from New Riff Distilling (throughout the river from Cincinnati). The whiskey within the barrel was a low-corn bourbon (65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley) aged for 4 years. The barrel was bottled at cask power and yielded round 120 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This opens with a deep burnt caramel sweetness that provides method to five-spice powder over fatty smoked pork subsequent to darkish cherry cola and wealthy and clear tobacco.
Palate: That tobacco is recent and vibrant on the palate because the fatty smoked pork drives the style towards wealthy darkish chocolate sauce, winter spice medleys, and campfire toasted marshmallows.
End: Mulled wine and apple cider spices drive the end to some moist brown sugar, extra darkish cherry cola, and a touch of buttermilk biscuit with marmalade simply kissed with that five-spice powder.
Backside Line:
Misplaced Lantern has been pulling a number of the greatest single barrel picks from distilleries throughout America. This Bluegrass State bourbon from New Riff is a wonderful instance of the deep understanding of whiskey the crew at Misplaced Lantern has — it’s straight-up scrumptious and really one-of-a-kind.
54. Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 55%
Common Worth: $83
The Whiskey:
This can be a excessive water mark of what customary Wild Turkey can obtain. The Russells choose the “honey barrels” (these particular barrels which are as a lot magic as craft) from their rickhouses for single barrel bottling. The ensuing whiskey is non-chill filtered however is lower down barely to proof with that mushy Kentucky water.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Vanilla cream spiked with orange oils and sprinkled with toasted coconut mingle with spicy oak and buttery cake on the nostril with an underpinning of winter spices by the use of a bitter mulled wine.
Palate: The palate opens with simple notes of marzipan, refined dried roses, vanilla pods, extra winter spices, and singed cherry bark.
End: The tip arrives with a way of Almond Pleasure subsequent to cherry tobacco dipped in chili-infused darkish chocolate with a flake of salt and a pinch of cedar mud and previous leather-based saddles.
Backside Line:
That is one other Wild Turkey product that you simply can’t skip in your Kentucky bourbon journey. That is scrumptious sipping whiskey that highlights the quintessential great thing about the nice whiskey Wild Turkey makes.
53. Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged Restricted Version 2023 Launch
ABV: 57.85%
Common Worth: $149
The Whiskey:
Maker’s Mark is a strong wheated bourbon. That signifies that once they do one thing particular for a restricted version, it’s typically wonderful. On this case, Maker’s launched a brand new batch of 11 and 12-year-old wheated bourbon barrels on this cask power expression. Lengthy story brief, that is well-aged Maker’s turned all the way in which up.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Darkish cedar and previous leathery dates and apricots come by means of on the nostril with a way of crème brûlée (particularly the burnt sugar topping), darkish berry fruit leather-based, and a smoldering sense of previous oak staves roasting some cinnamon bark and cloves.
Palate: The vanilla takes on a burnt bean pod vibe as lengthy notes of winter spice barks lead again to darkish berry crumbles and cobblers with a pointy heat tied to smoldering oak staves, pipe tobacco, and smudging sage.
End: The tip will get tremendous creamy due to the vanilla buttercream and eggnog spices because the darkish berry fruit leather-based gives a counterpoint earlier than the previous cedar kindling and sage take again over.
Backside Line:
What we’re right here is the primary high-age-statement bourbon from Maker’s Mark. That is nearly twice the age of their common releases and it’s freaking scrumptious. If you may get your palms on a bottle, purchase two.
52. Inexperienced River Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Full Proof
ABV: 59.5%
Common Worth: $59
The Whiskey:
The most recent addition to the core Inexperienced River lineup is a doozy. The Kentucky whiskey is a rye-forward single-barrel bourbon. The mash invoice is 70% Kentucky-grown corn with 21% rye and 9% malted barley. That whiskey rests for at the very least 5 years earlier than water is added to carry the proof again all the way down to entry proof, therefore “full proof”. The whiskey is then bottled straight from the barrel as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Cream soda and honeycomb greet you on the nostril with a light-weight sense of spiced vacation desserts, vanilla sheet cake, soft-dried chili, and previous woody spice.
Palate: The honey and vanilla bond on the palate to create a luscious mouthfeel that results in balanced notes of sharp dried chili spice, mushy worn leather-based, pipe tobacco, and wealthy walnut bread with loads of butter, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
End: The tip leans towards the leather-based and tobacco with a chili-choco vibe that’s accented by mushy walnut and even softer vanilla.
Backside Line:
This can be a dialed and engaging AF whiskey. Pour it neat, on the rocks, or into your favourite cocktail. You may’t miss.
51. Noah’s Mill Small Batch Real Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 57.15%
Common Worth: $67
The Whiskey:
That is the larger and bolder sibling of Willett’s Rowan’s Creek Bourbon. It’s the identical whiskey — a no-age-statement bourbon that’s comprised of 4 to 15-year-old barrels — that’s barely proofed down with native Kentucky water.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Maple syrup-covered walnuts greet you with a way of darkish dried cherries and a touch of rose water subsequent to previous leather-based books and vacation spices.
Palate: The style holds onto these notes whereas including in a stewed plum depth with a whisper of caramel apple and orange oils.
End: The vanilla and candy oak kick in late with a wealthy depth and well-rounded lightness to the sip fade in the direction of lush cherry tobacco, mushy leather-based, and winter spice matrix tied to prunes and dates.
Backside Line:
That is the second cease in your Willett journey. This can be a high-end whiskey that’s nonetheless on cabinets and (comparatively) reasonably priced. It’s additionally versatile and can shine irrespective of the way you select to sip it.
50. Eagle Uncommon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 10 Years
ABV: 45%
Common Worth: $47
The Whiskey:
This could be one of the crucial beloved (and nonetheless accessible) bottles from Buffalo Hint. This whiskey is comprised of their very low rye mash invoice. The new juice is then matured for at the very least ten years in numerous elements of the warehouse. The ultimate combine comes all the way down to barrels that hit simply the appropriate notes to make them “Eagle Uncommon.” Lastly, this one is proofed all the way down to a reasonably low 90 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Previous leather-based boots, burnt orange rinds, oily sage, previous oak staves, and buttery toffee draw you in on the nostril earlier than a way of previous fallow fruit orchards with falling leaves hints at previous brick barrelhouses within the distance with a whisper of dried apple.
Palate: Marzipan lined in darkish chocolate opens the palate as floral honey and ripe cherry result in a winter cake vibe filled with raisins, darkish spices, and toffee sauce earlier than deep and earthy barrel warehouse vibes arrive with a way of the cobwebs, mildew, and historical wooden takes over.
End: The tip has a steadiness of all issues winter treats because the marzipan returns and the winter spice amp up alongside a touch of spicy cherry tobacco and previous cedar wrapped with smudging sage, previous fall leaves, and bourbon-soaked oak stave from a long time in the past.
Backside Line:
This can be a must-have for any Buffalo Hint fan but additionally simply any bourbon fan. Pour this over an enormous rock or into an quaint and let it wash over you. It’ll transport you to an previous barrel home in Kentucky.
49. Blue Run Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Trifecta Mix
ABV: 58.55%
Common Worth: $179
The Whiskey:
The most recent launch from craft bottler Blue Run is a mix of three ages of barrels that every one lean into “wooden warmth”. On this case, the 189 barrels had been six-, eight-, and nine-year-old barrels of wood-forward bourbon that had been batched and bottled as-is at barrel power.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Vanilla-dosed milky lattes with a contact of cinnamon stick drive the nostril towards a success of dried chili, previous clove, and brown butter with a light-weight sense of apple cider and figs.
Palate: The apple and cinnamon tackle a mulled cider vibe on the palate with macadamia nut cookies, sourdough bread crusts, and mushy caramel candies lower with mint syrup.
End: The mushy and espresso-laden vanilla returns on the end with a creaminess that helps the end keep silky as a whisper of smoldering orchard barks and winter spice barks sneak in with a pleasant heat.
Backside Line:
Blue Run continues to wow with its particular releases. This whiskey retains issues deep and nuanced whereas including further layers of taste to the basic Kentucky bourbon combine.
48. Copper & Kings Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Completed in American Apple Brandy Barrels
ABV: 55%
Common Worth: $65
The Whiskey:
Copper & Kings have spent years perfecting their Kentucky brandy in Louisville. Now, they’re perfecting brandy-finished Kentucky bourbon. The whiskey within the bottle is a sourced mix of five-, 10-, and 15-year-old bourbons that after batched had been re-barreled into Copper & Kings’ personal apple brandy barrels. After a yr of resting in these brandy barrels, the whiskey was barely touched with water and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Cranberry sauce and caramel candies drive the nostril towards previous tobacco rolled up with cedar and sage and packed into an previous cedar field subsequent to hints of fall leaves and fallow apple orchards.
