Stellum Bourbon. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (Heaven Hill) is a damn fine bottle of bourbon that you can still get at a fairly affordable price (though it’s starting to reach above it’s MSRP in some places). There are some all-time great options available in this corner and many can be easily found. “It’s got so much caramel, and a beautiful nutmeg note,” Minnick says. That being said, these batches will not vary wildly, but you should be able to find the nuance of the barrels in each. Age statement in the double digits for $40 or less? Estimated Release: Winter, summer, and fall 2021. “It won my American Whiskey of the Year award [in 2018] in a blind tasting,” Minnick says. Zach Johnston Twitter Life Writer. Where’s the thirsty modern man, farmer or otherwise, to begin? I presume you could ask ’em how much their CEO makes and they’d tell you,” Minnick says. Last year’s drop was their 18-year Marriage which was, well, a marriage of high-rye bourbons with a wheated bourbon (BT makes both Weller and Pappy on-site). The beauty of these three releases is that you can test and compare the difference between each batch and find one that suits your palate. Whether you’re riding the bandwagon of wheated bourbons or have been on that wagon for decades, this is a solid bottle of booze. Ah, Old Fitzgerald (Heaven Hill)… Their yearly Bottled-in-Bond releases have become some of the most sought-after drops throughout the year. Now, thanks to rising whiskey prices and a consistently strong product, the brand — shortened to OGD by fans — has a cult following. This content is imported from YouTube. Last year’s Bottled-in-Bond was a masterpiece in a bottle and really highlighted the beauty of Eddie Russell’s dep understanding of bourbon. The beauty of that system is that you can snag these at MSRP. This tends to produce spicier flavors in the bourbon. B+. This bourbon won Whisky Advocate’s whiskey of the year, and Minnick was on the tasting panel. Every product is carefully selected by our editors. I want to really sit there and think about it when I’m drinking it,” Minnick says. Still, this is a multi-award winning bourbon that’s often called out as a very underrated bottle of booze to have on hand. Still, if you can find one, it’ll be worth getting at least a taste of some seriously well-crafted whiskey (just maybe at a little closer to MSRP than $3,000). Or, as Minnick put it, the best should make you think, “If god gave birth to his bourbon child, this is what it would taste like.”, It’s bottled at 115 proof — “for this distillery, that’s the perfect proof,” Minnick says. This is going to be another of those bottles that’ll be really hard to find given the very limited amount that actually goes out. It has none of the harshness you’d expect from a 133.2 proof bourbon, and doesn’t undergo chill filtering — instead just using light filtration to remove barrel char flakes. “The best new bourbon to join our back bar is Kings County Distillery’s Peated Bourbon. One of the best new whiskeys of 2021, Stellum is a more affordable Barrell Bourbon. That’s because Barrell is, at this moment, the best blended of American whiskey there is (they have the trophy case to prove it). Estimated Release: September. Non-Distiller Producers (NDP): Companies that purchase their whiskey from someone else rather than making it themselves. This definitive guide of the best bourbons of 2021 explores everything you need to know about America’s favorite brown spirit, including important terminology and, of course, a list of the best bottles you can buy at your local liquor store. “They’ll tell you everything there is to know about their whiskey — they don’t hide the mash bill, the distillation proof. They're not all cheap and they're not all expensive, but they are all reliably excellent. MSRP: $70 These are often seen as showpiece bottles. Proof: 100Average Price: $50 – $75 (price varies store-to-store). Let’s dive in! ABV: Varies The 25 Best Bourbon Under $100 Ranked [New 2021] The over $50 and under $100 bourbon whiskey category is where it gets interesting. The 1 3/16-mile second leg of the Triple Crown is May 15. Though it shares DNA with other Heaven Hill bourbons like Evan Williams and Henry McKenna, Elijah Craig Small Batch is balanced, with extra maltiness. The yearly E.H. Taylor release from Buffalo Trace (Sazerac) is always a defining bottle for the bespoke line. This definitive guide of the best bourbons of 2021 explores everything you need to know about America’s favorite brown spirit, including important terminology and, of course, a list of the best bottles you can buy at your local liquor store. Proof: The percentage of alcohol, displayed as double that of the alcohol percentage. This is not a new phenomenon and it plays a large role in blended bourbons. It is available everywhere and thus resistant to the price gouging associated with brands like Buffalo Trace. MSRP: $69-$99/each Estimated Release: August. One, the bottles themselves are awesome and serve as a decanter long after the juice is gone. MSRP: $150 Bourbon whiskey is a type of American whiskey, with its origins dating back to the 1820s, with consistent use beginning in Kentucky in the 1870s.The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, however the exact inspiration for bourbon whiskey’s name is unknown; likely candidates include Bourbon County, Kentucky and Bourbon St, New Orleans, … Sour Mash: A fermentation technique used by almost all bourbon distillers that employs pre-fermented mash from a previous distilling in a new mash. The McKenna distillery was established in 1855, founded by the noted Irish immigrant distiller. — and all are worth seeking out. And this year the brand got its 9-year age guarantee back, too. These bourbons represent the absolute best values the bourbon whiskey world has to offer. Its mellow balance — helped by the prominent caramel notes of its wheated mash bill — doesn’t overpower meaty flavors. That’s a good (and necessary) thing in our estimation. And while you’ve surely got a few half-full bourbon bottles on your shelf, it’s time to look forward to the new expressions coming down the pike in 2021. No one cared about Early Times until Sazerac (Buffalo Trace Distillery) bought it from Brown-Forman (Jack Daniel's, Old Forester, Woodford Reserve). Sour mash and Bottled-in-Bond, non-distiller-producers and high-ryes. This bourbon is much more austere than 2020-03, somewhat beefier with a bolder wood influence on the nose. BTAC (Sazerac) is one of the biggest drops in the bourbon year — second only to the Pappy drop in November. Among these three releases, the Port Cask Finished expression has piqued our interest the most going into 2020 for two reasons. MSRP: $70 Booker’s Bourbon “Donohoe’s Batch” 2021-01 – Aged 6 years, 11 months, 4 days; named for Mike Donohoe, a former employee of Beam and a friend of Booker Noe. Generally, you’ll need to get these bottles through a ticketing system at the distillery. This is another tough one as these bottles are extremely limited and, therefore, very expensive on the secondary market. ABV: 49.45% But Evan Williams is a value brand. MSRP: $50/each Oh, and it's sold in liters. Unfortunately, you’re not going to find this bottle easily or anywhere near its MSRP. Made using a single recipe and barrel per bottle, it’s between 7 and 8 years old and has more complexity than the Small Batch. This treasure from Buffalo Trace’s Antique collection does its namesake a service, representing some of the world’s best wheated bourbon, a style Weller himself pioneered. 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 boozey backbone. “Just because a bourbon is 90 bucks doesn’t mean it’s good.” The benchmark bourbons at this range have upwards of 100 flavor notes to pick out, often happening at the same time and lingering on the tongue for ages. Estimated Release: Winter, summer, and fall 2021. ABV: Varies Kate Dingwall. The whiskey is a one-off marriage of their best barrels from the ten mash bills (recipes) Four Roses uses to make all their expressions. ABV: Varies Don't tell your bourbon-drinking friends, but Russell's Reserve 10-year-old bourbon is one of the best values in the bourbon world. Yes, its definition is writ in but a few sentences on the holy stone of Federal Decree: It must be made in the United States; its grain bill must include at least 51 percent corn; it must be produced at not more than 80 percent alcohol (160 proof) and stored in charred new oak containers at no more than 62.5 percent (125 proof). “I’m going through a bottle a month. The rest of the nation is just kinda getting to know ’em,” Minnick says. It's made up of whiskeys from Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky, with ages ranging from 4 to 16 years old. This is what you drink when you need a break from barrel-proof juice. MSRP: $60/each Estimated Release: June. This tends to produce a softer, less spicy whiskey. It must have been stored in a federally bonded warehouse for at least four years and be bottled at 100 proof. We’re looking forward to seeing what Barrell does next. January 4, 2021. Last year’s drop — New Year 2021 — had a blend of five, nine, ten, and eleven-year-old bourbons from (takes a deep breath) Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, New York, Texas, Wyoming, and Colorado. 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. “This has an incredible sweetness to it,” Minnick says. Each of the bottles has its own special finishing cask: Port, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay. ABV: 50.5% A big part of that lauding is due to the craft behind the bottle. “It was very, very nice bourbon,” he says, wistfully. “A more expensive whiskey might have this rich note that lasts for ten to twelve seconds,” Minnick says, “whereas a cheaper bottle has that note just for one to two seconds.” Still, this price range has the best value of the entire market, and it also provides opportunities for bourbon to be used in cocktails — or as gifts. Learn about Liquor.com's Editorial Process. They just don’t carry the same level of complexity; the flavors tend to come and go more quickly. Uproxx Cover Story: Fousheé Has No Boundaries, A Look Back At What Made Missy Elliott’s Third LP ‘So Addictive’, J. 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Weller 12 Year Old Wheated Bourbon Whiskey - Jefferson's Ocean Aged At Sea Bourbon ... Best Bourbons to Drink in 2021 Is Scotch Good For You? The Master’s Keep line from Wild Turkey (Campari) is always a home run in a bottle. ABV: Varies “This is all about the sweetness.”. Bourbon with an age statement and available at barrel strength for a good price? Bourbon Is Becoming Stupid Expensive. Take heed, though, since it somewhat controversially took home “Best in Show, Whiskey” at a recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition it’s been harder to come by, and more expensive than it used to be. That bottle now retails at $3,000. Sure. It's a cask strength blend created by the blending masters at Barrell Craft Spirits and it is a doozy. It’s the finite and complete view of what they do at Four Roses in a single bottle. In 2017, Jim Beam’s Old Grand-Dad line of whiskeys was nearly axed. That’s a hell of an honor for the wheated bourbon. Nice, easy-drinking proof? The Best Cheap Bourbon Whiskey You Can Buy, Two Months Hunting for the Most Wanted Bourbon, Knob Creek Single Barrel Is Underrated as Hell, The Complete Buying Guide to Buffalo Trace Whiskey, The Best New Bourbon and Whiskeys of 2021 (So Far). You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Bourbon has never been more popular than it is right now. Written by. That being said, it’s always fun to see how these bottles grow and develop year by year and 2021 should be another stellar outing. Everything you ever wanted to know about America’s favorite brown spirit, including, of course, the best bottles you can actually buy. In a whiskey market that's become increasingly fragmented and allocated, Knob Creek's classic small batch bourbon distinguishes itself. This expression is part of a new three-bottle roll out from Barton 1792 (Sazerac Company). “It’s a fantastic bourbon, especially for the money,” he says. And yes, it is a blue-collar spirit, made by thirsty farmers, for thirsty farmers. Why? Seagrams closed the business in the 1970s, and Heaven Hill purchased the brand name in 1994, but no longer uses the original recipe; as Minnick notes in his book, “The original yeast, mashbill, and flavor profile are gone, lost with time.” But one thing the new bottle does have is time: its 10 year age statement makes it one of the older bourbons at this price range. A fair enough bourbon, though. MSRP: $150 Estimated Release: September. It's our best overall bourbon not by way of life-altering tasting notes, but by stuff the stat sheet in a way no other bourbon can. 2020 is over. That’s nuts in today’s whiskey world.Proof: 117Average Price: ~$50. MSRP: $90 Here are the 10 best bourbon whiskey brands you should