We Blind Tasted Bourbon With Wagyu Steak To Find The Perfect Pairing

Bourbon and Steak Pairing — iStockphoto/UPROXX

Pairing steak and bourbon has been around as long as, well, bourbon itself. The two go hand in hand, thanks to the balance of sweet and spicy from the brown juice pairing with the umami and savory notes of the steak. Begging the question, what’s the best bourbon whiskey to pair with your steak?

Today, I’m going to find out.

For this blind tasting, I’m pouring eight bourbons — classic, crafty, and high-end — and tasting each one with a slice of steak. I grabbed a Japanese A5 Wagyu filet (280 grams worth) and butter-basted it (I used buffalo butter from Italy) with a nice outer sear in a cast-iron skillet to a very low medium-rare (about 120F internal temp).

Which turned this:

Into this:

I then heated a piece of slate for plating while the drams were poured for me and the steak rested. The whole process took about five minutes. I sliced the steak into thin strips, hit it with some birch smoked salt flakes, placed it on the pre-heated slate, and dove in.

Before we get to the tasting, here’s my methodology. First, I had a piece of the steak as a control before I started anything. Yes, it was delicious on its own. I’m nosing and tasting (spitting) each dram of whiskey first to prime my palate with that whiskey for the bite. Then I’ll take a bite of steak. Lastly, I’ll nose and taste the whiskey again.

Here are the competitors:

Old Elk Wheated Bourbon
Redemption High-Rye Bourbon
Michter’s Single Barrel 10-Year Bourbon
Garrison Brothers Balmorhea
Wild Turkey Longbranch
Frey Ranch Small Batch
George Dickel Single Barrel Aged 9 Years
Weller Special Reserve

Ready to see how it shook out?

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months

Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1

Whiskey Tasting Notes:

You’re drawn in by a big bowl of vanilla ice cream drizzled with salted caramel sauce next to a very faint hint of dried florals. The palate builds on that ice cream, creating a sundae with crushed almonds, creamy toffee brittle, and a hint of eggnog spice. The end is medium-length with a touch of that buttery sweetness carrying the sip to a warm end.

Tasting Notes with Steak:

The steak was initially kind of sweet with a nice layer of salt but had a hint of bitterness to it that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. A touch of smoke adhered to the toffee and nutmeg of the whiskey right away and evened things out.

When I went back to the whiskey, there was a lot more bitterness, as though the spices had been over-cooked. This was just an okay start.

Taste 2

Whiskey Tasting Notes:

Rich vanilla wafers with nougat and orange zest mingle with tart berries and winter spices on the nose. The palate is all about the dried cherries dipped in chocolate with lemon pepper spice, a hint of cedar, and old leather. The end feels part vanilla-cherry tobacco and part mint chocolate ice cream with a touch of cedar tying it together.

Tasting Notes with Steak:

This was classic and grassy on the palate which primed me really well for the steak. That grassiness leaned a little sweet and helped highlight the sweetness of the steak while a hint of vanilla added a lushness to the whole experience, especially when I got back to the whiskey.

This felt like it was starting to gel as a pairing.

Taste 3

Whiskey Tasting Notes:

The nose opens with soft wood and worn leather next to light touches of dark berries, orange oils, egg nog spice, sourdough Southern biscuits, and slight cotton candy sweetness. The palate starts off with maple syrup sweetness which then leads into a rush of berry brambles. The mid-palate hits on a bit of dark spice, vanilla tobacco, and dark cacao espresso bitterness. The finish leans into a dry-yet-almost-sweet oak with a touch of an almond shell and dry grass coming in at the very end.

Tasting Notes with Steak:

Okay, this is where it’s at! That sour biscuit vibe really counters the rich and unctuous steak nicely. The smoked salt marries the maply syrup and sweet grass while the bitterness in the whiskey compliments the softness of the steak.

Going back to the sip after tasting the steak, there’s this perfect balance of sweet, bitter, woody, spicy, and dry that just works. This is the pairing to beat!

Taste 4

Whiskey Tasting Notes:

This opens with that signature Garrison Bros. raw oats and leather before veering into a sense of a corn-syrup-laced pecan pie next to hazelnut bespeckled cinnamon rolls and creamy milk chocolate with a hint of vanilla tobacco. That chocolate drives the taste towards a mint-chocolate ice cream vibe (heavy on the chocolate part) with small dashes of holiday spices, hard toffee candies, more raw leather, and a flourish of wet grains. The end circles back around to all that sweet and chocolatey creaminess with a final slice of perfect pecan pie on a slow fade.

Tasting Notes with Steak:

That raw leather and grain brought out the rawness of the steak. That wasn’t bad per se, but it felt like a step back and not a step forward.

