So they blend it out into the cheap stuff. Naming your bourbon "Two Stars" doesn't seem like that great of a move. Like all bourbon, its mash bill is mostly corn with a touch of malted barley. Bourbon, that caramel-colored brown liquor, with the unmistakable nose and palate of smoke, vanilla, caramel and molasses, is a bona fide crowd pleaser. The Whiskey: A.D. Laws out in Colorado is renowned for its award-winning four-grain bourbons. Maybe this one should be tossed overboard. 10. To get here, it is a gorgeous drive through horse farms and rolling, bluegrass Kentucky hills. Youve earned good whiskey, so lets get into which bottles to skip from the big Kentucky distilleries! But Old Forester, which got its start in 1870, is unusual in that it's stayed in the hands of a single family since its founder, a pharmaceutical salesman, decided to dive into distilling, according toMalt. This is because of its popularity; the brand simply can't make enough of the stuff to satisfy its thirsty fans. . The distillery closed in 1992 but was resurrected in 2014 by Diageo, a company based out of London that specializes in a broad range of spirits. And while flavorful enough, it's not all that unique, and its high price point makes it a difficult choice to get behind. Forever. Like a moth to the flame, human beings are naturally drawn to loving shiny objects. The Whiskey Reviewer further noted that it doesn't offer those drinking it "any surprises," as "there are no twists or particularly subtle nuances." Check out GAYOT's 10 Top Bourbons from the least expensive offerings to the priciest bottles. To put a finer point on it, Id be lying if I said I loved every bourbon I tasted. Woodford is the oldest and smallest distillery on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Judging by how utterly unpalatable the Kentucky Straight Bourbon is on its own, maybe the company should stick to beer. "My new favorite sipper, and one of the best bourbons I have ever tasted, hands down," says Anthony Vitacca, an award-winning bartender based in California. Proof: 112.8. While some craft bourbon can read a bit young and woody on the palate, this whiskey tastes fully mature and carefully produced. The perfectly balanced taste of our Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is composed of more than 200 detectable flavor notes, from bold grain and wood, to sweet aromatics, spice, and fruit & floral notes. KOVAL Distillery doesn't believe in limiting itself to crafting just one single artisanal spirit, as evidenced by its varied selection of spirits includingbourbon,gin,and flavored liqueur. Zagat's video team filmed the proceedings, so if you want to see what it was like to taste 10-plus cocktails in one evening, watch the wonderful video embedded at the top of this post. Jesse James Bourbon 5. 1. Baby Bourbon (version 1.0) was groundbreaking in that it was the first legal whiskey made in New York since prohibition (via DrinkUpNY). But it successfully managed to earn both public acceptance and respect, even becoming the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby. Apparently not, because it's also pretty thin. This bourbon is so sweet that it's been likened to a bottle of diabetes, and one reviewer on Flaviar said that the sweetness was bad enough to hurt their teeth. My 5 Worst American Whiskies. It's aged for more than six years in American oak barrels, giving it what Ohanneson says are "notes of caramel, peanut brittle, and a thread of delicate, early summer fruit." Maybe an olfactory thief has somehow stolen tasters' sense of smell, because all they seem to be getting is vanilla, and a lot of it, too (via Distiller). And while not as well-known as reputable mid-range brands like Maker's Mark, it's still worth investigating. The barrels are a minimum of five years old when theyre plucked from the warehouses, blended, brought down to 80 proof, and bottled. Top 10 Bourbons. This claim, however, has been disputed by the Century House Historical Society, the current custodians of the mine and surrounding properties, as Blue Stone Press reported. The bourbon costs between $40 and $50 per 1 ounce pour. As Malt Review shared, it's "mouth-puckeringly tart at first" with an "iron-like stiffness from the beginning to the end of the mouth" and "the spiciness of Big Red chewing gum." Age statements vary, but the latest is a blend of 6, 7, 10, 15 and 16-year-old whiskey bottled at a cask strength of 111.2 proof (all of the bourbon is barrel-proof). This mixture of grains is known as the mash bill. Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. 