Month: May 2023

To say that there’s a lot of bourbon on the shelves these days would be a massive understatement. In 2023, it’s actually appropriate to use the word “plethora” when describing the number of bourbon labels on the shelf (which means an “overabundance” or “excess” and not just “a lot”). There’s so much, in fact, that I can call out 100 great Kentucky bourbons one day and another 100 bourbons not from Kentucky the next.

That’s 200 bottles of bourbon that are all very good to great. And it barely scratches the surface!

Take a breath, I know it’s a lot. It’s mindboggling and, at times, frustrating when trying to actually figure out what the hell to buy and drink. So let us help with your whiskey collection curation.

Today, I’m calling out 100 great bourbons from all over the U.S.A. except Kentucky. You see, bourbon just needs to be made in the U.S.A. There’s no parameter or law requiring it to be made in Kentucky. That said, most of it is made there (well over 90%). And still, with less than 10% of bourbon coming from all 49 states, it wasn’t all that hard to find 100 killer bottles to list here. As we said, there’s a lot of this stuff being made right now — it’s a full-on boom!

To be clear, I do get that there’s also plenty of bad shit out there. But this list is about the good stuff that you can find, depending on how close or far you are from the source. And that’s the one caveat here. Some of these bourbons are hyper-local. You’re not going to find a few of these outside of distillery shops or local liquor stores. That said, there are some bourbons on this list that you can find worldwide — so it all balances out. Let’s just dive in!

• The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys From Kentucky, Ranked
• The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2022, Ranked
• Our Head Drinks Critic Reveals The Expensive Bourbons He *Won’t* Pay Above Retail For
• The Absolute Best Bourbons Between $50-$60, Ranked
• Every Single Buffalo Trace Whiskey & Spirits Brand, Ranked

100. High West Bourbon

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $32

The Whiskey:

High West Bourbon is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after sourced whiskeys. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of two to 13-year-old barrels rendered from high-rye and low-rye mashes alongside undisclosed whiskeys, some of which are sourced from MGP of Indiana.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a hint of funk on the nose that leads to raw leather, vanilla pudding, and buttered sweetcorn.

Palate: The taste is soft and velvety with a touch of nougat next to quickbread biscuits with plenty of butter and vanilla-laced honey.

Finish: The finish dries out toward vanilla pods and cedar bark with a hint of apple chips with a flake of Kosher salt.

Bottom Line:

This is just a solid bourbon. There’s a nice balance of creamy and classic bourbon notes that feel nostalgic to the senses. You can sip this over a glass full of ice, but it really shines in simple cocktails like an old fashioned.

99. Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey A Blend

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $41

The Whiskey:

Colorado’s mountain-high Breckenridge made a modern classic with this one. The whiskey is a blend of three-year-old Colorado bourbons made up in the Rocky Mountains and proofed with water from the glaciers.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is sweet on the nose with apple orchards, corn mush, vanilla cake, and honeyed biscuits.

Palate: The palate builds on the sweet nose with dark winter spices, soft oak, and a nice balance of vanilla and caramel.

Finish: The end is short and sweet but sticks with you with a classic orchard fruit/vanilla/caramel vibe.

Bottom Line:

This is a nice and easy whiskey that’s built for mixing.

98. Woody Creek Distillers Colorado Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $56

The Whiskey:

This Colorado craft distillery is all about that Rocky Mountain vibe. The whiskey is made from a 70% corn mash with a touch of local rye and malted barley mixed with Rocky Mountain spring water. The whiskey is aged for at least four years in deeply charred new oak before batching, proofing, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a clear sense of crafty bourbon (light sweet grains) on the nose with a soft sense of winter spice, old caramel candies, and a hint of orange honey.

Palate: The taste leans into the peppery spice with an apple/pear vibe next to red fruit, vanilla beans, and caramelized grains.

Finish: The end is short and slightly spicy with an apple/pear pie filling vibe next to wet biscuit dough.

Bottom Line:

If you are in Colorado, give it a try in a cocktail.

97. Smooth Ambler Old Scout

ABV: 49.5%

Average Price: $32

The Whiskey:

Old Scout is MGP of Indiana’s classic high rye bourbon — 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malt barley — that’s aged for five years. The whiskey is batched in small quantities and proofed down with West Virginia’s Appalachian water.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose draws you in with a soft masa vibe with a mix of Tex-Mex spices (think chili powder and a hint of cumin and garlic powder) that’s countered by cedar park and chocolate-laced tobacco leaves (the nose takes me straight back to my favorite childhood Tex-Mex joint).

Palate: The taste veers more towards a classic bourbon with cherry tobacco and bales of damp straw next to a smooth vanilla foundation cinnamon-infused dark chocolate and a touch of dry oak.

Finish: The finish lingers for a bit as vanilla toffees, a smidge of marshmallow, and spicy cherry tobacco round everything out.

Bottom Line:

This is another winner that highlights the superb bourbon barrels coming out of Indiana’s MGP right now.

96. Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $36

The Whiskey:

This much-lauded bourbon is Woodinville’s touchstone expression. The Washington whiskey is made with those same family farm grains. The hot juice spends years in the toasted and heavily charred barrels maturing until it’s just right (around five years in total). The results are batched and proofed down with local water to a very welcoming 90 proof.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: You’re greeted with a thick vanilla pudding with caramel candy and a cedar box full of dark spices.

Palate: The caramel thickens to a buttery and rich toffee with notes of dark chocolate peeking in next to more of those woody spices and a vanilla oil velvetiness.

Finish: The end is long and really embraces the sweeter edges of the vanilla pudding while allowing the spice to warm the senses.

Bottom Line:

Woodinville is finally getting wider, nationwide releases and we’re all better for it. The whiskey from Washington is a true gem, even at this entry-point level. This makes a hell of a cocktail and is the quintessential backyard everyday sipper on some ice.

95. Cutwater Spirits Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

Cutwater is all about that blend. The whiskey in this bottle is a mix of hand-selected barrels from undisclosed sources, ages, and places. That makes this a “Blended Bourbon Whiskey” if you want to get all technical about it.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: White summer flowers, soft vanilla, and a hint of orange zest lead the way on the nose with touches of caramel and oak.

Palate: The palate is largely the same, offering a “classic” mixing bourbon vibe. The caramel and vanilla really dominate the palate with hints of citrus, dark spices, and wet wood.

Finish: The finish is short and sweet with a touch more spice and vanilla.

Bottom Line:

This really feels like it was made to be mixed in an old fashioned.

94. Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 57.1%

Average Price: $75

The Whiskey:

Smoke Wagon is everywhere these days. That’s thanks, in part, to co-founder Aaron Chepenik killing it on IG. The other part of the brand’s meteoric rise is that Smoke Wagon’s crew is masterfully blending some of the best barrels from MGP of Indiana that were made available. Case in point, the latest batch from the company was a high-rye bourbon (60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley) that was an instant hit.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Expect a nose full of classic bourbon notes of orange oils, cinnamon-stewed apples, caramel with a touch of salt, and peachy wood chips.

Palate: The palate really embraces the fruit and moves from that peach vibe towards a blackberry crumble that’s just kissed with nutmeg and clove that leads towards a hint of old leather, singed cedar planks, and a late hint of cherry-touched tobacco.

Finish: That leather, berry tobacco, and cedar drive the finish towards a dry end.

Bottom Line:

These are flashy but deliver on the palate. The feeling you’re left with here is “Ah, okay, I get it.” Pour this over some rocks and you’ll get it too.

93. Deadwood Tumblin Dice Barrel Proof Single Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 55%

Average Price: $57

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is made from a five-year-old MGP of Indiana barrel. The mash is MGP’s very high-rye bourbon with 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. Each barrel is picked for its distinct flavor profile and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Fancy cream soda greets you with a mix of nutmeg, soft leather, spicy oak, and a touch of toffee.

Palate: The palate largely follows that path and builds in creamy vanilla pie, caramel sauce, black cherry, and a good mix of winter spices.

Finish: The end is slightly woody with cherry tobacco touched with vanilla and toffee on the very end.

Bottom Line:

This is a pretty damn good all-around. It’s definitely in the “classic” realm but delivers and easy-sipping whiskey for everyday pours.

92. Jack Daniel’s Bonded Tennessee Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $31

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is made from Jack’s classic mash of 80% corn, 12% barley, and 8% rye before it’s twice distilled and run through Jack’s long Lincoln County sugar maple charcoal filtration process. The spirit then goes into the barrel for at least four years — per bonded law — before it’s batched, cut down with a little water, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose draws you in with Cherry Jolly Ranchers next to sweet cedar bark braided with old strands of leather and orange-laced tobacco leaves while a hint of vanilla wafer and general “health food store” vibes underneath it all.

Palate: The palate feels like warm apple pie on a sunny day with the best vanilla ice cream on top as layers of eggnog nutmeg and creaminess move toward a Cream of Wheat vibe.

Finish: Some apple wood chips for a smoker and a hint of almond shells pop on the finish.

Bottom Line:

The lesson here is that higher proof Jack is better Jack, especially if you’re looking for a killer cocktail base or easy sipper.

91. Great Jones Straight Bourbon Whiskey Crafted in Small Batches

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $51

The Whiskey:

This is a grain-to-glass New York craft bourbon. The grains in the mash bill — corn, rye, and malted barley — are all grown locally in New York state. The juice is then left for at least four years to age before it’s blended in small batches, proofed down, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a hint of dry cornmeal that leads to soft but worn leather and a throughline of rubber fishing lure (in a good way… I think) with a soft and sweet citrus fruit underneath it all.

Palate: The palate is light but hits on vanilla cream, toffee, and cinnamon with a dash of white pepper and more citrus.

Finish: The end leans into vanilla and spiced tobacco leaves and a twinge of soft lemon pepper.

Bottom Line:

This is young and citrusy and feels like a solid mixing whiskey.

90. Leopold Bros. Bottled-In-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

This Colorado crafty whiskey gets a lot of attention from bourbon drinkers in the know. The mash is made from 64% corn, 21% malted barley, and 15% Abruzzi Heritage Rye, which Master Distiller Todd Leopold malted at his malting house at the distillery in Denver. That mash ran through a classic pot still before it was barreled and left to rest for five years.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The floral and spicy nature of that Abruzzi rye really comes out on the nose with a touch of candied apples, sweet porridge, Quik chocolate milk powder, and the faintest hint of sourdough rye with a light smear of salted butter.

Palate: The taste leans into stewed pears with nutmeg and clove spices leading the way as Almond Roca and green peppercorns jostle for space on your palate.

Finish: The end mellows out as that spice fades towards an eggnog vibe with a creamy vanilla underbelly and a final touch of that floral rye and a hint of pear.

Bottom Line:

This is a nice and funky craft bourbon (can’t mistake those sourdough and sweet porridge notes). That makes this a good whiskey for mixing with citrus, marrying that malty base with good and smooth citrus. I also dig this as an everyday sipper on the rocks, especially when I’m looking for something different from a pour of bourbon.

89. George Dickel Handcrafted Small Batch Bourbon Whisky Aged 8 Years

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $34

The Whisky:

The whisky in the bottle is the same Dickel Tennessee whiskey but pulled from barrels that leaned more into classic bourbon flavor notes instead of Dickel’s iconic Tennessee whisky notes. The barrels are a minimum of eight years old before they’re vatted. The whiskey is then cut down to a manageable 90-proof and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with creamy vanilla next to spiced tobacco with plenty of apple pie vibe and winter spices with a butter underbelly.

Palate: The palate has a light bran muffin with a molasses vibe next to vanilla/nougat wafers that then leads to peach skins and gingerbread.

Finish: The end leans into the nutty chocolate and vanilla wafer with a touch of orange zest, marzipan, and mint tobacco with a hint of garden store earthiness.

Bottom Line:

This is a bit of an outlier taste-wise. If you’re looking for a classic bourbon, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for something fresh and new with a Tennessee whiskey vibe, then you’ll dig this.

88. Samuel Maverick Private Reserve Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $75

The Whiskey:

This grain-to-glass Texas whiskey is made from select Texas-grown corn, rye, and barley that’s distilled and aged on-site in the historic Lockwood National Bank building. After four years, seven 30-gallon barrels were picked and blended for this small-batch expression.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a clear sense of a very crafty bourbon on the nose with big grain notes leading to molasses-filled bran muffins and raw oatmeal cookie dough with plenty of vanilla extract.

Palate: The palate has a similar vibe but layers in pecan waffles with high-fructose pancake syrup, more vanilla, and sweet cornbread.

Finish: The end has a hint of mineral water next to caramel candy and more of that bran muffin.

Bottom Line:

This was very crafty with those huge sweet grainy notes. That said, that’s the vibe of a lot of new craft bourbon right now.

87. Litchfield Distillery 5-Year Double-Barreled Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

Litchfield is one of those local Connecticut craft distilleries that do a little bit of everything. Their Double-Barreled 5-year-old is a highwater mark of the operation. The juice is made from locally grown Connecticut grains. That whiskey is then aged for a few years. Finally, it’s proofed with local water and re-barreled to add an extra layer of woody depth to the bourbon.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The sip starts with an almost vinous note that goes into sweet caramel and spice.

Palate: There’s a clear vanilla essence through the woody oak.

Finish: The aged-grape flavors come in again with a slight sweetness before a warm, woody, and spicy finale.

Bottom Line:

This is a classic and easy-drinking whiskey. It’s definitely worth ordering a pour if you’re in, say, New Haven and looking for something local.

86. J. Henry Small Batch Wisconsin Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 5 Years

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $54

The Whiskey:

This whiskey benefits greatly from Wisconsin’s mild yet varied weather — think warm summers and bitterly cold winters with proper fall and spring rains. The whiskey is a blend of only 16 barrels of five-year-old bourbon.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Butterscotch and vanilla-lemon pudding lead the nose with a touch of orange peel and honey.

Palate: The palate leans into the spicy warmth with Red Hots and cloves next to cherry tobacco and more of that butterscotch.

Finish: That vanilla-lemon pudding comes back into play late, as the finish sweetens into a creamy yet spicy end.

Bottom Line:

This is a nice, standard whiskey with a lovely flavor profile.

85. Cathead Distillery Old Soul Straight Bourbon Whiskey TinType Series #1 Aged 7 Years

ABV: 59.6%

Average Price: $109

The Whiskey:

This whiskey was distilled in Indiana with a high-rye mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. Those barrels were then sent to Jackson, Mississippi, where they spent a few years aging. Finally, the team at Cathead batched the barrels and bottled them as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a subtle boot leather on the nose with a hint of caraway on rye crust next to salted caramel sauce, and old oak staves with a hint of musty earthiness.

Palate: The palate leans into the salted caramel with a buttery underbelly next to warm winter spices — cinnamon, cardamom, star anise — next to burnt orange and a whisper of marzipan.

Finish: The end is fruity, vanilla-filled, and just kissed with woody tobacco spice.

Bottom Line:

This is a masterclass in blending MGP whiskey. The depth is real and takes you on a journey. This makes a killer old fashioned but also works well on the rocks. Overall, get this if you’re looking for something that steps outside classic bourbon sweetness and really leans into dry rye vibes.

84. Redemption Aged 9 Years Barrel Proof Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: Varies

Average Price: $99

The Whiskey:

This sourced whiskey from Indiana (MGP) is one of the best examples of how a unique shingle can make whiskey shine. Redemption’s team painstakingly searches the warehouses for just the right barrels to meet their taste requirements. In this case, that was a nine-year-old single barrel of bourbon with a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose really gives you a sense of oily vanilla pods with touches of wildflower honey, rich and buttery toffee, and a hint of dark roasted espresso beans.

Palate: The palate holds onto those notes as the vanilla and honey both become creamy while adding a slight black pepper spiciness with a hint of salty smoked bacon fat lurking far in the background.

Finish: The end is medium-length and touches back on that vanilla, toffee, pepper, and bitterness on the fade.

Bottom Line:

This is a testament to how iconic MGP’s 75/21/4 mash bill bourbon is. This whiskey rules at this age. This a great food pairing whiskey as well, especially if you’re roasting some protein and root veg or smoking some meats/fish in the backyard.

83. Nelson Brothers Reserve Bourbon

ABV: 46.65%

Average Price: $69

The Whiskey:

This new release from Nashville’s Nelson’s Green Brier is a big evolution for the brand. This high-rye bourbon is aged for four years before it’s masterfully blended into his expression. It’s then bottled without any fussing or meddling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: A vanilla wafer with soft nougat greets you on the nose with a hint of burnt orange zest, Christmas cake, candied cherry, and a little bit of apple pie filling.

Palate: The taste has a moment of grilled pineapple that leads to brandy-soaked dark chocolate-covered cherries with a supporting act of zucchini bread, pecan pie, and a whisper of lemon meringue pie — it’s kind of like being in an old-school diner.

Finish: A mild dusting of white pepper ushers in the finish with a smooth green tea cut with menthol tobacco.

Bottom Line:

The Nelson Brothers hit it out of the park with their new line this year and this is the bottle to start with.

82. Traverse City Whiskey Co. Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 59%

Average Price: $87

The Whiskey:

This Michigan whiskey is made to highlight a true grain-to-glass experience. The juice is made from a mash of 71% corn, 25% rye, and 4% barley. It’s aged for four years in the extreme weather of the Great Lakes. Barrels are then hand-picked and bottled with no fussing.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The milled corn comes through with a touch of orange zest, vanilla, toffee, and lemon jam.

Palate: The taste amps up the toffee with a caramel kettle corn vibe next to hints of cedar and orchard fruit.

Finish: The end is long and very clearly all about the velvety vanilla and toffee sweetness with a slight alcohol warmth, thanks to a touch of spice and citrus.

Bottom Line:

This is an always fun crafty bourbon with great depth.

81. Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey A Blend High Proof

ABV: 52.5%

Average Price: $56

The Whiskey:

This is Breckenridge’s classic blended bourbon amped up a tad. The whiskey is aged for over three years before batching a kiss of proofing with local Colorado Rocky Mountain water.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose runs deep with burnt orange, marzipan, and woody winter spices next to a hint of toffee dipped in dark chocolate.

Palate: The palate largely follows the nose with buttery toffee leading to marzipan and eventually a mix of cedar and cinnamon bark with a whisper of tobacco.

Finish: The end leans into the woodiness of the spices and tobacco with a nice counterbalance of rich and sweet toffee with a nutty edge.