Going back to the whiskey after the steak, there was more balance to the whiskey and that raw/wet grain/leather vibe really calmed down, allowing more of the nuttiness and spices to shine through.

Taste 5

Whiskey Tasting Notes:

Christmas spices meet oily vanilla and subtle caramel up top. The palate adds orange oils and buttery toffee to the mix, as the spices edge upwards on the palate, next to a creamy vanilla pudding body. That velvet texture builds throughout, with toasted oak and cedar notes as a hint of sweet firepit smoke arrives on the long and satisfying finish.

Tasting Notes with Steak:

This really popped when you took a bite of steak. The palate was a little weak at first, but the fat and salt of the meat helped everything to sort of amplify.

The steak itself stayed somewhat neutral. I’m not sure if the whiskey helped it, whereas the steak certainly helped this whiskey pop.

Taste 6

Whiskey Tasting Notes:

The sip draws you in with hints of burnt orange rings next to fresh honey, apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, cherry tobacco, and vanilla pods. The palate leans dry with cornmeal, bales of straw, woody eggnog spices, cherry stems, and a touch of dried mint next to cedar boxes full of vanilla tobacco. The mid-palate turns with a note of pancake syrup that leads back towards the dry woods and tobacco.

Tasting Notes with Steak:

This was a complex whiskey for sure. Then it sent the steak sort of sour and bitter at the same time, which was not really that ideal. I tried another bite of steak to see if something was off and there was still a distinctly sour note created for the palate of the bourbon.

Going back to the bourbon, it was a perfectly nice dram but… kind of screwed up the taste of the steak.

Taste 7

Whiskey Tasting Notes:

The higher ABVs add depth to the cherry cola notes on the nose as the sweet syrup lurks in the background next to eggnog spice, salted peanuts, and a touch of dry wood. The palate delivers on those notes while leaning into the cherry and vanilla while the spices kick up and notes of soft leather, dry reeds, and maybe a touch of wicker arrive late. The end is slightly fruity but leans more into cherry tobacco with a dry and woody end.

Tasting Notes with Steak:

This was old and bold on the palate and that sort of worked with the steak. It added an almost super long dry-aged vibe to the mix. The steak became extra soft and sweet as the whiskey rolled around in your senses.

Going back to the whiskey, there was a clear sense of the sweetness and wicker that rounded both the dram and steak out very nicely. This was very good, but I’m not sure if it beats out number three. It’s close.

Taste 8

Whiskey Tasting Notes:

This felt the most “classic” on the nose with hints of vanilla cream, cherrywood, new leather, and apple blossoms leading the way. The palate had a thin cream soda feel to it with both cherry and apple pie filling, a buttery pie crust, and a vanilla/cherry pipe tobacco chewiness. The mid-palate was full of dark cherry syrup that lead to more of that tobacco with a slight dry reed vibe on the end.

Tasting Notes with Steak:

There’s a nice and classic element to the whiskey that gives way to a raw leather note but it’s way more dialed back than number four. Interestingly, that raw leather note ages as you take a bite of the steak, which becomes nicely sweetened and spiced.

When you go back to the whiskey, there’s a clear sense of soft tobacco and dark cherries that shine through and add to the sweetness of the steak that’s very pleasing.

Part 2: The Ranking

First, can we just appreciate this steak for one second? Have you read our steak guides? Click here! And here!

8. Frey Ranch Small Batch — Taste 6

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $57

The Whiskey:

Frey Ranch is all about the farm behind the whiskey. In this case, that’s a 165+-year-old farm in the Sierra Nevada basin near Lake Tahoe. The grains (corn, wheat, rye, and barley), fermentation, distilling, aging, and bottling all happen on-site at Frey Ranch.

How It Paired:

This was the worst pairing by far. That sour and bitter note that the whiskey gave to the steak was unfortunate. It was also so pronounced that it was hard to get past. Look at it this way, I wouldn’t have been pissed enough to send it back if I was in a swanky restaurant and ordered this pairing, but I would have been pretty damn disappointed.

7. Old Elk Wheated Bourbon — Taste 1

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $74

The Whiskey:

This craft whiskey from Colorado takes the idea of wheated bourbon to the very edge of its limits. The mash bill carries a whopping 45 percent wheat, pushing this very close to being a wheated whiskey. The juice is then aged for an undisclosed number of years before it’s batched and cut down to proof with that soft Rocky Mountain spring water Colorado is known for.

How It Paired:

This was a little bitter too but not overwhelming so. Still, that’s the reason this whiskey is ranked this low. Call me crazy but I don’t want a whiskey to turn my steak bitter.