Palate: The palate opens with a lush and leathery dried apricot subsequent to a second of grapefruit pith, extra cranberry sauce, and loads of winter spice earlier than honey and chocolate arrive with a darkish cherry fruit leatheriness.
End: Toffee-dipped tart apples result in heat and spiced apple cider on the end with a pleasant sense of darkish chocolate-covered caramels and mushy vanilla cream.
Backside Line:
This whiskey is a good instance of a brandy firm displaying off its expertise within the bourbon world. For those who’re on the lookout for a deeply spicy but sweetly fruity bourbon that’s completely balanced, that is the bottle to snag.
47. Knob Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 12 Years
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $74
The Whiskey:
That is the basic Beam whiskey. The whiskey is left alone within the Beam warehouses in Clermont, Kentucky, for 12 lengthy years. The barrels are chosen in response to a particular style and mingled to create this aged expression with a drop or two of that mushy Kentucky limestone water.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This opens with clear notes of darkish rum-soaked cherry, bitter but creamy darkish chocolate, winter spices, a twinge of a sourdough sugar doughnut, and a touch of menthol layered with smudging sage and orchard barks.
Palate: The palate leans right into a crimson berry crumble — brown sugar, butter, and spice — with a touch of dried chili flake, salted caramels lined in darkish chocolate, and a spicy/candy notice that leads towards a moist cattail stem and mushy brandied cherries dipped in silky darkish chocolate sauce.
End: The tip holds onto that sweetness and layers in a last notice of pecan shells and maple sweet earlier than leaning right into a creamy vanilla cream spiked with tobacco and stewed prunes, dates, and figs.
Backside Line:
I’m not saying “skip Knob Creek 9-12 months and simply purchase this” per se. However you possibly can simply skip Knob Creek 9-12 months as a result of it’s a cocktail bourbon. This can be a delightfully deep and scrumptious sipping bourbon that may by no means disappoint.
46. Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse “Camp Nelson F” Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58.8%
Common Worth: $300
The Whiskey:
The second launch from Wild Turkey’s Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse Assortment strikes to the Camp Nelson campus in Kentucky to focus on the terroir and growing older occurring in Rickhouse F. The whiskey barrels had been pulled from the middle lower of the warehouse — flooring 4 and 5 (out of seven). As soon as batched, the whiskey was bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Wild Turkey’s iconic spiced cherry vibe is current in spades on the nostril with a deep and darkish cherry lower with anise, clove, allspice, and cinnamon subsequent to rum-soaked raisins, black tea-soaked dates, and a wealthy and luxurious vanilla basis.
Palate: The clove attaches to dried orange rinds as salted wealthy caramel drives the style towards extra dates, plum sauce, and leathery prunes with a deep winter spice bark vibe subsequent to a splash of powdery white pepper.
End: Honeyed tobacco mingles with sticky toffee pudding, mincemeat pies, and candy oak combined with richly spiced tobacco rolled with cedar bark, sage, and previous wicker porch furnishings.
Backside Line:
Wild Turkey is betting laborious on single rickhouse variations of their whiskey to interrupt by means of. It’s working as this whiskey is exclusive whereas nonetheless providing a classical baseline that shines in unison. Sip it neat and benefit from the trip by means of rural Kentucky in your senses.
45. Mary Dowling Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Completed in Tequila Barrels
ABV: 46.5%
Common Worth: $74
The Whiskey:
This brand-new whiskey celebrates Mary Dowling, who helped create after which save the whiskey business in Kentucky again within the early twentieth century. The whiskey within the bottle is a three-year-old bourbon from Rabbit Gap. These barrels are batched and the whiskey is rested once more, this time in reposado tequila barrels, till excellent.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Floral honey and mushy black licorice lean towards recent and actual root beer on the nostril with a light-weight second of white pepper and roasted agave that’s accented by daring winter spice barks and berries with a whisper of orange rind.
Palate: That orange drives the intense palate towards a second of smoked winter spices (smoldering barks if you’ll) earlier than creamy eggnog and vanilla buttercream drive the palate again towards warming winter spice and a fleeting notice of pepper.
End: That pepper builds in the direction of sharp black peppercorns on the end with sharp winter spice, a touch of buttermilk, and softly spoken notes of roasted agave hooked up to candied orange and vanilla paste.
Backside Line:
This new line from Rabbit Gap is a well-crafted whiskey that provides just a little tequila wooden to the combination. And it really works. Whereas this can be a nice sipper, attempt it in a citrus-forward cocktail for the complete impact.
44. 4 Roses Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $57
The Whiskey:
This Single Barrel from 4 Roses is a barely proofed model of their famed OBSV recipe (examine what meaning right here). That’s a bourbon recipe with delicate fruit yeast and a high-rye mash invoice. A single barrel of that was picked from the north facet of Warehouse P (a beloved place for 4 Roses’ single barrel followers — sure, barrel place and warehouses make an enormous distinction).
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Woody maple syrup and cinnamon sticks result in a touch of pear sweet with a vanilla underbelly on the nostril.
Palate: The palate lets the pear shine because the spices lean into woody barks and tart berries subsequent to leathery dates and plums with a butteriness tying all the pieces collectively.
End: A spicy tobacco chewiness leads the mid-palate towards a mushy fruitiness and a touch of plum pudding on the finish with a slight nuttiness and inexperienced natural vibe.
Backside Line:
You may seize any 4 Roses Single Barrel bourbon and be in for a deal with. Hell, acquire all of them in the event you like. Regardless of in the event you’re grabbing one at random or attempting to attempt all of the recipes, this single barrel expression goes to be nice as a sipper.
43. 4 Gate Whiskey Firm Single Barrel Bourbon Completed in Spanish Oloroso Sherry-Darkish Rum Cask #602 Chosen by Seelbach’s
ABV: 61%
Common Worth: $224
The Whiskey:
4 Gate is one other bottler that places out quite a lot of single barrels that, frankly, aren’t at all times for everybody — that’s the purpose. This barrel decide curated by on-line retailer Seelbach’s is from a seven-year-old barrel of 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley bourbon. The whiskey was transferred to an Oloroso sherry cask that additionally held darkish rum. Lastly, the bourbon was bottled at cask power.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Rum-soaked raisins and brandy-soaked cherries dipped in darkish chocolate lead on the nostril with a darkish and luxurious sizzling chocolate with a splash of crimson chili pepper earlier than a deep plumminess arrives with a touch of roasting herbs.
Palate: That style opens candy with darkish molasses and honey notes earlier than these brandied cherries chill in with a way of fat-soaked roasting herbs and dry sweetgrass braided with smudging sage and cherry tobacco.
End: That tobacco layers with cinnamon bark, clove buds, and allspice berries earlier than the chocolate turns creamy and espresso-forward with a touch of lush vanilla beneath all of it.
Backside Line:
That is a kind of deep and darkish bourbons that warms you to your soul. It’s dessert in a glass so deal with it accordingly.
42. Luca Mariano Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel
ABV: 51.5%
Common Worth: $68
The Whiskey:
This whiskey marries Italian-American heritage with bourbon in Kentucky’s horse nation. The whiskey is a contract-distilled high-rye bourbon that spends six years resting in new American oak. That whiskey is then simply barely touched with native water earlier than bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril appears like strolling by means of a peach orchard on a sunny day with blossoming honey suckles wrapped round cinnamon sticks in your hand.
Palate: The style builds on that spiced honey with a gentle root beer vibe subsequent to overripe peach, a contact of vanilla cream, and a whisper of recent mint.
End: The end stays pretty mellow with creamy honey and delicate spices mixing with a mushy contact of vanilla/mint tobacco heat.
Backside Line:
That is a kind of whiskeys the place you cease and say (put up sip), “Wow, that’s good.”
41. Brown Forman 150 Decanter
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $2,500
The Whiskey:
This minimalist decanter was created again in 2020 to have a good time the a hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Brown Forman (however was delayed for apparent causes). The whiskey within the bottle is a really small batch (solely six barrels) of 12-and-a-half-year-old barrels (150 months) that had been batched, proofed, and bottled again in 2020. The decanters had been lastly launched to the general public within the late fall of 2023.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Maple syrup-soaked waffles drive the nostril towards banana cream pie, darkish whiskey-soaked cherries, and buttery honey earlier than a touch of previous tobacco leather-based and Nutella arrives.
Palate: That hazelnut and chocolate create a lush palate that results in raspberry jam over creamed scones with a deep salted caramel vibe that’s dipped in very darkish chocolate lower with dried florals and previous winter spice barks.
End: The tip leans into the dryness of the spice barks as dry tobacco lower with caramelized sugar from a cème brûlée results in a end that’s half toasted oak with a touch of smoldering char and half roasting herbs with a splash of spiced florals.
Backside Line:
This whiskey was a very long time coming and was well worth the wait. It’s going to be a tough discover however value grabbing a pour to see what all of the fuss is about when sitting at your favourite whiskey bar.
