When it comes to America’s favorite style of whiskey and, thanks largely to the rise in popularity of cocktails such as the Old Fashioned and Manhattan, it’s becoming appreciated in increasing quantities on this side of the Atlantic. Many of the mainstream bourbons make great cocktails, with Bulleit being among the bartenders’ favorites – its spicy kick letting any accompanying mixer know who’s in charge. But for anyone who likes to take their bourbon neat or with a splash of water there is a whole range of more complex and unique flavors to be explored.
To be able to label a drink as bourbon it must be made from a minimum of 51% corn and aged in American oak, which leaves a lot of room for experimentation. From the proportions of corn to rye, wheat and malted barley; the charring of the barrels; and even the type of yeast used in the initial fermentation, distillers have a full toolbox of booze-making variables to play with. And that’s before they enter the realms of blending.
Most bourbons have a touch more sweetness, derived from the corn, than their rye and barley dominated whiskey cousins, and tend to be smoother with distinctive peachy notes. But the artful distiller will use his skill to develop many more flavors and textures, making bourbon one of the most varied spirits around. So fine-tune your taste buds as we guide you through 10 of the very best…
1. Elijah Craig 12 Year Old
47%: £32.95 per 700ml bottle, The Whisky Exchange
If you’re looking to move beyond basic bourbons without worrying your wallet then this is the booze for you. The oak aging is immediately evident on the nose, with subtle charred aromas mingling with sweet fruits, and the flavours have a savory, spicy edge to them. Yet despite the boozy, peppery kick and long, woody finish, it’s a silky smooth sipping a treat. Bargain.
2. Blanton’s Gold Edition
51.5%: £64.65 per 700ml bottle, The Whisky Exchange
Blanton’s have a long association with the Kentucky Derby, hence the horse and jockey on the bottle’s cap, and this single barrel, hand bottled bourbon is a proven thoroughbred. It has a spicy oak and zesty citrus aroma which leads to a huge array of flavours – from chewy dried peach to sweet maple syrup and the warming richness of stone fruit and spice. No single flavour overwhelms the next, creating layers of complexity that reveal different compositions with every sip. Exceptional stuff.
3. King’s County Barrel Strength,
63%: £35.15 per 200ml bottle
Yes, you read that right: 63% alcohol by volume. Bottled straight from the barrel, this New York bourbon slithers into the glass like a venom-spitting snake. Drink it neat and it evaporates in the mouth with warming dark toffee and berry flavors that themselves into your taste buds. Mix it with something less boozy and it’ll beef it up a treat, lending it the richnesses of sweet oak while applying a smooth, creamy lacquer to help the drink slide down in style.
4. FEW Bourbon Whiskey
46.5%: £51.55 per 700ml bottle
This Illinois booze is a rugged, after-dark kind of drink that takes you to flavors where few bourbons dare to venture. The sweetness is toffee encrusted, the texture is oily, and the spices have been given an extra toasting with a seedy taste of linseed. The finish is long and spicy, crackling in the mouth. A great example of how unique a bourbon can be – for those brave enough to try it.
5. Jefferson’s Bourbon
41.2%: £36.95 per 700ml bottle
With an engraving of Thomas Jefferson on the bottle, accompanied by the words ‘very small batch bourbon’, this is a drink for sipping slowly, while pondering what the American Founding Father would make of today’s White House incumbent. It’s a clean yet complex creation, with lightly charred, vanilla notes, some orange sweetness and even a few herby touches to add interest. An effortlessly smooth drink with a long, dry finish. Jefferson’s are an innovative bourbon maker, highly skilled in the art of blending, and this is a delicious product to suit most tastes.
6. Ezra Brooks Bourbon Whisky
40%: £28.40 per 700ml bottle
If you are looking for a bottle under £30 you won’t go far wrong with this. Ezra Brooks original whiskey set out to capitalize on the success of Jack Daniels, mimicking it in both taste and branding. But the modern editions, now being produced at one of American’s biggest distilleries, Heaven Hill, are much more honest affairs. This version is a pale colored booze with a soft, sweet vanilla and grain aroma. There’s a fair amount of caramel sweetness to taste, but it doesn’t distract from the best bits: a lively scattering of spice on the tongue and a clean, zesty freshness. It finishes with chocolate powder dryness, giving a bit of richness to the booze, and is effortlessly easy to drink.
7. Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whiskey
45%: £30 per 700ml bottle
With 70% corn going into the mash bill, this bourbon has a noticeable sweetness and a smoother, more buttery texture than others in the same price range, with the wood and spice flavors being more subdued. As such it’s a great entry-level drink – particularly suited to cocktails but also worth investigating for anyone tip-toeing into ‘sip it neat’ territory.
8. Woodford Reserve
43.2%: £30 per 700ml bottle
This is a bourbon well worth savoring just for its olfactory delights, with more perfumes revealing themselves the longer the nostrils linger. We marked down peat, honey and Christmas spices before temptation gave way to taste. It’s rich but easy drinking, with the peppery oak notes, softened by sweet dried fruits and lightened with a zesty freshness. Smooth, warming and immensely satisfying.
9. Old Forester Kentucky Bourbon
43%: £30 per 700ml bottle
Old Forester has a 140-year history and can claim to be the first ever bottled bourbon. Unscrew the lid and vanilla can be detected a mile off before a closer sniff reveals caramel and a whole load of spice. The first sip delivers a spicy kick, like crunching into a hot pepper – largely due to the high rye content – before a flicker of orange fades into a long, slightly bitter finish of spruce and oak.
10. Whiskey Thief Straight Bourbon
40%: £28.35 per 700ml bottle,
We’ve included Whiskey Thief’s bottle to highlight a new bourbon making innovation. Rather than solely relying on barrels to age the whiskey, the makers have added charred oak insertions, which increases the area of oak in contact with the spirit in order to give the effect of a longer maturation. With modern packaging to match, this is a shift from traditional bourbons, but the results are still well worth drinking. It has a vanilla ice cream smoothness and, at first tastes slightly sweet and unremarkable, but allow it to swirl around the mouth and spicier flavors of booze-soaked fruits develop, adding a sophisticated maturity to the drink.
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This article was originally featured on theindependent.com