Bottom Line:

This is just nice, easy, and smooth. It makes a hell of a cocktail too.

80. Clyde May’s Special Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 55%

Average Price: $80

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is sourced from an “undisclosed” distillery in Indiana (cough, cough, MGP, cough, cough). It’s aged for about three years and proofed a tad before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Spice and wet brown sugar mix on the nose with a sense of apple crumble with plenty of butter and maybe a little too much clove and allspice.

Palate: The palate has a sense of savory fruit (think cantaloupe) with black peppercorns, pancake syrup, and woodiness.

Finish: The whole sip is very “general” and ends with cornbread meets brown butter cut with dark sugar, vanilla, and tobacco vibe.

Bottom Line:

This is pretty damn good overall, especially if you’re looking for something that leans classic and easy to sip. It’s a little sweet for me but that’s not a knock. That’s just my palate.

79. Freeland Spirits Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished In Pinot Noir Casks (S1B55)

ABV: 57.67%

Average Price: $56

The Whiskey:

This single barrel pick from ReserveBar is a great entry point for the Portland, Oregon-based Freeland. The whiskey in the bottle is made from a five-year-old bourbon made from a mash of 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley. That whiskey was then loaded into an Elk Cove Pinot Noir barrel for a final one-year-long rest before bottling completely as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Leathery red fruit and old vanilla cake with a hint of caramel and dry cranberry mingle with a nice mellow touch of eggnog spices and burnt orange that feels dry.

Palate: There’s a clear cherry pie vibe that leads to a hint of dank red berry and oak cellars with a dry leatheriness tied to the dark fruit and vanilla with a soft sense of dry sweetgrass in the far background.

Finish: The end starts off red and lush and then dives into a cherry apple pie vibe with a dry woody spiced edge.

Bottom Line:

This is where we get into the good stuff (I know, we’ve barely started). This is a really nice red wine-finished bourbon with a good depth. I could see pairing this with an easy meal with a lot of fresh herbs and game or cold-water seafood. It feels like it’d make a nice cocktail too.

78. Doc Holliday Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 10 Years

ABV: 56%

Average Price: $184

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is distilled in Georgia from a mash of 80% corn, 10% malted corn, 5% rye, and 5% malted barley. The whiskey then rests for 10 long years in Georgia before batching, a touch of proofing, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Sour cherry and peach pie mix with classic oily vanilla pods, deep caramel, and soft cedar planks just touched with apricot and dates.

Palate: The sip is warm yet balanced with burnt orange, apricot jam, and soft marzipan next to black-tea-soaked dates, old figs, and brandy-stewed prunes all cut with Christmas spices and dipped in dark chocolate.

Finish: That chocolate takes on a Nutella vibe at the end with a nice mix of mincemeat pies and sticky toffee pudding.

Bottom Line:

A 90% corn bourbon is a lot of sugar. That said, this really works. It’s deep and lush and goes down like a luxurious slow sipper.

77. Fox & Oden Double Oaked Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 49.5%

Average Price: $90

The Whiskey:

This sourced whiskey (from MGP of Indiana) is all about finding the best barrels and batching them to create something more. The whiskey in this small batch bourbon is rendered from MGP’s 21% and 36% rye bourbon mash bills. The barrels are between eight and 15 years old. Once vatted, the whiskey is just touched with water before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: A rich buttery note comes through on the nose with a hint of salted corn next to savory figs with a hint of honey and freshly ground nutmeg mixed with some vanilla cream.

Palate: The palate turns that butteriness into salted caramel with a hint of sticky toffee pudding with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg next to a thin line of charred oak underneath it all.

Finish: The end dries out with a sense of old leather wrapped around an old and dry tobacco leaf with a twinge of raisin.

Bottom Line:

This is just a well-made whiskey. It’s easy to sip and, well, that’s it.

76. Hudson Whiskey NY Four Part Harmony New York Four Grain Bourbon Whiskey Aged a Minimum of Seven Years

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $79

The Whiskey:

This New York whiskey is a four-grain bourbon. The mix starts with 60% corn and adds 15% rye, 15% wheat, and 10% malted barley. The juice is barreled and left alone for at least seven years before batching, proofing, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a grainy sense of cornmeal next to sourdough rye bread crusts, cherry cough syrup, and lush vanilla cake frosted with rich cream and dusted with dark chocolate shavings.

Palate: A hint of blackberry pie leads to toffee and oak with a sense of sweet grits dusted with white pepper and dried red chili pepper.

Finish: The cornmeal graininess rides the finish toward spiced tobacco and sweet red fruit with a clear cinnamon base.

Bottom Line:

This whiskey is dialed in for easy mixing into fruity sweet-forward cocktails. It’s soft and rich, which makes it a nice old fashioned candidate.

75. Garrison Brothers Small Batch Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $79

The Whiskey:

Garrison Brothers is a true grain-to-glass experience from Hye, Texas. The juice is a wheated bourbon made with local, Texas grains. That spirit is then aged under the beating heat of a hot Texas sun before the barrels are small-batched (with only 55 barrels per batch), proofed with local water, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a caramel apple note on the nose next to a bit of dry straw, worn leather, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cut with whole milk and unsalted butter mixed in white grits.

Palate: That cereal nature continues through the palate with a sugary and buttery shortbread note mingling with hints of vanilla cake frosted with lemon cream leading to a touch of orange oils.

Finish: The end is very long and warm with a bit of cinnamon that ultimately leads back to the caramel apples plus just a touch of dry campfire smoke at the very end.

Bottom Line:

This is another bourbon that has huge crafty notes (those sweet cereal grains). The whiskey has a balance and depth that goes far beyond that though, making this a very sippable yet bold bourbon that also mixes really well into citrus-forward cocktails.

74. St. Augustine Distillery Port Finished Bourbon

ABV: 51%

Average Price: $80

The Whiskey:

This Floridian bourbon rests for three years in new American oak, giving it a classic base. Then the booze goes into port casks from San Sebastian Winery next door to the distillery for up to six months (depending on the Florida heat). The end result is a unique bourbon that’s both enticing and refined.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a touch of woodiness but the star of the show is the red berries that are both tart and sweet next to a dusting of winter spices.

Palate: Vanilla and hints of mint show up on the palate with white pepper, mild florals, and a little bit of ripe cherry.

Finish: The end leans into oak, dark chocolate bitterness, and a whisper of ripe red berries with a touch of clove.

Bottom Line:

This is another great cocktail bourbon that I’d argue works really well as a food-pairing whiskey. The subtle yet sharp woody spice and berries with that mild floral edge add a nice depth to a meal or as a digestif in a cocktail afterward.

73. WhistlePig PiggyBack 100 Proof Bourbon Whiskey Aged 6 Years

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $49

The Whiskey:

This newer whiskey from WhistlePig mixes locally made Vermont whiskey with Indiana whiskey to create a bespoke bourbon. The mash bill leans into the corn with a good measure of rye in the mix. The whiskey barrels are left alone for six years before batching, proofing, and bottling on the farm in Vermont.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a soft leathery nose that leads to caramel corn and a nutty spiciness with a hint of old oak.

Palate: The nuttiness drives the palate toward fresh maple syrup that turns creamy with an almond vibe, plenty of winter spice, and a hint of black tea.

Finish: That tea calms down toward a wet chamomile with a dollop of honey, a twist of orange, and a pinch of sweet cinnamon with a lingering sense of oak in the background.

Bottom Line:

This is a pretty good whiskey. If you’re a fan of WhistlePig, you’re going to dig this. If you like classic bourbon vibes, you’ll be a fan too. I’d sip this over some ice or in a simple cocktail.

72. Backbone Bourbon Anniversary Edition “Decade Down” Uncut Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 55%

Average Price: $104

The Whiskey:

Backbone is made with classic MGP whiskey. That juice is hewn from a mash of 74% corn, 21% rye, and 5% malted barley that’s five to seven years old. The barrels are shipped down to Bardstown, Kentucky, where they are batched and bottled as-is with proofing or filtering.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is classic bourbon with a balance of caramel, vanilla, cherry, and sweet wood that’s cut with plenty of dark winter spice.

Palate: The palate is largely the same with a sense of stewed plums and marmalade next to an almost malty note tied to the vanilla and spice.

Finish: The end has a nice sweet oakiness that leads back to dark caramel and cherry tied to tobacco leaves and humidors.

Bottom Line:

This is another prime example of why and how dominant MGP’s classic 74/21/5 high-rye bourbon is right now. Think of it like a fine wine that’s peaking. This blend is the perfect balance of some of the best barrels available today with a deeply classic bourbon vibe. This is the bottle you get when you want a comfort pour of something straightforward.

71. Olde Raleigh Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in a Honey Barrel

ABV: 50.09%

Average Price: $100

The Whiskey:

The whiskey in this bottle is a four-grain of corn, malted barley, rye, and wheat from barrels of whiskey sourced from Colorado, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wyoming. Those barrels were five, nine, and 17 years old when they went into this blend and were finished in an old honey barrel.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a tannic nature to the nose with dark and woody spices (cloves, allspice, anise) next to a mild sense of Honey Nut Cheerios.

Palate: The palate has a honey candy feel next to Hot Tamale candies, singed toffee, and dark red berries with a dry edge.

Finish: The end has a sense of honey vanilla wafers next to more of that bold cinnamon and woody allspice, a hint of cherry/vanilla, and a twinge of charred oak with honey tobacco backing.

Bottom Line:

This feels like a big bourbon and delivers deep and bold flavor notes that are succinct. If you’re looking for a honey barrel finished bourbon that still tastes like brazen bourbon, this is the bottle for you. The honey is a wonderful accent, not an overpowering sweetness.

70. Frey Ranch Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $55

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 in Nevada. The grains (corn, wheat, rye, and barley), fermentation, distilling, aging, and bottling all happen on-site at Frey Ranch.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Fruity cherry gummies mingle with raw sourdough bread dough, vanilla beans, dry grass, and burnt brown sugars on the nose.

Palate: The taste has a very crafty corn chip vibe that leads to tart cranberry, more of that vanilla, and a cinnamon-spiced oatmeal raisin cookie.

Finish: This all coalesces on the finish with the spice, oats, tart red fruit, and vanilla playing second fiddle to the dry firewood and slightly spiced tobacco end.

Bottom Line:

This is a nice one too but leans pretty heavily into the “crafty” sweet-grain vibes. That said, I like that in that it tastes like something besides your standard Kentucky bourbon. It’s fresh and fun, but clearly something you’re going to use to make cocktails with.

69. Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon Whiskey Double Barrel

ABV: 52.5%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from craft distillery favorite Cedar Ridge combines their beloved whiskey with new oak one more time. The juice has a classic base of 74% corn, 14% rye, and 12% malted barely. After about four or five years, that whiskey is reloaded into brand-new charred American oak barrels for a final finish.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This opens with a faint hint of toasted oak with a burnt sugar vibe next to Christmas spices, dusty dark chocolate powder, vanilla cake, and pecan shells.

Palate: The palate leans into the woody spices with star anise, allspice berries, cardamon pods, and full sticks of cinnamon over butterscotch candies, more of that dark chocolate, and a hint of rum-raisin.

Finish: The end has a light black tea vibe with dates and prunes dusted by all that woody spice and packed into a fresh pine box.

Bottom Line:

This was light and very woody, though that’s the point. Otherwise, this is a good grab if you’re in the Midwest.

68. Dragon’s Milk Origin Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 5 Years

ABV: 47.5%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from New Holland Brewing up in Michigan marries craft bourbon with the brewery’s beloved Dragon’s Milk beer. The whiskey in the bottle is made with a high-barley bourbon mash bill. After five years in the barrel, the whiskey is then blended, proofed down, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: A big chocolate malt note draws you in on the palate first before layers of winter spices, dark caramel malts, a twinge of orange oils, and a mild Vanilla Coke kick in.

Palate: The taste has an almost Hershey’s Kiss feel to it alongside spiced chocolate powder next to a hint of lemon-lime that turns into a tangerine-laced maltiness (kind of like a tangerine White Claw) with a chocolate wafer in the background.

Finish: The end holds onto the chocolate maltiness and mild winter spices the longest.

Bottom Line:

If you’re looking for big chocolate notes and a great stout pairing, this is the whiskey for you. This is a distinct pour that feels familiar. Make sure to pour it over a rock or two or with a few drops of water to really let it bloom in the glass. You’ll get a much creamier mouthfeel with all that chocolate.

67. Laws Whiskey Bonded Four Grain Bourbon

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $87

The Whiskey:

A.D. Laws out in Colorado is renowned for its award-winning four-grain bourbons. The whiskey is made from 60% corn, 20% heirloom wheat, 10% heirloom rye, and 10% heirloom malted barley. That hot juice is then aged for over six years before it’s batched and cut down to 100 proof per bonded whiskey laws.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This feels more crafty on the nose with a balance between bitter black tea that’s been cut with a summery and floral honey as touches of cinnamon and orange pop in the background.

Palate: The orange and spice thickens and leans into an orange pound cake with a buttery and spicy streusel crumble as that black tea bitterness circles back to cut through all that butter, spice, and orange.

Finish: The end leans into the spice with more of a cinnamon candy vibe that leads towards a final dusting of dark cocoa.

Bottom Line:

This is a nice outlier on the list. It’s a great entry point for Laws’ wider selection while also being a nice, summery sipper over some rocks or in a bright cocktail.

66. Bib & Tucker Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 12 Years

ABV: 49.5%

Average Price: $99

The Whiskey:

Bib & Tucker’s barrel picks are always worth chasing down. The whiskey is a Tennessee bourbon (some say it must be Dickel) aged for 12 long years in very lightly charred oak. The whiskey then goes into the bottle after being proofed down (ever so slightly) to 99 proof.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Expect a fairly classic bourbon nose of creamy vanilla, salted caramel apples, and a hint of soft cedar.

Palate: The palate should touch on dark orange oils next to bright red cherry, with a vanilla pudding base and a subtle dose of dark spice leading towards salted dark chocolate.

Finish: The end is quite quick and leaves you with salted dark chocolate, orange, and a hint more of salted caramel.

Bottom Line:

This is where Bib & Tucker truly shines brightest. This is an excellently formed whiskey with a classic depth. It’s satisfying and engaging with the smoothest of edges. If you’re looking for a modern classic bourbon from Tennessee, this is the bottle for you.

65. Kings County Distillery Bottled-In-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $96

The Whiskey:

This crafty whiskey from New York is a grain-to-glass bourbon experience. The mash bill on this one eschews rye and wheat for 80% locally grown corn supported by 20% malted barley from England. The juice is then aged for four years in small 15-gallon barrels and treated according to the law and bottled in Kings County’s signature hip flask bottles.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This draws you in with a strawberry shortcake with a cornmeal base, topped with fresh berries, buttery vanilla whipped cream, and then dipped in a caramel sauce.

Palate: The palate veers away from all of that and touches on bitter black coffee syrup with brown sugar and butter notes next to oatcakes and vanilla sauce with a hint of spice lingering in the background.

Finish: The end is long and full of chocolate malts, leather, and more of that creamy and buttery vanilla whipped cream.

Bottom Line:

This is a quintessential craft bourbon. There’s a deep layer of sweet graininess that leans into fresh fruit and classic bourbon vanilla and spice notes. Overall, that makes this the perfect whiskey for someone looking for something local, tasty, and more on the crafty side of things.

64. Boulder Spirits Bottled-In-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $90

The Whiskey:

This Colorado bourbon is a bit of an outlier. The juice is made from a mash bill of 51% corn, 44% malted barley, and only 5% rye. That makes this one almost closer to a grain whiskey from Ireland or Scotland than a standard bourbon. The whiskey ages for four years before blending, proofing, and bottling in the Rocky Mountains.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is very fruity and young on the nose with an almost hazy IPA vibe — think papaya, mango, and pineapple juiciness next to vanilla beans, oak, and caramel.

Palate: The palate is a cross between sticky toffee pudding and a tropical rum cocktail with orange, lime, more pineapple, and a mix of Christmas spices next to dates and dried apricot.

Finish: The finish has a sweet edge with marshmallows and cotton candy next to all that fruit and a little bit of dark chocolate tobacco on the very end.

Bottom Line:

This is definitely worth seeking out, especially if you’re heading to Denver for a vacation. It’s also worth mixing into your next cocktail if you bring a bottle home.

63. Bespoken Spirits Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

This Northern California distillery is all about making “craft spirits.” The whiskey in the bottle is a standard straight bourbon that’s distilled at MGP and aged for two years before being finished/blended in California.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This has a very light nose with hints of winter spices, mocha lattes, and maybe some sourdough bread crusts with hints of orchard fruit and nuts.

Palate: Those nuts lean toward peanut brittle on the palate with a whisper of gingerbread, Almond Joy, and maybe some more of that sourdough with a hint of salted butter.

Finish: The end is ultimately pretty light but creamy and full of vanilla with hints of apple tobacco.

Bottom Line:

This was nice, had classic bourbon vibes, and leans heavily into mixing whiskey.

62. World Whiskey Society Class Collection Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished In Port Cask Aged 10 Years

ABV: 51%

Average Price: $164

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is distilled in Oklahoma but bottled in Georgia. The whiskey in the bottle is made from a mash bill (recipe) of 51% corn, 45% wheat, and 4% malted barley. That hot juice was then aged for almost a decade before going into a huge port cask for a final rest.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a sense of grape soda and orange zest on the nose with a hint of crafty bourbon grains, dry grass, and old oak.

Palate: The palate sort of leans into red fruit and dry grass with a light sense of orange and vanilla.

Finish: The end is short and has a touch of vanilla cake and holiday spice.

Bottom Line:

The crafty graininess works with the port finish in a balanced and enticing way. Plus, this just won a double gold medal at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

61. Uncle Nearest 1820 Premium Single Barrel

ABV: Varies

Average Price: $130

The Whiskey:

This yearly single barrel expression from Uncle Nearest Master Blender Victoria Eady Butler is one of the most beloved Tennessee whiskeys around. Eady Butler handpicks high-proof barrels that are aged a minimum of 11 years for this bottling. Each one is chosen to exemplify the beauty of Tennessee whiskey that’s drawn straight from the barrel.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: On the nose, there’s a matrix of dried fruits, Christmas spices, malty oatcakes, oily vanilla pods, subtle maple sweetness, and a hint of dark chocolate cut with subtle orange oils.