6. Garrison Brothers Balmorhea — Taste 4

ABV: 57.5%

Average Price: $200

The Whiskey:

This much-lauded Texas bourbon is the highwater mark of what great whiskey from Texas can be. The juice is aged in Ozark oak for four years and then finished in oak from Minnesota for another year, all under that blazing West Texas sunshine. The bourbon is then small-batched, proofed with Texas spring water, and bottled at a healthy 115 proof.

How It Paired:

I generally dig Garrison’s raw grain and leather nose. It’s part of what makes the whiskey unique. I just don’t think that note worked as well as it could today in a steak pairing. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that this bourbon was a little too bold for a good pairing. It sort of overwhelmed the subtlety of the steak.

5. Redemption High-Rye Bourbon — Taste 2

ABV: 52.5%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

These bottles are the masterwork of chef-turned-master-blender David Carpenter. The juice is hand-selected MGP single barrels that provide a classic bourbon base that then leans a little softer on the palate.

How It Paired:

This is where things get good when looking at pairing these whiskeys with steak. This was perfectly fine overall but didn’t wow. I think I’d order this if I was in a steak house and there was nothing else on the menu that jumped out at me.

4. Wild Turkey Longbranch — Taste 5

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $40

The Whiskey:

A few years back, Wild Turkey brought on Matthew McConaughey to be the brand’s Creative Director and design his own whiskey. The product of that partnership was launched in 2018. The juice is a wholly unique whiskey for Wild Turkey, thanks to the Texas Mesquite charcoal filtration the hot juice goes through. The bourbon then goes into oak for eight long years before it’s proofed and bottled.

How It Paired:

This just worked. The whiskey was a stone-cold classic with nice nuance and uniqueness that worked well with the fatty meat. This is very close to being a go-to pairing. The only thing that held it back for me was that it was a little sweet from top to bottom. But that’s really nitpicking.

3. Weller Special Reserve — Taste 8

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

Buffalo Trace doesn’t publish any of their mash bills. Educated guesses put the wheat percentage of these mash bills at around 16 to 18 percent, which is average. The age of the barrels on this blend is also unknown. We do know that they cut down those ABVs with that soft Kentucky limestone water.

How It Paired:

This was another easy “yes.” The pairing worked really well and both the steak and the whiskey brought something to the table. Again, this feels a little sweet for my palate for a pairing but that’s very personal. Overall, this is a solid way to go the next time you’re ordering steak and whiskey.

2. George Dickel Single Barrel 9-Year — Taste 7

ABV: Varies

Average Price: $52

The Whisky:

This is Dickel’s signature whisky. Nine-year-old single barrels are hand-selected by Head Distiller Nicole Austin that fit Dickel’s flavor profile at cask strength but with a little nuance from release to release, making this a fun single barrel offering to track down yearly.

How It Paired:

This nearly won, given that it added a very funky dry-aged element to the steak that felt elevated. In the end, this made the most sense on my palate as a pairing that complimented the whiskey and steak while adding something to both. Moreover, it felt right.

1. Michter’s Single Barrel 10-Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon — Taste 3

ABV: 47.2%

Average Price: $552

The Whiskey:

Michter’s is currently distilling and aging their own whiskey, but this is still sourced. The actual barrels sourced for these single barrel expressions tend to be at least ten years old with some rumored to be closer to 15 years old (depending on the barrel’s quality, naturally). Either way, the juice goes through Michter’s bespoke filtration process before a touch of Kentucky’s iconic soft limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon down to a very crushable 94.4 proof.

How It Paired:

This was instantly the right whiskey (though that Dickel came close). It felt right from the first bite of steak and then really popped when I went back to the whiskey. The fat and salt of the steak added exactly the elements the whiskey needed to take it somewhere new. A hint of smoke popped up, there was a new hint of singed marshmallow, and the spices felt sweeter.

The steak had this lovely soft sweetness that felt like it had been wet brined in a whiskey spice mix for a few days. It was bold and smooth and delightful. I heartily encourage you to copy this pairing for yourself.

Part 3: Final Thoughts

This was a pretty illuminating blind taste test. Yes, the most expensive whiskey won. And yes, it’s also my go-to whiskey for special occasions. But it really did stand far above most of the rest of these bottles.

Overall I’d say, find the whiskey between five and one that has a flavor profile and steak vibe that speaks to you and go with that. I truly liked the Dickel, Weller, and Longbranch as steak pairing whiskeys. The Redemption was solid too but looking back feels more like it should have been in a Manhattan than neat. Still, none of them could hang with a Michter’s 10 Bourbon.