be drinking now. Best Bourbon Chicken is juicy, tender chicken thighs cut into pieces simmered in a sweet, brown sugar glaze that will melt in your mouth.Rich in flavor and served over rice for a complete meal! Each of its releases makes clear what went into it — distillery location, whiskey age, proof, etc. a recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition, The Best Bourbons You Can Buy for $50 or Less, The Best Bourbon Whiskeys You Can Buy for $100 and Up, The 17 Best Rye Whiskeys You Can Buy in 2021, The 25 Best Scotch Whiskies You Can Buy in 2021, The Best Bourbons You Can Buy for Less than $100. Small Batch: A subjective term signaling a bourbon made using a select number of barrels or recipes in a blended bottling. Yes. Published 11/04/20. Wheated: A bourbon with a higher than normal percentage of mash bill made up of wheat (the main grain remains corn). Yes. Betting The 2021 Preakness Stakes Odds:Midnight Bourbon In the days leading up to the 146th running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes (G1) , usracing.com is profiling the contenders. “You can get a lot of satisfaction out of that.”. We’re talking literally hundreds of drops, from the biggest names to the smallest craft distillers. 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). “It’s so fucking amazing.”, Bourbon Whiskey: Whiskey produced in the U.S. at not exceeding 80 percent alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent of corn and stored at not more than 62.5 percent alcohol by volume (125 proof) in charred new oak containers.”, Straight Bourbon Whiskey: “Bourbon whiskey stored in charred new oak containers for two years or more. MSRP: $140 So its whiskey, at a great proof point of 86 and an age that Minnick says is roughly five-and-a-half years old, goes for less than $20. You can decide for yourself if it’s worth it (it is, at least once in a lifetime). Courtesy . Its 100 proof retains a fully body and mixing bonafides without lighting your mouth on fire. One, Port cask finished bourbons are generally very delicious. Gear Patrol participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. That will change as Heaven Hill continues to rack up awards and love from whiskey drinkers around the world. Produced by the master blenders at Barrel Craft Spirits, the new company is launching nationally with a high proof bourbon blend and rye blend, with barrel proof single barrel selections coming soon. Barrell Bourbon is one of the most interesting blenders working in Kentucky today. “Sometimes you’re gonna be disappointed,” Minnick says. This fairly new batch marries bourbons from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana that are anywhere from five to 15-years-old. “It’s bottled at 90 proof, giving it enough structure to stand up in a cocktail without being so boozy that it’s … “If God gave birth to a bourbon child, this is what it would taste like,” Minnick says. The 9 Best Gifts for Bourbon Lovers in 2021, According to Experts Bitters, books and more. Single Barrel: A bourbon made using single barrels, providing a higher range of variation in flavor, and the chance at specific, unique characteristics. It's dynamic and well worth the $55 sticker price. Estimated Release: June. Easy to prepare and ready in minutes! Proof: 115 (varies by bottling)Average Price: $55, Luxco’s Old Ezra line could is one of the best kept secrets in whiskey. “If Evan Williams were to sell this whiskey to someone else, that brand would mark it up to $40, and people would be happy buying it,” whiskey personality and author Fred Minnick says. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. OTHER BEST BOURBON FOR SIPPING: - Henry McKenna 10 Year Old Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon - W.L. “It’s got so much flavor to it, so much complexity — it’s just brilliant whiskey.”, “Are we including bottles that are impossible to find?” Minnick asks. To mark the start of the year, we’re highlighting the scheduled bourbon releases that have us the most excited for 2021. While most of the big-name bottles tend to arrive in mid-to-late fall, during awards season and in anticipation of the holiday drinking and gift-giving, there are some great bourbons getting released between now and October. They’ve also led the way in transparency. Four Roses (Kirin Brewery) drops a Limited Edition