Woodford Reserve Batch Proof, 2024

April 23, 2025 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Bottle of Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Batch Proof bourbon on a wooden deck, labeled 121.2 proof, with a backyard scene and overcast sky in the background.

My friends! Today, I come to you with a product that has been sitting in my Whiskey Closet since September 2024. After driving for about 10 hours that day, I picked it up in Bangor, ME. I know it was a liquor store we stopped at between a visit to a dispensary and the BBQ place where we were having supper. It had been a rough day in the car to wrap up a long drive—one that ultimately took us from Minnesota to our vacation destination in Maine. All I wanted at that point was to collapse on the hotel bed and watch my Green Bay Packers play in Brazil.

Because it had been a very long drive over the course of three days, I promptly lost the receipt. And then promptly forgot almost everything about where I bought it. I have a vague recollection that the shelf tag listed it around $125, but that’s about it. I do remember being extremely happy to pick this guy up as a vacation souvenir. I mean, it had always been good in the past, so I didn’t figure I had much to worry about.

So what is it? Well, it’s the Batch Proof version of Woodford Reserve, silly. I mean, it’s right there in the name. As far as I can tell, this particular batch came out in early 2024—the press release listing one with this proof has a February 2024 date on it. Beyond that, there’s not much more to say. I just finally stumbled upon it in the closet and decided to bring it out.

Let’s see how it tastes.

Woodford Reserve Master's Collection: Batch Proof, 2024

Purchase Info: This was purchased in September in Bangor, ME, for somewhere around $125. I’ve lost the receipt and can’t remember the store—or most of the details—other than it was in Bangor. The suggested retail price is $149.99 for a 700 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $10.71 (at MSRP)

Details: 60. 6% ABV

Nose: Maple syrup, almond, caramel, vanilla, and oak.

Mouth: Caramel, cherry, baking spice, cocoa, and oak.

Finish: Hot and long with notes of cinnamon, cocoa, cherry, honey, and oak.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face. It indicates that I like the whiskey.

Thoughts: This is a hot one! Hot in the mouth, hot on the finish. Luckily, it takes a splash of water well. The mouthfeel is thick and rich. It’s sweet, spicy, and full of nice fruit and oak notes. What’s not to like? I mean… the price, but that’s everything these days. Oh—and the fact that they dropped the bottle size down to 700 mL from 750 mL since the last time I got my hands on one. Not a huge fan of folks doing a sneaky price increase like that. That said, I like the bourbon a lot! It’s really, really tasty.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

12th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1: Old Forester 86 proof vs Jeppson’s Bourbon 100 proof

March 21, 2025 Eric Burke

Here we go! Let’s get down to the competitions. I hope that you guys are as excited about this as I am. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2025 BourbonGuy.com Brackets starts with Division 2’s Number 4 seed, Old Forester, taking on Number 1 seed, Jeppson’s 100 Proof Bourbon.

Old Forester, the country’s first bottled bourbon, is a product of Brown-Forman in Louisville, KY. It shares a corporate umbrella with Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel’s. This 86-proof version is their entry-level Old Forester. It was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel (Prior Lake, MN) for $22.49 per bottle or $1.66 per pour.

Their opponent is a bourbon that I’ve never had before. In fact, I didn’t even know it existed before going shopping for this competition. Jeppson’s 100 Proof Bourbon is a sourced bourbon from the folks in Chicago that bring you Malört. If you know anything about Malört, you can see why this gave me pause. It was sourced from distilleries in both Indiana and Tennessee. This bottle was purchased at South Lyndale Liquor in Minneapolis, MN, for $19.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.33 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind, and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all recorded before we knew which bourbon was which. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were tasted side by side and will have influenced the perception of one another.