Palate: The palate delivers with the fruits leaning more towards candied cherries with worn leather, more dark cacao (especially with a little water to help it bloom), and plenty of sweet oak.

Finish: There’s a long and fulfilling linger to this sip that ushers in a final note of buttery popcorn and a very distant billow of sweet tobacco pipe smoke.

Bottom Line:

If you can get your hands on this one, it’s a gem. A rock or a little water really helps it come to life in the glass (and calm down those higher ABVs).

60. FEW Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $55

The Whiskey:

This expression from Illinois’ FEW Spirits marks the 125th anniversary of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897. The juice is made from 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley. That whiskey spends four years resting before it’s proofed down to 100 proof and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a sense of vanilla cream pie with an extra thick vanilla pudding next to dry cedar bark with a touch of white moss, a touch of black licorice, and a hint of barrel smoke.

Palate: The palate leans into cherry bark with a light cherry tobacco spiciness that melds with the vanilla pudding, a pan of fresh sticky buns with plenty of cinnamon and walnuts, and a hint of black pepper and more of that dry cedar bark.

Finish: The finish has a bit of an oatmeal cookie vibe that leads back to the spicy cherry tobacco and white moss.

Bottom Line:

FEW Spirits perfected their bourbon craft with this expression.

59. Still Austin Whiskey Co. Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 59%

Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

The folks at Still Austin have spent the last six years perfecting their grain-to-glass whiskey experience. The juice is rendered with grains from Texas and water from the ground beneath their feet, all imbued with a crafty Texas vibe in every sip. The actual whiskey is a two-year-old bourbon that’s batched to highlight the bright fruits of the new and crafty whiskey.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is really fruity. Think a tropical, hazy IPA with clear notes of pineapple, lemon-lime, and maybe a slight hint of savory papaya next to more a-typical bourbon notes of vanilla, holiday spices, and caramel.

Palate: There’s a clear sense of those spices on the palate with a hint of dark chocolate leading back to all that fruit, a touch of marzipan, and a dash of vanilla cream pie.

Finish: The end warms a bit with the fruitiness waning towards a spicy, choco-tobacco end.

Bottom Line:

This is very very fruity. Still, it works since the fruits mostly stay on the nose to entice you into the sip. All of that being said, this really shines best as a cocktail or highball base.

58. George Dickel Tennessee Whisky Singel Barrel Aged At Least 15 Years (S1B43)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $60

The Whisky:

This is a very old whiskey for a great price. The whiskey is from single barrels, aged 15 years or more, and the proof varies accordingly (sometimes it’s cut with water, too). Like the 9-year single barrel, this is made from an 84% corn mash and stored in Dickel’s famed single-story warehouse.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is all about the cherry pie with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream next to a slight apple-tobacco vibe with a clear multi-vitamin chalkiness.

Palate: Red berries lead toward a cherry-choco soda pop, more vanilla cream, and a light touch of bourbon-soaked oakiness on the taste.

Finish: That woodiness leans into a musty corner of a cellar as a spicy cherry tobacco finish leaves you with a dry, almost chalky, yet sweet mouthfeel.

Bottom Line:

Okay, here’s the rub. This is actually a 17-and-a-half-year-old whisky from Dickel. Dickel releases a 17-year expression late last year. George Dickel 17 is over $300 per bottle. While that release is not a single barrel, it does have a little higher ABV. Still, $60 for a very, very similar whisky compared to $300+ is a great deal.

57. The Clover Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $46

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is a celebration of golf legend Bobby Jones. The whiskey in this bottle is a sourced (from an undisclosed Tennessee distillery) single barrel of whiskey that’s bottled with a touch of proofing water.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is very basic on the nose with leather next to banana Necco Wafer, a hint of cherry, and maybe some caramel.

Palate: The palate is grainy like a bran muffin with a sense of cherry protein powder, some almond, and a vanilla wafer.

Finish: The end has a sense of toasted cedar next to vanilla and cherry.

Bottom Line:

This is fine. May I suggest that if you have a bottle, you mix it into a hard Arnold Palmer? That feels like the right use.

56. Sweetens Cove 22 Tennessee Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 57%

Average Price: $200

The Whiskey:

This brand-new whiskey from Tennessee is a serious blend. The blend is made with a mix of five-, six-, eight, and 10-year-old bourbons. That whiskey then goes into Speyside Scotch whisky casks for a final rest before blending and bottling with a tiny drop of proofing water.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Leathery raisins and cranberries mingle with marmalade and sweet cedar next to a hint of clove tobacco and some old boot leather and vanilla buttercream.

Palate: Cinnamon toast and tart apple pies with plenty of cinnamon and walnuts mix with a touch of smoldering cedar bark and allspice on the palate.

Finish: That singed vibe applies to vanilla pods as dark berries and old dry tobacco dominate the finish with a hint of sweet cedar and soft vanilla cream drizzled with salted toffee.

Bottom Line:

This is a fantastic Tennessee whiskey blend. It runs deep and offers exacting flavor notes that feel right on your senses.

55. Orphan Barrel Copper Tongue Aged 16 Years Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 44.9%

Average Price: $327

The Whiskey:

This release from Diageo’s Orphan Barrel program is from Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. in Tennessee, better known as George Dickel. The whiskey is a marrying of two 16-year-old bourbon barrels that were hand-selected by Dickel Master Distiller Nicole Austin. The unique catch here is that the ABVs are very low for a “barrel-proof” bourbon.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This opens with a hint of buttery cornbread that immediately veers into cinnamon apple clusters, soft nutty chocolate spread, and a hint of stonefruit tobacco in an old leather tobacco pouch.

Palate: There’s a mild sense of eggnog spices next to vanilla buttercream with a clear note of old, musty cellar beams leading back to that warm tobacco chew that’s laced with winter spices and sharp marmalade.

Finish: The end leans into the woodier aspects of the winter spices while peach pits and vanilla cream mingle with dry chocolate powder cut with espresso bean tobacco rolled with old cedar bark and left to dry on earthy wicker.

Bottom Line:

This is earthy and creamy, which is an odd combination on paper but somehow works in this bottle. It’s a testament to expert blending by a true master. This is a rare one that proves your whiskey nerd status while giving your palate a nice expansion.

54. Old Elk Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Barrels

ABV: 54.05%

Average Price: $94

The Whiskey:

This Colorado whiskey is made with a base of 51% corn, 34% malted barley, and 15% rye. That whiskey rests for five years before it’s batched and re-barrelled into 59-gallon port casks from Portugal. After 10 months to a year, those barrels are batched and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is crafty bourbon turned up to 11 with a sweet porridge nose, raw leather, cold apple cider, and a hint of fresh oak.

Palate: There’s a honey-apple crisp sweetness on the opening of the palate that leads right back into that slurry of sweet porridge — now with a white grits edge — before a nice ABV buzz (not burn) leads to orchard barks, winter spice mixes, and a soft sense of cherry bark.

Finish: The finish holds onto the buzziness as the fruit wood and spice settle into a soft and sweet grit ending.

Bottom Line:

This is a pure crafty bourbon that balances the sweet grains with an old-school finishing really well. It almost feels like the marrying of the new and old shouldn’t work but it just does here. This is a great crafty that goes the extra mile to create something fresh and unique.

53. Chattanooga Whiskey Straight Bourbon Whiskey Tennessee High Malt 111 Proof

ABV: 55.5%

Average Price: $49

The Whiskey:

This Tennessee whiskey is hewn from a mash bill (recipe) of classic yellow corn, malted rye, caramel malted barley, and honey malted barley. The ripple here is that the fermentation of those grains with water and yeast lasted for seven whole days (basically three times as long as most fermentation runs). The distilled juice was filled into toasted and charred oak and left alone for over two years. The final batch was pulled from no more than 12 barrels for this release.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Chocolate malts cut with spiced cherry syrup drive the nose with a hint of cinnamon bark and eggnog nutmeg next to soft orchard vibes.

Palate: That chocolate maltiness leans into honey-dipped graham crackers with a hint of allspice and clove over gingerbread and dark-chocolate-covered dried cherries.

Finish: A hint of cinnamon bark dark cherry tobacco mingles with malty spiced vanilla cookies and a hint more of that honeyed sweetness with deep chocolate lurking beneath it all.

Bottom Line:

These new and exciting malt experiments from Chattanooga are some of the best whiskeys hitting shelves right now. This isn’t necessarily collectible or anything like that, it’s just really f*cking tasty. That’s what makes this a must-buy right now. This whiskey outclasses bottles twice or three times its price.

52. Doc Swinson’s Alter Ego Triple Cask Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 47.9%

Average Price: $56

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from out in Washington is a blend of two bourbons with an array of finishings. The blend is a mix of a 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley bourbon with a 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley bourbon. After several years, those whiskeys were refilled into European oak casks, namely cognac, Olorosso sherry, and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks from anywhere from three to 16 months of finishing before batching and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Dark oak and leather dance with caramel peanuts and peanut brittle with a good dose of spiced cherries dipped in dark chocolate.

Palate: Rich marzipan leads on the palate with more of that choco-cherry feel next to vanilla-laced whipped cream, nutmeg, clove, red berry fruit leather, and a whisper of fresh and sharp spearmint.

Finish: Brandied cherries with orange peel and clove settle on the finish with a nice sense of buttery salted caramel and creamy nuttiness.

Bottom Line:

This is where we get into the easy-sipping bourbons that deliver big flavor notes.

51. Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Original Cask Strength

ABV: 57.9%

Average Price: $80

The Whiskey:

The newest release from Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley is an evolution of their brand. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of three bourbons (all MGP of Indiana) which create a four-grain bourbon. That blend was then bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This opens with a balance of old leather boots and freshly cracked black pepper next to a hint of walnut shell, vanilla pod, and orange zest.

Palate: The palate leans into what feels like star fruit as orange marmalade, salted butter, and fresh honey drip over rye bread crusts.

Finish: The end comes with a good dose of peppery spice and old leather as those walnuts and orange combine with a handful of dried fruit and a dusting of winter spices on the finish.

Bottom Line:

This latest version of Brother’s Bond proved the brand was about more than celebs white labeling booze. It proved that Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley truly care about this industry and the whiskey in their bottle.

50. Red Line Cask Strength Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 58%

Average Price: $70

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from Red Line is sourced from hand-selected barrels from MGP of Indiana. The team at Red Line picked six-year-old barrels of MGP’s iconic high-rye bourbon mash of 75% corn, 21% rye, and only 4% malted barley. Those barrels were vatted and then bottled as-is at cask strength.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a lovely sweetness that arrives on the nose with a hint of burnt sugars and brown butter just starting to coalesce into caramel with a flake of salt and a sense of rum-raisin and an echo of charred oak.

Palate: The palate leans into a light apple compote with a hint of plum and plenty of wintry spices next to vanilla and wicker before the warmth of the ABVs peak on the mid-palate.

Finish: The end is soft and supple with a sense of spiced prune jam, old porch wicker, and allspice berries.

Bottom Line:

This is just a good bourbon. It’s easy, fun, and tastes really nice. Sometimes that’s enough.

49. Jefferson’s Ocean Aged At Sea Straight Bourbon Whiskey Very Small Batch Special Wheated Mash Bill

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $74

The Whiskey:

Jefferson’s Ocean is deeply skilled at crafting unique and very tasty drams. This expression uses a wheated mash bill (instead of high rye) from Indiana that’s aged for six to eight years on land. Barrels are then loaded onto a ship and sailed around the world where the spirit and wood interact the whole time thanks to the choppy seas, creating an incredibly unique whiskey in the process.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This has a very subtle nose, with hints of vanilla, dark salted caramel, and mild eggnog spice drawing you in.

Palate: The palate holds onto those flavors fairly well, while adding a touch of popped corn to the salted caramel as the vanilla becomes more of an eggnog-spiced pudding that remains very airy and light.

Finish: The end is slightly nutty with a touch of cedar as the spice and svelte vanilla slowly fade away.

Bottom Line:

The ABVs on this one are what will make or break it for some folks out there. I like it in that you can sip this neat without hesitation. That said, it is on the lighter side, which goes against the massive trend of all the ABVs all the time. All of that aside, this is a balanced and very tasty bourbon.

48. Penelope Architect Straight Bourbon Whiskey French Oak Staves

ABV: 52%

Average Price: $71

The Whiskey:

This bourbon is all about precision blending. The MGP barrels create a four-grain whiskey that’s finished in oak staves from Tonnellerie Radoux in France. Those staves are added to the barrels to create a unique finish that’s part Kentucky and part France.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This starts fairly familiar with notes of sugar pie and vanilla cream with orange spice and a hint of dried florals that then veers into dried mushrooms and firewood bark with a bit of black dirt.

Palate: The palate circles back to the sweetness with a big pile of pecan waffles covered in vanilla/maple syrup before soft orange-infused tobacco leads back to that wet firewood and black dirt on the backend of the sip.

Finish: The very end has a touch of charred oak that’s more like singed red-wine-soaked-oak staves.

Bottom Line:

This is subtle and enticing and kind of funky. I really dig it. This is also the kind of whiskey that benefits from a proper tasting experience with nosing, resting, and watering to really let it bloom in the glass to find the nebulous and creamy depths hidden within.

47. Filmland Spirits Moonlight Mayhem! Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $63

The Whiskey:

This new brand blends the worlds of Hollywood B-movies and Ohio Valley whiskey-making in one brand. The Indiana whiskey is made from a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. Those whiskeys aged four to five years before they’re sent to Kentucky for batching and bottling with a touch of that limestone water.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Orange oils and cherry pie dominate the nose with mild hints of Saigon cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove next to a rush of caramel and maple syrup sweetness next to a hint of oak.

Palate: The taste opens sweet with more of that caramel leading to a lush vanilla base accented by cherry tobacco and cinnamon bark — in short, a classic bourbon palate.

Finish: The end gets creamy and soft with a sense of salted toffee and chocolate-covered espresso beans next to toasted tobacco and old oak.

Bottom Line:

This is a nice start and makes me pretty excited to see where Filmland takes us next with these releases.

46. New Liberty Bloody Butcher 100% PA Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 47.5%

Average Price: $62

The Whiskey:

This Pennsylvania bourbon starts off with Bloody Butcher corn sourced from Castle Valley Mill in Doylestown, PA, only 25 miles from the distillery. The malted rye and malted barley are also local and sourced from the Deer Creek Malthouse. Those grains combine to make this unique red corn bourbon that then rests for nine years before it’s batched, proofed, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a subtle milk chocolate on the nose that leads to buttery toffee and old leather gloves next to orchards full of fruit and bark.

Palate: The palate leans into apricot jam and marmalade with a touch of buttermilk biscuit and dry wild sage next to cinnamon bark and clove buds.

Finish: There’s a creamy nutmeg vibe near the end that leads to a milk chocolate tobacco finish with a whisper of dry cedar bark and earthy dry moss.

Bottom Line:

There’s a nice earthiness to this one thanks to that ruddy corn base. The overall vibe is mildly sweet and unique, making this a good bourbon for someone looking to try something a little different.

45. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Tennessee Whiskey

ABV: Varies

Average Price: $72

The Whiskey:

Where the Single Barrel Select is cut with soft limestone water to bring it down to proof, this is the straight whiskey from the barrel. These barrels are all hand-selected from the vast Jack Daniel’s rickhouses. What’s left from the angel’s share then goes straight into the bottle. That means the ABVs and tasting notes for this bottle will vary depending on which bottle you snag.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Expect an experience that’s full of rich vanilla, caramel, and toasted oak, next to a rush of cherry-spiked spice.

Palate: The sip should have a mix of that vanilla, oak, and rich wintry spices with a nice dose of bright red fruits and a texture that’s more velvet than liquid.

Finish: The end really holds onto that vibe as the mild spice, toasted oak, rich vanilla, and almost maple syrup sweetness slowly fade across your senses, leaving you with chewy cherry tobacco stuffed into an old cedar box.

Bottom Line:

This is one of the best versions of Jack Daniel’s that you can actually find/buy. This release is refined and deeply built to give you a striking version of the well-known brand. It’s easy-going over some ice and makes a nice sipper on a slow day.

44. Milam & Greene Castle Hill Series Bourbon Whiskey Batch Two 13-Year-Old

ABV: 55.5%

Average Price: $198

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is all about the batching process. The mix contains just 26 13 to 14-year-old barrels. Those barrels are masterfully blended down in Texas and then bottled at cask strength without any fussing.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This opens with a root beer vibe next to stewed cherry next to old cinnamon sticks and suede on the nose.

Palate: The palate marries the cherry with the cinnamon with extra layers of dry pine and old sweetgrass that give way to soft vanilla cream.

Finish: That creaminess carries into the finish with poppy seeds and toffee next to spicy cherry tobacco inside an old wicker box with a hint of mold.

Bottom Line:

This is another whiskey that’s damn good from Texas. It might be worth waiting until you visit Austin or Houston to try it.

43. Horse Soldier Reserve Barrel Strength Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 60.25%

Average Price: $98

The Whiskey:

The bourbon in this bottle was contract distilled in Ohio at Middlewest (but it’s now being made in Kentucky). The whiskey is a wheated bourbon that spent eight years mellowing before bottling. Each barrel was hand-picked before being married into a barrel strength expression that’s bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a mild crafty, sweet grain nose that opens toward a pile of freshly chopped firewood, lemon pepper, creamy vanilla-laced honey, winter spices, and Kiwi boot soap.

Palate: The palate has a hint of caramel malts next to Vanilla Coke, a buttery and spiced apple pie with plenty of brown sugar, and a hint of ginger next to some orange blossoms in the background.

Finish: The end is solid with a spicy warmth next to more of that dry firewood and a smidge of sweet oatmeal cookies.

Bottom Line:

This is a great, familiar craft bourbon with a kick. There’s a slight craft edge that gives way to classic bourbon notes, creating a wonderful balance of the old and new vibes. This whiskey also supports veterans in getting the medical care and assistance they need once they return home.

42. Remus Repeal Reserve VI Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $77

The Whiskey:

This year’s Remus Reserve is a mix of six to 14-year-old Indiana bourbons. Buckle in. The blend is made from 2% of a 2008 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 27% from a 2012 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 29%from a 2014 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 17% from a 2012 bourbon with a 36% rye mash bill, and 25% from a 2014 bourbon with that same very high rye mash bill. Once vatted, the whiskey is just touched with water for proofing and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this one is complex and meaders through mint fields and caramel apple stands as hints of old boot leather, plum jam, winter spice, and a hint of sweet oak round things out.

