The whiskey inside Early Times' wicked affordable Bottled-in-Bond expression is Brown-Forman-made, though, and it has that sweet-and-smooth Basil Hayden's thing going on, just more a more solid boozy backbone with a recurring note of caramel corn throughout. Old Forester has been on the market continuously since 1870, which is longer than any other bourbon. You can have five different notes hitting at once. Maker's Mark Cask . 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. The brand was resurrected by Diageo in 2015 as both a NAS and a 15 YO version. I like it. Average Price: $300. That includes retailer specific brands. It is aged at least 4 years in a bonded warehouse and is bottled at 100 proof in a trademark square, white label bottle. Average Price: $20. Flavor Profile: Sweet & Rich 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. I have not had the VW 23, VW 20, and VSOF12. 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. Its estimated that there are over 3,500 historic brands of bourbon in the United States. Relative to Kentucky, theyve been around for a few days. One of the best new whiskeys of recent memory, Stellum is a more affordable Barrell Bourbon. Ill have to revisit this sometime soon and update the list. ABV: 46% This is another classic bourbon with a distinctive caramel and vanilla aroma on the nose. As it turns out, it came in my top 10. I am looking forward to trying Old Fitzgerald. Luxcos Old Ezra line could be one of the best-kept secrets in whiskey. Ninety-nine percent of Dickel products are officially Tennessee Whisky, not bourbon. The Main Differences Between Larceny Bourbon vs Maker's Mark The main differences between Larceny Bourbon vs Maker's Mark are: Larceny's distiller is Heaven Hill, whereas Maker's Mark is Beam Suntory. The whiskey is produced by. The barrels that go into each batch are aged anywhere from 6 to 10 years. Hence, I find the 20 year Van Winkle offering to be a truly fine bourbon, while the 23 year is a mess in the bottle. This tends to produce spicier flavors in the bourbon. But Evan Williams is a value brand. This has an incredible sweetness to it, Minnick says. But thats not to say that all of those bourbons taste exactly the same. I had always found an over-oaked note here. Larceny is a small batch bourbon (100 barrels or less) of barrels from the middle three floors of the aging warehouse. San Francisco World Spirits Competition a few years ago, The 25 Best Whiskies to Try Before You Die, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. In my past blind tastings, Old Grand-Dad did not fare well. There is some alcohol burn, especially on the 114-proof version, along with sweet honey notes, candied citrus zest, brown sugar and that cooked tropical fruits. ABV: 40% But that list has a problem: Almost half of them are so limited in production or so high in demand that most readers will never see them a retail. All the Makers versions, and Larceny should sate your wheater crave. The finish is medium length, smooth, showing caramel sweetness and pralines, along with spice and some oak notes. Yes. 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 Wheated Bourbon Throw-Down: Larceny vs. W.L. Weller ABV: 43% Unfortunately, both also have that unpleasant metallic vodka-y alcohol taste, which I don't find in other bourbons. On the palate, there is a distinctive honey sweetness accompanied by cinnamon and nutmeg. It bears no age statement and is bottled at 92 proof. Entry proof unknown. Distiller Score: 86. On the flip side, expensive bourbon isnt always as refined as it seems. The whiskey is NAS, but is believed to be four to eight years old. 68 percent corn, 20 percent wheat, 12 percent malted barley. Thats really a loaded question because there are two ways of looking at it. It is based on a mash bill of 77% corn, 10% rye and 13% malted barley. If you are interested in exploring the lesser known brands however, and in the process learning a little more about the lore and history of classic bourbon brands, then this list is a good place to start. Distiller Score: 82. Flavor Profile: Sweet & Rich That extra time is why the Single Barrel costs three times more than a regular old bottle of Wild Turkey. In this blind tasting, I picked up a cornbread note and thought it to be too young to make my Top 5. Over time, the Yellow Label bottle has changed with the label losing the yellow color. Let me share a funny story. But if they arent regularly released with a wheated mash bill as a rule, theyre one-offs, and not on the list. . On the nose, there is caramel, cooked corn sweetness and pralines (think almond roca candy), along