Zesty Doorknob (Old Forester 86 proof)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.66

Details: 43% ABV

Nose: Vanilla sugar, red fruit, a touch of baking spice

Mouth: Oak, red fruit, and baking spice

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of oak and baking spice

Gleaming Pancake (Jeppson’s Bourbon 100 Proof)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.33

Details: 50% ABV

Nose: Dusty oak and a nice mineral note. It’s reminding me a bit of an old garage

Mouth: Soft in the mouth. Cinnamon, caramel, and oak

Finish: On the longer side of medium, with notes of almond, oak, and baking spice

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: Gleaming Pancake is much softer on the mouth with a nicer mouthfeel. Zesty Doorknob is a bit harsher. Flavors are decent on both, but I like Gleaming Pancake more.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: I’m a bit surprised by this one. Not because of an upset or anything—I mean, usually, proof beats price in these matchups, and that happened again. But instead, because the lower-priced one was a sourced whiskey. Adding a middleman usually increases the price. Also, since the Jeppson’s name is most well known for Malört—a spirit marketed as being really unpleasant to drink—I did not have high hopes for this one. But that’s why we do this blind.

Winner: Jeppson’s 100 Proof Bourbon is advancing to round 2.

IMAGE: The 12th Annual Bourbon Guy Brackets for 2025, with Jeppson’s 100 advancing past Old Forester in the first round. The matchup is highlighted in yellow. Other first-round matchups remain undecided.

12th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The “Man, It’s Getting Hard to Find Things Under $25” Edition

March 19, 2025 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Eight bottles of bourbon lined up on a wooden railing with a snowy backyard in the background. Includes Old Bardstown, Old Forester, Larceny, Rebel 100, Benchmark Bonded, Maker’s Mark, Jeppson’s, and Jim Beam Black.

You know what time it is! The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has already started, which means everyone is in Bracket Mode. It really is a wonderful time of year. Up here in the northernmost state in the contiguous U.S., the snow is still trying to fall, though the end is in sight. Gardeners have started their seeds, there are days when the windows can be opened, and, of course, there are brackets to be filled out—and busted.

No, not those silly basketball or hockey brackets. We’re talking Bourbon Brackets. And let me tell you, this really is my favorite time of year. In fact, I enjoy it so much that whenever I decide to hang up the ol’ keyboard, I already know what my last series of posts will be: brackets. But don’t worry—that’s a ways off yet. I’d like to make it to at least 15 years of publishing first.

And let me tell you, this year’s competition is a good one. Of the seven major bourbon producers that existed when I started this site (Beam/Maker’s, Buffalo Trace/Barton, MGP (now including Lux Row), Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Brown-Forman), five are represented this year. The other two have been featured often enough that I used their spots for some newer faces.

The Selection Rules

This year’s selection process was simple:

The bourbon had to be in a 750 mL bottle
It had to cost under $25

That’s it!

For seeding, I sorted by proof first, followed by stated age (if applicable), and then used price as the final tiebreaker. Here’s what that got us:

Division 1

Seed 1: Benchmark Bonded
- A reader suggestion from last year. It's not available in Minnesota (that I’ve seen), so I grabbed it at Binny’s Beverage Depot in Chicago for $19.99 back in September of 2024. 100 proof.
- Nonsense name: Baffled Toaster
Seed 2: Rebel 100
- The first of three wheated bourbons in the competition—and the cheapest of the three 100-proof bottles.
- Purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel (Prior Lake, MN) for $17.09.
- Nonsense name: Grumpy Cloud
Seed 3: Jim Beam Black
- The newly age-stated 7-year-old version, bottled at 90 proof.
- Purchased at Total Wine (Burnsville, MN) for $20.99.
- Nonsense name: Wobbly Cactus
Seed 4: Old Bardstown
- The only true craft whiskey in the contest, distilled by Willett in Bardstown, KY, and bottled at 90 proof.
- Purchased at South Lyndale Liquor (Minneapolis, MN) for $21.99.
- Nonsense name: Rusty Marshmallow

Division 2

Seed 1: Jeppson’s 100 Proof
- A sourced bourbon from the folks in Chicago who make Malört.
- Purchased at South Lyndale Liquor (Minneapolis, MN) for $19.99.
- Nonsense name: Gleaming Pancake
Seed 2: Larceny Bourbon
- The second of three wheated bourbons, coming in at 92 proof.
- Purchased at Total Wine (Burnsville, MN) for $22.99.
- Nonsense name: Soggy Parrot
Seed 3: Maker’s Mark Bourbon
- The final wheated bourbon in the contest—also the lowest proof (90 proof) and highest price of the three.
- Purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel (Prior Lake, MN) for $24.97.
- Nonsense name: Lumpy Telescope
Seed 4: Old Forester 86 Proof
- The lowest proof of the contest, making it the lowest seed.
- Purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel (Prior Lake, MN) for $22.49.
- Nonsense name: Zesty Doorknob