40. Knob Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 18 Years
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $224
The Whiskey:
This can be a tremendous uncommon restricted launch for fall 2023. The whiskey within the bottle is Beam’s customary mash invoice that’s distilled at a barely totally different temperature and handled with just a little extra care throughout growing older by inserting barrels in very particular places all through their huge warehouses. After 18 lengthy years, the most effective of the most effective barrels are small batched, and simply proofed earlier than bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Darkish molasses and pecan clusters with salted darkish chocolate result in brown butter, previous figs, and salted caramel with a woody sense of cherry and apple bark subsequent to cinnamon-laced cedar sticks with burnt orange.
Palate: The palate is stuffed with lush vanilla notes subsequent to singed cherry bark and apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, star anise, salted black licorice, and darkish chocolate-covered espresso beans with a touch of dried crimson chili spice turning up the warmth on the mid-palate.
End: The tip has a floral honey sweetness that balances all the pieces towards orange blossoms and bruised peaches, cherry tobacco, and clove tobacco.
Backside Line:
That is the mountaintop of Knob Creek. I do know I’m beginning to sound like a damaged report, however that is simply scrumptious. Pour it neat after which have enjoyable with it.
39. Seelbach’s Personal Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey Completed in Toasted French Oak And Maple Syrup Barrels
ABV: 55.66%
Common Worth: $79
The Whiskey:
This particular launch from on-line retailer Seelbach’s is a Kentucky bourbon that’s bottled down in Jacksonville, FLA. The four-and-a-half-year-old bourbon is distributed all the way down to Florida the place it spends a damp and sizzling summer time in toasted French oak and ex-bourbon maple syrup barrels earlier than batching and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Pecan waffles dripping in salted butter and recent maple syrup drive the nostril towards cinnamon rolls, cedar kindling, and apple butter-infused tobacco.
Palate: The palate is stuffed with peach and orange with a touch of clove resulting in sharp winter spices and darkish chocolate with a contact of smudging sage and wealthy pipe tobacco.
End: Banana’s Foster and cigar containers drive the end towards apple cider spiked with allspice and cinnamon and a mushy sense of nutty cinnamon doughnuts wrapped in previous leather-based.
Backside Line:
That is breakfast in a glass. Or dessert in a glass if that’s extra your vibe. Scrumptious, scrumptious breakfast-dessert.
38. Weller The Unique Wheated Bourbon Vintage 107 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 53.5%
Common Worth: $50
The Whiskey:
This can be a non-age-statement bourbon that’s referred to as “Previous Weller Vintage” (OWA) by those that love the old-school vibes of the expression’s earlier iteration. The ripple with this expression is the upper proof. The barrels are vatted and barely proofed all the way down to 107-proof earlier than bottling (the entry proof is 114).
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a stunning sense of vanilla pods and orange blossom with a touch of previous saddle leather-based and cedar bark subsequent to wild sage, cinnamon and caramel apple fritters, and salted black licorice with a bundle of vacation spices and barks tied up with burnt orange and pine.
Palate: The palate is lush with a cream soda float with malted vanilla ice cream lower with cherries, darkish chocolate chips, and espresso flakes subsequent to cinnamon cherry bark tobacco on the mid-palate.
End: The tip dives towards a thick braid of cedar bark, sage, and blackberry tobacco with a skinny line of sweetgrass and vanilla pods woven in there.
Backside Line:
I’ve grown very keen on this Weller model over the past yr. It’s simply completely balanced and fantastically structured. And whereas it’s an awesome sipper, you can too make an exceptional cocktail with this.
37. Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: Varies
Common Worth: $240
The Whiskey:
This expression is the purest type of Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon. The whiskey in these bottles is from the identical Blanton’s barrels, however they’re excellent simply the way in which they’re. This whiskey goes into the bottle straight from the barrel with no proofing water by any means.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril is stuffed with very bespoke darkish chocolate-covered salted laborious caramel toffees encrusted with almonds and pecans — the type you get from a chocolate store that imports their goodies from someplace like Belgium — subsequent to full fall leaves falling on moist grass outdoors musty previous warehouses with a touch of well-worn boot leather-based lurking beneath all of it.
Palate: The nutty toffee carries by means of into the style as oily vanilla pods mingle with cedar containers of dried tobacco leaves and a contact of floral honey jars with previous wood spoons and extra of that previous boot leather-based earlier than sharp winter spices and dried crimson chili pop on the mid-palate.
End: The tip could be very lengthy and lingers in your senses with a sizzling buzzing due to the barky spices and dry chili that subtly fades by means of all that sweetness earlier than ending up in an previous cedar field filled with choco-chili tobacco layered with previous darkish fruit leather-based sheets.
Backside Line:
Sure, Blanton’s is nice whiskey. However Blanton’s Cask Power is nice whiskey. That is the one model that try to be chasing.
36. Pappy Van Winkle’s Household Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 20 Years Previous
ABV: 45.2%
Common Worth: $3,389
The Whiskey:
That is the Pappy that made “Pappy” what it’s immediately. The wheated bourbon rests for 20 lengthy years in Buffalo Hint warehouses with none meddling. The barrels that really make it to the 20-year mark are batched and that juice is then proofed down earlier than bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Moist and spicy Christmas cake brims with walnuts and pecans, dried fruit and candied fruits, and darkish molasses sweetness subsequent to woody cinnamon bark, clove berries, star anise, and a touch of salted black licorice as mushy woody maple syrup trace at a sourdough pancake griddled with brown butter on the nostril.
Palate: The palate provides a candy sense of vanilla creaminess with mushy apple pie filling earlier than closely roasted chocolate-covered espresso beans pop in with a contact of bitter orange.
End: The tip combines all of that towards an previous tobacco pipe that’s burnt a century’s value of wealthy tobacco flavored with the entire above earlier than a layer of warming oak and cellar ground sneaks in, making a dynamic layer of age and wooden.
Backside Line:
Sure, that is amazingly overhyped. However that hype comes with good motive — that is wonderful whiskey.
It’s classically aged so the oak is entrance and middle. But when that’s your vibe, then that is going to be your jam.
35. Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50.5%
Common Worth: $78
The Whiskey:
Bourbon legend Jimmy Russell hand selects eight to nine-year-old barrels from his Wild Turkey warehouses for his or her particular person style and high quality. These barrels are then lower down ever-so-slightly to 101 proof and bottled with their barrel quantity and warehouse location.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril is as daring as it’s basic with a spice matrix brimming with cinnamon, clove, star anise, cardamom, and nutmeg subsequent to dry cedar kindling, black-tea-soaked dates, rum-raisin, and tart dried cranberry tobacco.
Palate: The vanilla creates a lush underbelly as previous boot leather-based mingles with marzipan, orange blossoms, and creamy darkish chocolate flaked with salt.
End: The tip is softly heat with a way of that marzipan lined in frivolously spiced darkish chocolate subsequent to previous tobacco braided with previous wicker and dry cedar bark.
Backside Line:
That is one other instance of Wild Turkey simply nailing it. Plus, you may get this whiskey for its precise value. I’d purchase a case of this earlier than I’d spend 1000’s on a single bottle.
34. Bardstown Bourbon Firm Collaborative Sequence Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Completed In Goose Island Bourbon County Model Stout Barrels
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $159
The Whiskey:
This brand-new launch from Bardstown Bourbon Firm is a collaboration with Chicago’s Goose Island’s iconic Bourbon County Stout. The whiskey within the bottle is a mix of six- and seven-year-old Kentucky bourbons which are batched after which re-barreled into Bourbon County stout barrels. 12 months later, the whiskey is mixed with one other 9-year-old Kentucky bourbon, barely proofed, and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: A second of honey attracts you in on the nostril earlier than veering towards wealthy and really darkish chocolate with a deeply stewed cherry lower with oily vanilla, mulled wine spices, and pear brandy-soaked marzipan with a touch of candied orange zest, dry espresso beans, and moist tobacco leaves.
Palate: There’s a second of malted chocolate shakes on the style that results in a wealthy spiced Christmas cake brimming with walnuts, sultanas, candied cherry, candied lemon rinds, and leathery dates that result in moments of creamy and really boozy eggnog poured over a Black Forest Cake.
End: The Christmas spices, fruit cake, dried fruit, and eggnog all mix on the end to create a wealthy and opulent end filled with luscious textures and simply the correct amount of spiced whiskey heat.
Backside Line:
That is the most effective stout-finished bourbon, full cease. The beer fan in your life will recognize sharing this one with you.
33. Frank August Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Cask Power Barrel No. 0015
ABV: 60.9%
Common Worth: $139
The Whiskey:
The most recent single-barrel launch from Frank August is from a small assortment of solely 15 barrels. One barrel was chosen for bottling after which bottled 100% as-is to focus on the fantastic thing about the whiskey in that barrel. Meaning this whiskey ended up being 6.1 years previous.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Wealthy winter spices draw you in on the nostril as deep and candy oak staves result in crimson fruit leather-based, darkish chocolate-dipped cherries, and a layer of vanilla sheet cake.
