Larceny is a small batch bourbon (100 barrels or less) of barrels from the middle three floors of the aging warehouse. Please be responsible. This is strikingly similar to Woodford on the nose with the same vanilla, tobacco, mint, and floral fruit. Elijah Craig Small Batch came in sixth. Old Forester 1897 Bottled in Bond Bourbon Classification: Straight Bourbon Company: Brown-Forman Distillery: Brown-Forman Shively Distillery Released: September 2015 Proof: 100 Age: NAS Mashbill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley Color: Medium-dark Amber MSRP: $50 (2015) Official Website Buy Old Forester 1897 Bottled in Bond Bourbon at Frootbat Uncle Nearest Straight Rye . Once again, this wonderful bourbon was in the running to win it all. Old Forester Signature Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, NAS, 50% ABV, is the oldest bourbon brand in the US and the first bourbon to be sold in bottle. ABV: 40% Retail - $250; . Old Forester does a slightly better job filling it in comparison. But Evan Williams is a value brand. Lets Talk Fermentation and Distillation! Sour mash and bottled-in-bond, non-distiller-producers and high-ryes. 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. They were right. Very Old Barton, owned by the Sazerac Company, is produced in Bardstown, Kentucky. With Distiller, youll always know whats in the bottle before you spend a cent. Subscribe to his YouTube Channel to watch his Best American Whiskey taste off December 20. This is a classic bourbon thats been around for a long time. Distillers Gin Guide: Styles to Know and Brands to Try. Sometimes even exactly the same. Today the brand is owned by Luxco. Price Range: $20 to $30. Similar to the straight version, it is smoother, with a little more citrus on the nose and palate and a little dried peach on the finish. It has a highly complex taste, with everything from cotton candy and cayenne pepper to macadamia nuts and underripe blackberries showing up across the nose and palate. ABV: 40% On the nose, there is a distinctive sweetness, along with ripe apple, caramel and a little vanilla. Egg nog spices kick this sip off. Its also the recipe Pappy Van Winkle bought during prohibition. At a retail price of under $50, however, it is an outstanding value, although very difficult to find. This is a BETA experience. Along with Old Overholt Rye, Old Grand-Dad falls under The Olds family of whiskeys released by Jim Beam. The name Old Forester was allegedly chosen in honor of a doctor named Forrester, who regularly prescribed the bourbon to his patients at a time when it was still sold in pharmacies for medicinal purposes. However, the signature for which this bourbon gets its name and which is displayed on each bottle, is the founder of the brand, George Garvin Brown. Charles is a 50-year veteran of the Kentucky distilling industry and his familys history is closely intertwined with Kentucky bourbon. I have a couple of them in my bunker. Distiller Score: 84. Old Forester was one of the six distilleries to hold a medicinal whiskey permit during prohibition. I usually find Makers Mark to be sweet. Old Forester released the "Whiskey Row" line in late 2014 to celebrate the distillery's history. A leather note emerges and lingers at the end. Craft bourbon's rep is tarnished by a few bad apples makes subpar whiskey. Notwithstanding the number of bourbon brands, however, and the veritable explosion in craft producers, now close to 2,000 operating distilleries, over 95% of all of the bourbon made in the United States is produced by 13 large distilleries owned by eight major beverage companies. Bourbon drinkers who enjoy spice and dark fruit will be fans of this release. It bears no age statement and is bottled at 92 proof. Everything you ever wanted to know about Americas favorite brown spirit, including, of course, the best bottles you can actually buy. I do not covet, nor feel compelled to obtain something that is nearly unobtainable for the challenge. Yes. Its not. Either way, I W Harper is a brand in transition and one well worth watching. This is the Bottled-In-Bond version of Old Grand-Dad Bourbon, meaning it was all distilled in the same calendar year. Distillery: Jim Beam, Clermont, KY (Beam Suntory) The Old Forester is one of the bourbons that's helped make Kentucky the capital of bourbon. Theres certainly less refinement at play. The finish is