with plenty of cinnamon and clove spice. If you're making drinks, we prefer the light and spicy Four Roses bourbon. In 2017, Jim Beams Old Grand-Dad line of whiskeys was nearly axed. Simply put, Minnick knows bourbon better than almost anyone in America. ABV: 46% Flavor Profile: Sweet & Rich Distiller Score: 88 Very Old Barton 100 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Very Old Barton, owned by the Sazerac Company, is produced in Bardstown, Kentucky. They can range from okay to excellent.. Nice to see it make your list. We asked whiskey personality and author Fred Minnick to uncover which bottles of bourbon lining the shelves are actually worthy of your bar cart. Old Forester packs a banana note that I thought could dominate the competition if I happened to be in a banana mood.. Along with Old Overholt Rye, Old Grand-Dad falls under The Olds family of whiskeys released by Jim Beam. Cocktail Queries: 10 Great Alternatives to Hyped, Sought-After - Paste On the palate, the whiskey is smooth and sweet, with vanilla and caramel and a little dried fruit. Theres no way around it, Wild Turkey 101 is great for the money. 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. Wild Turkey is known to barrel its whiskey at a lower entry-proof, meaning the product is a lower proof as it comes off the still prior to maturing. On the palate, there is caramel and brown sugar, along with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and charred oak. On the palate, the Old Forester 86 has a decent body showing a medium texture. Ninety-five percent of all of the bourbon distilled in the US is made in Kentucky. George T Stagg (Some days I prefer it to just about anything) 5. Im not ranking single barrel releases, or one-time releases. The bourbon is believed to be approximately 6 YO. Indeed, some bourbon historians believe that Pappy began as barrel selections of Old Fitzgerald, and was later chosen from hand-picked barrels of W L Weller. Medley Brothers Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, NAS, 51% ABV. A pioneering brand, it was originally released as an exclusively bottled 90 proof bourbon whisky. Larceny Bourbon is a decent sipping bourbon. This is another nutmeg-forward bourbon I thought could standout in blind competition. Larceny Bourbon ABV: 46% Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery, Louisville, KY Average Price: $26 The Whiskey: This is the exact same juice that's just aged a little less. That works out to 1.75 barrels of bourbon per resident or over 500 bottles of whiskey per capita. The toffee and oak mingle in the end as it slowly dissipates. Theres a clear taste of the honey, vanilla, and toffee carrying the sip towards a very subdued spice and oak. Flavor is smooth and a bit musty, with hints of vanilla, banana, cinnamon and a dash of charred oak spice providing a bitter note. You can get two of these for the price of one Woodford. 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. Its mellow balance helped by the prominent caramel notes of its wheated mash bill doesnt overpower meaty flavors. Nice, easy-drinking proof? Larceny is a wheated bourbon made from a blend of selected barrels made in honor of this legend. It is 115 proof and reminiscent of the style of bourbon distilled by the brand during the prohibition era. 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. Crafted at the Brown-Forman Distillery in Shively, KY. This is a departure from the classic Jim Beam mash we mentioned in the lede. Glad to find your listing. I bought this bottle for $23 at a local big box store. I buy this product more than anything else on this list. and all are worth seeking out. The whiskey sells for around $25. For instance, in New York, property valued at over $1,000 is considered grand larceny. Other states have much lower thresholds, however, some considering anything over $400 to be grand larceny. Old Forester Single Barrel Rye Whiskey (Barrel Proof) - T3. So lets divide them into two categories: Standard Production and Limited Release. A rich leather note, along with some pepper, emerges at the end and lingers. Its price, proof and age suggest it could be your next home bar staple. I do not covet, nor feel compelled to obtain something that is nearly unobtainable for the challenge. It made my Top 5. But that is why I taste blind: I dont want to be influenced by brand name. Whether it's the softer flavor imparted by the sweet mash (the vast majority of modern bourbon is sour mashed) or the distiller's proprietary "infusion mashing" process or something else entirely, the result is a wicked, wicked pour. There can be no doubt that a certain 3-word labelhas greatly influenced bourbon and bourbon demand over the past decade. This is what you drink when you need a break from barrel-proof juice. Theres more of sweetness at play with toffee and vanilla up top. It is a wheated whiskey, that shares a common DNA with Old Fitzgerald and the Pappy wheated bourbons. [CDATA[ Makers 46 is a good pick. In fact, ones named after a bourbon legend while the other has that legends visage on its label. The 1910 was release in 2018, and though it shares the . 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. ABV: 50% This bourbon may benefit from some airtime. Some expressions have a characteristic leather aroma, although this is not true of all of the bottlings. High Rye: A bourbon with a higher than normal percentage of mash bill made up of rye (as opposed to using more corn, wheat, or barley, the other main grains used in bourbon mash). Last year, I tasted a dozen bourbons that were widely available and selected Ezra Brooks 7-year-old Cask Strength. If I tasted this flight again, theres a very good chance Id have different results. Best Bargain Bourbon Brands Under $25 | Distiller Flavor Profile: Spicy & Smoky Larceny is a bourbon produced by the Heaven Hill distillery made from a mash bill that is 20 percent wheat. Minnick has a unique use for one of bourbons classic names. In the past decade, good brands went from available to allocated and from $15 to $40. After being somewhat underwhelmed by Blantons and Basil Hayden, Ibe come to the conclusion that my tastes lean towards the Wheated bourbons. Bonanza Cabernet Sauvignon 750ml | Nestor Liquor Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Review - Bourbonpaddy.com Rebel Yell has been a registered brand since 1936, although the recipe for the bourbon dates back to 1849. Makers Mark could double their price and people would still buy it by the case. Like plain Rebel Yell for the polical incorrectness of it. Simply, this is Heaven Hills famous wheated bourbon thats aged for nine years and bottled-in-bond. The whiskey carries no age statement but is believed to be a blend of whiskeys between four and 20 years old. Theres certainly less refinement at play. This spirit seems to drink higher than 104 proof due to overwhelming spice. Russells Reserve Bourbon, 10 YO, 45% ABV, is produced by Wild Turkey. The finish has a velvet texture that helps it fade fairly slowly while staying warm. Larceny - Definition, Examples, Cases, and Processes All of the Weller expressions share the same mash bill. Fred Minnick is a longtime American whiskey writer and author of multiple bourbon books. There are obvious exceptions, most related to older rye based bourbons that are bottled at a higher proof such as George T. Stagg. Egg nog spices kick this sip off. #4 barrel char. Old Forester 1897 Bottled in Bond Bourbon If they land in my lap at MSRP, like some have, Ill bite. Larceny and Old Forester bourbon review - YouTube This is an easy drinking whiskey with a classic bourbon nose and taste and a smooth mouthfeel. Larceny Barrel Proof A122 Bourbon . Sounds like a pretty good reason the move to Kentucky. These became known as the Fitzgerald Barrels. Larceny is a wheated bourbon made from a blend of selected barrels made in honor of this legend. The bourbon is made by Jim Beam, and retails for around $20 per bottle. Ive had or have everything on the easy list. Four Rosess upgrade over its standard offering blends 180 barrels of four different recipes per bottling. 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. For being the same brand as the Small Batch, they taste very different. This is the Bottled-In-Bond version of Old Grand-Dad Bourbon, meaning it was all distilled in the same calendar year. 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. Old Forester The 117 Series 1910 Extra Old Bourbon Review Don't take Woodford Reserve's Double Oaked's ubiquity for mediocrity. Its got so much caramel, and a beautiful nutmeg note, Minnick says. Although it is more expensive at $88 per bottle, it is a far better value than the $30 NAS version. This is all about the sweetness.. Please be responsible. 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. 