Palate: The palate opens with a rich toffee before a warmth takes over with a soft spice (nutmeg and allspice) before woody vanilla and creamed honey take over.

Finish: The end feels like a handful of candied fruits wrapped up in leathery tobacco leaves with a hint of cedar bark and dried mint in the background.

Bottom Line:

Remus Reserve is MGP of Indiana’s signature expression via their Ross & Squib Distillery brand. This whiskey is truly a special expression that’s always delicious.

41. Filibuster Distillery Bottled-in-Bond Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 5 Years

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $89

The Whiskey:

This Virginia whiskey is a grain-to-glass experience. The juice is made from locally-grown grains — 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley — and local spring water in the Shenandoah Valley. After five years of mellowing in Appalachia, a small bundle of barrels are batched and proofed to 100 proof before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a waft of old porch wicker next to floral honey, burnt orange, black tea leaves, and a classic sense of woody cherry and vanilla.

Palate: The palate creams the honey while adding in soft oak and cherry pie filling with a hint of vanilla malt next to mulled wine spices — heavy with star anise, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon with a pinch of mace or cardamom.

Finish: The end has a dark chocolate-covered espresso bean vibe that leads to a mild dried cranberry note next to a strawberry-rhubarb-walnut crumble with a scoop of vanilla malted ice cream that finished back at the old porch wicker braided with dark cherry tobacco and dry cedar bark.

Bottom Line:

This is one of those whiskeys that’s a nice surprise. Of course, Virginia has good bourbon but this is really good. It’s deep and deeply interesting. If you’re looking for a great and classic bourbon from outside of Kentucky, then this is the play.

40. Joseph A. Magnus Cigar Blend Bourbon Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50.35%

Average Price: $386

The Whiskey:

This Indiana-sourced bourbon is built from 11 and 18-year-old bourbons. The real star of the show with this whiskey is that those bourbons were finished in armagnac, cognac, and sherry casks before batching and bottling as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This opens with sticky toffee pudding that really amps up the cinnamon and nutmeg next to black-tea-soaked dates next to some stewed prunes wrapped in chili-chocolate-laced tobacco leaves and dripped in honey and then walnuts.

Palate: A savory fruitiness opens the palate with figs and pumpkin that leads towards an apricot jam with a hint of clove and cinnamon next to light touches of old library leather and cobwebs.

Finish: A faint hint of dark berries arrives on the mid-palate before the finish luxuriates in burnt toffee, almond shells, more of that leather, and dried-out apricots.

Bottom Line:

These releases are consistently delicious. They will challenge your palate and expand it all while tasting damn near perfect. Make sure to add a little water to really let this one bloom in the glass — it’ll get nice and creamy.

39. Wyoming Whiskey The Ten Anniversary Edition

ABV: 51.7%

Average Price: $249

The Whiskey:

This is a low-corn bourbon made with a mash of 68% corn, 20% rye, and 12% malted barley that’s left to rest for 10 long years. The barrels were hand-selected by Master Distiller and legend Steve Nally and Master Blender and Master Distiller Nancy Fraley, giving the final product some serious pedigree for the whiskey nerds.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This leans into classic bourbon notes of black cherry, sticky toffee pudding, pecan pie, and marmalade before veering toward dried ancho chili powder and a touch of pistachio and honey.

Palate: That dark cherry turns syrupy before maple sap kicks in with a sense of toasted marshmallow, creamed honey, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and blueberry pie with a big dollop of bourbon vanilla ice cream.

Finish: The end has a sense of sweet potato pie covered in candied pecans next to toasted oak that’s been dipped in cherry tobacco.

Bottom Line:

Former Maker’s Mark Master Distiller Steve Nally did help create this limited edition blend, so there are some Kentucky blood, sweat, and tears involved. Still, this is all Wyoming and a damn fine pour of slow-sipping whiskey. The only thing holding back on this ranking is that it was simply “classic” and that’s it.

38. Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey Batch 028 Single Barrel Whiskey

ABV: 60.8%

Average Price: $150

The Whiskey:

While Uncle Nearest is distilling their own juice these days, this is still the work of Master Blender Victoria Eady Butler with carefully sourced Tennessee whiskey barrels. In this case, Eady Bulter hand-selected the best-of-the-best from their inventory to create the perfect whiskey to exemplify the brand and Tennessee whiskey traditions.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose leans into sticky toffee pudding with a sense of black licorice that’s almost absinth adjacent as soft caramel and winter spice round things out.

Palate: Gingerbread cookies and stewed pears mingle with sharp chili spice, red peppercorns, and a hint more of that dark licorice on the palate with this mild sense of creamy vanilla oils and maybe some maple syrup fresh from the tap.

Finish: The pepperiness really drives the finish toward a creamy vanilla cake end with a nice balance of woody winter spices and a hint of soft leather.

Bottom Line:

Uncle Nearest’s team really hits it out of the park with these single-barrel releases. While this one is stellar, anyone that you find out there is going to be a treat. So don’t sweat if you can’t find this exact one.

37. Lil’ Guero Aged 7 Years Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $100

The Whiskey:

This small batch from Savage & Cooke out in California is made from an MGP of Indiana 7-year-old high-rye bourbon. Master Distiller Jordan Via hand picks only 38 barrels for this blend and then cuts that whiskey with Alexander Valley spring water before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is another classic nose full of maple syrup over pecan waffles, dried cherries, salted caramel, meaty dates, old leather, and singed cedar with a hint of old musk lurking in the background of the nose.

Palate: The palate has a hint of caramel next to vanilla malt with dates, prunes, and raisins leading to dark chocolate-covered dried cranberries with a hint of spiced tobacco.

Finish: That spiced tobacco mingles with old leather and cedar on the back end.

Bottom Line:

This is one of those whiskeys that’s just good. There are better whiskeys out there — deeper, more nuanced, etc. — but this has zero obvious faults. It also adds to the mystique of MGP in that this feels wholly its own. This doesn’t taste like any of the MGP-made whiskeys on the list, proving that the people behind these blends are what matter the most when making a good and individual whiskey.

36. Laws Whiskey House Cognac Foeder Finished Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 47.5%

Average Price: $74

The Whiskey:

This Colorado four-grain bourbon starts with standard aging for two years in new American oak. The barrels that hit just the right mark are then batched and re-filled into cognac casks for additional mellowing. Once those barrels hit the right flavor profile, the whiskey is vatted into a 50-year-old French oak foeder (huge barrel, basically) where it rests for a spell before bottling. That foeder is never fully emptied, creating heritage to all the bourbon that passes through it year after year.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This season’s nose has a sense of Earl Grey tea leaves just touched with champagne next to stewed plums and apples with a sense of Saigon cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg, and ground allspice.

Palate: The palate is rich and lush with an apple butter thickness and spice next to singed cedar bark and apple bark over rum-raisin, creamy eggnog, and a whisper of pear.

Finish: The end has a creamy and lush vibe that leans into vanilla and nog with a whisper of holiday cake imbued tobacco rolled with cellar oak and rich caramel sauce.

Bottom Line:

This is an excellent example of what a cognac finish can bring to a bourbon. The nuance is that cognac foeders were used instead of smaller format barrels. That’s an incredible amount of surface space for the bourbon to interact with the unique wood sugars.

35. William Alan Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: Distillery Only

The Whiskey:

This South Carolina bourbon is all about small batching and farm-to-glass experiences. The corn-fueled spirit with a very high malted barley component is aged for four years before it’s re-barreled in new toasted oak barrels for a final three-month rest. Those barrels and then vatted and the whiskey is proofed with local water for bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this is very crafty in the best way with a bowl full of white grits cut with butter and brown sugar with a hint of burnt orange, dried rose, and fresh mint rounding things out.

Palate: The palate leans into woody wintery spices before circling back around to those sweet grits, Cherry Coke, ginger juice, and a hint of savory fruit — think pumpkin flesh just touched with cinnamon.

Finish: The end leans into that fresh savory fruit before hitting on a moment of black peppercorns and cinnamon bark with a lush burnt orange finish.

Bottom Line:

This is very crafty but very deep and kind of fun. If you’re getting into that new, grain-forward bourbon style, this is a great bottle to find. You’re just going to need to go to South Carolina to do so.

34. Dettling Single Barrel Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 55.4% (Varies)

Average Price: $79

The Whiskey:

This Alabama whiskey is all about that grain-to-glass experience. What really stands out, though, is that this whiskey aged for only four years yet has a deep profile. The whiskey takes on a dark hew thanks to it being stored at the top of the rickhouse in hot and balmy Alabama. The results are bottled from a single one of those barrels without any cutting or fussing.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this one starts with cornbread that’s been baked in lard in a cast-iron skillet with an almost burnt crust, plenty of salted butter, and a dollop of honey that’s been cut with orange oils.

Palate: The palate takes that cornbread, crumbles it up, and mixes in fresh cracked Tellicherry black peppercorns, dried roses, a touch of cedar, and a mild echo of orange-laced tobacco leaves.

Finish: Finally, the sip layers in a wintry spice combo that leans toward cinnamon sticks soaked in mulled wine and apple cider that leads towards a soft finish with a dried mint that’s… almost menthol tobacco.

Bottom Line:

This was getting some serious hype in 2021 and then kind of fell off the radar in 2022. That’s a shame as this is excellent whiskey and one that’s definitely worth seeking out in 2023.

33. 291 HR Colorado Bourbon Whiskey Aspen Stave Finished

ABV: 63%

Average Price: $108

The Whiskey:

291 HR Bourbon is the Colorado distillery’s “High Rye” bourbon. The whiskey was made when a double dose of malted rye was added to the mash. Once distilled, the hot juice was barreled in new oak with aspen wood staves right in the whiskey. In this case, the whiskey was bottled as-is once it hit just the right spot.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This opens with a rush of fruitiness that leans into candied citrus rinds, apricots, peaches, and maybe some raisins next to butterscotch candies, a touch of nuttiness, and maybe a little cedar wood.

Palate: The palate leans into that cedar with a cinnamon stick vibe underneath, a touch of toffee, and more stone fruit with a slightly dried edge.

Finish: The end is lightly fruity with a dried oak vibe and more of those woody spices.

Bottom Line:

This is very crafty on the fruity end (it’s not grainy really at all). If you’re looking for a young, fruity bourbon, then this is going to be your jam. I can also see this pairing really well with a fruity hazy IPA.

32. Redwood Empire Whiskey Grizzly Beast Bottled-In-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch #002

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $79

The Whiskey:

The latest batch of Redwood Empire’s Grizzly Beast is a four-grain bourbon. The California whiskey was made with 69% corn, 22% rye, 5% malted barley, and a mere 4% wheat. After five years of maturation, 26 barrels were picked for this batch. Those barrels were vatted and the whiskey was just kissed with pure water from a local Russian River Valley aquifer.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Cherry pie with plenty of winter spice leads off on the nose with buttery brown sugar, tart red berries, and walnut shells.

Palate: The palate opens with burnt orange, salted caramel, and more of those tart berries swimming in rich vanilla cream before a hint of spicy warmth arrives.

Finish: The end leans into brown sugar and winter spice-laced butter with walnut tobacco leaves wrapped in vanilla husks and cedar bark.

Bottom Line:

Redwood Empire is one of those small distillers/blenders that has a fiercely loyal fan base that’s still pretty small — the distillery doesn’t even have a consumer side yet. That’s all going to change as the Sonoma, California distillery grows and becomes a true titan of West Coast whiskey over the next few years.

31. Middle West Straight Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey Michelone Reserve

ABV: 62.1%

Average Price: $47

The Whiskey:

This Ohio whiskey is all about grain-to-glass. The juice is made from a mash of sweet yellow corn, soft red winter wheat, dark pumpernickel rye, and Two-Row malted barley. The whiskey spends about four years in oak before it’s bottled as is at cask strength.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: A hint of sourdough doughnuts dusted with cinnamon and sugar leads to maple syrup, coconut cream pie, marzipan, and a hint of toffee.

Palate: The palate dries out toward an almond nutshell before hitting a rum-raisin/Cherry Coke vibe next to woody winter spices on the mid-palate.

Finish: That spicy warmth fades toward cedar bark, Almond Joy, and spiced cherry tobacco on the finish with a hint more of that warm doughnut from the nose.

Bottom Line:

Middle West makes the best bourbon in Ohio. Outside of that state, you might not have ever heard of it — or even realize that you’re already drinking it (it’s the original source for brands like Horse Soldier, for instance). This bottle, at cask strength, is one of the better craft bourbons you can buy right now and worth the extra effort to source if you’re not in the Ohio Valley.

30. Redemption Straight Bourbon Whiskey Cognac Cask Finish

ABV: 49.5%

Average Price: $70

The Whiskey:

Master Blender Dave Carpenter built this small-batch bourbon off the back of barrels of very high-rye bourbon (60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley) from MGP of Indiana. Carpenter then moved that whiskey into Cognac barrels from Ferrand Cognac which held Cognac for 30 years. The bourbon spent 12 months finishing in those old-school barrels before vatting, proofing, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a clear pecan pie vibe on the nose with a buttery crust, plenty of holiday spices, a touch of apricot, and a whisper of dried hibiscus petals.

Palate: The palate takes the apricot and stews it with the spices to create a jammy compote next to an earthy and wet cellar beam dripping with cobwebs as the hibiscus brightens and leads towards a hint of raisin, prune, and white pepper.

Finish: The mid-palate leans into that sweet dried fruit/peppery edge as the pecans return in a bowl of Caro syrup and dusted with nutmeg-heavy eggnog spices and a final flourish of that wet yet fruity wood.

Bottom Line:

This is really good juice. It’s also a great example of how unique those barrels from MGP are these days, especially when you add in that extra layer of barrel finishing.

29. Stellum Bourbon Single Barrel Perseus Selected by Topflight Series by ReserveBar

ABV: 57.59%

Average Price: $52

The Whiskey:

Perseus is the latest in the astronomical lineup from Stellum Bourbon. This whiskey starts off with a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. That hot juice then rests for at least four to six years before single barrels are picked for bottling. In this case, ReserveBar snagged this barrel for their Top Flight program as a special barrel pick.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Candied pecans cooked into crispy, vanilla-forward waffles dance on the nose with a touch of sour cherry tossed in sea salt, a deep winter spice bark medley, and old leather tobacco pouches.

Palate: The taste moseys through salted dark chocolate squares next to maple syrup-dipped graham crackers, dried wild sagebrush, and a rush of sharp spearmint with black cherry lush sweetness at the base.

Finish: That black cherry drives the finish toward salted caramel and dried red chili pepper spice next to a whisper of orchard bard, woody spice, and soft and chewy tobacco.

Bottom Line:

This is great whiskey. Great. Stellum whiskey bottles like this also end up around $100 and this is half that price. That’s a great deal, folks!

28. Smooth Ambler 6 Years Old Founders’ Cask Strength Series 2022 Batch #1

ABV: 59%

Average Price: $55

The Whiskey:

This West Virginia whiskey is made from a high-rye mash of 71% corn, 21% rye, and 8% malted barley. That whiskey is then left alone for six years before it’s batched and bottled without filtering or proofing.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a nice sense of Graham Crackers dipped in dark chocolate with a hint of singed marshmallow next to orchard wood, dried cherry, and mild winter spice.

Palate: The palate opens with soft brown sugar next to cherries dipped in dark chocolate, allspice berries, and eggnog creaminess.

Finish: The end has a Cherry Coke vibe next to cinnamon bark, buttery gingerbread, and a hint of apple-cinnamon tobacco wrapped up in leather and cedar.

Bottom Line:

If you’re just looking for an easy-going and classic bourbon with a little kick to it, this will 100% deliver.

27. Remus Gatsby Reserve 15 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 48.9%

Average Price: $229

The Whiskey:

From the newly minted Ross & Squibb Distillery (formerly just MGP of Indiana), this whiskey combines barrels that were filled in 2005 and 2006. Those carefully selected barrels were small batched into this fine whiskey. The final blend was bottled as-is at cask strength.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this is classic old-school bourbon with dark dried cherry and cranberry next to caramelized pecans inside a waffle, soft leatheriness, and rich maple syrup cut with lush vanilla and subtle woody tobacco spiciness.

Palate: The palate leans into brandied cherries with a hint of blueberry syrup next to leathery notes of tobacco and dark berries with a hint of woodiness that leads to huckleberries and mulled wine spices.

Finish: The end has a lovely softness that leans into apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, singed cherry bark, and pipe tobacco loaded into an old oak barrel.

Bottom Line:

This is MGP of Indiana absolutely flexing with their own barrels (which are usually used for tons of sourced labels). The berry fruitiness is front and center and makes total sense with the subtler bourbon vibes. This is the bottle you get when you’re hankering for a dark berry-forward bourbon that creates a soft and beautiful harmonization with classic bourbon tones.

26. Widow Jane The Vaults Aged 14 Years A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys 2022 Release

ABV: 49.5%

Average Price: $229

The Whiskey:

This sourced New York whiskey is made from 14 to 19-year-old barrels from Tennessee and Indiana. Those barrels were sent out to Brooklyn and blended and then re-barreled into Missouri Ozark casks that were air-seasoned for three years before they were coopered and charred. Finally, the whiskey was blended in a small batch and bottled as-is without filtering but was cut with limestone mineral water from the Rosendale Mines in New York.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a mild sense of graininess on the nose with a hint of vanilla wafer honey sandwiches with mild winter spices — woody cinnamon, allspice, star anise — next to a hint of sweet tobacco layers of cherry and apple pie filling.

Palate: The palate has a very Tennessee vibe with soft bran muffins next to vanilla wafers layered with nougat and cinnamon with a hint of root beer cut with cherry syrup.

Finish: The end has a mild chocolate milk powder feel next to old oak, worn leather, and root beer-laced tobacco leaves.

Bottom Line:

There’s a gentle beauty to this whiskey that really shines through. It’s subtle yet succinct. Then is a masterclass in blending and proofing.

25. Jack Daniel’s 10 Years Old Tennessee Whiskey, Batch 2

ABV: 48.5%

Average Price: $199

The Whiskey:

This age statement released from Jack Daniel’s is a throwback to a bygone era in Tennessee Whiskey. The whiskey is aged for at least 10 years before batching. During that time, the barrels spend time in the “Buzzard’s Roost” at the top of the rickhouse. Once they hit the right flavor profile, those barrels are moved to the bottom floors of other warehouses to slow the aging down. Finally, the whiskey is batched, proofed, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This opens with a rich matrix of cherry syrup, apple cores, sticky toffee, vanilla ice cream, and a bold line of wet and sweet oak with a mild earthiness.

Palate: The palate opens up towards the dark fruit but dries it out and marries it to a woody and spicy tobacco leaf alongside toasted cedar soaked in salted caramel paired with dry corn husks that are just singed.

Finish: The finish really takes its time as the cherry attaches to an old cinnamon stick and the tobacco takes on a sticky chewiness with an almost smoked oak woodiness.

Bottom Line:

This was an oaky whiskey with a nice fruitiness to balance things out. I’d say if you’re looking for something oaky but more fruity than spiced, then get this.

24. Stellum Single Barrel Bourbon Leo Topflight Series By ReserveBar

ABV: 50.25%

Average Price: $52

The Whiskey:

This single-barrel pick from Stellum utilizes a classic sourced bourbon with 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley from Indiana. Those barrels are transported over the Ohio River to Louisville, Kentucky where they finish their four to six-year-long rest. This release was chosen by the team at ReserveBar and released as a single barrel pick in their Topflight Series.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a classic sense of spiced cherry with cinnamon cookies cut with raw brown sugar and vanilla next to a hint of taco seasoning spice packets.

Palate: The palate is lush with a sense of dark creamy chocolate, smoldering marshmallows, honey-dipped Graham crackers, and a light sense of peach tobacco.

Finish: The honey sweetens the finish with a sense of old oak and a dirt cellar floor next to a walnut cake and a mild warming buzz.

Bottom Line:

This is a really good sipping bourbon at a great price point. This could easily be $100 and no one would blink an eye. So in that case, get two.

23. Swilled Dog Spirits Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Strength

ABV: 58.5%

Average Price: $54

The Whiskey:

First off, this has a great name and reimagined logo (these are the new bottles for 2023). Secondly, the whiskey is made from a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley so we know this is MGP distillate, and that usually means high-quality booze.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Leather and spiced cherry drive the nose toward meaty dates and wet brown sugar with a very classic bourbon vibe.

Palate: That brown sugar turns a little molasses-y on the palate as vanilla cream pie drizzled in toffee leans toward spiced milk chocolate powder and a hint of hazelnut cream.

Finish: That creaminess drives the finish toward leathery dried fruits and dates next to a cherry/vanilla/spiced tobacco buzzing warmth.

Bottom Line:

This was a really nice, high-proof bourbon. It had a stone-cold classic flavor profile. If you’re in West Virginia, pick yourself up a bottle.

22. Frey Ranch Malted Grain Series 100% Malted Corn Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 55%

Average Price: $59

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is a unique concept from out in Nevada. The bourbon is made with 100% malted corn that’s grown and malted at Frey Ranch. That corn has to be grown in the summer to save it from frost. Once fermented and distilled, the hot juice rested for exactly five years and 10 months before it was batched and bottled as-is with a touch of local water.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this one is wild — it meanders through floral and citrus forward notes that are kind of like an old-school West Coast IPA with dank hoppiness next to savory melon, dry smudging sage, and a hint of lard-filled tamales.

Palate: The palate leans into fresh honeycombs next to orange and grapefruit peels soaked in apple cider with a fleeting sense of anise.

Finish: The end really leans into the floral and citrus dank with an underlying sense of a corn field right after the harvest when everything is still green.

Bottom Line:

This is out there and delicious. It’s very unique though, so don’t expect a classic Kentucky cherry bomb. That said, if you love a good dank West Coast IPA, this is the perfect pairing partner.

21. Doc Swinson’s Exploratory Cask CS ‘French Toasted’ Bourbon

ABV: 54.3%

Average Price: $99

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is a blend of two MGP bourbons — their classic 75/21/4 corn/rye/malted barley mash bill with their very high rye 60/36/4 corn/rye/malted barley mash. Those whiskeys rested for 5.5 years before blending and re-barrelling into new French oak from Taransaud Cooperages that’s made with trees from the famous Troncaise forest. After about three months, those barrels were batched and this whiskey was bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a creamy almost maltiness to the nose with a deep vanilla coffee cake, clove-studded orange, and pecan waffles with more creaminess with a buttery edge.

Palate: Apricot leather and apple fritters drive the palate with a spiced cinnamon toastiness next to a light drizzle of salted dark chocolate.

Finish: Cinnamon bark and sweet orange marmalade mingle on the finish with a light sense of spiced apple cider, wet orchards in the late fall, and creamy pear pudding.

Bottom Line:

This is a wild bourbon. It presents much more like an old Scotch whisky for cognac lovers with hints of American bourbon peaking in from time to time. It’s fascinating, delicious (like, really delicious), and a true outlier. Get some before it’s gone forever.

20. Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select Tennessee Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $175 (1-liter bottle)

The Whiskey:

Frank Sinatra was one of Jack’s biggest fans. So much so that the crooner was buried with a bottle. The actual whiskey in this expression is a throwback to how Jack was made in Sinatra’s day. They use special “Sinatra Barrels” that have concentric grooves carved into the newly charred oak, giving the whiskey more surface area to do its thing. Once that’s aged, it’s blended with traditional Old No. 7 and proofed at 45%, as it also would have been back in Sinatra’s heydays.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Peach cobbler, apple pie with a buttery crust and caramel drizzle, vanilla pods, old leather, and a hint of cherry tobacco inside an old wooden box build on the nose.

Palate: The sip leans into the fruit next to woody spice and soft leather that mellows dramatically towards a soft vanilla cream along with a very distant echo of cherry tobacco chewiness.

Finish: The mild spice (think nutmeg) arrives late and is tied to a cherry syrup vibe that just touches on dry wicker, faint almonds, and a touch more of that tobacco. Ultimately, the leather returns and builds towards a silken finish with just the right balance of woody apple, cherry tobacco, and oaky spice — all touched by the softest note of vanilla bean.

Bottom Line:

A super fine sipper that only needs a rock or drop of water to let it bloom. This is a glass of whiskey that’s worth savoring.

19. Woodinville Moscatel Finish Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $70

The Whiskey:

This whiskey starts as Woodinville’s award-winning five-year-old Washington bourbon. That whiskey is then re-barreled into Moscatel wine casks for a finish maturation period. After nearly a year, the whiskey goes into the bottle having just been touched by water but otherwise as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This opens with a mix of dark chocolate powder, smoked apricot, and burnt orange with a good dose of wet wicker and five spice.

Palate: The palate leans into toffee and almonds (Almond Roca!) with peach pits, plums, and a touch of vanilla yellow cake.

Finish: The end leans into the plums with a brown sugar vibe next to light Christmas spices, dry wicker, choco-spiced tobacco, and Almond Roca.

Bottom Line:

Woodinville has been winning award after award for years now. But during that whole ascent, they’ve only really been available in Washington State (or at whiskey bars in the know). That all changed with this release, which is available nationwide. That’s a fantastic achievement for a small-time operator working just north of Seattle. It’s also a fantastic whiskey that’s a great introduction to the brand for all of you who’ve been waiting to finally try it.

18. 291 Bad Guy Colorado Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 57.8%

Average Price: $109

The Whiskey:

This Colorado whiskey is made from a mix of local corn, malted wheat, malted rye, and beech-smoked malted barley. As per 291’s classic aging methods, the whiskey is aged for about two years with aspen wood staves in the barrel to accelerate the aging process. Finally, this is batched and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a whole fruit basket of fruitiness with stone fruit really shining through — think apricots and peaches — next to old tart apples, cinnamon sticks, toffees dusted with crushed almonds, and a murmur of chamomile tea.

Palate: The palate has a crafty graininess that’s akin to oatmeal cookie dough with a hint of nuttiness, brown sugar, cinnamon, and something slightly floral but woody.

Finish: The end brings the apricot back as a spicy jam with a little vanilla creaminess and tannic florals.

Bottom Line:

This is another crafty bourbon that really balances the new graininess with the iconic bourbon notes well. There’s also a great stone fruit vibe that takes this bourbon beyond the ordinary to something truly special. Moreover, if you’re a fan of Billie Eilish, this is a must-have.

17. Starlight Distillery Carl T. Huber’s Bottled-In-Bond Indiana Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $62

The Whiskey:

This new release from Huber Farm’s Starlight Distillery (the distillery to know if you’re in the know) is made from their high-corn mash with a sweet mash method (each batch is fresh) in their old copper pot still. The whiskey is barreled in Canton barrels and left to age on the farm for four years before it’s batched (only 20 barrels) and proofed down to 100 proof for bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with dark stewed cherries and spiced prune compote next to cinnamon waffles with a hint of maple syrup and dark chocolate chips.

Palate: The palate is pure silk with notes of Cherry Coke next to clove-studded oranges dipped in dark chocolate with a flake of salt with whispers of apple fritters, eggnog spices, and singed cherry bark with maybe a hint of apple wood in the background.

Finish: The end has a subtle warmth thanks to wintry mulled wine spices that lead to fresh pipe tobacco kissed with dates and chocolate and packed into an old cedar box for safekeeping.

Bottom Line:

This is both fresh/fun and so classic that it felt seminal. If you can get your hands on a bottle of this (click that price link!), then you’ll be in for a true bourbon treat.

16. Southern Star Paragon Single Barrel Cask Strength Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 58%

Average Price: $103

The Whiskey:

This North Carolina bourbon is starting to make some serious waves. This very limited batch of single-barrel bourbon is made from wheated bourbon mash bill with 70% corn, 16% wheat, and 14% malted barley. The hot juice was left for around four years before the barrel was hand-pocked and bottled as-is at cask strength.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a sense of orange blossoms and an apple orchard with a hint of pear and plum next to walnut shells, old honey bottles, and rich vanilla sauce with a hint of poppy seed.

Palate: The palate has a touch of dark chocolate powder sweetness that melds with walnuts and honey to make a cluster before the brown spice kicks in with sharp cinnamon and a touch of root beer.

Finish: The end leaves the spice and warmth behind for smooth vanilla walnut cake with a hint of apple-honey tobacco wrapped up with old cedar bark.

Bottom Line:

This is just plain ‘ol solid. It also tends to rack up awards because of that. It will be hard to find outside of the main bourbon markets (and North Carolina), but I’d argue it’s worth the effort to find. This is quality bourbon with a deep richness.

15. Nashtucky Single Barrel Aged 6 Years Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 57.7%

Average Price: $80

The Whiskey:

This is a new label the famed Nashville Barrel Company. This whiskey is an MGP of Indiana classic high-rye bourbon (75/21/4 corn/rye/malted barley) mash bill that spent six years aging in Tennessee before single-barrel bottling completely as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The fruity nose leans into Red Delicious apples and fresh pineapple cores with a hint of rum raisin, eggnog nutmeg, and a hint of dank cedar kindling.

Palate: The taste darkens with burnt orange peels and cinnamon toast with a buttery vibe next to real maple syrup and a touch of smoked chili pepper heat backing everything up.

Finish: The chili pepper buzzes on the palate as the finish leans into buttery cinnamon cream with a whisper of orange blossom and stewed peaches on the backend with plenty of winter spice.

Bottom Line:

This is an essential bottle to add to any collection of MGP greats. The unique barrel aging in Tennessee adds that little something extra to the whiskey that helps it pop as a slow sipper with true depth.

14. John J. Bowman Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $299

The Whiskey:

A. Smith Bowman Distillery — a sibling distillery to Buffalo Trace in Virginia — is renowned for bottling some of the boldest bourbons in the game. This release is a no-age-statement and undisclosed mash bill of Virginia whiskey that’s around 10 years old. The whiskey is just proofed to 100 proof with local spring water before bottling as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Pain au chocolate leads the way on the nose with chewy toffee candies, Granny Smith apple skins, rich vanilla pods, and a hint of sweet cedar planks rubbed with apple-cinnamon tobacco leaves.

Palate: The palate is sweet and classic as dark Karo syrup leads toward heavy doses of vanilla in a crispy pecan waffle with a side of chocolate milkshake, dark fruit leather, figs, dates, and a hint of marzipan.

Finish: The mid-palate amps up the leathery dark fruit sweetness then tumbles toward an almond-chocolate-toffee vibe on the end with a hint of oak, old leather, and figgy tobacco on the finish.

Bottom Line:

This is some good damn whiskey. It’s also far more approachable than the barrel-proof releases from the distillery, making this a must-have if you’re looking to get into the Virginia whiskey.

13. The Left Cross Puncher’s Chance Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Jamaican Dark Rum Casks Aged 14 Years

ABV: 48%

Average Price: $149

The Whiskey:

This sourced bourbon from Bruce Buffer (of UFC fame) is an old whiskey. The bourbon in the bottle is a 14-year-old Tennessee whiskey made with 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. After around 14 years, that whiskey is re-filled into freshly dumped Jamaican rum casks that held rum for 12 years. After two to six months of additional maturation, those barrels are batched before proofing and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose has a classic sense of old oak, dark vanilla, black cherry, and woody spices with a hint of spearmint-spiked molasses.

Palate: The palate has a mild hogo funk with bananas foster cut with brandy, old raisin boxes, winter spices, and a soft vanilla cake frosted with rum-raisin and dark cacao.

Finish: Soft brown sugar gives way to a warming mulled wine vibe with plenty of star anise, clove, and cinnamon next to plummy rum sweetness and Cherry Coke spiced tobacco.

Bottom Line:

This is one of those whiskeys that’s just good. It has a great balance of rumminess that works with the older bourbon in the mix. It’s also a great dessert or digestif pour thanks to all the botanical spices and sweet fruits.

12. Garrison Brothers Guadalupe Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in a Port Cask

ABV: 53.5%

Average Price: $149

The Whiskey:

This Texas whiskey is hewn from 90 30-gallon barrels of four-year-old bourbon that were transferred into 26 59-gallon Tawny Port casks for a final maturation of over one year. That whiskey is then bottled as-is after a touch of water was added.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this bursts with raspberry, blackberry, redcurrant, and blueberry all stewed with plenty of holiday spices and folded into a cobbler topped with dense buttery buttermilk biscuits.

Palate: The palate leans into the spice with a focus on clove, nutmeg, and a very small whisper of anise as the berry turns more towards a fresh strawberry with dark chocolate-covered espresso beans chiming in on the mid-palate.

Finish: That chocolate-bitter vibe drives towards a finish full of cinnamon-spiked dark chocolate tobacco leaves, stewed plums, and a dollop of floral honey.

Bottom Line:

This is one of the best American craft whiskey on the market right now. The balance of soft craft bourbon notes beside the deep port is perfection. Plainly speaking, this is delicious whiskey. It being “port cask finished” or “craft bourbon” or “Texan bourbon” is just a sidenote to how well made this is at its core.

11. Penelope Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Strength

ABV: 57.6%

Average Price: $57

The Whiskey:

Penelope Bourbon is a great example of what a master blender can do with MGP whiskey. In this case, three barrels were blended — aged three to five years — to create a barrel strength expression that highlights the quality of those casks. The final product ended up being a four-grain bourbon with a mash bill of 74% corn, 16% wheat, 7% rye, and 3% malted barley.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this bursts forth with peaches, red berries, blueberry, and an almost savory gooseberry next to cotton candy, a touch of toffee, and very light-yet-sweet oak.

Palate: The palate shines as the peaches and berries combine to make a sort of summer fruit crumble with plenty of butter, dark sugar, and spice alongside a thin line of soft leather, rich vanilla, and more of that sweet oak.

Finish: The mid-palate sweetens with more cotton candy before diving into a warming and spicy finish that keeps the spice sweet and subtle.

Bottom Line:

This is a nice all-around bourbon. In the end, I’d lean toward simple cocktails with it. A nice old fashioned, Manhattan, and maybe even a jaunty Sazerac work best.

10. George Dickel Bottled in Bond Tennessee Whisky Fall 2008 Aged 13 Years

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $44

The Whisky:

Master Distiller Nicole Austin has been killing it with these bottled-in-bond releases from George Dickel. This release is a whiskey that was warehoused in the fall of 2008. 13 years later, the whiskey was bottled at 100 proof (as per the bottled-in-bond law) and left to rest. Last fall, new releases of that Tennessee whiskey were sent out to much acclaim.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Sour cherries, maple syrup, and pecan waffles mingle with dried apple chips, old leather boots, and winter spice with a hint of vanilla wafers on the nose.

Palate: The taste leans toward spicy apple pie filling with walnuts, plenty of cinnamon, and some raisins before malted vanilla milkshakes, blueberry cotton candy, and dark chocolate milk arrive on the mid-palate and lead toward a moist oatmeal cookie dipped in salted caramel.

Finish: The end has a dry woody spiciness with star anise, cinnamon, and allspice mingling with marzipan and cherry/cinnamon tobacco.

Bottom Line:

This is one of the best whiskeys at this price point on the shelf today. This could easily cost twice as much and people wouldn’t bat an eye. All of that aside, this is a great cocktail base or sipper over some rocks. It’s just good, period.

9. A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch #2

ABV: 72.25%

Average Price: $2,999

The Whiskey:

This new batch from Sazerac’s Virginia distillery is all about upping the ante on last year’s bold ABV release. This year, Batch #2 takes the ABVs even higher in this cask-strength bourbon bomb thanks to the careful selection of old barrels that are batched and left completely uncut and non-chill-filtered.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a leathery nature on the nose with classic bourbon deep flourishes of very black cherry, salted caramel, cinnamon toast with cream butter and old vanilla pods, a touch of orange oil, and woody spice berries and barks.

Palate: Apple orchards and cherry pies open the sweet palate toward a massive heat from the ABVs that eventually fades towards creamed soft nut butter, vanilla cake, and apple cider spiked with spiced cherry tobacco.

Finish: The heat comes roaring back on the finish with brash woody winter spice and burnt orange with a touch of vanilla trying to find a counterbalance to all the heat.

Bottom Line:

This whiskey is bold with a capital “B”. It’s also nuanced and delivers a great bourbon flavor profile. For something with a shockingly high Hazmat ABV, this is perfectly balanced. Just add a rock before you dive in head first.

8. Nashville Barrel Company Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel 6 Years Old UPROXX January 2023 Barrel

ABV: 59.08%

Buy Here: $119

The Whiskey:

The barrel was chosen and bottled at the tail end of 2022 on a visit to Nashville Barrel Company. The whiskey in the bottle is a 6-year-and-two-month-old bourbon from MGP of Indiana. The high rye mash bourbon (75/21/4 corn/rye/malted barley) aged for five years in Indiana before moving to Nashville for an additional 14 months of resting. The bourbon went in the bottle at cask strength straight from the barrel.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with toffee, mild leather, orchard barks, blood orange, soft sweet grains, cinnamon sticks, cherry tobacco, plum, and a whisper of old pine accented by a touch of thyme.

Palate: The taste meanders through salted caramel, dates, cinnamon bark, cardamon pods, clove buds, and soft vanilla cake before leaning slowly into a spiced warmth.

Finish: The end arrives with sweet and chewy pipe tobacco, orange bitters, rock candy, and very light yet creamy cacao lushness next to hazelnut Manner Neapolitan Wafers and dry oak.

Bottom Line:

I picked this barrel so I can assure you that you’re getting a great bourbon in this bottle. That aside, if you’re looking for a deeply classic and comforting bourbon experience with a little pep, then this is the bottle for you.

7. Lost Lantern 2023 Single Cask #3 Watershed Distillery Ohio Straight Bourbon Whiskey 7 Years Old

ABV: 66.1%

Average Price: $119

The Whiskey:

The latest Lost Lantern single barrel release is a five-grain bourbon from our in Ohio. Watershed Distillery used corn, rye, wheat, malted barley, and locally-grown spelt for the mash of this bourbon. The whiskey then spent five years mellowing in Ohio before the barrel was shipped to Vermont for two more years of mellowing. Finally, the team at Lost Lantern thought this one was ready and bottled it as-is only yielding 65 bottles.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This smells rich and lush with deep creamy eggnog next to sweet dark fruit leather, old oak cellars, and a sniff of vanilla cake bespeckled with crumbled-up hard-toffees covered in dark salted chocolate.

Palate: Those toffee chocolate candies drive the palate toward spiced oatmeal cookies with walnuts and raisins dipped in vanilla buttercream and dashed with brown sugar and salt with a fleeting sense of orange and vanilla.

Finish: Spiced cookies with plenty of fatty nuts appear on the finish as a matrix of orchard fruits — cherry, plum, orange — slowly fade toward burnt ends of rock candy dipped in winter spice liqueur with a brazen heat to it.

Bottom Line:

This is a great whiskey. Great. It was a tad hot on the finish, which is why it’s third instead of first. Otherwise, add some water and let this beauty bloom in the glass and take your time with it. Just hurry, this will be sold out very soon. And then that’s it — forever.

6. Heaven’s Door Aged 10 Years Decade Series Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $95

The Whiskey:

This is the first release in the new series from Bob Dylan’s Heaven’s Door Tennessee whiskeys. The whiskey is a 10-year-old straight bourbon that was made in Tennessee but wasn’t charcoal filtered before or after aging. The sourced barrels were blended and just proofed down before bottling without any other fussing.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a tannic old oakiness on the nose (this is older) with hints of pecan waffles covered in maple syrup with vanilla butter.

Palate: The taste is pure silk with salted caramel, vanilla cream, black licorice, marzipan, and a hint of cinnamon-pecan ice cream with a dusting of powdery chocolate in malt.

Finish: The end has a moment of warmth thanks to that cinnamon before lunging toward old porch wicker, cinnamon bark, star anise, pear tobacco, and old leather with a hint of potting soil.

Bottom Line:

This was simply delicious. It was so vibrant and classic while taking you on a journey. And hey, at least I knew it was a Tennessee bourbon.

5. Chattanooga Whiskey Bottled In Bond Vintage Series Fall 2018 Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $53

The Whiskey:

The latest seasonal drop from Tennessee’s Chattanooga Whiskey is another great. The whiskey is a blend of four of their mash bills. 30% comes from mash bill SB091, which is a mix of yellow corn, malted rye, caramel malted barley, and honey malted barley. Another 30% comes from mash bill B002, which has yellow corn, hardwood smoked malted barley (smoked with beech, mesquite, apple, or cherry), caramel malted barley, caramel malted, and honey malted barley. The next 20% is mash bill B005: yellow corn, malted wheat, oak smoked malted wheat, and caramel malted wheat. And the last 20% is from mash bill R18098, which is yellow corn, pale malted barley, naked malted oats, double roasted caramel malted barley, peated malted barley, cherrywood smoked malted barley, chocolate malt, and de-husked chocolate malt.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Cinnamon, brown butter sugar, walnut, and raisins meld on the nose with some vanilla to create a moist oatmeal cookie next to buckwheat pancakes griddled in brown butter and topped with apple butter, and maybe some apricot jam with a dash of nutmeg, dark chocolate shavings, and creamy vanilla whipped cream.

Palate: The palate leans into cherry hand pies and vanilla wafers with a counter of dried wild sage, orchard tree bark, and meaty dates.

Finish: The end has a sharp turn into dried red chili pepper cut with pipe tobacco, dark chocolate bars, cedar bark, burnt orange, and lime leaves with this whisper of cinnamon cookies at the very end.

Bottom Line:

This whiskey rocks. It’s a great bottle to impress whiskey heads but also a subtle sipper that delivers on several levels if you’re looking for a solid slow sipper. Naturally, it also slays in Manhattan, Sazerac, or old fashioned.

4. Garrison Bros. Cowboy Bourbon Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 67.4%

Average Price: $239

The Whiskey:

Cowboy Bourbon is Garrison Brother’s signature bottle of whiskey. This year’s release was made from 118 hand-selected 25-gallon barrels, aged between eight and nine years. Master Distiller Donnis Todd went through all of their small-format barrels over the course of the year to find a dozen or so that he thought met the high standards of Cowboy Bourbon without filtering or cutting with water. That makes this a very as-is representation of what makes Garrison Bros. special.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a rush of sharp cinnamon bark wrapped up with old saddle leather, freshly fried apple fritters, walnuts, old cedar bark braids twisted up with dried wild sage, and a hint of dried yellow mustard flowers with an underlying sense of maple syrup over pecan waffles.

Palate: The palate leans into the spice with a hint of allspice and ginger next to apple pie filling with walnuts, brandy-soaked raisins, and plenty of brown sugar next, next to spiced Christmas cake dipped in dark chocolate sauce.

Finish: The end takes its time and meanders through salted caramel, stewed plums with star anise and sharp cinnamon, a hint of vanilla Dr. Pepper, and a mild sense of chocolate-cinnamon-spiced chewing tobacco buzziness with a warming Texas hug that’s part Hot Tamales and part chili-spiced green tea.

Bottom Line:

This might well be the best whiskey from Texas right now. I’ll leave it at that.

3. Nelson Bros. Whiskey Black Brier A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Finished in Imperial Stout Casks

ABV: 54.9%

Average Price: $125

The Whiskey:

This whiskey takes Nelson Brother’s bourbon (sourced from Indiana and Tennessee) and re-loads it into beer casks for a special finish. The bourbon is re-filled into freshly emptied imperial stout casks from Blackstone Brewing Company for a final maturation before batching and bottling as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a fascinating balance of mocha lattes made with cream counterpointed by orange creamsicles on the nose with a deep and most vanilla white cake frosted with a whisper of Almond Joy icing.

Palate: Almost waxy cacao comes through on the palate before the almond and toasted coconut drive the taste toward Nutella-smeared croissants and a flutter of cinnamon-heavy mulled wine with a nice sweetness to it a whisper of dried red berries.

Finish: Cinnamon bark and dark chocolate-covered espresso beans come through late with a creamy sense of that Nutella and mocha latte layering into a faint burnt orange tobacco vibe.

Bottom Line:

This is a once-a-year whiskey that you’ll wish was on the shelf everywhere every day after just one sip. It’s the perfect example of stout barrel aging with bourbon.

2. Starlight Distillery Carl T. Huber’s Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Pineau des Charentes Barrels

ABV: 52.05%

Average Price: $80

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from craft-distilling darling Starlight up in Indiana is a masterpiece of distilling and aging. The juice is made from a high-corn mash with a touch of rye and malted barley in the mix alongside local water. The hot spirit goes into new white oak Canton barrels for about four years before it is refilled into hand-picked Pineau des Charentes casks from France (that’s a light grape-forward fortified wine) for a final maturation.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a soft sense of sultanas soaked in brandy with an echo of an old cheese cellar oak beams, vanilla wafers with floral honey pressed between them, almond crescent cookies, cinnamon powder, nutmeg, and orange and clove marmalade with a hint of savory scone.

Palate: The palate builds on the nose with layers of dark berry fruit leather, spiced holiday cakes with dates, allspice, and plenty of almond (and maybe some walnut) next to chestnut chutney cut with orange, pear, sultana, and a good dollop of winter spices with a hint of caramelized dark ale lurking underneath it all.

Finish: The end is a supple landing in softly spiced and dark fruity bourbon notes by way of a luxurious holiday cake soaked in brandy.

Bottom Line:

This is a great whiskey that you’d never in a million years think was from a tiny craft distillery in Southern Indiana. This feels like a big and bold swing from the biggest brands and can stand up next to them (and beat a lot of the biggest ones).

1. Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey, Batch 1

ABV: 53.5%

Average Price: $80 (MSRP)

The Whiskey:

Jack Daniel’s doesn’t hide any of its processes. The mash at the base of this whiskey is a mix of 80% corn, 12% barley, and 8% rye. Those grains are milled in-house and mixed with cave water pulled from an on-site spring and Jack Daniel’s own yeast and lactobacillus that they also make/cultivate on-site. Once fermented, the mash is distilled twice in huge column stills. The hot spirit is then filtered through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal that’s also made at the distillery. Finally, the filtered whiskey is loaded into charred new American oak barrels and left alone in the warehouse. After 12 years, a handful of barrels were ready; so they were batched, barely proofed, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is creamy with deep notes of old boot leather, dark and woody winter spices, black-tea-soaked dates, plum jam with clove, and an underbelly of chewy toffee-laced tobacco.

Palate: That creaminess presents on the palate with a soft sticky toffee pudding drizzled in salted caramel and vanilla sauce next to flakes of salt and a pinch of orange zest over dry Earl Grey tea leaves with a whisper of singed wild sage.

Finish: The end leans into the creamy toffee chewy tobacco with a hint of pear, cherry, and bananas foster over winter spice barks and a deep embracing warmth.

Bottom Line:

This is so well-balanced, nuanced, and just freaking tasty. It leaned more into the sweet fruit yeasty flavor notes while still holding onto classic and deep bourbon flavor notes. This is the good stuff, folks, and I’d argue pretty much the best non-Kentucky bourbon out there right now.

Most of us won’t have a 90th birthday. Honestly, a good portion of people probably won’t ever even attend a 90th birthday party. The gravity of 90 years was in full effect over the weekend as fans and friends of Willie Nelson filled both the seats and the backstage of the Hollywood Bowl for Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, a two-day, eight-hour concert that featured dozens of Willie and Willie-adjacent tunes performed by legendary compatriots.

It isn’t just that Willie Nelson has survived 90 years on Earth. It’s that he’s still thriving. Woody Harelson, one of the event’s many Hollywood-certified MCs, introduced Willie for Sunday’s performance by noting that even in the last year, he’s still releasing albums at a rapid clip, still touring the country, still winning Grammys, still smoking younger men under the table. Sure, when Willie did take the stage near the end of each night, time’s undefeated nature was visible, but once he started playing, flashes of his greatness still appeared frequently and without qualification.

The night also provided the rare opportunity to give Willie his flowers while he is still here. It wasn’t just that everyone was playing songs he wrote or recorded, giving passionate and emotional speeches about what the music of Willie Nelson meant to them and how the man touched their lives. What stood out as artists such as Neil Young, Keith Richards, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, George Strait, and many more played tunes and spoke about Willie, was how many different interpretations and relationships with the man exist.

There is Willie the father, as both of his surviving sons, Lukas and Micah, took the stage frequently throughout the event. Micah, who performs as Particle Kid, recalled a bit of wisdom his dad once passed off nonchalantly, with his response that it was the best song that Willie Nelson never wrote. “You should write it,” Willie told him, and so he did, going into the garage and coming back with the endearing “High When I Die.” Lukas, rather, left his sentiment more for his delivery, earning a standing ovation with his solo version of “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground.” Later, both Nelson boys would team with Rosanna Cash and Shooter Jennings for a kids-of-legends version of the parents’ “Highwayman.”

There is, obviously, Willie the toker, which came up almost as much as his music. Everyone from Jack Johnson to Dave Matthews recalled stepping into Willie’s trailer and coming out of it changed men, while a Saturday night appearance from Snoop Dogg highlighted how the most unlikely friendships can spark from common interests.

Margo Price took her chance to shoutout farmer Willie, noting that his decades-long commitment to Farm Aid could have been the greatest lasting legacy for nearly anyone else, while Miranda Lambert made sure she paid homage to cowboy Willie, delivering a singalong of the iconic “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” that Willie recorded with Waylon Jennings. There was Texan Willie, as artists like Leon Bridges, Gary Clark Jr., and MC Ethan Hawke all represented, while another Texan, Owen Wilson, was sure to note the importance of friend Willie, a man whose relationships have spanned decades, with most of those who appeared during the weekend considering him exactly that.

But while poker Willie got a lot of laughs — Jack Johnson performed the true story “Willie Got Me Stoned” both nights, to hilarious effect — and activist Willie was underscored by Orville Peck doing a version of “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other” — Willie’s 2006 version became the first-ever LGBT-themed mainstream country song by a major artist — Willie the musician remained the focus of the event. And, with around 80 songs played over the two nights, it’s hard to get into everything that happened. So, a few highlights.

• Beck, whose Hollywood Bowl history includes his father as a former conductor, offered up stunning renditions of “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” and “Hands On The Wheel,” proving that country Beck is the best Beck. We don’t talk about Mutations, his best album, enough.
• Norah Jones is always an MVP of this sort of event, but on night two, she followed a gorgeous duet of “Seven Spanish Angels” with Allison Russell with “Help Me Make It Through The Night” with Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson is also showing his age a bit these days and needed to be helped through his performances, so Norah showed a ton of grace by holding him, locking eyes to keep him in the moment, and taking the lead when needed. It reminded me of Lady Gaga helping Liza Minelli through their Oscars presenting gig. It’s a lot of responsibility that few are cut out for, taking on the duty of making sure a legend makes it out of a public appearance without embarrassment, without tarnishing their giant stature. Truly special stuff.
• Neil Young and Stephen Stills performing together was maybe even more emotional than Young performing “Are There Any More Real Cowboys” with Willie. With their longtime bandmate David Crosby recently passing away, it was special to see these legends jamming through a very loose “For What It’s Worth.”
• Many played Willie faithfully, but it was the artists that brought their own sensibility, in particular Dave Matthews, Chris Stapleton, and Sturgill Simpson, that felt like some of the best purely musical moments of the event.
• And, though I didn’t expect to be shouting out The Lumineers of all bands, they hit on something unique in their pair of songs. “A Song For You” quieted the Bowl down to a whisper on night one, but then on night two, the band’s leader Wesley Schultz spoke about his introduction to Willie Nelson, via an omnipresent Christmas Album, Pretty Paper, that features a Nelson original of the same name. As someone that also grew up with the record in holiday rotation, it was truly a treat to hear, delivered with an extra ounce of longing that can only come from Christmas tunes in April.

And that was my big realization at these concerts, that perhaps the first Willie I ever heard was his Christmas music, or maybe it was via Patsy Cline singing “Crazy” via my parents’ car tape player on family vacations, or maybe it was through a ubiquitous “On The Road Again” playing in elementary school music class. The ways that Willie Nelson permeated culture through countless avenues is staggering, enough that most probably don’t know when or how they first heard Willie. He is simply someone that always had been, and presumably, always will be. Every once in a while during the weekend, a song or a speech would hit on the sad fact that we have less time left with Willie than we’ve already had. But then again, everything about these concerts was proof that some people do get to live forever, that if your life is good and your art is true, immortality is possible.

Willie himself let everyone else do the talking. When he did appear to perform near the end of each night, it was with a smile but also with purpose, almost seeming a little shy about all the attention he was getting. If anything, Willie Nelson seemed most into the event for the hang, for the backstage cloud of good feeling that most of us didn’t get to see. But surrounded by his family, his collaborators, his allies, and his proteges — not to mention thousands of adoring fans — Willie Nelson left his 90th birthday party knowing how much he is loved, and knowing just how big of an impact he’s had on the world.

Setlist, Night 1
Billy Strings – Whiskey River
Billy Strings – Stay All Night
Charley Crockett – The Party’s Over
Particle Kid, Daniel Lanois – The Ghost
Edie Brickell w/ Charlie Sexton – Remember Me
Lyle Lovett – Hello Walls
Margo Price w/ Nathaniel Rateliff – I Can Get Off on You
Beck – Hands on the Wheel
Norah Jones – Down Yonder
Norah Jones – Funny How Time Slips Away
Warren Haynes – Midnight Rider
Rosanna Cash, Kris Kristofferson – Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)
Lukas Nelson – Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground
Leon Bridges, Gary Clark Jr. – Night Life
Gary Clark Jr. – Texas Flood
Jack Johnson – Willie Got Me Stoned and Took All My Money
Tyler Childers – Healing Hands of Time
Tyler Childers – Time of the Preacher
Ziggy Marley – Still Is Still Moving to Me
Tom Jones – Opportunity to Cry
Jamey Johnson – Live Forever
Bob Weir – Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
The Chicks – Bloody Mary Morning
The Lumineers – A Song for You
Nathaniel Rateliff – City of New Orleans
Sturgill Simpson – I’d Have To Be Crazy
Miranda Lambert – Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
Chris Stapleton – The Last Thing I Needed the First Thing This Morning
Chris Stapleton – You Were Always on My Mind
Neil Young, Stephen Stills – Long May You Run
Neil Young, Stephen Stills – For What It’s Worth
Neil Young, Willie Nelson – Are There Any More Real Cowboys?
George Strait, Willie Nelson – Sing One With Willie
George Strait, Willie Nelson – Pancho & Lefty
Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson – Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die
Willie Nelson – On the Road Again
Willie Nelson, Everyone – Will the Circle Be Unbroken? / I’ll Fly Away
Willie Nelson, Everyone – Happy Birthday to You
Willie Nelson, Everyone – It’s Hard to Be Humble

Setlist, Night 2
Billy Strings – Whiskey River
Billy Strings – Stay All Night
Orville Peck – Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other
Charley Crockett – Yesterday’s Wine
Allison Russell, Norah Jones – Seven Spanish Angels
Dwight Yoakam – Me and Paul
Margo Price, Waylon Payne – I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train
Particle Kid, Daniel Lanois – (Die When I’m High) Halfway to Heaven
Rodney Crowell – It Ain’t Over Yet
Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris – ‘Til I Gain Control Again
Rosanna Cash – Pancho & Lefty
Warren Haynes – Night Life
Lyle Lovett – My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Jack Johnson – Willie Got Me Stoned and Took All My Money
Beck – Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Tom Jones – Across the Borderline
Bob Weir, Margo Price, Billy Strings – Stay All Night
Lukas Nelson, Shooter Jennings -Good Hearted Woman
Lukas Nelson – Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground
The Avett Brothers – Pick Up the Tempo
The Avett Brothers – Heaven and Hell
The Lumineers – Pretty Paper
Norah Jones – Down Yonder
Kris Kristofferson, Norah Jones – Help Me Make It Through the Night
Nathaniel Rateliff – A Song for You
Sheryl Crow – Crazy
Dave Matthews – Funny How Time Slips Away
Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois – The Maker
Jamey Johnson w/ Booker T – Georgia (On My Mind)
Lukas Nelson, Particle Kid, Shooter Jennings, Rossana Cash – Highwayman

Willie Nelson, Booker T – Stardust
Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow – Faraway Places
Willie Nelson, Lily Meola – Will You Remember Mine
Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon – Something You Get Through
Willie Nelson, Billy Strings – California Sober
Willie Nelson, Keith Richards – We Had It All
Willie Nelson, Keith Richards – Live Forever
Willie Nelson – On the Road Again
Willie Nelson, Everyone – Will the Circle Be Unbroken / I’ll Fly Away
Willie Nelson, Everyone – Happy Birthday to You

Since the start of the pandemic, the rise of Zoom has led to many on-camera mishaps, some much more egregious than others. There was Jeffrey Toobin’s notorious incident, which he later described as “deeply moronic,” and on the lighter side of things, there was the lawyer who apparently got attacked by a feline filter found himself insisting that he was not actually a cat. After both of those hot messes, one would think that double-and-triple checking would be the name of the Zoom-bound game, but a GOP state lawmaker felt differently, it seems.

As Aaron Rupar first revealed on Twitter, Minnesota’s Cal Bahr attended an Office of the Legislative Auditor voting session via Zoom. When it was his time to appear on camera, there he was, lounging in bed while shirtless. Somehow, he also appeared before a Schoolhouse Rock “I’m Just a Bill” background, which only added to the oddness on display.

What on earth happened here? The local Minneapolis-St. Paul Fox affiliate noted (whole pointing out how quickly Bahr’s camera turned off to show only his name) that they have “reached out” to the lawmaker, but as of now, he has yet to publicly comment on the situation. As his state lawmaker profile reveals, he’s been serving the Minnesota public for six years, first in the House of Representatives and then the Minnesota Senate as of 2022. And as far as anyone knows, this is his first shirtless voting session (and probably his last one, too).

(Via Aaron Rupar on Twitter & Fox 9 News)

A big year for video game adaptations (The Last of Us, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, etc.) continues with Twisted Metal.

Based on the PlayStation series that began in 1995, the Peacock show stars Anthony Mackie as a “motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland,” according to the official plot synopsis. “With the help of a badass axe-wielding car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road.”

One of those dangers is an ice cream truck-driving killer clown named Sweet Tooth played by wrestler Samoa Joe and voiced by Will Arnett. The cast also includes Stephanie Beatriz, Thomas Haden Church, Neve Campbell, Richard Cabral, and Mike Mitchell (of Doughboys podcast fame).

Here’s more from showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith:

“This is a bonkers show about insiders and outsiders, and how our own special apocalypse has divided and isolated us more than ever. But there’s hope. You can find your people and your community. You may just have to get past a terrifying clown driving a well-armed ice cream truck to find them.”

Twisted Metal premieres on Peacock on July 27th. Watch the teaser above.

It’s not easy to be a preteen in any capacity, but when you are a preteen living in New Jersey, it’s a whole other ballgame. Luckily, Judy Blume mastered the art of getting into an 11-year-old’s brain when she wrote Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, and it finally made its way onto the big screen over 50 years after the book was written.

The coming-of-age classic has been adapted into a heartwarming live-action flick starring Rachel McAdams and Benny Safdie, with newcomer Abby Ryder Forston taking the lead as Margaret, a young girl who is forced to leave her friends behind in NYC for the Jersey suburbs. As if that wasn’t enough to sell the film, Kathy Bates also stars.

For now, Are You There God? can only be seen in theaters, since it was released on April 28th. The film is distributed by Lionsgate, which does not have its own streamer, but does have a forthcoming deal with Peacock, meaning that Are You There God will likely end up on NBC’s streaming service sometime soon. Lionsgate movies typically end up on Starz first after being released, so Are You There God will likely follow the same release model.

The good news is that Plane, another recent Lionsgate movie, landed on Peacock three weeks after its initial theatrical run, which means we can probably check in with God and Margaret from the comfort of our own screens sometime in early June. Maybe this time God will actually talk back!

The 2023 Met Gala is nearly here and while famous attendees have likely spent the day perfecting their red carpet looks, for those of us watching at home, our prep is much less intensive. In fact, other than donning a pair of comfy sweats and booting up your laptop, the only real legwork that needs to be done is finding out when and where to watch this gorgeously-draped procession of Hollywood royalty.

And even there, we’ve got you covered.

The Met Gala takes place on May 1st, 2023 with a start time of 6:30 p.m. ET. The red carpet is likely to start getting busy a bit before then, as less-recognizable attendees arrive early but because Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour schedules everything down to the millisecond, most of the bigger stars should start showing up right at curtain time.

The event will be live-streamed on Vogue’s website and its various social media channels with the red carpet show being hosted by the likes of Saturday Night Live star Chloe Fineman, La La Anthony, Derek Blasberg, and special correspondent Emma Chamberlain. The show’s theme is in honor of famed designer Karl Lagerfeld, the problematic son of Nazi parents who passed away in 2019. Attendees are expected to arrive dressed in one of his vintage or modern designs unless they pay homage to the creator himself by copying his trademark personal style of fingerless gloves and dark sunglasses. Expect bigger names like the Kardashians, Zendaya, and first-timer Florence Pugh to arrive later in the evening.

Quick — imagine a delicious, juicy, savory, flavor bomb of a decadent cheeseburger. You know, the sort of cheeseburger that kicks the salivary glands into overdrive and causes you to close your eyes and revel in perfect layer upon perfect layer of umami. Was there bacon on this imaginary burger? We’re willing to bet there was bacon. Few single ingredients can as easily elevate a cheeseburger as a few strips of bacon.

And you know what? This might sound crazy but I think the best bacon cheeseburgers are found in the big, ubiquitous national chains, not the higher-end, trendier spots like Shake Shack and In-n-Out. Have you had Shake Shack’s Bacon Shake Burger? The bacon is so thin and flimsy, it’s an embarrassment to the menu. In-N-Out doesn’t even have a bacon burger! Meanwhile, Wendy’s is out here basing whole meal deals around their excess of bacon.

So the next time you’re feeling a craving for a satisfying bacon burger where is your money best spent? We’re going to find out by putting our favorite fast food bacon cheeseburgers to the blind taste test.

Methodology

For this blind taste test, we had to make sure we hit up all the biggest burger chains — Burger King, Carl’s Jr. Jack in the Box, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s. A couple of months back I did a blind double cheeseburger taste test, so I already had a driving route worked out that would allow me to scoop up five different cheeseburgers relatively quickly.

Only one of these burger chains, Wendy’s, was totally out of the way. That stacked the cards against Wendy’s as, unfortunately, it would be the coldest burger of the five. Would that make it not taste as good? Was it unfair? We thought about leaving out Wendy’s as a result, but it felt wrong to have a blind bacon cheeseburger taste test without the mighty Baconator.

Here is our lineup:

• Burger King — Bacon King
• Carl’s Jr. — Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger
• Jack in the Box — Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger
• McDonald’s — Double Quarter Pounder With Bacon
• Wendy’s — Baconator

For the tasting portion, I had my girlfriend bring me each burger one at a time, took a big bite out of each under cover of a blindfold, and recorded my initial impressions and tasting notes via voice memo. For the best photo, I had her cut each burger in half so we could photograph the uneaten half and you wouldn’t have to see my gruesome chew marks.

Here are the results.

Part 1: The Tasting:

Taste 1:

Dry and a chore to chew through. This burger packs evolving layers of flavors, but the meat tastes overcooked to the point that the only moisture in this burger comes from the mix of mayo and ketchup.

Charred beef dominates, transitioning to smokey bacon notes. The sauce is a mix of tangy and bright sweetened notes, which pair nicely with the sweet bacon flavor that lingers on the aftertaste.

Taste 2:

Significantly beefier than Taste 1 and incredibly juicy. I’m getting a huge emphasis on the bacon with this burger, every bite is equal parts smokey and beefy. The bacon is cooked perfectly, it’s oily and crispy, but not to the point that it lacks that savory and slightly sweet pork flavor. The beef is rich and satisfying and cooked to a perfect medium-well state — most fast food burgers are dry but this has an almost homemade quality.

The sauce tastes to me like another mix of mayo and ketchup, there is a hint of tang and a nice rich umami finish. This burger is near perfect, but it feels too early to say that. If I had one complaint, I’d say it’s a bit too salty.

Taste 3:

There are a lot of different flavors going on with this burger, but unlike Taste 1, it’s a strength, not a weakness. It tastes masterfully put together — beefy, salty, and sweet, with some crisp, biting notes courtesy of the raw white onions. The onion is counterbalanced with earthy pickles that help the flavor from spinning out of control and becoming too overwhelming.

The sauce is tangy but with a bitter finish, unlike the sauce used in Tastes 1 and 2. The beef here is really tasty — it melts in the mouth. Unfortunately, it tastes like the bacon takes a major backseat here. It’s a delicious burger, but as a bacon burger, it leaves me feeling some level of disappointment.

Taste 4:

This burger is a soggy mess. The bacon is thin and struggles to make itself known under the layers of beef we’re dealing with here. However, despite the lack of bacon, there is a very audible crunch to this burger with a flavor dominated by tangy barbecue sauce and savory fried onions.

Again, the bacon tastes like an afterthought here — this burger is all about the barbecue and beef. The beef is charred like Taste 1 but much juicier, or maybe it’s the insane amount of barbecue sauce used, giving the illusion of juiciness. This one lands somewhere in the middle for me for sure.

Taste 5:

This burger tastes unlike any other in the lineup, and that’s saying something considering Taste 4 threw fried onion rings into the mix.

This burger has a tangy, earthy, and sweet flavor, with a strong emphasis on cheesy notes, decent bacon, and forgettable beef. I love the way the burger is dressed, but the quality of the meat in both the beef and bacon just isn’t doing enough to win me over. The beef tastes unseasoned and the bacon has a microwaved, soggy texture.

Part 2: The Ranking

5. Burger King — Bacon King (Taste 1)

We’ll give Burger King this — the “Bacon King” is a great name for a giant double cheeseburger with bacon on it. But great marketing aside, this burger just came across as way too dry to be enjoyable.

A burger that is smothered in ketchup and mayo shouldn’t come across as dry, so that should put into perspective just how dry it actually was. It’s like eating sand. I think BK’s big problem is that they grill their burgers a bit too long to eradicate the fear of foodborne illness. On the one hand, you get some charred notes, but that’s at the expense of juiciness, and call me crazy but I’d rather have a juicy burger than a burnt one.

The Bottom Line:

Thick, filling, but dry and ultimately a chore to chew through.

Find your nearest Burger King here.

4. Jack in the Box — Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger (Taste 5)

JiB’s Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger has a very unique flavor, it’s one of the few bacon burgers that goes heavy on the mustard and gives you two different types of cheese — Swiss and American. If that sounds good to you, this burger is definitely worth it.

Unfortunately, its weak points are the beef and bacon — which seem like two very important components to us.

The Bottom Line:

Interesting and uniquely tangy, creamy, and earthy, but the beef is almost flavorless and the bacon is too thin and floppy to enjoy.

Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.

3. Carl’s Jr. — Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger (Taste 4)

We love a decadent burger, and the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger is definitely one of the most decadent in the fast food universe, thanks to its combination of beef, bacon, fried onion rings, and a whole lot of barbecue sauce.

But all of those ingredients lead to a very soggy and messy burger. That makes sense as Carl’s Jr’s slogan used to be “If it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in your face.” If that’s the sort of burger you’re into, Carl’s Jr has got your back.

Ultimately we have to give it the third place spot though, because as good as it is, the bacon feels like an afterthought here. Maybe if this were a ranking of barbecue burgers I’d rank this much higher.

The Bottom Line:

Messy and flavorful, but too soggy for its own good. The double dose of barbecue sauce completely drowns out the bacon flavor.

Find your nearest Carl’s Jr. here.

2. McDonald’s — Double Quarter Pounder with Bacon (Taste 3)

McDonald’s Double Bacon Quarter Pounder suffers from the same issue as Carl’s Jr’s Double Bacon Cheeseburger — there isn’t nearly enough bacon here. Like the latter burger, there are too many other ingredients distracting from the bacon, but it’s hard to complain when a beef patty tastes this good.

Back when we did our double cheeseburger blind taste test, several friends and colleagues told me I had to get the value menu double cheeseburger because it was McDonald’s “best burger.” I suspected they were wrong and judging from that ranking, they were. People get nostalgic for that burger because for many it was the very first burger they ever ate, which is probably why it’s a best seller. I think that’s unfortunate because the beef patties used in the Quarter Pounder are significantly better.

Is the McDonald’s double cheeseburger a great value? Sure, but the Quarter Pounder is a great burger, and I’ll gladly pay more for that any day.

The Bottom Line:

A delicious burger that packs a lot of flavors, you can’t go wrong picking up one of these. But is it the best bacon burger in fast food? Not quite.

Find your nearest McDonald’s here.

1. Wendy’s — Baconator (Taste 2)

Wendy’s fans probably saw this one coming — the Baconator is just too good to be beaten. Wendy’s isn’t messing around with this thing, they pile on two layers of crispy bacon on top of each patty. That layer that sits between the bottom patty and is encrusted in melted cheese? It’s perfection. The sort of thing that makes all the sodium in fast food worth consuming in a single sitting.

It’s beefy, juicy, savory, smokey, and above all else decadent as f*ck. It’s hard to get through this burger in a single sitting, the waves of savory flavors wage a relentless war on your tastebuds. The real draw here is just how simple it is: beef, layers of American cheese, bacon, mayo, and ketchup. That’s it. No distracting secondary ingredients, just a super juicy salty flavorful meat bomb with the best beef and bacon in the whole fast food game.

The Bottom Line:

A burger that is dominated by beef and bacon flavors the way a good bacon cheeseburger should be! It is far and above the beefiest, baconiest (not a word but this burger makes the case that it should be), and most delicious bacon double cheeseburger in the fast food landscape.

Find your nearest Wendy’s here.

Streaming is a hopscotch game of services where the show you love will probably jump off the platform you pay for before you get a chance to finish it. Such is the horror of modernity. On the bright side, it also means that combining the right streaming services can act like a cheat code for gaining access to a bunch of cool, diverse series.

One of those cheat codes is getting Paramount+ with the Showtime add-on, ensuring you get prestige programming alongside network TV shows. Here are the 25 best Paramount Plus shows and the best show on Showtime you can watch.