Keeping It Blind: The Setup

Of course, that list doesn’t eliminate inherent bias, does it? So, as usual, we took a few extra steps to keep the tasting blind—while still keeping track of what advanced.

Here’s how we set it up (it’s an oh-so-simple process):

I seeded the whiskey in the bracket as listed above.
I poured 200 mL bottles of each bourbon and labeled them with their nonsense names.
I made a separate bracket using only the nonsense names and handed it, along with the bottles, to my wife.

From there, she takes over.

She doesn’t know what’s in each bottle (thanks to the nonsense names).
She pours and keeps track of the winners.
All I have to do is taste, write, and pick my favorite. It’s a pretty slick system.

The empty bracket is below, and as usual, there were plenty of storylines and surprises along the way—wheated matchups, high proof vs. low proof, price battles, and more. But that’s for the future. In the meantime, who you got? Let us know down in the comments!

Jack Daniel’s Single-Barrel Barrel-Proof Rye Whiskey

June 25, 2024 Eric Burke

I’m a big fan of serendipity. Most of my most interesting experiences in life have been completely unplanned. Take tonight’s whiskey. I’d been sitting on a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye for months before it finally came up in the editorial calendar. Later that week, I was wandering through the liquor store to see if anything caught my fancy when I saw its barrel-proof big Brother, for the first time. My closest Total Wine is set up very similarly to many others across the country. They have the extra-wide whiskey aisle with bourbon up one side, things they are trying to push down the center and Canadian, Flavored, “American” whiskey, and then Rye down the other as you make your way toward the front of the store.

I went up the bourbon section without seeing anything. There were a bunch of boxes of Spirits Direct crap down the center. I turned the corner to go down the other side. Glaced at the Canadian and didn’t see anything that interested me. I walked past the flavored section without stopping. I looked at most of the American Whiskey and Rye without seeing anything when, on the second-to-last shelf on the final facing, I saw this bottle of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye. It was the only one there. And knowing that I hadn’t covered it prior, it was in my cart before I even looked at the price.

Of course, then I looked at the price and was relieved that it was well under a hundred dollars. So, what is this newish release from the Tennessee Behemoth of American Whiskey? Well, it’s something that we’ve kinda looked at before. Back in 2020, Jack Daniel’s released a limited edition Single-Barrel Barrel-Proof Rye. About a year ago, they announced that it would become a permanent ongoing addition to the Single-Barrel lineup—a very welcome addition, in my opinion.

Like the other Jack Daniel’s Rye Whiskeys, this uses their standard rye mash bill of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley. Bottles will range between 125° proof and 145° proof. The suggested retail price is $59.99, though it was quite a bit more than that here in Minnesota at $75.

So let’s see how it tastes.

Jack Daniel’s Single-Barrel Barrel-Proof Rye Whiskey

Purchase Info: $74.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.00

Details: 65.25% ABV. Barrel House: 1-09. Barrel Number: 24-02588. Bottling Date: March 12, 2024

Nose: Spearmint, caramel, cedar, and circus peanuts (candy).

Mouth: Sweet and as hot as you'd expect 130° proof to be. Notes of Cinnamon, spearmint, caramel, and oak.

Finish: Medium length and hot. Notes of cinnamon, oak, banana, and caramel.

Thoughts: It is very sweet and very hot when neat. Luckily, a touch of water tames the heat without eliminating the sweetness or spice notes. This is delicious—absolutely delicious. Is it worth almost twice the price of the Bonded Rye? Well, that's up to you. All I’ll say is that I’m reaching to pour this one even though both are on my shelf next to one another. And honestly, I'd buy it again if I saw it at the store. Tasting them side-by-side, they taste pretty similar. As you might expect. But the added proof is quite tasty. When it comes to Jack Daniel’s, the less water they add, the more I like it.

Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye

June 18, 2024 Eric Burke

It is easy to get caught up in the negative side of any story. I mean, after two solid years of drought, 75% of my yard is currently flooded. I could be super unhappy with that. But, since we were able to get our garden in before all the rain, we shouldn’t have to water it for a while. And since our garden doesn’t like city water, it’s good that we won’t need to use it as soon as usual.

Or take tonight’s whiskey. I bought this 700 mL bottle of Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye for $34.99 back in March. However, Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye recently replaced Jack Daniel’s Straight Rye, which I reviewed back in November 2017 for $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle. That’s an additional five bucks for 50 milliliters less whiskey. And sure, I could be mad if I focused just on that. However, the proof went up along with the price. And honestly, if you look a little deeper and do the math, the price increase is slightly less than the difference in inflation since that time.*

So, I guess what I’m saying is that we got a higher-proof whiskey for the same effective price, which if you focused only on the negative items, you might have missed. Now, while I wander around the house singing a song from Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, let’s let the press release from Jack Daniel’s have a word.

Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye has a grain bill of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley and is charcoal mellowed before aging in new, handmade American white oak barrels. It opens with notes of dried fruit followed by lingering hints of toffee, imparting a bold, complex, and balanced taste with a rye spice finish.

Alright, I’m back. Let’s see what the BourbonGuy household thought of this one, shall we?

Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye

Purchase Info: $34.99 for a 700 mL bottle at South Lyndale Liquors, Minneapolis, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.50

Details: 50% ABV. Mash bill: 70% rye, 18% corn, 12% malted barley.

Nose: Cedar, cinnamon, and chocolate.

Mouth: Zesty spices of cinnamon candy and clove, vanilla, citrus zest, cocoa, and oak.

Finish: Medium length and warmth with notes of oak, almond, baking spices, and just a touch of banana.

Thoughts: This is decent. Like its predecessor, it's not a world-beater by any means, but it's solid. It drinks well neat and works well in a cocktail. The oak is more prominent than I’d have thought for a product from Jack Daniel’s core lineup. It is sweeter than I usually like my rye, but it seems to work in this case. If you loved Jack Daniel’s Straight Rye, this is more full-flavored and isn’t as soft as that. If you really like Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye, this has a higher proof, but it reminds me of that. However, Single Barrel is over $50, so personally, I’d buy the Bonded Rye more often for that reason.

Now I need to figure out how to get Always Look on the Bright Side of Life out of my head…

*$29.99/750 = 3.999 cents per milliliter. $0.03999 x 700 = $27.99. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, $27.99 in November 2017 had the same buying power as $35.44 in March 2024—or slightly more than the $34.99 that I paid for the new bottle. Basically it’s a wash.

11th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The Championship Rounds

April 4, 2024 Eric Burke

Welcome back, folks! We are now at the end of the 2024 contest. Eight whiskeys entered the arena. Four have fallen by the wayside. There have been some delicious treats, with not a single stinker in the bunch. Let’s see how it all ends and see if we’ve learned anything along the way. First, we have the Round Two matchups.

Division 2: Whiskey A (Buffalo Trace) vs. Whiskey B (George Dickel Bourbon)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The noses are pretty similar. “A” is more vibrant, “B” is nuttier. In the mouth, “A” is very nicely balanced with a nice sweetness. “B” is spicier, also with a nice flavor.

Winner: “B” (George Dickel Bourbon) moves on to the Championship Round based on the nice spiciness.

Division 1: Whiskey A (Old Forester 100 Proof) vs. Whiskey B (Old Grand-Dad 114 Proof)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The nose on “B” has more caramel and nuttiness. The nose on “A” is more muted with a faint medicinal note. “B” is very spicy on the month. “A” has notes of red fruit and marzipan.

