Old Forester was one of the six distilleries to hold a medicinal whiskey permit during prohibition. Larceny, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, NAS. At $30 per bottle, this is another excellent value for a classic bourbon. Additionally, it was aged at least 4 years under government supervision, and it is bottled at 50% ABV. The bourbons range from the $70, 107-proof Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Bourbon 10-Year-Old to the top-shelf, 95.6-proof Pappy Van Winkles Family Reserve Bourbon 23-Year-Old, which has a suggested retail price of $300. (Photo by Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post via Getty Images), Celebrate Bottled In Bond Bourbon, The Spirit That Saved American Whiskey, March Is B Corp Month, Here Are 8 Alcohol Brands You Might Not Realize Are Certified, Top Burgundy Wine Producer Talks About Amazing Value Wines That Often Get Overlooked, Whiskey Of The Week: Michters Celebration Sour Mash Is The Ultimate Event Pour, Whisky Review: 50 Year Old Glenfarclas, Bowmore, Cardrona, And More, Hendricks Gin Debuts Flora Adora As New Limited Release, Thinking About Black Wine Business Beyond Black History Month, Whisky Review: Compass Box, Benriach, Tobermory, And More. The 2021 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is bold, spicy, and fruit forward. Type above and press Enter to search. Once everyday, easy-to-find [+] brands are now allocated and outside of the consumer's reach. Entry proof is 125 proof/62.5 percent. After being somewhat underwhelmed by Blantons and Basil Hayden, Ibe come to the conclusion that my tastes lean towards the Wheated bourbons. That hasnt stopped the collectors, however. A rich leather note, along with some pepper, emerges at the end and lingers. While it has an MSRP of just $40 (and costing half that much just a couple of years ago), its become one of the industrys hottest bottles more recently, and these days market prices hover around $300. Flavor is smooth and a bit musty, with hints of vanilla, banana, cinnamon and a dash of charred oak spice providing a bitter note. Its really a question we get very often: What are the Best Wheated Bourbons? Minnick has a unique use for one of bourbons classic names. Thanks in advance. Fred Minnick is a longtime American whiskey writer and author of multiple bourbon books. You can get two of these for the price of one Woodford. The look of it was like that of a reddened maple syrup. Many of these regional brands were ones gobbled up by the big distillers in the consolidation that followed Prohibition in the US or they are expressions that were left out of the marketing campaigns that created the big national brands. As with all Pappy releases, the actual price youll pay for a bottle will likely be significantly more, but in a welcome change of pace, the yields were higher in 2022 than in previous years, so more bottles were available than usual. In a whiskey market that's become increasingly fragmented and allocated, Knob Creek's classic small batch bourbon distinguishes itself. Simply, this is Heaven Hills famous wheated bourbon thats aged for nine years and bottled-in-bond. At $20 per bottle, this is a fantastic bourbon and an excellent introduction to wheated bourbons. It was thick, and the coating of the glass left a thin crown that dropped tiny, slow-moving tears. It bears no age statement and is bottled at 92 proof. The mash bill used contains: 72% corn, 18% rye, 10% malted barley. Sour mash and bottled-in-bond, non-distiller-producers and high-ryes. Elijah Craig Small Batch is layered in vanilla and often so soft on the palate. The result is bottled at 93 proof. I drink so much Makers with BBQ, he says. The juice starts its time in a new charred oak barrel (as it should) before its dumped into a second charred oak barrel that's been more deeply toasted. Nice, easy-drinking proof? Weller, and to a lesser extent Old Fitzgerald, has been caught up in the cult frenzy that now surrounds Pappy Van Winkle. For instance, Jim Beam, Bakers, Knob Creek, Old Crow, and Old Taylor all have the exact same mash bill (75/13/12 corn/rye/barley), barrel char (level #4), and barreling proof (125 proof). It was a great taste but will never pay that much for it again. Every product is carefully selected by our editors. The bourbon is bottled-in-bond (BIB), which means it is the product of a single distillation by a single distiller at a single distillery, and has been