We are midway through September, or Bourbon Heritage Month for all the whiskey aficionados out there. Last week, we released a list featuring 10 of the most iconic whiskey brands and their releases for Bourbon Heritage Month, and you can read it here. This week, we wanted to focus on the best craft whiskey brands for Bourbon Heritage Month.
These smaller, scrappy distilleries exist throughout the United States and put their own distinctive twist on bourbon. So if you want to support independent spirit brands this month, be sure to read on and check out this eclectic lineup of craft bourbons.
10. Middle West Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey
Middle West Spirits is based in Ohio, and this grain-to-glass whiskey brand focuses on celebrating all the characteristics that make the Ohio River Valley so special. The brand’s Cask Strength Straight Wheated Bourbon originates from a mashbill of non-GMO yellow corn, red winter wheat, two-row barley and dark pumpernickel rye.
This particular bottle deviates from the norm, according to Middle West, because the combination of rye and wheat in the mashbill is rarely found in bourbon. Since these grains don’t often play well together, it can be tricky striking the perfect balance — yet with this Cask Strength Wheated Bourbon, Middle West does exactly that.
Middle West’s Cask Strength Bourbon clocks in at 95 proof, and can be purchased directly from the brand’s website for $69.99. On the nose, the whiskey offers up toffee and smoky butterscotch, which segué into leather and light oak. The finish is the perfect balance of smoke and spices.
9. High Wire Jimmy Red Bottled-In-Bond
This blood red bourbon from South Carolina’s High Wire Distilling originates from a rare varietal of corn: Jimmy Red. Jimmy Red corn was on the verge of extinction until chefs began working with this rare red corn varietal that was originally used by moonshiners.
High Wire started working with Jimmy Red when a farmer named Glenn Roberts bequeathed the whiskey brand with a little over two acres of the heirloom corn species. Since 2014, High Wire and Clemson University have been tending to this plot of land, and the whiskey brand has been using this ruby red corn as a base in the mashbill for its distinctive bourbons. This Bottled In Bond expression clocks in at 100 proof per Bottled In Bond regulations and can be purchased for the price of $79.99.
High Wire claims this bourbon possesses aromas of tart cherries, dark chocolate, coffee bean and cinnamon.
8. Barrell Craft Grey Label Bourbon
Fans of extended-age whiskeys will fall hard for Barrell Craft’s Gray Label Bourbon, with juice distilled in three iconic states known for tip-top bourbon: Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.
Made and bottled in none other than Kentucky, the youngest age statement clocks in at 13 years. Some of the juice is almost 19 years old. A 750 ml bottle costs $159.99 from Barrell Craft.
This year’s release clocks in at a cask strength of 110.12 proof. As far as the aroma is concerned, there is plenty of vanilla bean, with sugar cane and herbaceous notes of sage. The palate features oatmeal raisin cookie, spice and apple peels. The finish is full of cardamom and ginger.
7. Blue Note Uncut Bourbon
Blue Note Bourbon Whiskey is the oldest licensed distillery in Memphis, Tennessee, and it takes its name from, well, the city that gave birth to the blues.
The brand shares that its distillery sits within close proximity to the Mississippi River, but is right outside the “heat island effect” that urban centers experience. The warehouses experience high humidity and relatively temperate weather, making it an ideal place for aging whiskey.
The uncut whiskey features a four-year age statement with 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley. It was distilled in Kentucky, then aged in Memphis before being bottled at cask strength. This whiskey costs $49.99.
6. Blue Run Kentucky Straight High Rye Bourbon
Blue Run, the bourbon brand known for those butterflies on the bottles and releasing its whiskeys in drops, features a small-batch high-rye whiskey as part of its core program. The brand shares that a higher percentage of rye in its mashbill yields a whiskey with a bold and spicy flavor profile.
This whiskey clocks in at 111 proof, and possesses a nose that bursts forth with aromas of pralines, citrus peels and tobacco. The pour features nutty brown sugar, interlaced with stone fruit. The finish honors that higher-rye mashbill, with an herbaceous throughline and peaches, coupled with clove.
Blue Run High Rye Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey features an average price of $95, according to Wine-Searcher.
5. High West Bottled In Bond Bourbon
High West made headlines when it released its Bottled In Bond Bourbon in early August. The bourbon marked a significant milestone for the Park City distillery, as High West rose to prominence for its blends and the fact that it sourced whiskeys from other distilleries.
Per Bottled-In-Bond regulations, High West’s Bottled In Bond was made by a single distiller at a single distillery during one season, clocks in at 100 proof, and spent four years and five months aging before it was released.
The bouquet leans heavily on the orchard fruit aromas, with honey crisp apples and golden raisins. There’s a slight kick of honeycomb that segues into a palate featuring roasted marshmallows, cacao nibs, and dried thyme. The finish paints a picture of brown butter drizzled over financier cakes, according to High West.
High West’s Bottled In Bond Bourbon is available for presale from the brand for the price of $79.99.
4. A. Smith Bowman Isaac Bowman Port Barrel Finish
They say Virginia is for lovers, but it also happens to be a sleeper destination for great whiskey. If you don’t believe us, the whiskeys at cult-favorite brand A. Smith Bowman are liquid proof of that.
The limited releases from A. Smith Bowman are so coveted that they usually involve a lottery and the guarantee that those lucky few selected will take a trip to the distillery to pick them up in person. This offering is a bit more widely available, and it clocks in at 92 proof.
A port-finished whiskey that spent “a number of years” aging in charred white oak barrels according to A. Smith Bowman,. This whiskey is priced at $35.99.
3. Peerless Small Batch Double Oak Bourbon
Peerless Distilling has a history that dates back to the 1880s, when it operated under another name: Worsham Distilling Company.
The company switched gears during Prohibition and the brand’s federally-bonded warehouses were used to store whiskey under the U.S. Government, and Peerless Whiskey was available via prescription. As for this particular whiskey, Peerless Small Batch Double Oak Bourbon spent time aging in two new oak casks.
At first whiff, the pour offers up butterscotch and cherry aromas. Oranges and flowers leap out of the glass, coupled with a fruity, red berry-driven and vinous palate. The finish offers up honey and toasted oak. One bottle costs $119.99 from the brand’s website.
2. Starlight 10 Year Bourbon
Indiana’s Starlight Distillery’s 10 Year Old Bourbon really demonstrates the beauty of patience.
This decade-old whiskey is “a 180+ year family legacy in a glass,” according to the brand. It spent ten years aging in hand-chosen Seguin Moreau Icône casks.
The whiskey bursts forth with aromas of salted caramel and red fruits, coupled with dark toffee on the palate. The complex finish is meant to be savored, according to Starlight. The whiskey possesses an average price of $250 according to Wine-Searcher.
1. Provenance Bourbon 7 Years Old
We’d be remiss if we didn’t include Provenance Bourbon, a Virginia craft whiskey brand helmed by none other than our Founder, Jay West, which dropped on September 8.
For years, West has served as a critic and fine-tuned his palate both tasting and reviewing hundreds of whiskeys. Provenance Bourbon relies on West’s expertise to survey and select each barrel and blend them into a liquid work of art.
The brand’s 7-year bourbon is priced at an affordable $69.99 and clocks in at 107 proof. It sports a layered profile of warm baking spices, drizzles of toffee, and a smoky tobacco undercurrent, making it an approachable introduction to the brand.
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