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. This is a side by side comparison review of the Old Forester 1920 and 1910, both are part of their Whiskey Row series. Its also the same juice that doesnt spend quite as long in the rickhouse and gets blended with minorly different barrels for an end product thats very similar to Basil Haydens. The spice gets a little peppery as a final cut if citrus arrives to help the end slowly fade out. Corn on the nose and lots of classic notes of vanilla, toffee, and caramel up top. Makers is my flagship wheated bourbon. Slightly peppery wheat next to a light fruit, vanilla, and fresh maple syrup greet you. ABV: 45.2% Yes. This is a nice mixing bourbon that works just as well on the rocks. Wheres the thirsty modern man, farmer or otherwise, to begin? But I worried its subtleties could get lost in a deep field, which this was. This one is more of a sipper. Instead, it was allowed to rest until it hit a point the distillers wanted to hit and then bottled as is. This bourbon won Whisky Advocates whiskey of the year, and Minnick was on the tasting panel. But theres so many wonderful bourbons available. Had a shot in Kentucky a few years back when it was introduced. ABV: 50% If you find it, buy it. This is strikingly similar to Woodford on the nose with the same vanilla, tobacco, mint, and floral fruit. Bonanza Cabernet Sauvignon 750ml is a rich and bold red wine sourced from the best vineyards across California. And its a bartenders dream for its mixability. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Its 100 proof retains a full body and mixes bonafides without lighting your mouth on fire. Larceny is 45% alcohol by volume, whereas Maker's Mark has 45%. Average Price: $40. Weller, and to a lesser extent Old Fitzgerald, has been caught up in the cult frenzy that now surrounds Pappy Van Winkle. Because its not a hype whiskey, doesnt have a famous name and isnt a limited release, it doesnt get talked about but I challenge you to find a bourbon with this much firepower at the price point. This is a BETA experience. Elmer T Lee (Wish it was still as easy to find as it was a few years ago) 2. Ive had/have 5 of the 8 limited/hard to find editions and they are not worth the effort, schmoozing, and gouging required to obtain. Head to Head Comparison: Old Forester 100 vs Wild Turkey 101 I like to do head to head comparisons because I feel like it brings out the nuances of each bourbon. Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond won the taste for Best Everyday Bourbon. But I feel very firm in the Top Five, and I was pleased to see three bottled-in-bond bourbons in the running. The Russel Reserve Single Barrel has a similar aroma and flavor profile. The whiskey is based on a mash bill of 62% corn, 28% rye and 10% malted barley. Old Fitzgerald is a bottled-in-bond wheated bourbon released twice a year by Kentucky's . Pick up *several* bottles of 46 Cask Strength! I usually find Makers Mark to be sweet. This year, as I did last year, I solicited nominations from Bourbon Pursuit listeners, who are an engaged bourbon consumer base that understand what everyday truly means. So the second way to look at it is really what this site is focused on- how it tastes. The sip edges into orange zest territory with dark spices accentuated by nice toffee sweetness and a dusting of dark cacao powder when water is added. Thats nuts in todays whiskey world. You may opt-out by. But again, two for the price of one is a bargain. Best Bourbon Reviews (2023): 20 Top Shelf Bourbon Whiskeys - TheCoolist Case in point is the original wheated bourbon, Wellers signature 12-year bourbon. 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. Really young wheat whiskey(4-5 years and younger)can be harsh and almost astringent, while rye-based bourbons tend to have a spicy characteristic that offsets that at a younger age. The McKenna distillery was established in 1855, founded by the noted Irish immigrant distiller. McKenna has a classic bourbon nose of caramel, vanilla and charred oak. Id certainly make a few changes here and there. The 16 Best Bourbons Under $100 in 2023 - Bourbon Inspector Average Price: $12. The bourbon business is dominated at retail by a handful of national brands. Of course, its pretty good, too. The Bourbon After a pour I found my glass had a dark, rusty amber liquid. (Read the recap.). ABV: 46.5% Its also the recipe Pappy Van Winkle bought during prohibition. This is similar to the various Pappy expressions. Had a $45 shot of PVW 23 a few years back in Louisville and wasnt blown away for the price. The taste is sweet and spicy with a hint of herbaceousness. So funky, so rich with cornbread and a honey butter, the only reason it did not win this tasting was it lacked the finish of the winner. Theres a light, floral fruitiness upfront with a wisp of tobacco, flourishes of mint, and plenty of vanilla. Old Forester 2021 Birthday Bourbon Review - Whiskey Consensus Type above and press Enter to search. It's not lacking in sweetness, with tasting notes of nougat, figs, dates and caramel corn.