Small Batch every year that really does hit a high watermark for the brand and bourbon in general. ABV: Varies Larceny Barrel Proof (Heaven Hill) ended 2020 strong by getting the top honor of “Whisky of the Year” over at Whisky Advocate. ABV: Varies Estimated Release: November. Barrell is a blender, not a distiller, and the flavor mastery of founder Joe Beatrice and master distiller Tripp Stimson have won the old bourbon guard over. Two, the whiskey tends to be some of the best from Heaven Hill’s wide array of spirits. The best bourbon is often the least flashy and most affordable. Minnick has a unique use for one of bourbon’s classic names. While we’re sure to be a little light on the indie drops, we’re fully committed to covering small brands making big noise in the new year. Expect to pay at least double if you do happen upon a bottle. Still, since it’s Wild Turkey, you should be able to find these for little to no mark up when they drop. But the juice inside tends to be almost too drinkable, making these hard to keep on the shelf. Bourbon Whiskey History. This one is more of a sipper. It’s more complex than Yellow, but still drinks easy. “I drink so much Makers with BBQ,” he says. “For being the same brand as the Small Batch, they taste very different. “The best bourbon for beginners is Buffalo Trace,” says Shannon Tebay, head bartender at Death & Co in New York City. But underneath these fundamentals swims a deep sea of factors — additional rules and regulations, hype machines and deceptive marketing, false myths and a boom that began in 2008 and is still going strong today — that make bourbon more complex than it seems. Estimated Release: January. Stellum may as well have "for whiskey nerds" written on the label. You can grab last year’s bottle for around $70, not thousands of dollars. Here. “It’s not complex, but the sweetness is really nice — the way it hits the palate. ‘Straight bourbon whiskey’ may include mixtures of two or more straight bourbon whiskeys provided all the whiskeys are produced in the same state.”, Bottled in Bond: “The spirit must be the product of one distillation season by one distiller at one distillery. Generally speaking, you can expect brands to start dropping their new bottles now — with big releases landing in the spring, summer, and fall. The sour mash prevents wild yeast from entering the mash and causing infections. MSRP: $175 Estimated Release: March and October. Buying in this range is high risk, high reward. The juice tends to include special barrels with unique finishing casks in very small batches to highlight the prowess of Limestone Branch out in Lebanon, Kentucky. If you’re not in Kentucky (or nearby), expect to pay as much as two to three times more for the bottle. The 7 Best Bitters for Whiskey Cocktails in 2021 Final Verdict For a lovely flavored whiskey that you can sip or build as part of a cocktail, we recommend our top pick, Knob Creek Smoked Maple Bourbon Whiskey ( view at Drizly ). At the very least, this will be an interesting bottle of bourbon that won’t be like anything else you try all year. These are the best bourbons you can buy in 2021. This year will see the new Eagle Rare 17, George T. Stagg, Sazerac 18, Thomas H. Handy, and William Larue Weller bottles. The notes kind of just linger. Kate Dingwall. You might notice there isn’t a price, tasting notes or distillery information listed on this pick. ABV: Varies The 8 Best Japanese Whiskies You Can Buy in 2021, Best Bourbon for Cocktails: Four Roses Yellow, Best Craft Bourbon: New Riff Bottled-in-Bond, Best Bourbon to Pair with Food: Maker's Mark, Smoothest Bourbon: Elijah Craig Small Batch, Best Bourbon for a Party: Early Times Bottled-in-Bond, Best Gateway Bourbon: Four Roses Small Batch, Most Nuanced Bourbon: Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style, Best Bourbon to Drink Neat: Four Roses Single Barrel, Most Underrated Bourbon: Russell's Reserve 10 Year Old, Best Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon: Henry McKenna Single Barrel, Best High-End Craft Bourbon: Stellum Bourbon, Best Deep-Cut Bourbon: Old Ezra 7-Year-Old, Best High Proof Bourbon: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. You can have five different notes hitting at once. The 18 Best Bourbon Whiskeys You Can Buy in 2021.

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