Palate: Cinnamon cake and peppery citrus drive the palate towards salted caramel over that vanilla sheet cake earlier than extra of these chocolate cherries arrive to tie all the pieces right into a wealthy and moist Black Forest cake spiked with allspice and clove.
End: The tip circles across the chocolate cherry cake because the spices mount on the end with a warming sense of cinnamon sharpness and crimson chili warmth that’s simply tempered by oak wrapped in cherry tobacco.
Backside Line:
The crew at Frank August is aware of decide nice barrels of whiskey. This single-barrel expression is as near excellent whiskey as you may get.
32. Hardin’s Creek ‘Boston’ Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 55%
Common Worth: $169
The Whiskey:
That is half three of the Hardin’s Creek 2023 releases. This whiskey is a 17-year-old bourbon made with Beam’s basic mash invoice. The whiskey spent all 17 of these years in rickhouses on the Boston, Kentucky campus (just a little additional south of the Bardstown space). These warehouses are in a flatter space (as an alternative of tucked away in hollers or perched atop hills). So the precise buildings had extra entry to bathing heat daylight, wind, and rain — all of which barely shifts the growing older technique of the barrels in these warehouses.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a basic medley of moist brown sugar lower with wealthy vanilla buttercream, cinnamon bark, and darkish cherry cola simply kissed with darkish chocolate and salt.
Palate: The style leans nutty (extra almond shell than marzipan) with a deep sense of salted darkish chocolate-covered espresso beans subsequent to sticky toffee pudding, salted caramel sauce lower with orange zest, and a touch of espresso cake dipped in black tea with a fleeting sense of previous rickhouses flooring and dry tobacco.
End: That dry tobacco and earthiness amp up the end because the spice barks sharpen towards a warming end filled with Kentucky hugs, vanilla beans, and mushy spiced brandied cherries dipped in darkish chocolate.
Backside Line:
This new line from Beam focuses on terroir in growing older their Kentucky bourbon. This whiskey is like Booker’s or Knob Creek amped as much as MAX quantity with a deep nuance of basic bourbon notes that simply preserve going. Pour it neat after which slowly add water to let this one bloom and take you on a journey.
31. Wild Turkey Generations Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 60.4%
Common Worth: $449
The Whiskey:
This late 2023 launch from Wild Turkey was the primary time Bruce Russell’s identify has appeared on a bottle. Bruce teamed up with with dad (Grasp Distiller Eddie Russell) and his granddad (Grasp Distiller and legend Jimmy Russell) to create a bourbon that spoke to all three of their whiskey palates. The whiskey within the bottles ended up being a mix of 9-, 12-, 14-, and 15-year-old bourbon that every one three of the Russells chosen collectively. As soon as batched, that bourbon was bottled 100% as-is with out filtering or proofing to focus on the fantastic thing about the whiskey being made at Wild Turkey.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Lush vanilla oils are lower with salted caramel and darkish cherry root beer made with actual sasparilla subsequent to warming winter spices (clove, anise, and allspice) that lean towards mulled wine, cherry-laced tobacco, and hints of dry smudging sage braided with sweetgrass.
Palate: That woodiness leads on the palate earlier than a rush of vanilla buttercream and toffee rolled in roasted almond and dusted with darkish chocolate powder shifts the style towards heat apple pie filling lower with extra cloves and allspice and washed down with cherry cola.
End: That darkish cherry is simply kissed with floral honey on the backend because the spices tackle a woody bark vibe and the toffee makes a buttery and luxurious return with a close to marzipan really feel earlier than previous oak staves from a musty rickhouse result in one other braid of sage, cedar, and tobacco on the chewy and silky finish.
Backside Line:
This can be a glimpse into the way forward for Wild Turkey. You may really feel the development from the previous to the longer term on the palate with a way of journey, time, and delectability.
30. Very Olde St. Nick Vintage Cask Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years “Straight Outta Bardstown”
ABV: 65%
Common Worth: Coming Quickly
The Whiskey:
This late 2023 launch from Preservations Distillery is all in regards to the previous and forgotten barrels sitting in Bardstown warehouses. The whiskey is a nine-year-old mix of Kentucky bourbons that highlights the fantastic thing about Bardstown whiskey from prime to backside.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a way of dates and prunes dipped in floral but creamy honey after which rolled in roasted and crushed almonds earlier than previous libraries filled with leather-bound books and deeply wealthy tobacco arrive.
Palate: That musty leather-based provides method to previous barrel homes filled with 1800s wooden pillars and used barrels earlier than winter spices add just a little heat that’s countered by deep vanilla creamy eggnog, mushy date cake lower with black tea, and a fleeting sense of dried cherries soaked in brandy and dipped in darkish chocolate lower with espresso.
End: The tip builds a heat primarily based round sharp winter spice barks and berries with a pleasant counterpoint of vanilla buttercream and luxurious eggnog over pound cake with a touch of poppy seed and mushy pipe tobacco that’s simply smoldering.
Backside Line:
2023 gave the impression to be a yr the place terroir drove new expressions — Wild Turkey rickhouses, Beam campuses, and this Bardstown-only mix. All that apart, this whiskey goes past the strange to one thing so deep and enjoyable. Begin neat and add water to make a journey with this one. It’ll bloom a lot within the glass in the event you take your time.
29. Booker’s “Charlie’s Batch” 2023-01 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 63.3%
Common Worth: $97
The Whiskey:
This primary Booker’s Small Batch of 2023 was the one to get. This launch is an hommage to Charlie Hutchens — the woodworker who makes Booker’s containers the whiskey is available in and a long-time household buddy to the Noe household who makes Beam whiskeys. The whiskey is a mix of mid to high-floor barrels from 5 warehouses. These whiskeys had been batched and bottled 100% as-is at cask power after simply north of seven years of growing older.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Toasted almonds and walnuts prepared the ground on the nostril with a deep and wealthy vanilla cake frivolously dusted with cacao, dry cherry, and cinnamon with a contact of previous oak cellars and black-mold-encrusted previous deck furnishings.
Palate: The mushy caramel and vanilla open the palate earlier than a rush of woody and sharp spices — clove, anise, allspice, crimson chili pepper — arrive with a way of previous wooden chips on a workshop ground results in salted toffee dipped in roasted almonds and darkish salted chocolate with a whisper of cherry cordial backing all of it up.
End: That mushy sweetness counters the recent spices for some time on the gradual end because the spices tackle an orange/cherry/vanilla Christmas cake vibe with loads of nuts and ABV warmth.
Backside Line:
Booker’s is the peak of Beam whiskey. Whereas there have been 4 releases final yr, this one hit one thing deep within the cockles of your whiskey coronary heart that simply labored. It’s simply actually f*cking good bourbon, people.
28. Previous Ezra Aged 7 Years Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58.5%
Common Worth: $97
The Whiskey:
This model from Luxco continues to be sourced whiskey although they did begin distilling their very own in 2018. This bottle is a seven-year-old mix of barrels with a bourbon mash invoice of 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye, which simply so occurs to be Heaven Hill’s bourbon mash invoice. These barrels are blended down and left as-is at cask power for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: This can be a fairly basic bourbon from nostril to complete with a robust sense of wealthy caramel, pancakes with loads of vanilla, candy oak, moist brown sugar, and a whiff of cherry tobacco.
Palate: The palate leans into the woody brown spices as a darkish cherry vibe sweetens the mid-palate.
End: The tip circles again to that candy oak and spicy cherry tobacco on a brief end.
Backside Line:
This can be a dialed-in and really succinct bourbon. Typically, that’s what you need. There aren’t any bells or whistles however you’re left with a happy sense of getting sipped really well-made bourbon from prime to backside. And generally, that’s actually all you need out of your bourbon pour.
27. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof Batch #22A
ABV: 66.1%
Common Worth: $399
The Whiskey:
Stagg is Buffalo Hint’s Mash Invoice no. 1 (a low-rye mash) turned all the way in which as much as MAX quantity. The whiskey spends a couple of decade resting within the previous Buffalo Hint warehouses earlier than it’s batched and bottled (on this case in Spring 2023) 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: That is wealthy on the nostril with deep senses of darkish chocolate brownies simply kissed with stewed black cherry and previous vanilla pods earlier than a mushy sense of crimson chili tobacco and moist brown sugar tobacco result in a whisper of smoldering fall leaves.
Palate: That darkish chocolate and chili-laced tobacco drives the style towards a Christmas cake brimming with candied cherry, orange rind, rum raisin, clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and creamy vanilla icing with a splash of salt, marzipan, and brandy-soaked apple and pear orchards.