Winner: “B” is spicier, but that spiciness overwhelms the other notes. “A” is more well-rounded, which I prefer. “A” (Old Forester 100 proof) moves on to the Championship Round

Championship Round: Whiskey A (George Dickel Bourbon) vs. Whiskey B (Old Forester 100 Proof)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The nose on “A” shows more caramel and vanilla versus the fruit notes on “B.” The mouth on “A” is showing spice, caramel, and oak. “B” shows more fruit. It’s close, but I think “A” pulls ahead based on the oak and spice.

Winner: “A” (George Dickel Bourbon)

Congrats to George Dickel 8-Year-Old Bourbon, the 2024 BourbonGuy.com Bracket Champion!

Lessons Learned:

This was an interesting contest for me. I like contests where I know I won’t need to brace myself before taking the first sip in a tasting. Every one of the bourbons was good. I don’t think I’d say there is anything in here that would warrant a “meh/neutral” rating if it were being tasted alone. That might be a first.

So, what did I learn about each of these?

Ok, right off the bat, I expected a little blowback on George Dickel Bourbon even being in the contest. I got it last year when I included their Bottled-in-Bond Whiskey, and I honestly expected the same this year. I am personally shocked that Dickel won the contest. I honestly expected Old Forester 100 proof to win based on what I thought my personal preferences were. That said, upon reflection, I’m not shocked that the only age-stated bourbon in the batch won the whole thing. It’s hard to beat time in a barrel for making good whiskey. Add in the fact that it was less than $25 and less than 100 proof, and the whole thing just makes me happy. I love an underdog story.

Moving over to the other Championship contender, as stated above, Old Forester 100 Proof would have been my favorite to win the contest at the outset. Not only does it sit in my favorite proof point, but it was also the most expensive of the bunch. Not that price always correlates to quality (that’s one of the reasons we run this contest each year), but it certainly correlates to how much a company thinks people would be willing to pay for something. And that has at least a passing relationship with how good something is, especially with a product that has been on the market for a long time like this. That said, it came in second and won its division. It’s a good bourbon and one that is often on my shelf.

Newcomer Wheel Horse Bourbon handled itself admirably. It didn’t quite have the gusto to knock off a competitor with lots of age on it, but it should hold its head up high. It lost to the eventual champion this year. That’s nothing to sneeze at. It’s good whiskey and a good value. It may have advanced if it had had a different matchup in the first round. I think I’ll be doing a full review of this one in the near future if I don’t drink it all first.

Elijah Craig is a great bourbon. It is more delicate than other bourbons in this list, having neither the age nor the proof of other contestants. Because of that, it doesn’t surprise me that it lost in the first round. But with no comparisons, I'm a happy camper if this is in my glass.

When I think of Buffalo Trace, the old chant from high school sports of “O-Ver-Rate-Ed clap clap clapclapclap.” That isn’t to say that it is a stinker or even a “meh” bourbon. No, it is very good. But when I get comments from people saying that it goes for $50 in their neck of the woods, it’s hard to take it seriously these days. Especially when contrasted with other comparable products. Sazerac won the PR lottery when they got the contract to have Pappy chosen from among their stocks oh-so-many years ago.

I’m just going to copy and paste what I said last year about Old Tub, as nothing has changed in my assessment: “Old Tub reminded me that Jim Beam makes good whiskey. It just needs some proof. Go below 100° proof, and it gets way too nutty for many folks, including me, when the mood isn’t right.”

I didn’t learn much from Old Grand-Dad 114 that I didn’t already know. I knew it was a great bourbon that didn’t cost much, and nothing about that has changed. The proof adds a nice spice to what might otherwise be a lackluster bourbon that would be too grain-forward for my personal tastes. That’s why I like Bonded and 114 so much better than the 80 proof.

Finally, Ezra Brooks 99 is right there with the other bourbons in this group. It was great as a 90° proof. And with that great base, the proof bump makes it an absolute winner. Sure, the price is higher than the now-discontinued 90, but I think the quality went up more. If I’m not buying for content, this is one that I pick up a lot.