aged for at least four years under US government supervision. Lots of rye spices mingle with sweet vanilla on the palate here. Id keep my eye out for the upcoming single barrel Rebel Yell as well as any private barrel selections you can find from Weller, or Makers Mark in particular. Old Forester 86 Proof Bourbon Review . You can have five different notes hitting at once. With tasting notes that include butterscotch, toffee, caramel and honey, this is one for the sweet tooths. Today, Evan Williams Bourbon is distilled only blocks from the site of his original distillery. Don't tell your bourbon-drinking friends, but Russell's spicy-caramel-and-vanilla-tasting Reserve 10-year-old bourbon is one of the best values in the bourbon world. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. On the palate, there is a distinctive honey sweetness accompanied by cinnamon and nutmeg. Makes it easy to see why some newbies often cant tell the difference between some of these bourbons, right? For 2022, the rugged western whiskey is a blend of 8- and 9-year-old barrels from the distillery and clocks in at a whopping 134.8 proof. Dread River Master Series by Eboni Major: Eboni Major is one of the rising stars of the bourbon world. Buy a case. One is labeled recipe B and is 60% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley. After a reasonable period, however, that flips for me. On the palate, the whiskey has a cooked corn sweetness, with notes of honey, dried peach, tropical fruit, vanilla, caramel and burnt sugar, along with some faint strawberry notes. It has a suggested MSRP of $150, and Reserve Bar is your best bet for snagging a bottle. This is similar to the various Pappy expressions. Some expressions have a characteristic leather aroma, although this is not true of all of the bottlings. Youd think that would make it a shoe-in to win my blind tasting. Its relatively low-corn mashbill (only 63 percent) is also unique, utilizing a staggering amount of rye and malted barley, creating a spicy bourbon ideal for drinking on the rocks or in a cocktail. Both are somewhat fruity, but express it differently. Perhaps thats why it was in the running to win it all. The result is that both the W L Weller Special Reserve and the Old Weller Antique Original 107 brand straight wheated bourbon whiskey often sell at three times or more of their list price. This bourbon may benefit from some airtime. This is a side by side comparison review of the Old Forester 1920 and 1910, both are part of their Whiskey Row series. Slightly peppery wheat next to a light fruit, vanilla, and fresh maple syrup greet you. The bourbon category has never been more popular than it is right now. But if I get back to Loretto, Im not leaving without the Makers 101. #4 barrel char. But this blind tasting was not its day. Makers is my flagship wheated bourbon. I dont collect, so secondary value is so worthless a determination to me that I couldnt even tell you a ballpark value of most bottles. Look, I know Jack says Tennessee whiskey on the label, but theres an argument made for it being bourbon. This is another classic bourbon with a distinctive caramel and vanilla aroma on the nose. My personal opinion is a little different. The juice is really crafted as an entry point to Woodfords wider line that showcases their aging and blending prowess. Egg nog spices kick this sip off. // < ! Ninety-nine percent of Dickel products are officially Tennessee Whisky, not bourbon. There have been quite a few individual barrels of wheated bourbon released, or reportedly released over they ears. The current distiller is rumored to be Heaven Hill. This is all about the sweetness.. I recently did a blind taste test comparing some Wheaters and surprisingly rated Makers 46 as my top pick among Makers Mark, Larceny, Old Weller Antique, and Bernheim (a pure wheat whiskey). The oak peeks in with more vanilla, notes of toffee, and a bit of berry tartness. It can claim to be extremely full flavored thanks to its 115 proof, and its taste profile is like a synthesis of. Looking for something on the cheap? ABV: 40% Larceny becomes grand larceny when the property taken exceeds a certain value as defined by each state. Non-Distiller Producers (NDP): Companies that purchase their whiskey from someone else rather than making it themselves. They all use a similar mash bill, andsome reportedly even use yeast strains derived from the original Stitzel-Weller batch. Last I heard it was going for about three thousand a bottle if you could find it. Production started on Ezra Brooks around the 1950s by the Medley Distillery. Cheap bourbon isnt always as bottom-shelf as it seems. Though it shares DNA with other Heaven Hill bourbons like Evan Williams and Henry McKenna, Elijah Craig Small Batch is balanced, with extra maltiness. On the nose, Larceny is sweet, offering fruit notes of peach and apricot along with candied citrus zest, and cinnamon. Old Grand-Dad Bonded Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, NAS, 50% ABV, was the nickname of a distiller named Basil Hayden. Wheated Bourbon Throwdown: Larceny vs. W.L. He has conducted various bourbon and whiskey tastings in cities across the country, and consulted for multiple national labels. That includes retailer specific brands. Here we go.. McKenna has a classic bourbon nose of caramel, vanilla and charred oak. Take heed, though, since it somewhat controversially took home Best in Show, Whiskey at San Francisco World Spirits Competition a few years ago its been harder to come by, and more expensive than it used to be. Buffalo Trace vs Old Forester 86 Comparison . Theres a clear sense of bourbon vanilla next to creamy corn and plenty of honey sweetness. The toffee and oak mingle in the end as it slowly dissipates. It's a cask strength blend created by the blending masters at Barrell Craft Spirits and it is a doozy. ABV: 50% Let me share a funny story. It is based on a mash bill of 77% corn, 10% rye and 13% malted barley. While there's no age statement on the bottle, it's believed that Double Oaked is aged for at least six years. On the nose, there is caramel, cooked corn sweetness and pralines (think almond roca candy), along with plenty of cinnamon and clove spice. One of the few universally praised non-macro whiskey makers in the U.S., its 6-year-old offering is Bottled-in-Bond, sweet mash bourbon with flavor that suggests the "6" on the label is a typo this bourbon tastes significantly older. I walk in and find 15 year old Pappy in a red velvet sack sitting on the shelf for about sixty dollars a bottle. Plum, pear, cocoa and vanilla are among the tasting notes here. Its just that one of them was in the right spot in the rickhouse and deemed tasty enough not to be blended with other barrels. Despite the increasing demand (and price) for much-hyped bottles, bourbon is an every-person drink. After about 7 years, they start becoming nice sips. Its not complex, but the sweetness is really nice the way it hits the palate. He is a native of Louisville, KY in the heart of Bourbon Country. The finish is medium length, sweet, with caramel, vanilla and spice notes and a persistent pepperiness. Each of its releases makes clear what went into it distillery location, whiskey age, proof, etc. Its not. With all the easily available wheaters around, it really makes little sense to go through the Herculean effort and expense to obtain the limited editions. Whether thats worth the money is up to you and your palate. ABV: 50% Larceny Barrel Proof A122 Bourbon . Wheat adds a creaminess to the mouth feel of the bourbon, and has sort of a prickly sweet flavor that is slightly lighter than the sweetness typically derived from the majority corn recipe. So the second way to look at it is really what this site is focused on- how it tastes. On the palate, there are pralines (candied pecans), orange zest, along with caramel, maple syrup, some mint and spice notes of cinnamon and clove. The finish is long, sweet, with maple syrup and brown sugar notes. Old Forester is richer, so it's less prevalent in this comparison, but it's definitely still there on its own without Jack Daniel's to cover it up. This is a simple bourbon thats cut from the same mash and pulled from the same rickhouses as everyones beloved Blantons one of the more sought after and awarded bourbons in modern times. It's full of flavor and has a bit of an oaky kick to it that pairs well with the sweetness. Wheated: A bourbon with a higher than normal percentage of mash bill made up of wheat (the main grain remains corn). Old Grand-Dad was a contender for Best Everyday Bourbon. In my past blind tastings, Old Grand-Dad did not fare well. Head on over to Distiller, or download the app for iOS and Android today! Distiller Score: 86. Theres more of sweetness at play with toffee and vanilla up top. Bourbon with an age statement and available at barrel strength for a good price?