End: The wealthy and boozy vacation cake fades on the end as deep earthiness — assume firewood bark and smudging sage — drives the tip towards an enormous Kentucky hug of heat that’s excellent.
Backside Line:
Stagg made a roaring comeback final yr. For those who’re on the lookout for an awesome high-proof bourbon that really nonetheless has nuance, then that is the play. Nonetheless, the typical drinker may need to pour this one over an enormous rock earlier than diving in.
26. Fortuna Uncommon Character Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 59.41%
Common Worth: $94
The Whiskey:
Final yr’s Fortuna launch was an instantaneous basic. In 2023, the Uncommon Character crew has upped the ante with a cask-strength model and, ho boy, they hit it out of the park. The whiskey within the bottle is a small batch of minimal seven-year-old barrels that had been expertly batched and bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a way of deeply roasted walnuts, almonds, and chestnuts dipped in salted toffee with a way of darkly charred previous oak staves countered by a lush vanilla cream lower with winter spices.
Palate: The nuttiness drives the palate towards vanilla buttercream subsequent to winter spice desserts full of rum raisin, candied orange rind, and brandy-soaked cherries earlier than a touch of sticky toffee pudding arrives with a whisper of roasting herbs and sweetgrass.
End: Nutshells and dried pipe tobacco spherical out the end with a deep winter spice bark vibe earlier than the luscious vanilla creates a creamy touchdown for the pour that’s half eggnog and half malted vanilla shake lower with peppermint, clove, and sasparilla.
Backside Line:
Fortuna’s crew upped the ante with this cask-strength launch. That is wonderful sipping bourbon for any event.
25. Blood Oath Pact No. 9 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Completed in Oloroso Sherry Casks
ABV: 49.3%
Common Worth: $139
The Whiskey:
This can be a basic and really high-end luxe mix of bourbons from Lux Row. The whiskey is made with one 16-year-old bourbon barrel married to 2 12-year-old barrels. That batched whiskey was then blended with three seven-year-old bourbons that had been completed in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, all sourced from the Sherry Triangle area in Southwest Spain. As soon as batched, the whiskey is bottled as-is with no proofing.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril runs deep with a way of crimson fruit leather-based, darkish but sharp woody spice barks, salted toffee rolled in toasted almond, and a fleeting whisper of darkish chocolate sauce lower with salt, lavender, and crimson chili.
Palate: The palate opens with juicy pears and grilled peaches subsequent to stewed plums and leathery prunes over rum raisin dipped in that darkish and spicy chocolate with a touch of creamy cherry butteriness.
End: The woody chili spice and creamy darkish fruit kick up on the tip with a way of sticky toffee pudding tobacco, previous cedar humidors, and a bushel of dried vanilla pods layered with smudging sage.
Backside Line:
That is well-aged and delightfully approachable bourbon. Pour it neat and take your time with this one and it’ll reward you with sensible nuance and depth.
24. Michter’s US*1 Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Previous
ABV: 47.2%
Common Worth: $367
The Whiskey:
The whiskey barrels sourced for these single-barrel expressions are usually at the very least 10 years previous with some rumored to be nearer to fifteen years previous (relying on the barrel’s high quality, naturally). Both approach, the whiskey goes by means of Michter’s bespoke filtration course of earlier than a contact of Kentucky’s iconic mushy limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon all the way down to a really crushable 94.4 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: There’s a peppery sense of cedar bark and burnt orange subsequent to salted caramel and tart crimson berries with a moist and spicy sticky toffee pudding with some brandy butter dancing on the nostril.
Palate: The palate blends vanilla tobacco with salted darkish chocolate-covered marzipan whereas espresso cream results in new porch wicker and black peppercorns.
End: The tip has a pecan waffle vibe with chocolate chips, maple syrup, blackberry jam, and minced meat pies subsequent to previous tobacco and cedar with a candy but singed marshmallow on the very finish.
Backside Line:
That is completely quintessential Kentucky bourbon. It’s elite however not so elite which you can’t get it (or afford it). It’s additionally a chief instance of how good Kentucky bourbon can and must be. This can be a whiskey to measure different whiskeys in opposition to.
23. Eagle Uncommon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 17 Years Previous (BTAC 2023)
ABV: 50.5%
Common Worth: $1,849
The Whiskey:
Final yr’s Eagle Uncommon ended up being 19 years and three months previous (the “17 Years” on the label denotes the youngest barrels used for the model total). 2023’s launch was distilled and barreled again within the spring of 2004 after which left to relaxation all these years across the Buffalo Hint campuses in warehouses C, I, Okay, M, and Q. As soon as the barrels had been batched, the whiskey was proofed and bottled as-is in any other case.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril is like consuming a moist and completely balanced Black Forest cake whereas strolling by means of an previous barrel home and out right into a fallow fruit orchard with fall leaves crunchy underfoot and rain barely misty the air with hints of cinnamon cake, smudging sage, and sweetgrass rounding issues out.
Palate: Orange cake and salted caramel lead on the palate with a way of darkish chocolate tobacco transferring the mid-palate towards dry roasting herbs and a contact of nuttiness.
End: Cinnamon sticks and nutmeg pop up on the end with a touch of vanilla buttercream and eggnog earlier than the spices dry out with a way of mince meat pie and previous leather-based tobacco pouches.
Backside Line:
That is one other bourbon that’s just like the definition of the type within the glass. That is the pour that you simply give somebody once you need to clarify how nice Kentucky bourbon is at its core.
22. Hardin’s Creek ‘Frankfort’ Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 55%
Common Worth: $199
The Whiskey:
This is identical 17-year-old Beam bourbon aged on the Frankfort, Kentucky campus. This set of warehouses is extra easterly within the state the place the humidity will get daring in the summertime and the foothills of Appalachia begin to roll in. The precise buildings are additionally tighter with much less air flow, making a extra enclosed sizzling field vibe for the ricks.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Comfortable woody notes pop on the nostril with a way of previous tobacco in a cedar humidor subsequent to toasted marshmallows over a smoldering campfire with rum raisin, bespoke cherry soda pop, and salted caramel that’s lower with molasses results in a medley of sugar cookies lower with almond and lemon oils subsequent to spiced nut desserts.
Palate: The caramel will get darkish and salted on the tip of the tongue because the palate leans into mincemeat pies and darkish mulled wine with a way of brandy-soaked fruit cake, wealthy marzipan, and mushy pipe tobacco with a way of floral honey backing all the pieces up.
End: The tip takes on a woody vanilla pod vibe over mushy notes of winter spice barks, mushy cedar, and previous saddle leather-based shined with cherry wax and honeycomb earlier than a malty chocolate shake arrives with a lush and silky end filled with vacation spices and dry smudging sage piled up in an previous rickhouse on a heat however musty day.
Backside Line:
This can be a whiskey that simply retains delivering on the profile — in the event you take your time to let it. Begin neat, add water, preserve going, and you’ll be rewarded with an exquisite journey.
21. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch No. B523
ABV: 62.1%
Common Worth: $69
The Whiskey:
The 2023 spring version of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof was a banger. This version is a batch of bourbons which are a minimal of 11.5 years previous (down from the same old 12-year age statements). The batch is bottled utterly as is with out reducing with water or chill filtration.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: There’s a pleasant sense of funk and fruit on the nostril — assume standing by a barn in an apple orchard — that results in salted caramel, cherry tobacco, and wealthy darkish chocolate lower with crimson chili pepper flakes with a lush vanilla basis of almond desserts and powdered sugar icing.
Palate: Wealthy winter spice desserts with a touch of rum raisin drive the style towards darkish cherry spiced tobacco with a rush of ABVs that trigger a deep buzz earlier than previous cellar filth flooring and oak arrive with a darkish sense of chocolate and espresso all kissed with salt.
End: Cherry Coke and gingerbread drive the end with a lush and vibrant sense of crimson chili pepper spice, black pepper woodiness, and cinnamon bark softness earlier than stewed apple and buttery pie crust lead again towards a vanilla almond cake vibe with a lingering warming sensation.
Backside Line:
This is likely one of the higher Elijah Craig Barrel Proof expressions shortly. It’s simply pleasant poured neat, which is a good feat given the proof is so excessive.
20. Previous Forester 2023 Birthday Bourbon
ABV: 48%
Common Worth: $169
The Whiskey:
2023’s Birthday Bourbon was a refined masterpiece expression from Lousiville’s oldest distillery. The whiskey within the bottle is hewn from 103 barrels that had been crammed on Could fifth, 2011. These barrels had been housed on the fifth ground of Warehouse I in Louisville for 12 years for batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Candied orange peels draw you in on the nostril as molasses and rum raisin result in salted darkish chocolate-covered espresso beans, previous cedar bark, and dry orchard barks layered with mushy winter spice barks and darkish cherry.
Palate: That candied orange drives the palate with a way of Luxardo cherries, previous rickhouse filth flooring, and oak staves earlier than rummy molasses and darkish fruits — assume dates, figs, and prunes — result in a cedar tobacco vibe.