Ok, so we have one further contest to take a look at before we put the brackets to bed this year. I retired Wild Turkey 101 from the yearly bracket contest a few years ago. It won every time it appeared until I paired it against other, more expensive, 100-ish proof bourbons during the pandemic. It is literally the GOAT when it comes to inexpensive bourbon. One of the guys I talk to at a local liquor store describes more expensive bourbons using Wild Turkey 101 as the measuring stick. “Is this worth four bottles of Wild Turkey 101?” And I love that. So, I decided to bring it out of retirement to see how this year’s winner stacked up against the old bird. (You may notice it hiding in the back of the photo above.)

Emeritus Round: Whiskey A (George Dickel Bourbon) vs. Whiskey B (Wild Turkey 101)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: “A” has a lot of oak on both the nose and mouth, along with toffee on the mouth. “B” shows nice cinnamon on the nose and mouth along with some caramel on the mouth. Both have a nice spice.

Winner: Very close, but I'm leaning toward “B” (Wild Turkey) in the Emeritus Contest.

Now that we are done, it’s time to turn the page to the future. Next week, we will look at the samples that have been stacking up while the contest was going on. As much fun as this was, it’s fun to try new bourbons, too.

Once again, congrats to George Dickel 8-Year-Old Bourbon on their 2024 Championship!

11TH ANNUAL BOURBONGUY.COM BRACKETS: ROUND 1: Old Forester 100 Proof vs. Elijah Craig

March 28, 2024 Eric Burke

Hello again, my friends! Let’s continue with the brackets, shall we?

If you’ve been following along, you know that these were tasted in an order only known to my wife, which was another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2024 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 1’s Number 1 seed, Old Forester 100 proof, taking on Number 4 seed Elijah Craig.

Old Forester 100 proof, one time known as Old Forester Signature, is probably my favorite Brown-Forman bourbon from a Quality-to-Price perspective. It is delicious, relatively inexpensive (at least when compared to its Whiskey Row brothers), and has enough proof to keep you interested. Did I mention that it is delicious? I was thrilled to include this one in the brackets this year. It is the number one overall seed due to the fact that it is at the high end of this contest’s price parameters and it’s proof. I bought this bottle at South Lyndale Liquors in Minneapolis, MN. It costs $27.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.87 per pour.

Their opponent is another bourbon that I buy quite often. In this case, it is because Heaven Hill’s flagship bourbon, Elijah Craig, is often on sale in the low $ 20 range near me. I’m a big fan of bottles that taste good but cost relatively little. Hence, the contest theme. This particular bottle was not on sale but was still priced well. It costs $24.96 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.66 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and probably influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey A (Elijah Craig)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.66

Details: 47% ABV.

Nose: Brown sugar, mint, cola, and baking spice.

Mouth: Caramel, cola, cinnamon, and oak.

Finish: Warm and on the shorter side of medium. Notes of brown sugar, mint, and oak.

Whiskey B (Old Forester 100 proof)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.87

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Caramel, citrus zest, mint, and almond.

Mouth: Sweet and spicy with notes of caramel, cedar, mint, almond, and cinnamon.

Finish: Warm and of medium length—notes of toffee, chalk, mint, and cinnamon.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: We had a hard time with this one. Relatively, “A” is the more delicate of the two, which wouldn't matter if one of these was bad. I’ve chosen the more delicate bourbon in previous year’s contests because it happened to be the better one. But both of these were very good. So I'm left with which one made more of an impression. And in this case, that is the robust flavor of “B.”

Post-Reveal Thoughts: There are no surprises here. The proof won out. If this contest had happened ten years ago, it would have been a different story. Old Forester had fallen on hard times and, frankly, wasn’t very good. And Elijah Craig was a 12-year-old powerhouse of a bourbon. But these days, Old Forester 100 is delicious, and Elijah Craig, though delicious, is much more approachable than it once was.

Winner: Old Forester 100 is advancing to round 2.

11th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The “Not Quite Bottom-Shelf” Edition

March 19, 2024 Eric Burke

Welcome back, my friends, to my favorite posts of the year. It’s bracket time!

Historically, this has been a series where we take a look at the cheapest of the cheapest bourbons, pit them against each other, and decide which you should pick up and which you should leave down on that bottom shelf. The 2022 edition broke me; I dumped out about 7 liters of bourbon, so last year, I tossed out all pricing requirements and did a series of Bonded Bourbons. This year, I’m reinstating the price requirements, but I’ve decided to keep them a bit “relaxed.” My goal was to find readily available bourbons all at about the same price point, in this case, the $20 to $30 price range.