medium length, sweet and spicy, with notes of dried stone fruit, vanilla and caramel, along with spice notes of nutmeg, clove and allspice. Im not ranking single barrel releases, or one-time releases. I believe that to be the definition of nuance. Among that plethora of lingering notes, you'll find interesting tastes like maple syrup, green peppercorn, coriander, and even a s'mores-like finish of chocolate, graham cracker and toasted marshmallow. This whiskey is also BIB and is bottled at 50% ABV. For our money, the best do-it-all bourbon is Knob Creek's 9-year-old Small Batch offering. His bourbon incorporated a large percentage of rye, giving the whiskey a spicy and powerful flavor. They find themselves waiting in line and participating in lotteries for the likes of Weller Antique, which once collected dust on the shelf. With no effort and normal market prices, I can have Makers, Larceny, and OWA. That leaves lots of expressions of excellent bourbon, many made by those same national producers, which are available only on a regional basis or have limited distribution. One of the comparisons I did was a side-by-side review of two Bottled-in-Bond bottlings: Old Forester's 1897 BiB versus Old Grand Dad BiB. Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond won the taste for Best Everyday Bourbon. It was very, very nice bourbon, he says, wistfully. Its based on a mash bill of 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley. Youd think that would make it a shoe-in to win my blind tasting. The spice gets a little peppery as a final cut if citrus arrives to help the end slowly fade out. Ninety-five percent of all of the bourbon distilled in the US is made in Kentucky. He is married with two daughters, and lives in east Louisville. If you're making drinks, we prefer the light and spicy Four Roses bourbon. The finish is medium length, sweet, with caramel, vanilla and spice notes and a persistent pepperiness. Larceny is a brand extension of Heaven Hills Old Fitzgerald line. Here are my rankings the Best Wheated Bourbons in each category. Have tried, and enjoyed, the Makers Cask Strength. 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. His son, Eddie Russell, took over as Wild Turkeys Master Distiller in 2015, after 35 years with the company. So lets divide them into two categories: Standard Production and Limited Release. The brand was resurrected by Diageo in 2015 as both a NAS and a 15 YO version. This is a side by side comparison review of the Old Forester 1920 and 1910, both are part of their Whiskey Row series. Its not complex, but the sweetness is really nice the way it hits the palate. But those whiskeys are cut from the exact same distillation. Flavor Profile: Rich & Spicy But if I get back to Loretto, Im not leaving without the Makers 101. As Bourbon Heritage Month rolls on, were taking a look at some expensive bottles of bourbon to see if we can find some cheaper bourbon counterparts from the exact same mash bill, barrel char, and barrel proof. In fact, ones named after a bourbon legend while the other has that legends visage on its label. Larceny is a wheated bourbon made from a blend of selected barrels made in honor of this legend. Tasting notes include Heath Bar and leather on the nose, with cinnamon candies, roasted vanilla and rye coming through in the palate. Nice, easy-drinking proof? So, we switched Eagle Rare to its sister brand, Buffalo Trace, which always warms up my palate in the winter. Note: the portfolio for Rebel Yell all received a makeover with updated labels in April 2019. The mash bill here, made entirely of non-GMO grains, is 65 percent corn, 30 percent rye and 5 percent malted barley. Its estimated that there are over 3,500 historic brands of bourbon in the United States. But this blind tasting was not its day. The latter is a blend of a 16-year-old bourbon and a 15-year-old high-rye bourbon that pays tribute to the familys first distiller, Jacob Beam, and its said to be some of the best bourbon being produced at the busy distillery. Its mash bill consists of corn, rye, and malted barley. It's full of flavor and has a bit of an oaky kick to it that pairs well with the sweetness. Ninety-nine percent of Dickel products are officially Tennessee Whisky, not bourbon. Yet, it always sort of baffles me when people go on about Evan Williams (which is the same mash bill as Elijah Craig at Heaven Hill) but not this. Old Grand-Dad Bonded Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, NAS, 50% ABV, was the nickname of a distiller named Basil Hayden. The whiskey is produced by. Production is limited to 8,600 bottles nationwide, and it sells for $250.Pappy Van Winkle 2022 Lineup: No list of the best bourbons is complete without a mention of Pappy Van Winkle. Old Forester Birthday Bourbon comes in at #3 on our list of overrated whiskeys. ABV: 46% ABV: 46% Ill have to revisit this sometime soon and update the list. Old Forester packs a banana note that I thought could dominate the competition if I happened to be in a banana mood.. Distillery: Woodford Reserve Distillery & Brown Forman Distillery in Shively, KY (Brown-Forman) If God gave birth to a bourbon child, this is what it would taste like, Minnick says. Flavor Profile: Vanilla & Sweet The finish is rich and powerful, with classic bourbon notes of sweet caramel, dried fruit, vanilla, cinnamon and pepper, with a slight but persistent bitter note on the end. The exact mash bill is kept a secret but word on the street is that its a fairly low-rye mash bill with 12 to 15 percent rye. image via via modernthirst.com It's got a good amount of heat on account of being 117 proof, but you'll still be able to make out classic bourbon tasting notes like caramel, brown sugar, vanilla and oak. This 100 proof bottling is also bottled-in-bond. Lets end this one with Jims other mash bill. Hardins Creek Jacobs Well: In summer 2022, bourbon legend Jim Beam launched a new high-end label called Hardins Creek. The whiskey is produced by Brown-Forman. At a minimum, bourbon must be 80 proof (or 40 percent alcohol), with its mash never allowed to exceed 160 proof (or 80 percent alcohol). This bourbon won Whisky Advocates whiskey of the year, and Minnick was on the tasting panel. A beautiful marzipan note came to life in the blind tasting. Redwood Empire Bottled in Bond Rye . It made my Top 5. Four Roses Small Batch, a household favorite, did not perform well in this blind tasting for Best [+] Everyday Bourbon. At retail prices between $20 and $30, it is among the best priced wheated bourbon currently available. The spirit is one of those rare drinks that is loved by both bourbon enthusiasts and amateurs. Quite the contrary, I didnt care for the whiskey in the blind tasting. Little did I know, this substitute would play a big role in my blind tasting. All of the Weller expressions share the same mash bill. . I didnt find this note, however, and it failed to impress in the field. Simply, this is Heaven Hills famous wheated bourbon thats aged for nine years and bottled-in-bond. Roughly 1,000 are currently active. The biggest surprise of the blind tasting since I had previously disliked it. I presume you could ask em how much their CEO makes and theyd tell you, Minnick says. I assessed all nominations, validated them and tasted them live on YouTube to select my 2019 favorite for Best Everyday Bourbon. Entry proof is 125 proof/62.5 percent. This tends to produce a softer, less spicy whiskey. Wilderness Trail does not make subpar whiskey. Old Elk Single Barrel Wheated Bourbon . 2020 ModernThirst. ABV: 50% Theres a bit more of a pine woodiness on the palate of this one next to the toffee, spice, orange, and vanilla thats more pushed into the background. In my past blind tastings, Old Grand-Dad did not fare well. McKenna has a classic bourbon nose of caramel, vanilla and charred oak. 63 percent corn, 27 percent rye, ten percent malted barley. Production started on Ezra Brooks around the 1950s by the Medley Distillery. Made using a single recipe and barrel per bottle, its between seven and eight years old and has more complexity than the Small Batch. Anything wheated with evena hint of age is hard to find, and even some younger offerings have come to be so desired by the bourbon-buying public that youre better off giving up the chase if you dont follow release dates closely in some areas. Really looking forward to the release of the RY 10 Single Barrel. But that is why I taste blind: I dont want to be influenced by brand name. The NAS version would be better with a little more age and at a higher proof. If you come across its charged, barrel-proof older sibling, be sure to pick up a bottle, too.. 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. Overpowering taste and smell of alcohol. On the palate, the Old Forester 86 has a decent body showing a medium texture. At the end of 2018, Kentucky had over 7.5 million barrels of bourbon being matured, along with 600,000 barrels of other spirits. But I worried its subtleties could get lost in a deep field, which this was. Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery, Louisville, KY Our tester found that the 12-year is a little rough around the edges neat it is meant to be an affordable bourbon, after all but dropping in an ice cube really opens up its sweet wheat side. Head on over to Distiller, or download the app for iOS and Android today! Our inclusions in this guide are based on real-world testing and firsthand expert feedback, but there are a few new and upcoming bourbons we haven't had a chance to try yet that still warranted a mention. 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Theyve also led the way in transparency. It did not make my Top 6. Press Esc to cancel. Thats only three fewer years than the Old Fitz above, and its a tenth the price. This bourbon over-delivers for its price and continues to be one of the best value picks on the market. Like in-state rivals Jack Daniel's, the brand is keen to remind drinkers that the two are not the same (even though they kind of are). Each release represents a historical year for the distillery. Could this be its year? A 100-proof blend of 2017 and 2019 bourbons, Major's mix which is the first in Dread River's new Master Series has tasting notes of cherry, apples, oak and light vanilla. Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Bourbon that is stored in charred new oak for at least two years. Had a shot in Kentucky a few years back when it was introduced. And the 2014 Parkers Heritage Original Batch Wheat Whiskey really showed what that mash bill is capable of with age and proof. Booker's 25th (Probably gets some subconscious points from knowing it was a one-time release) Now, Top 5 that are fairly available (or sufficiently bunkered): 1. If you want craft bourbon, we love New Riff's dedication to Bottled-in-Bond whiskey-making and rich flavor profiles. 1870 Original Batch is also blended by Marianne Barnes, the protg of Brown-Forman's master It has a suggested MSRP of $150, and Reserve Bar is your best bet for snagging a bottle. Every product is carefully selected by our editors. I W Harper was widely popular in the 1950s and 60s, and was exported to more than 100 countries around the world. Larceny is 45% alcohol by volume, whereas Maker's Mark has 45%. This mash bill leans more heavily into the rye, creating a solid base for two very closely related bourbons. Regular Four Roses (formerly called Yellow Label), Old Forester 100 Proof (formerly called Signature), Wild Turkey 101, Jim Beam Black Label, Larceny Bourbon, Maker's Mark, and Buffalo Trace. A slice of citrus arrives to lighten everything up on the short end. Russells Reserve Bourbon, 10 YO, 45% ABV, is produced by Wild Turkey. Weller Special reserve has much in common with its more famous cousins, but sells, at least officially, at an average price of around $30a fraction of the cost of the Pappy expressions. Sure. Give the whiskey a few minutes to open up and for the alcohol burn to dissipate. As the bourbon opens up, rye spice emerges along with a pronounced alcohol burn. Finish: Medium length and warm. Old Forester Signature 100 Proof Purchase Info: $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN Details: 50% ABV. A touch of water brings out more sweetness. It is a wheated whiskey, that shares a common DNA with Old Fitzgerald and the Pappy wheated bourbons. // < ! Division 1: Old Grand-Dad Bonded (Whiskey 1) vs Larceny (Whiskey 2) Pre-Reveal Thoughts: Both noses are sweet, but Whiskey 2 is showing a bit more graininess. Old Forester Single Barrel Rye Whiskey (Barrel Proof) - T3. Old Forester 86 Proof Bourbon Review . One is labeled recipe B and is 60% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley. The palate carries that spice into peppery territory with hints of oak, vanilla, tart apples, and honey. The finish is long, creamy smooth and sweet, with a persistent caramel and brown sugar note and a lingering note of bitterness at the end. 4. Makers is my flagship wheated bourbon. Mouth: Caramel, black tea, vanilla, clove and cinnamon. On the flip side, expensive bourbon isnt always as refined as it seems. Flavor Profile: Sweet