End: The tip sweetens at first with a honeyed orange caramel earlier than swinging again towards the espresso beans and cedar tobacco with a mushy sense of previous orchards in late fall.
Backside Line:
2023’s Birthday Bourbon was one among my private favorites in years. That is all the pieces you need from a uncommon high-end whiskey — intelligent, nuanced, stunning, and scrumptious.
19. 15 STARS High quality Aged Spirits Sherry Cask End A Choose Mix of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Completed in Sherry Casks
ABV: 57.5%
Common Worth: $179
The Whiskey:
This 2023 launch from 15 STARS was comprised of a mix of 10 and 13-year-old Kentucky and Indiana bourbons. These barrels had been batched by the 15 STARS crew after which the whiskey was re-barreled in sherry casks for a last contact of maturation. That whiskey was then bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Plums, dates, and figs come by means of on the nostril with deep marzipan lower with pear brandy and dipped in salted darkish chocolate subsequent to eggnog spices and creaminess with an excellent dose of Christmas nut desserts.
Palate: The eggnog lusciousness leads the palate towards mushy vanilla cookies, salted caramel chews, and a touch of spiced plum jam subsequent to buttermilk waffles studded with pecans earlier than previous cellar oak provides an earthen layer.
End: The sweetness of the leathery dried fruits drives the end towards winter spice barks and berries with a way of previous pipe tobacco braided with smudging sage and a whisper of dried mint subsequent to cedar and fall leaves.
Backside Line:
This whiskey gained all of the awards in 2023. It 100% lives as much as the hype and is value monitoring down. This can be a pleasant whiskey that goes to date past the typical that it’s really stellar.
18. Previous Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond 8-12 months Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Fall 2023
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $109
The Whiskey:
The second restricted version Previous Fitz launch of 2023 was a reasonably younger entry to the continuing Decanter sequence. This version was constructed from Heaven Hill wheated bourbon barrels crammed within the fall of 205. These barrels had been rigorously chosen and batched earlier than proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Moist brown sugar lower with cinnamon and recent butter layers over toasted buttermilk biscuits earlier than nutmeg-heavy eggnog creates a lush feeling on the nostril subsequent to hints of overripe peaches, apricots, and pears with a touch of salted caramel.
Palate: The palate opens with a vibrant sense of recent peaches swimming in vanilla-laced heavy cream earlier than hitting on the salted caramel with a layer of winter spice that begins to lean peppery and grassy on the mid-palate.
End: These sharp spices drive the luxurious end towards brandy-soaked pears and stewed peaches with loads of winter spice, butter, and molasses earlier than a whisper of previous oak and tobacco sneak in late.
Backside Line:
Previous Fitz Decanters not often miss. This late 2023 drop was an enormous hit and filled with pleasant nuance and depth. Pour it neat and let it wash over you.
17. Pappy Van Winkle’s Household Reserve 15 Years Previous Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 53.5%
Common Worth: $2,999
The Whiskey:
That is the place the “Pappy Van Winkle” line really shines. The whiskey on this expression is pulled from wheated bourbon barrels which are at the very least 15 years previous. As soon as batched, the whiskey is simply touched with water to carry it all the way down to a sturdy 107-proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with freshly fried sourdough fritters dusted with floor almonds, sharp cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, burnt sugars, and maple frosting with a touch of previous vanilla pods subsequent to mushy figs.
Palate: The palate leans into wealthy toffee with a way of minced meat pies lined in powdered sugar frosting proper subsequent to sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel, orange zest, and tons of brown wintry spice countered by a second of bitter mulled crimson wine lower with darkish maple syrup.
End: The tip has a mushy cedar vibe that results in vanilla and darkish cherry tobacco leaves and a touch of pine subsequent to previous white moss.
Backside Line:
I’m hitting the cliché once more: For those who purchase one bottle of Pappy, that is the chosen one. That is — sort of by far — the most effective Pappy on the shelf as of late.
16. George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof (BTAC 2023)
ABV: 67.5%
Common Worth: $1,599
The Whiskey:
2023’s batch of George T. Stagg was distilled within the spring of 2008 and left to relaxation in warehouses C, I, Okay, L, and M across the Frankfort Buffalo Hint campus. After 15 lengthy years of relaxation, the barrels had been batched and bottled 100% as-is at cask power.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a basic sense of Cherry Coke, previous leather-based tobacco pouches, and wealthy buttercream made with actual vanilla subsequent to fall leaves in an orchard after which this sense of Neoplotian ice cream creeps in that leans towards the strawberry and chocolate ice cream half.
Palate: The palate opens with a deep sense of an apple orchard on a chilly fall day with leaves underfoot subsequent to deeply-seeded darkish cherry, cinnamon bark, clove buds, and allspice berries with a way of the Neopolitan ice cream popping up once more late.
End: The creamy vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry drive the end again towards the previous orchards, fall leaves, rickhouse flooring, and mushy cherry-spiced tobacco leaves rolled with cedar and smudging sage with a pleasant warming Kentucky hug on the very finish.
Backside Line:
This was one other huge win for Stagg in late 2023. That is daring and brash whiskey that dares you to not adore it with these excessive ABVs. However then it’s so mushy and nearly refined with deeply lovely taste notes. It’s pretty poured neat and unassailably scrumptious over a single huge ice dice.
15. Angel’s Envy Cask Power Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Completed in Port Wine Barrels
ABV: 59.1%
Common Worth: $229
The Whiskey:
That is the twelfth Cask Power Bourbon launch from Angel’s Envy however the first below new Grasp Distiller Owen Martin. Martin brings a deep data of craft Colorado whiskey making and Scotch whisky to the desk and it exhibits on this new launch. The whiskey is a masterful mix of Angel’s Envy’s port-finished bourbons at cask power, permitting the barrels to shine by means of. As a restricted version, there have been solely 22,656 bottles produced. The excellent news is that they’re going out to all 50 states.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Spiced cherry cake mingles with wealthy and buttery caramel sauce, toasted marshmallows, rum raisin, black-tea-soaked dates lower with cinnamon and nutmeg, and a deep sense of mulled wine lower with darkish chocolate.
Palate: The palate leans into the mulled wine and sticky toffee pudding with a flourish of sea salt and orange zest subsequent to lush vanilla buttercream, darkish cherry spiced tobacco leaves, and previous motorbike jacket leather-based.
End: The tip leans into brandy-soaked cherries dipped in darkish chocolate subsequent to dry sweetgrass, smudging sage, and cedar bark braided and stacked in an previous cigar humidor subsequent to a dry crimson wine cork with winter spice desserts, pear brandy marzipan, and deep dried fruits rounding out the tip.
Backside Line:
That is the most effective Angel’s Envy Cask Power Bourbon to this point and an awesome signal of issues to return.
14. 4 Roses 2023 one hundred and thirty fifth Anniversary Restricted Version Small Batch Choose
ABV: 54%
Common Worth: $199
The Whiskey:
2023’s 4 Roses LE Small Batch was solely 15,060 bottles. In these bottles, you’ll discover a mix of 12, 14, 16, and 25-year-old barrels of whiskey. These barrels are completely balanced to carry deep flavors to the batch earlier than proofing and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Wealthy winter spice desserts with roasted nuts, rum raisin, and mushy vanilla oils vibe with previous cedar kindling, hints of dill, and a faint contact of marshmallow that’s spent an excessive amount of time within the fireplace.
Palate: The palate is all sticky toffee pudding and honey cake with a rush of crimson huckleberry and tart raspberry subsequent to pear cider lower with clove, cinnamon, and allspice and a faint contact of brandied marzipan.
End: The end turns right into a luscious masterpiece of sentimental pear brandy-soaked marzipan with creamy darkish chocolate and spiced Christmas nut desserts subsequent to a mushy chili tobacco dipped in molasses.
Backside Line:
That is essentially the most coveted 4 Roses on the market proper now. It’s uncommon but when you may get your palms on some (even pour), you’ll be in for a scrumptious and distinctive deal with that takes Kentucky bourbon to new heights.
13. King of Kentucky Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel Sixth Version
ABV: 62.9%
Common Worth: $299
The Whiskey:
2023’s King of Kentucky from Brown-Forman in Louisville, Kentucky is a 16-year-old masterpiece. The batch was pulled from 51 barrels all crammed on July nineteenth, 2007. These barrels had been left alone all these years in Warehouse G within the Louisville Brown-Forman Distillery. As soon as batched, the whiskey went into the bottle 100% as-is at cask power, yielding solely 3,800 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Toasted coconut and brandy-soaked dates prepared the ground on the nostril with a wealthy sense of excellent salted darkish chocolate, vanilla buttercream, and honeyed Graham Crackers sandwiching toasted marshmallow.