Here is how we set everything up. And it is an oh-so-simple process. I seed the whiskey in the bracket, in this case, by price. Then, I pour 200 mL bottles of each contestant whiskey and label them with a nonsense name. Finally, I make a separate bracket with the nonsense names and give that and the 200 mL bottles to my wife. After that, she takes care of everything. She has no idea what is in each bottle due to the nonsense name. She pours and keeps track of the winners while we do our tastings. And all I need to do is taste and write. It’s a pretty slick system.

So, who are the participants, and how did they get chosen?

Well, every year, I try to put in limitations that will force me to choose a new set of participants. Well, mostly new, anyway. We still have four this year that were in previous editions. Because the “bottom-shelf” ones have gotten so much worse than they used to be due to inflation and strategic price increases, this year, I limited myself to only bourbons priced between $20 and $30 for a 750 mL bottle. This allowed me to get some names that are familiar to the general public but that might be overlooked due to the general public’s idea that “more expensive equals better whiskey.” A while back, I also asked what you guys wanted to see included as part of a giveaway. I included as many of those as I could. Some weren’t available in my market. Others were quite expensive. Some had just been in so many contests that I looked for fresh faces. But I included what I could.

The contestants were seeded by price. If there was more than one at the same price, the tie was broken by proof.

Division 1, Seed 1: Old Forester 100: This was purchased at South Lyndale Liquors in Minneapolis, MN, for $27.99 or $0.037 per milliliter.
Division 2, Seed 1: Buffalo Trace: This was purchased at Total Wine in Burnsville, MN, for $27.99 or $0.037 per milliliter.
Division 1, Seed 2: Old Grand-Dad 114: A reader suggested Old Grand-Dad Bonded, but since I saw this fit the price constraints, I upgraded. This was purchased at Total Wine in Burnsville, MN, for $26.99 or $0.036 per milliliter.
Division 2, Seed 2: Wheel Horse Bourbon: This was a reader suggestion. It was purchased at Top Ten Liquors in Chanhassan, MN, for $25.96 or $0.035 per milliliter.
Division 1, Seed 3: Ezra Brooks 99: This was purchased at South Lyndale Liquors in Minneapolis, MN, for $24.99 or $0.033 per milliliter.
Division 2, Seed 3: George Dickel Bourbon: This was purchased at France 44 in Minneapolis, MN, for $24.99 or $0.033 per milliliter.
Division 1, Seed 4: Elijah Craig: This was purchased at Top Ten Liquors in Chanhassen, MN, for $24.96 or $0.033 per milliliter.
Division 2, Seed 4: Old Tub: This was a reader suggestion. It was purchased at France 44 in Minneapolis, MN, for $21.99 or $0.029 per milliliter.

I’m going to tell you right now, that there were some real surprises here. I was honestly shocked at the winner. But that is for the future. In the mean time, who you got? Let us know down in the comments.

Blog

Woodford Reserve Master's Collection: Batch Proof, 2024

Zesty Doorknob (Old Forester 86 proof)

Gleaming Pancake (Jeppson’s Bourbon 100 Proof)

Thoughts:

The Selection Rules

Division 1

Division 2

Keeping It Blind: The Setup

Jack Daniel’s Single-Barrel Barrel-Proof Rye Whiskey

Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye

Division 2: Whiskey A (Buffalo Trace) vs. Whiskey B (George Dickel Bourbon)

Division 1: Whiskey A (Old Forester 100 Proof) vs. Whiskey B (Old Grand-Dad 114 Proof)

Championship Round: Whiskey A (George Dickel Bourbon) vs. Whiskey B (Old Forester 100 Proof)

Lessons Learned:

Emeritus Round: Whiskey A (George Dickel Bourbon) vs. Whiskey B (Wild Turkey 101)

Whiskey A (Elijah Craig)

Whiskey B (Old Forester 100 proof)

Thoughts: