This is quality, crafty bourbon that hits all the right marks. It’s just that nothing really stood out and drew me back in for more. The juice goes into the bottle uncut and unfiltered at barrel proof. This expression is comprised of single barrel selections of Traverse City’s much-lauded straight bourbon. This Michigan bourbon is all about the grain-to-glass experience with Michigan’s unique terroir, weather, and access to freshwater. Traverse City Barrel Proof Bourbon - Taste 2 Traverse City But again, we had a great lineup today.ġ0. It’s weird to say given that this is a really tasty and easy-drinking whiskey. This was really nice but didn’t jump out at me. The ABVs are very low for a “barrel proof” bourbon. The juice is a marrying of two 16-year-old bourbon barrels that were hand-selected by Dickel Master Distiller Nicole Austin. This release from Diageo’s Orphan Barrel program is from Cascade Hollow Distilling Co., better known as George Dickel. Orphan Barrel Copper Tongue Aged 16 Years - Taste 1 Diageo That being said, this will be going into a lot of cocktails for maximum ABVs going forward. I ate some celery and came back to it and I stand by this ranking. It really blew out my palate (partially due to it being the eleventh taste). The juice is a ten-year-old Virginia bourbon that somehow stayed at a bafflingly high ABV of 70.55 percent. Smith Bowman’s release of their new permanent expression - A. Their line is primarily filled with experimental small-batch releases. Smith Bowman Distillery is a Sazerac distillery that hardcore whiskey nerds know of but the average whiskey drinker has probably never even heard of.
Smith Bowman Cask Strength Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey - Taste 11 Sazerac Company
Here’s Who Won Our Big Barrel Proof Bourbon Whiskey Blind Taste Test.All 19 Brands From The Buffalo Trace Distillery, Ranked.Our Favorite Bourbon Whiskey From Every Price Point Between $10-$200.If any of these sound good to you, make sure to click on the prices to see if you can find a bottle in your neck of the woods.Īlso Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of 2021 We’re here to rank whiskey based solely on its flavors - with label, legacy, availability, and price all being unknown variables. Some will be a little easier to find than others but that’s not really the point of this test. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Virginia Straight Bourbon WhiskeyĪll in all, these were great bourbons. Blue Run 13.5-Year-Old “The Honey Barrel”.George Dickel 15-Year-Old Single Barrel.Orphan Barrel Copper Tongue Aged 16 Years.Here are our competitors in today’s blind taste test: All of these expressions are also 2021 specific, with a few coming directly from the distillery. We’re tasting 12 (!!!) new barrel proof bourbon whiskeys as a sort of part two to our tasting last spring. This time around, we’re going back to the old “ barrel proof” well of bourbons. It’s a tough gig but someone has to do it. Add in styles, proofs, single barrels, regions, age statements, and limited releases and… did we mention it’s a lot? Fear not, that’s why we’re here - to help you sift through it all by tasting as much as we can and letting you know what rises to the top. But we certainly understand if it all feels overwhelming when you’re strolling the aisles and there are 40 brands lining shelves.Īnd that’s just brands. Especially not in this market - where competition drives quality. We wouldn’t say there’s too much, however. We, um, may have noted this before, but… there’s a lot of bourbon on the shelf right now.