Palate: That darkish chocolate takes on a creaminess (sort of like a small espresso mocha) with a way of sticky toffee pudding lower with black tea, these brandy-soaked dates, a twist of orange, and loads of nutmeg and cinnamon earlier than leathery notes of previous boots and dry tobacco arrive with an ever-warming warmth from the ABVs.
End: The ABVs buzz to a heat that peaks earlier than it will get sizzling because the end rides a wave towards orchard barks, mince meat pies, mulled wine, and whispers of pear marzipan.
Backside Line:
Final yr’s King Of Kentucky pulled off the magic trick of balancing huge ABVs with really deep nuance that made it very sippable. For those who’re on the lookout for daring however approachable, that is the play.
12. Bomberger’s Declaration Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 2023 Launch
ABV: 54%
Common Worth: $179
The Whiskey:
This whiskey heralds again to Michter’s historic roots within the nineteenth century earlier than the model was even referred to as “Michter’s.” The previous Bomberger’s Distillery in Pennsylvania is the place the model began approach again within the day (1753). The whiskey within the bottle is rendered from a really small batch of bourbons that had been aged in Chinquapin oak. The staves for that barrel had been air-dried for 3 years earlier than coppering, charring, and filling. The Kentucky bourbon is then bottled in an especially small batch that yields round 2,000 bottles per yr.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Candy mashed grains — assume a bowl of Cream of Wheat lower with butter and molasses — combine with sticky toffee pudding, previous saddle leather-based, previous cellar beams, and candy cinnamon with a touch of candied orange and darkish chocolate subsequent to luscious eggnog with a flake of salt.
Palate: The palate is tremendous creamy with a crème brûlée really feel that results in mushy winter spices, dry cedar, and orange sweets with a touch of pear-brandy-soaked marzipan within the background.
End: The tip has a creamed honey vibe subsequent to brandy-soaked figs and rum-soaked prunes with recent chewing tobacco and salted darkish chocolate main again to darkish chocolate and previous cellar flooring with a contact of smoldering orchard bark.
Backside Line:
That is the most effective Michter’s bourbon which you can really (form of) get for its MSRP. Worth tags apart, this can be a particular whiskey that goes past the strange and interprets to lovely whiskey in a neat glass.
11. Bardstown Bourbon Firm Discovery Sequence Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Sequence #11
ABV: 59.05%
Common Worth: $139
The Whiskey:
The most recent launch from Bardstown Bourbon Firm is a full-on Kentucky bourbon mix. The whiskey is made with 73% 13-year-old Kentucky bourbon, 21% 10-year-old Kentucky bourbon, and 6% of Bardstown’s personal six-year-old Kentucky bourbon. As soon as batched, the whiskey mellows earlier than bottling 100% as-is at cask power.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Tart cherries and wealthy toffee rolled in roasted almond and dipped in salted darkish chocolate drive the nostril towards cinnamon spice desserts with a touch of dried cranberry, plummy sauce, and wealthy tobacco.
Palate: The style leans into caramel-covered peanuts with a touch of crimson fruit leather-based, previous spice barks, and a whisper of orange rinds subsequent to a contact of Cherry Coke, previous leather-based tobacco pouches, and the previous beams from a whiskey barrel home.
End: The tip leans right into a lush vanilla buttercream with notes of previous again porch wicker, nearly candy cedar kindling, smudging sage, and cinnamon bark soaked in cherry brandy with a contact of chili-cut darkish chocolate.
Backside Line:
Bardstown Bourbon Firm’s first “Disco” with its personal juice within the combine can also be one among their greatest Discovery Sequence releases to date. This is a wonderful whiskey for pairing with an enormous meal, sipping neat, or mixing into your favourite cocktail.
10. Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 13 Years
ABV: 55%
Common Worth: $150
The Whiskey:
This whiskey was made by Eddie Russell to have a good time his fortieth yr of distilling whiskey along with his dad, Jimmy Russell. The juice is a group of a minimal of 13-year-old barrels that Eddie Russell hand-picked. These barrels had been married after which bottled as-is with no proofing or filtration.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Candy and dried fruits invite you on the nostril as a contact of recent, creamy, and darkish Black Forest cake mingles with delicate vacation spices, dried almonds, and a way of wealthy pipe tobacco simply kissed with sultanas.
Palate: That darkish chocolate and cherry fruit drive the palate as a touch of charred cedar leads towards vanilla tobacco with extra of that darkish chocolate and a small contact of honey, orange blossom, and a whisper of dried chili flake.
End: That honey leads again to the heat and spice with a skinny line of cherry bark smoke lurking on the very backend with extra bitter chocolate, buttery vanilla, and darkish cherry all combining into chewy tobacco packed into an previous pine field and wrapped up with worn leather-based thread.
Backside Line:
There was one thing particular in regards to the newest batch of this expression that catapulted it into the stratosphere taste-wise. That is freaking scrumptious bourbon with unimaginable depth. That is one other “simply purchase a case” if you could find it pull.
9. Previous Forester President’s Alternative Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58.5%
Common Worth: $599
The Whiskey:
2023’s President’s Alternative Single Barrel bourbon from Previous Foresters is one more masterpiece from the Louisville model. The whiskey on this case is a 10-year-old barrel that rested in a particular location within the West Louisville warehouses. As soon as it was excellent, the whiskey was bottled as-is with a contact of water.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The whiskey opens with a salted caramel apple nostril that edges in the direction of apple saltwater taffy with a creamy layer of spicy darkish chocolate and a contact of orange blossoms and barrelhouse beams.
Palate: The palate takes the wintry spices and attaches them to the creaminess, creating an egg nog really feel to the style that leans into darkish fruits and a touch of toasted coconut cream pie.
End: The tip holds onto the spice however focuses extra on anise (and perhaps fennel) whereas the caramel and spice connect to sticky tobacco with a warming finish.
Backside Line:
This is likely one of the greatest whiskeys of the final yr. It’s additionally probably the greatest Previous Forester releases cash should purchase.
8. E. H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
ABV: 50%
Common Worth: $299
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is aged within the famed Warehouse C at Buffalo Hint from their Mash Invoice No. 1. On this case, single barrels are picked for his or her excellent Taylor taste profile and bottled one by one with a slight contact of water to carry them all the way down to bottled-in-bond proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Dried darkish fruits and a touch of vanilla wafers mingle with fig fruit leather-based, a contact of orchard wooden, and a deep caramel on the nostril.
Palate: The palate holds onto these notes whereas layering in darkish berry tobacco with sharp winter spices, new leather-based, and a singed cotton sweet subsequent to a cedar field full of that tobacco.
End: The end lingers in your senses for some time and leaves the spice behind for that darkish, nearly savory fruit notice with an echo of blackberry Hostess pies subsequent to mushy leather-based pouches which have held chewy tobacco for many years and a last trace of previous porch wicker in the midst of summer time.
Backside Line:
That is a kind of whiskeys that’s laborious to get however not unimaginable (my liquor simply had some on the shelf for MSRP). It’s additionally wonderful. That is really important Kentucky bourbon that transports you to Kentucky from the nostril to the end.
7. Augusta Distillery Buckner’s Aged 13 Years Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 60% (varies)
Common Worth: $199
The Whiskey:
This can be a very area of interest model out in rural Kentucky that’s sourcing previous barrels. The whiskey within the bottle is a Kentucky straight bourbon that rested for 13 years earlier than it was bottled utterly as-is each unfiltered and at cask power.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a way of previous barrel homes filled with candy and spice bourbon subsequent to a mild second of creamy vanilla honey with previous corn husks stuffed within the honey which is poured over spiced winter nut breads with a touch of butteriness and earthy nutshells.
Palate: The clove, allspice, and anise of the nut bread amp up the buttery palate with a way of Earl Gray tea leaves, salted caramel, and mocha-heavy espresso beans subsequent to a light-weight marzipan moistness and hints of burnt orange subsequent to previous dry black cherry bark.
End: The tip lingers for some time because the marzipan and orchard barks fade towards sharp eggnog spices and mushy creaminess earlier than the vanilla creamed honey slathers previous oak staves with an excellent dose of earthy fall vibes sort of like a forest ground on a frosty day.
Backside Line:
This was one other large award winner in 2023. It’s going to be very laborious to search out now however it’s value at the very least attempting in the event you see it at a whiskey bar. It’s an exquisite pour of whiskey — bourbon or not.
6. William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof (BTAC 2023)
ABV: 66.8%
Common Worth: $1,799
The Whiskey:
That is Buffalo Hint’s basic wheated bourbon. 2023’s Weller BTAC was distilled again within the spring of 2011 and left to relaxation in warehouses C, L, M, and N for 12 lengthy years. These barrels had been batched and this whiskey was bottled 100% as-is at cask power.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Deep and darkish candied black cherry mingles with dry cedar bark, molasses, actual vanilla beans, nutty brown butter, and previous leather-based rolled in pipe tobacco and simply kissed with smoldering sage and dry chili pepper flakes.