10. The spice is squarely in the cinnamon category, with creamy vanilla, warm tobacco, and a hint of orchard fruit lurking in the background. Simply because the goal of this distillery TerrePURE Spirits, alias Terreesentia is to reduce the aging time a whiskey needs from years to hours (via Thirty One Whiskey). The family's unusual longevity as owners is presumably due in part to its roots in pharmaceuticals, which enabled them to pivot to medicinal alcohol during Prohibition, keeping the distillery alive until better times returned. Malt likewise found pleasantly fruity notes in its Old Forester 1910. Some (a lot sometimes) are hot trash. The end is another left turn with a dusting of dark chocolate with a hint of honey as the water kicks in a fades out the stone fruit, spice, and oak pretty quickly. At a very good price point for a 10-year-old whiskey, a bottle of this won't disappoint. This 80 proof, light-bodied bourbon is produced by Beam Suntory, the daughter company of Jim Beam and Suntory Holdings (and third-largest producer of distilled beverages worldwide in 2020, per Statista). Whiskey Thief Uncut Unfiltered may sound like it's coming to a theater near you, but it's actually a bourbon brought to you by Three Boys Farm Distillery. Health & Fitness. This bourbon from Lux Row is a wheated bourbon mash thats contract distilled partially off-site and partially made at the distillery. Maybe it's a sign that this bourbon needs to be locked away. A beguiling blend of straight bourbon whiskeys (5, 6, 7 and 10-year-old barrels) distilled and aged in TN, KY and IN, and bottled at cask strength (115.34 proof). On Youtube, someone commented that "It's like bourbon for people who don't like bourbon." The sip is almost invisible on the tip of the tongue and very watery but does have echoes of sweet cherry candy, caramel apples, and vanilla extract in there but you really have to dig around for them. The company has been distilling for 200 years, so it has really racked up quite an impressive reputation, with its Cask Strength release in 2013 dubbed Best Spirit in the World. Our Top Bourbon Picks Best Overall: Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon Best for Sipping: Hillrock Solera Aged Bourbon Best for Whiskey Sour: Wild Turkey 101 Best for Manhattan: Breckenridge. Brought to you by the Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company (not to be confused with Lexington Bourbon, the ones who brought you the bottle with a horse on it), Town Branch Kentucky Straight can only be described as a waste of money. As a reward, your name is engraved on a golden mint julep cup stored at the distillery, according toRedditusers who have joined the club. Well, at least the price tag under $20 makes it a good gag gift. Taking a shot of Knob Creek's Smoked Maple sounds like one of those questionable challenges that dare you to record yourself doing something ill-advised like eating a spoonful of cinnamon or, you know, drinking a jug of maple syrup. Sounds tasty, doesn't it? It's called common sense. Its stellar whiskey, albeit from Tennessee and not Kentucky. The taste delivers on that and expands into peach cobbler territory with mild hints of vanilla and brown sugar syrup with baking spices. Generally, I log those and move on without slagging them off because its pretty obvious that a $7 plastic bottle of bourbon isnt going to be something anyone is going to line up to buy. It's easily one of the first whiskeys to be thrown into the pit of most regrettable bourbon purchases. Maybe the folks at Early Times took the whole historical angle a wee bit too far. So, Woodford Reserve is near the middle of our list not because it's mediocre, but because it's solidly respectable it delivers exactly what you'd expect from a mid-range bourbon, no more and no less. But unfortunately, this spirit doesn't seem to live up to its trademark slogan: "You never forget your first sip of Basil Hayden." Eagle Rare 10 Year Old. The palate is largely the same with a sense of watered-down apple juice, a hint more of that vanilla, some alcohol burn (almost inexplicably), and a touch of chocolate-covered cherries dipped in water. Its only $5 more than David Nicholson and just much deeper while also being more approachable and mixable. One Redditoreven claimed that they "poured it down the sink after a dram and felt bad for the drain and my wallet.". Its producer, Heaven Hill Distillery, wasn't founded until 1935, according toMalt. This makes perfect sense because the bourbon is named after Dr. James Crow, a Scottish physician and chemist who invented the sour mash process, an important step in distillation (via Whiskey Raw). Well, that's not good. Meanwhile,Thirty One Whiskey explains that Jefferson doesn't distill anything the company just receives bourbon from other sources, then labels and sells it. Over on Ranker folks cast a whopping 54,000 votes, and a clear top ten bourbons emerged. Now 52% Off. Until recently, this bourbon was known as Rebel Yell, but it recently dropped the "Yell," perhaps because the old name was associated with the Confederacy (via Reddit). Sadly, it's also rated two stars by many reviewers on Distiller(as one taster laments, it was $20 down the drain). Thats just math. And that something is offering up decent bottles at affordable prices. While experimenting is cool and all, it's not cool to try and act like the bourbon that has been aging for 24 hours is going to taste just as good as the whiskey that's been aging for five or more years. The juice is then rested for six years before blending, cutting down to proof, and barreling, which, in turn, means that theres still a little sourced juice in the mix here. Im not mad at it but dont really see the point either. The burn carries through to the finish, muting the vanilla, peanut, caramel, and oak. Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey Check Price Buy now Now in its 29th year of production, Knob Creek is an unapologetic, full-flavored bourbon long-aged and barreled up at 100 proof. Every step is carefully monitored, from sourcing herbs, grains, and spices from vetted farmers to using state-of-the-art technology to keep its products consistent. Sneaky. Maybe the judges had incredibly tired palates by the time this disaster came up for judging. Wow, this is thin on the nose. Best Cocktail Bourbon Four Roses Bourbon Drizly $24 AT DRIZLY Proof: 80 Average Price: $12 - $20 Tasting Notes: Floral essence, fresh fruit, spice "This is such a dynamic whiskey," Minnick says. Barton doesnt disclose the mash bill but it is aged at least four years. The Bonded version basically takes everything thats just a whisper in the above version and lets it shine while layering in deeper flavor notes. According to Breaking Bourbon, the original Elijah Craig was a Baptist preacher and said to be the inventor of the process of aging bourbon in charred oak barrels. Sounds like most of the finances for this experimental spirit were put to really good use in the marketing and branding department. Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months. The taste doesnt veer too far from the nose as the apple turns more honey, with mild vanilla and more honeyed sweetness. The first Booker's Bourbon batch of 2023, Charlie's Batch, is an intense and extra-caramelized delight, one of the best Booker's batches. George T. Stagg comes in dense and robust-bodied texture. It's a classic tasting bourbon with notes of oak, caramel and brown sugar. Until then, it was famed for being the drink of choice of President Grant, back in the 1870s which gave it a lot to hang its hat on as a brand. So unless you're interested in dropping $35 to $40 for a pretty bottle that happens to be filled with unpleasant whiskey, don't do it. Don't expect to impress your friends by pouring from a bottle of Paddleford Creek (even though the label is pretty darn cool which is all it seems to have going for it), because, as one observer on Distiller states, it "just doesn't do much of anything." Those who aren't knowledgeable about bourbon might be led to believe that a whiskey thief is someone who breaks into a rackhouse and escapes into the night with a full barrel of juice. Their Barrel Proof Bourbon was named Whiskey of the Year by Whisky Advocate in 2017. Woodford Reserve. It could be smoother and its hotness may strike some as excessive but it offers remarkable quality for a budget tipple, which is why it deserves a position in our top five bourbons. Its palate is sweet with notes of berries and apricot with . Unless youre looking for a run-of-mill bourbon. It allows them to customize their mash bill to fit their taste, since different grains produce different flavors. Hayes Parker Reserve: Terre Pure bourbon aged at least six months. The brand is characterized by an alcoholic burn and a strong hit of spice due to its rye-heavy mash bill. Theyre just not very good maybe a little plasticky or watery and also all come from huge distilleries that make way better expressions for just a little bit more cash. Bourbon aficionados will tell you that when purchasing a worthwhile whiskey, you should never be swayed by appearance and you should alwaysdo your research. One Redditor said, "It's seriously the only bottle I've poured down a drain." Smoother finish, more complex flavors, smaller batches. The distillery's signature 10-year-old bourbon presents a nose of nutmeg, cream, vanilla, and a dash of cinnamon, and a palate that flirts with maple syrup, almond, cherry, and orange. This cocktail mixes Scotch and/or Bourbon with maple syrup and bitters for a smoky-yet-sweet drink. Claim Now Must be 21+. At least it's only around $15, so you're not killing your wallet. This Lawrenceburg, KY-based distillery utilizes two mash bills and five proprietary yeast strains to create 10 total bourbon recipes, each one providing a unique flavor experience. The result is a full flavored whiskey that goes down easy. In short, if Old Grand-Dad had a life philosophy, it was probably "go big or go home.". Four Roses Single Barrel: Overall best bourbon of 2023 Knob Creek 9 Year Old: Best bourbon under $50 Pappy Van Winkle's 23 Year Family Reserve: Best high-end bottle of bourbon Elijah Craig Small Batch: Smoothest Bourbon Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon: Best Bourbon for beginners Old Forester Classic 86 Proof: Best value Bourbon Human beings like to think that an inflated price and a striking bottle means it must be good, right? But maybe consumers' expectations are simply too high? Taste your way through the best of the best of America's native spirit. As The Bourbon Bard noted, "It's versatile with the fruit notes lending themselves to summer drinking and the spice coming through for colder winter nights." On the nose, it provides immersive caramel corn and toasted wood notes with a hint of buttery toffee. Spoiler alert: The name ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy. The idea is there, but it just didn't follow through. Apparently, to oneRedditor, it's Willet Pot Still. Whiskey Thief Uncut Unfiltered is described by the brand as having caramel and honey notes, a woody edge, and a hint of white pepper. Nobody wants to go see a two-star movie. Meanwhile, SLB Drinks says that the flavor profile "tastes like someone mixed bourbon and maple syrup and then added some artificial sweetener for the hell of it." Today, Booker's is a mid-to-top shelf bourbon staple a limited quarterly release from Jim Beam Distillery that typically falls between 6 and 7 years old and 120 and 135 proof. Ultimately, the whiskeys produced at this distillery tend to taste incredibly young or like "chewing on a yew branch" (via YouTube). I didnt, but I have no idea what to do with it otherwise. Best Value: Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond. The Beam (originally Boehm) family settled in Kentucky and began selling whiskey there in 1795, according to The Whiskey Reviewer. But if all you care about is the results, scroll down to see which of the 21 bourbon brands we tried worked the best in an Old-Fashioned cocktail -- and which . If you have even a passing familiarity with bourbon, you'd probably recognize its distinctive square bottle and red wax-dipped cap from across the room. In response to a question about some serious shade being thrown at the company, bourbon fanatics on Reddit chimed in with their two cents. 1792 Sweet Wheat - $35. The oak aging gives this Bourbon dry and spicy character. One of the best non-Kentucky high-rye distilleries out there is Indiana's own Hirsch, whose The Horizon bottles have a 94:6 ratio of two different straight bourbons: one distilled from a mashbill containing 21% rye (aged 4 . The Whiskey Shelf even compared it to Larceny. So if you've ever enjoyed bourbon from Maker's Mark or Jim Beam, know that you've experienced a taste of early American history. The hint of oak connects and balances the flavors of fruit and spice. Those notes almost immediately disappear into the watery nature of the sip with no discernable finish but maybe that Wonder Bread dipped in tepid water. But Distillerreviewers point out that it has an intense heat, too much cinnamon, and is akin to lighter fluid. Knob Creek's Kentucky Straight Smoked Maple seems to be, according to some bourbon fans, a bad execution of a good idea. It is a 10-year-old Bottled-in-Bond named after the Irish immigrant who worked with the grains found in Kentucky and adapted his family recipe to them. They also say it tastes rough and is cheap for a reason (it goes for around ten dollars for a 750-milliliter bottle). Barrell Craft Spirits has undergone massive changes throughout the last 3 years. Bourbon can take a number of forms with vastly different personalities, but most critics and casual tasters agree that no matter what the brand or expression, a good bourbon should have a few fundamental characteristics: A caramel sweetness, a distinct taste of oak in the background, a flavor that matches and complements its initial aroma while balancing out the potentially overwhelming burn from the alcohol, and a pleasant mouthfeel and finish. It's also known for its distinctive flavor, due to its unusual mash bill. I think my wife's comments sum it up perfectly: "You can't make me put more in my mouth.". When you hear comments like that, it makes you wonder if this is the same bourbon that won a Silver Medal at the 2020 International Spirits Challenge and a Double Gold at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Championships (via Liquor.com). Whiskey Warehouse reviewed this spirit on YouTube, pointing out that it's thin and really has nothing going for it, other than smelling (and tasting) like watered-down bourbon. Per Saucey, back in the 1920s, physicians could legally prescribe it for conditions like high blood pressure and pneumonia, and this bourbon tastes about as good as medicine. The 2022 release of Russell's Reserve 13 Year Old Bourbon is a standout product for the distillery. Courtesy. According to The Manual, it turns out the two whiskeys are one and the same. Photo by David Prince. Produced and distilled at Beam Distillery, Old Crow Straight Bourbon Whiskey is the least expensive option on this list, available at around $10 for a 1.75-liter bottle with a discount (via BevMo.com ). Which only made you want to hate her more. Buffalo Trace is like that brilliant, beautiful, and disgustingly successful girl from school that you wanted to hate but just couldn't because she was so very nice. Per American Whiskey Trail, early American whiskey was mostly made by amateurs and sold while it was still young and fiery, so it probably didn't taste all that great. Here's a quick recap of the 10 most expensive bourbons in the world: Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old - $33,438. Water and plastic are what you get on the nose and on the palate. 10. A $20 Buffalo Trace bourbon available everywhere is now $200 and nowhere to be found.

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