Palate: The palate opens with a full blast of ABVs, making the entrance of your tongue tingle, as floral honey, cherry cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream, and brown butter streusel lower with nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove result in a touch of dry orange tobacco.
End: Cinnamon sticks and clove buds floating in maple syrup arrive on the end with a way of previous leather-based boots, the oak in an previous rickhouse, orchard barks, and mushy notes of vanilla and cherry cake.
Backside Line:
That is arguably the most effective bottle of bourbon from Buffalo Hint that’s sort of nonetheless gettable for a value. This can be a unbelievable whiskey that goes past the strange and leaves you feeling such as you’ve sipped one thing really particular.
5. Willett Barrel #1614 19-12 months-Previous Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 60%
Common Worth: $899
The Whiskey:
Yearly, Willett releases wonderful barrels which are going to blow you away. In early 2023, they launched this brief barrel that yielded solely 62 bottles. That made this a distillery-only launch of final yr — that additionally signifies that this was a really fleeting bottle that got here and went in a short time.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: Wealthy and oily espresso beans mingle with darkish chocolate creaminess on the nostril subsequent to moist brown sugar, buttermilk biscuits recent from the oven, salted caramel chews, and this fleeting sense of rye bread with a caraway seed crust lined with recent and nearly bitter butter smeared over it.
Palate: That chocolate and low bean meld on the entrance of the palate for a wealthy and really darkish mocha latte vibe earlier than leaning into clove, anise, and sasparilla with a smoldering sense of smudging sage and marshmallow subsequent to lush vanilla buttercream and pear compote lower with saffron.
End: Ginger cash dusted in uncooked sugar drive the end towards spiced mulled wine and vacation nut desserts brimming with dried rum raisin, candied orange, and brandied cherry earlier than eggnog-laced tobacco layered into an previous cedar humidor results in a wealthy but candy black filth from a cellar that held hams and funky rind cheeses for hundreds of years.
Backside Line:
Look, any Willett purple prime might be right here. There are such a lot of uncommon Willetts which are phenomenal. This one is just too and there’s a tiny probability that you simply may have the ability to really do that one (which isn’t true of most Willetts, at this level).
4. Michter’s Restricted Launch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 25 Years Previous
ABV: 58.1%
Common Worth: $1,500
The Whiskey:
The whiskey within the bottle was distilled in or earlier than 1998 at an undisclosed Kentucky distillery from a novel mash invoice. That whiskey went into new American white oak barrels and was left alone till they had been moved over to the Shively, Kentucky campus the place they had been monitored for excellence. When the barrels hit the appropriate mark — that’s the place the Michter’s crew’s prowess is available in — they had been batched for this very small restricted launch and bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a deep sense of previous molasses vats that held prunes, dates, and raisins with a way of winter spice barks, berries, and buds subsequent to brown buttery Christmas sugar cookies dipped in darkish chocolate and dusted with floor vanilla pods earlier than this mild sense of smoked walnut shells and fire-roasted chestnuts arrives.
Palate: That molasses leans towards thick sizzling chocolate simply kissed with crimson chili earlier than a deep sense of candied almonds takes the style towards wealthy and moist sticky toffee pudding flaked with sea salt and recent orange zest with a touch of vanilla buttercream.
End: The tip leans into dried sweetgrass and previous fall leaves in an apple orchard with a touch of pear-brandy-soaked marzipan dipped in dark-as-night chocolate and kissed with a mixture of woody brown winter spices wrapped up in previous tobacco leaves and saved in a really previous whiskey barrel in a musty previous brick rickhouse on a chilly fall day.
Backside Line:
This late 2023 launch is a monumental bourbon. It’s simply so goddamn good. The perfect half is which you can purchase this proper now — for a large value however… nonetheless. This can be a once-in-a-liftetime pour.
3. Eagle Uncommon 25 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50.5%
Common Worth: $22,999
The Whiskey:
Eagle Uncommon Straight Bourbon is comprised of Mash Invoice #1 at Buffalo Hint Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. That’s their low-rye mash invoice, and that’s all that’s identified in regards to the juice. That whiskey was then left to relaxation for practically twenty years in a warehouse earlier than being moved into Buffalo Hint’s new state-of-the-art Warehouse P facility. When the whiskey hit 25 years previous, one thing magical occurred to the barrel and it was prepared for bottling.
The one barrel was proofed all the way down to Eagle Uncommon’s 101-proof and in any other case bottled as-is, yielding solely 200 bottles. The bottle can also be a collectible with a hand-hammered sterling silver eagle wing wrapped round a hand-blown crystal decanter. That putting bottle is available in a customized show field that opens like an eagle’s wings.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril hints at previous oak staves resting in a musty warehouse earlier than veering towards stewed cherries with hints of clove and nutmeg subsequent to salted darkish chocolate shavings and wealthy powdered sugar icing lower with bourbon vanilla and light-weight pipe tobacco essences with a whisper of fall leaves and orchard barks.
Palate: The wealthy vanilla will get buttery and creamy with an nearly eggnog vibe due to the spice on the plush palate has dried cranberry, brandy-soaked cherry, and dried figs result in wealthy toffee rolled in darkish chocolate and anise earlier than getting lower with a contact of earthy tobacco pulled from recent black filth.
End: The end hugs you gently with heat tied to winter spice barks soaked in apple cider lower with black cherry because the filth takes on a warehouse should with gently candy oak staves mingle with a whisper of complete black pepper and clove buds over creamy darkish orange spice cake.
Backside Line:
This can be a really once-in-a-lifetime bottle. You may solely see this at a really high-end whiskey bar at this level. Strive a small pour. It’ll blow you away.
2. Michter’s US*1 Restricted Launch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 20 Years Previous
ABV: 57.1%
Common Worth: $7,026
The Whiskey:
Grasp Distiller Dan McKee personally selects these (at the very least) 20-year-old barrels from the Michter’s rickhouses primarily based on… I assume simply “pure excellence” could be the appropriate phrase. The bourbon is bottled as-is — no reducing with water.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: A way of darkish cherry with deep rummy molasses, dried rose petals, previous almond shells, and cedar bark mingle with a recent pipe tobacco leaf simply kissed with apple and pear essence with a touch of vanilla oils and previous wintry wine spices.
Palate: The style leans into smoldering vanilla pods with a way of previous oak staves from a dusty previous cellar subsequent to candy cinnamon and cherry over dried sage and sharp spearmint with a clove syrup base and a splash of toasted marshmallow sweetness.
End: The tip is stuffed with darkish cherry and woody spice with moist marzipan, burnt orange oils, and chewy recent tobacco wrapped up in previous leather-based and cedar bark with a touch extra of that previous cellar sneaking in.
Backside Line:
That is the candy spot of Michter’s tremendous uncommon whiskeys. This isn’t unimaginable to get, however you’ll pay a value. That apart, this can be a excellent bourbon.
1. Delight of Anderson County Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 13.5 Years
ABV: 59.9%
Common Worth: $500
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is a gathering of the nice whiskey minds of 2023. The one barrel decide was curated by David Jennings (of Uncommon Fowl 101) and Pablo Moix of Uncommon Character along with Bruce Russell of Wild Turkey. This can be a sourced whiskey with the amazingly uncommon label that has the supply on it — Wild Turkey. The whiskey within the bottle is a basic Turkey bourbon that was distilled again in April of 2010, saved within the famed Camp Nelson campus warehouse on the fourth ground, after which bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nostril: The nostril opens with a deep sense of salted caramel that’s nonetheless heat earlier than layers of cinnamon barks, clove buds, star anise, and complete nutmeg drive the senses towards wealthy and oily vanilla beans, previous oak staves with a candy edge that’s frivolously toasted to carry out the sugars, and this flutter of previous nutcakes with loads of candied fruits and brandy wrapped in gold foil for Christmas.
Palate: The palate leans into the candied fruits and citrus peels of an excellent brandy-soaked nutcake earlier than diving into wealthy vanilla buttercream over apple pies and wild berry crumbles with a wealthy and sharp winter spice combine that’s half powdery and half wood, which leads towards a brandied pear tobacco with a cedar bark vibe.
End: The woodiness softens on the end with nearly moist cedar bark braided with cinnamon-rich tobacco dipped in darkish orange chocolate and rolled in roasted chestnuts and almonds with a vibe of sitting in an previous barrel home amongst the cobwebs, musty microflora, and historical wood beams whereas the wind blows in a second of fall leaves from a close-by fruit orchard.
Backside Line:
That is excellent, sure. Nevertheless it goes to date past that to create this matrix of emotions, recollections, experiences, and tastes that appears like a time machine, teleporter, and deep tissue therapeutic massage all wrapped up right into a single sip of whiskey. It’s not only a excellent Bluegrass State bourbon, it’s… magic.