Last updated on May 1, 2023

30. Mayor Of Kingstown

Year: 2021-present
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Dianne Wiest, Hugh Dillon, Tobi Bamtefa, Taylor Handley, Emma Laird, Derek Webster, Hamish Allan-Headley, Aidan Gillen, and Kyle Chandler
Genre: Crime Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-2: 20 episodes
Created By: Taylor Sheridan, Hugh Dillon
Trailer: Watch here

What’s more important: rules or peace? You can’t have both in Kingstown. Luckily, the “Mayor” Mike McLusky knows this, but that doesn’t mean that bending the rules or keeping the peace is simple in a town where the most popular occupation is prison guard. McLusky and his family stand in the middle of the street gangs, prisoners, guards, and the cops, attempting to keep all hell from breaking loose. The series from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan starts in the pressure cooker and refuses to leave, featuring some of Renner’s finest work as the unflappably tough figure with the dubious honor of running the town.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

29. Penny Dreadful

Year: 2014-2016
Cast: Eva Green, Reeve Carney, Timothy Dalton, Rory Kinnear, Billie Piper, Harry Treadway, Helen McCrory, and Josh Hartnett
Genre: Gothic Horror, Drama, Dark Fantasy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-3: 27 episodes
Created By: John Logan
Trailer: Watch here

On the one hand, one more outing for Dr. Jekyll and Frankenstein (the doctor and the monster!) seems a little stale, but Logan found the sweet spot for bringing them to modern life. A dark warning masquerading as an invitation, the series was exquisite in both its look and its storytelling, leaning a bit into horror but mostly growling with a smile on its face. Set in 1891 London, it features an American showman gunslinger who is hired by an enigmatic woman and a wealthy adventurer to rescue his daughter from a dark creature. It makes the most of familiar Gothic favorites, and Eva Green might be having the most fun of her career.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

28. Who Is America?

Year: 2018
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen
Genre: Political Satire
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 7 episodes
Created By: Sacha Baron Cohen
Trailer: Watch here

Arriving in 2018 for only one season, it’s easy to see Who Is America? as Sacha Baron Cohen‘s hyper-specific response to the United States electing Donald Trump as president. Returning after a long hiatus to the ambush comedy that launched his career, the characters he crafted for this series seem almost designed to be disbelieved, trying to get caught in the lie by his targets and being disappointed every time that they don’t see through his mask. From a far right conspiracy theorist to an ex-Mossad anti-terrorism expert, you could understand why he probably wanted interview subjects to push back on his wild character’s plan to arm children for “safety” but they didn’t, so we’re left to laugh while weeping.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

27. Rabbit/Hole

Year: 2023
Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, Meta Golding, Enid Graham, Rob Yang, Charles Dance, Walt Klink, and Wendy Makkena
Genre: Spy Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Trailer: Watch here

For fans of spy thrillers or those simply trying to reconnect with their dads, Kiefer Sutherland has got the show for you. In Rabbit/Hole, he plays a corporate spy who’s framed for murder and tumbles into a dizzyingly twist conspiracy. It’s a bit like 24 if Jack Bauer were having a good time instead of grousing about still being at work. Sutherland is magic in the role, pulling together the competing tones of Very Serious Action and Super Silly Plot Complications with veteran skill. With all the other self-serious spy thrillers out there, it’s refreshing to see one that knows how to have fun.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

26. The Stand

Year: 2020
Cast: James Marsden, Whoopi Goldberg, Alexander Skarsgard, Greg Kinnear, Amber Heard, Jovan Adepo, Odessa Young, Owen Teague, Henrique Zaga, Brad William Henke, Nat Wolff, and Irene Bedard
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic, Horror, Disaster, Fantasy Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 9 episodes
Created By: Josh Boone, Benjamin Cavell
Trailer: Watch here

It’s just bad luck that this new adaptation of Stephen King‘s magnum opus doomsday novel landed in 2020. After almost a year of Covid, it hit a little too close to home, and maybe it does still, but for those brave enough, it’s an excellent version of the story. As with the seminal ’90s mini-series starring Gary Sinise, this version follows a group of survivors of a humanmade plague as they’re drawn either to a Godlike figure or the Devil himself, setting up the dominoes for an epic battle of good against evil for the soul of humanity. M-O-O-N: that spells pandemic horror.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

25. Evil

Year: 2019 –
Cast: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Maddy Crocco, Skylar Gray
Genre: Crime Drama/Horror
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 3 (30 episodes)
Created By: Michelle King, Robert King
Trailer: Watch here

A dynamic that’s not unlike the central pair in the The X-Files surfaces in this series that questions where evil originates, and if that’s more from science or from religion. A priest-in-training dives into unexplained mysteries in the Catholic Church with the help of a skeptical female mental health professional. In the process, the show glides through exorcisms, hauntings, and miracles. Can logic or the supernatural prevail more? Therein lies the issue.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

24. Homeland

Year: 2011-2020
Cast: Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Morena Baccarin, David Harewood, Diego Klattenhoff, Jamey Sheridan, and Mandy Patinkin
Genre: Spy Thriller, Political Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-8: 96 episodes
Created By: Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa
Trailer: Watch here

More than any other espionage thriller, Homeland captured the zeitgeist of the Iraq War era, showcasing both the bravery of individual agents as well as recklessness and questionable moral allegiances. As far as single seasons go, the first is one of the best in television history, pitting the potentially paranoid CIA agent Carrie Mathison against the war hero Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody who may or may not be part of a terrorist plot that threatens the highest levels of government. It was a weekly dose of sweaty palms that is now bingeable in case you need to keep your heart rate elevated for hours on end.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

23. Æon Flux

Year: 1991-1995
Cast: Denise Poirier, John Rafter Lee, and Julia Fletcher
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Avant-Garde, Experimental Sci-Fi
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-3: 21 episodes
Created By: Peter Chung
Trailer: Watch here

Part of the Liquid Television lineup back in the day, Aeon Flux was the show you watched before you knew what the F in WTF stood for. Æon Flux is a Barbarella-like secret agent who wears a black bikini and heavy weapons, hailing from a city of nihilism and anarchy in perpetual war with a rigid totalitarian city. Flux’s eternal mission is to bring the city down by targeting its ruler. A glorious cyberpunk ballet, the cartoon series was unique in its German Expressionistic look and its gutsy experimentalism. All of that was sanded down for a questionable live-action film starring Charlize Theron, which never stood a chance of bringing the gonzo world of this weirdo show to full fruition.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

22. 1923

Year: 2022-present
Cast: Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Brandon Sklenar, Julia Schlaepfer, Jerome Flynn, Darren Mann, Isabel May, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves, Michelle Randolph, and Timothy Dalton
Genre: Western
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Taylor Sheridan
Trailer: Watch here

It’s impossible to turn on Paramount+ while escaping Taylor Sheridan. He’s the Shonda Rhimes of the streaming channel, spinning off massive successes off his massive successes. 1923 is just one of them — a branch from the Yellowstone tree taking us back to bust decade Montana where the Dutton family weathers economic downturns, prohibition, conflicts at the local Catholic boarding school, and men who want to do them harm. If you want to understand how good this show is, just take a look at the cast list. Ford and Mirren are fantastic, and while it was meant to be a one-off, a second season was ordered because fan response was so strong.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

21. 1883

Year: 2021-2022
Cast: Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Isabel May, LaMonica Garrett, Marc Rissmann, Audie Rick, Eric Nelsen, James Landry Hebert, and Noah Le Gros
Genre: Western, Period Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 10 episodes
Created By: Taylor Sheridan
Trailer: Watch here

Seriously. You can’t escape Taylor Sheridan. In the other spin-off from Yellowstone, we go back even further in time to the Dutton ancestor James Dillard Dutton as he puts the Civil War behind him in order to help a wagon train out of Texas heading for Oregon. The journey is as dangerous as the computer game promised. McGraw and Hill both more than hold their own against seasoned actors, including Sam Elliott who, of course, is contractually obligated to star in every western ever made. For good reason. It’s a harrowing series about sacrificing in order to make a better life, wallpapered with gorgeous vistas and fantastic cinematography.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

20. Californication

Year: 2007-2014
Cast: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Madeleine Martin, Evan Handler, Pamela Adlon, and Madeline Zima
Genre: Comedy Drama, Sex Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-7: 84 episodes
Created By: Tom Kapinos
Trailer: Watch here

Hank Moody is an alcoholic writer who is super sad that his trenchant niche novel has been converted into a wildly popular (and soulless) movie. He’s also having a rough time with his ex-girlfriend/love of his life marrying a fancy Los Angeles publisher and his teenage daughter pulling away from him because of his terminal inability to make good choices. Aided by his deplorable agent, Hank tries to clean up his life, but it’s not exactly a linear process. Sophisticated and filled to the brim with sex and excess, David Duchovny rocked the role with a constant stream of devil may care vibes and the wink of a possibility that this slime ball was somehow redeemable.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

19. Tulsa King

Year: 2022-present
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Andrea Savage, Martin Starr, Jay Will, Max Casella, Domenick Lombardozzi, Vincent Piazza, Garrett Hedlund, and Dana Delaney
Genre: Crime Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 9 episodes
Created By: Taylor Sheridan
Trailer: Watch here

Another barn burner from Taylor Sheridan, he’s hit upon a novel crime idea by sending a mafioso into Oklahoma not in the witness protection program, but as the lead in fresh territory for his criminal bosses to exploit. Stallone is pitch perfect here playing the gray haired mobster Manfredi who refused to rat and is rewarded by being sent to the middle of nowhere. Unlike other tough guy figures, he’s given full license to be funny, quipping constantly and dispensing old school crime boss wisdom alongside murderous one-liners. That attitude, alongside the absurd clash between Manfredi’s fish-out-of-water NYC sensibilities and the legal weed world of Tulsa, sets it apart from other crime dramas.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

18. Your Honor

Year: 2020-2023
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Hunter Doohan, Hope Davis, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Michael Stuhlbarg, and Carmen Ejogo
Genre: Legal Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-2: 20 episodes
Created By: Peter Moffat
Trailer: Watch here

Told over two white knuckle seasons, Cranston stars as a respected judge in New Orleans whose son kills another boy in a hit and run accident. Courageously, the judge wants his son to turn himself in and face the music, but he changes his tune when he learns that the boy his son killed is the child of a mafia kingpin. It’s the kind of situation where a rock and a hard place would be a sincere upgrade, and once again, Cranston proves he’s unstoppable as the upright figure driven to immoral measures when the going gets tough. Gorgeously shot, the Showtime series is a riveting drama from start to shocking finish.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

17. Criminal Minds

Year: 2005 –
Cast: Matthew Gray Gubler, Kirsten Vangsness, A.J. Cook, Shemar Moore, Paget Brewster, Aisha Tyler
Genre: Procedural/Crime Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 16 (324 episodes)
Created By: Jeff Davis
Trailer: Watch here

Matthew Gray Gubler hasn’t surfaced yet in the Evolution leg of this series (exclusively available on Paramount+), but the good news is that there are already sixteen other seasons of the principle series for fans to feast upon in repeated fashion. This show, of course, is one of several procedurals that continue to capture the hearts and minds of viewers. These elite FBI profilers, known as the Behavioral Analysis Unit, never rest, it seems, while they attempt to understand predatorily motivations and stop future potential crimes through the art of so-called “mind hunting.” In the Evolution series, serial killers of the pandemic take central stage. Yikes.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

16. Murder In Big Horn

Year: 2023
Cast: Documentary Figures
Genre: Documentary, True Crime
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 3 episodes
Created By: Razelle Benally, Matthew Galkin
Trailer: Watch here

This vital docuseries from Galkin and Benally is a different kind of true crime story. Instead of inventing unnecessary twists and turns, it seeks to tell the frustratingly straightforward story of an epidemic of murdered and missing indigenous women laced with the maddening official responses that doubt there’s any real problem. It’s the kind of necessary narrative that will have you alternative between clenching your fists and crying, but it’s miles away from “homework viewing.” The stories they’ve unearthed through conversations with locals, including family members of missing young women, are fascinating, often tragic, and invaluable to hear.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

15. Halo

Year: 2022-present
Cast: Pablo Schreiber, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha, Charlie Murphy, Jen Taylor, Bokeem Woodbine, and Natascha McElhone
Genre: Military Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 9 episodes
Created By: Kyle Killen, Steven Kane
Trailer: Watch here

Finally a serious version of Red vs Blue! Based on the wildly popular video game series, Halo brings Master Chief to live action reality, pushing the superhuman soldier through the paces of fighting the aliens of The Covenant and questioning whether maybe his superiors are, you know, not totally great either. The show ignores some of the elements of the game and its subsequent novels, but it offers clear cut sci-fi action that has set the stage for future seasons to bust out of the tropes and shine. Schreiber is clearly in his element voicing the grizzled living weapon and the inclusion of Jen Taylor voicing Cortana brings some legit connective tissue to the video games.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

14. Avatar: The Last Airbender

Year: 2005 – 2008
Cast: Dee Bradley Baker, Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman
Genre: Animation/Adventure
Rating: TV-Y7-FV
Seasons: 3 (62 episodes)
Created By: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Trailer: Watch here

This Nickelodeon series will appeal to many generations and revolves around the four nations that represent the four natural elements: water, earth, fire, and air. Special beings known as the Benders can control their own particular element, but all four elements can be mastered by the Avatar. In this series, a tribe discovers that the missing Avatar is among them, and now, Aang must use his abilities to truly become the master that he was intended to be.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

13. Daria

Year: 1997-2002
Cast: Tracy Grandstaff, Wendy Hoopes, Julian Rebolledo, Marc Thompson, and Alvaro J. Gonzalez
Genre: Adult Animation, Teen Drama, Comedy, Satire
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: Season 1-5: 65 episodes
Created By: Glenn Eichler, Susie Lewis Lynn
Trailer: Watch here

Thankfully escaping the orbit of Beavis and Butt-head, Daria Morgendorffer got her own show to be as sarcastic and cynical as she wanted to be. No offence to B&B — they’re just wildly different shows, and Daria deserved room to breathe. Fortunately, we got 5 seasons of this exaggerated suburban landscape where Daria skewered all things bright, sunny, and popular in the ’90s. Amid the sea of sparkly lip gloss and football pads, Daria is still a counterculture icon. Jaded and hilarious, she’s earned pop cultural immortality that she would probably despise.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

12. Yellowjackets

Year: 2021-present
Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Sophie Nelisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Christina Ricci, Sammi Hanratty, Juliette Lewis, and Sophie Thatcher
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 10 episodes
Created By: Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson
Trailer: Watch here

In 1972, the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 plane crashed in the remote Andes, and the survivors were forced to resort to cannibalism as a means to survive the inhospitable climes until they could be rescued. Yellowjackets asks what would happen if the plane had been filled with teenage soccer players. Jumping back and forth between the wilderness and the present day, the series is a taut thriller tinged with the unfolding mystery of what really happened out there when the girls’ plane went down. Is it as simple as they made it sound in the press, or does it get a lot stranger? (Hint: you already know the answer.) Anchored by rock-star performances by Lynskey and Lewis and Ricci and the young crew, it’s earned its spot as a TV phenomenon for good reason.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

11. Nathan For You

Year: 2013 – 2017 Unchanged: Year: 2013 – 2017
Cast: Nathan Fielder
Genre: Reality/Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 4 (25 episodes)
Created By: Nathan Fielder
Trailer: Watch here

Before Nathan Fielder truly unsettled the world with The Rehearsal‘s higher (and even more awkward) stakes full of manipulation, he warmed up with this assortment of satirical pranks. At times, this series is so cringeworthy to watch that, well, it is hard not to look away from the small-business scenarios. Yet Fielder keeps viewers hooked despite any discomfort, and it’s worth doubling back for a refresh of this deranged yet innovative series.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

10. Frasier

Year: 1993-2004
Cast: Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, John Mahoney, and Moose The Dog and Enzo The Dog
Genre: Sitcom
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: Season 1-11: 264 episodes
Created By: David Angell, Peter Casey, David Lee
Trailer: Watch here

Yes, you hear the blues a’callin’. It’s inevitable. The pull of one of the most successful sitcoms of all time was, inexplicably, about a posh psychiatrist doling out radio advice in Seattle. The Cheers spin-off found a winning formula in affably pompous Frasier butting heads Odd Couple style with his domestic beer-swilling, retired cop father. Naturally, his effete brother Niles and dad’s daffy line-in physio Daphne are key to the mix, as well as his deadpan genius producer Roz. It’s difficult to see the show working without any of them because they made up a bizarre family that squabbled, had each other’s backs, and occasionally got into vaudeville-esque hijinks. A welcome antidote after watching so much TV-MA.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

9. I Love Lucy

Year: 1951-1957
Cast: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley, and Richard Keith
Genre: Sitcom
Rating: TV-G
Runtime: Season 1-6: 180 episodes
Created By: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz
Trailer: Watch here

Speaking of comic antidotes, there’s nothing like going back to the classics. It’s a true gift that every episode of I Love Lucy is available on Paramount+ because it rings that nostalgia bell whether you watched its original run or stayed up slightly late to catch it on Nick At Nite. The show features wife and husband comedy team Ball and Arnaz with Lucy trying her best to get into trouble in every episode, usually by ignoring completely practical advice. After more than a half-century, its proven both its staying power and timelessness — the jokes as fresh today as they were in the black and white era.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

8. The Good Wife

Year: 2009-2016
Cast: Julianna Margulies, Matt Czuchry, Archie Panjabi, Graham Phillips, Makenzie Vega, Josh Charles, and Christine Baranski
Genre: Legal Drama, Political Drama
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: Season 1-7: 156 episodes
Created By: Robert King, Michelle King
Trailer: Watch here

The Kings’ series is an institution ripe for a rewatch (or long overdue for you to see). Jumping off the cliched image of the humbling politician admitting to an affair to a packed press conference with his trapped doting wife holding his hand as a measure of public support, the show featured a woman who refused to play nice. After her husband is jailed for a sex scandal-tinged corruption charge, Alicia Florrick emerges from being a stay-at-home mother to rejoin the ranks of litigation to provide for her two children. The Good Wife deftly jumped between Florrick’s personal woes and the weekly courtroom challenges she faced with courage and smarts, all while touting an impressive list of guest stars and recurring actors.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

7. Shameless

Year: 2011 – 2021
Cast: Emmy Rossum, William H. Macy, Jeremy Allen White
Genre: Dramedy
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 12 (134 episodes)
Created By: Paul Abbott, John Wells
Trailer: Watch here

The U.S. version of the Gallagher family lasted one season longer than its U.K. predecessor, and we received laughter and tears and more laughter before all was said and done. Fiona left the building one season before her siblings, and the show never recovered. Yet viewers will always enjoy revisiting how Fiona held the group together even when they drove her nuts. Tragic Lip and chaotic Carl were only a few of the character highlights, and incredible guest stars like Dermot Mulroney and Katey Sagal were icing on the Chicago South Side cake.

6. Reno 911!

Year: 2003-2009
Cast: Cedric Yarbrough, Niecy Nash, Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, Carlos Alazraqui, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Mary Birdsong, Ian Roberts, and Joe Lo Truglio
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-8: 124 episodes
Created By: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney-Silver
Trailer: Watch here

It’s a comedy miracle that this weird, wonderful parody of Cops exists. Throughout seasons of the most taboo jokes possible, the underlying philosophy of the series is that these Reno cops are profoundly inept. It’s the comic well from which all the funny stuff flows, and the cast nails it straight to the ground every time. It’s outrageous and singular, and fans of Party Down and I Think You Should Leave who, somehow, haven’t checked this out should spare some binge time to connect with their comedy ancestors. Beyond its peerless humor, this Comedy Central show pulls off the impossible of having every cast member be the MVP of every episode.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

5. The Chi

Year: 2017-present
Cast: Jason Mitchell, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Jacob Latimore, Alex Hibbert, Tiffany Boone, Yolonda Ross, and Armando Riesco
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-5: 50 episodes
Created By: Lena Waithe
Trailer: Watch here

It’s easy to accidentally binge shows these days, but it’s genuinely difficult to stop watching The Chi. The series from Waithe and Common is a web of daily lives on the South Side of Chicago all affected in different ways by a dramatic series of events. It doesn’t feel quite right to call it a drama because it encompasses the totality of human experience through the eyes of its ensemble — from risky first loves to challenging jobs to the struggles of poverty and a lack of good choices. With fantastic performances throughout, the show is deeply humane and finds incredible joy in each of its vibrant, compelling characters.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

4. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Year: 1993-1999
Cast: Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, Cirroc Lofton, Colm Meaney, Armin Shimerman, Alexander Siddig, Nana Visitor, Michael Dorn, and Nicole de Boer
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: Season 1-7: 176 episodes
Created By: Rick Berman, Michael Piller
Trailer: Watch here

There’s no doubt that Star Trek is having another fantastic Renaissance with a handful of shows spanning styles and tones, and while you’re enjoying the haunting Picard and hilarious Lower Decks, you should make time to return to the greatest Star Trek series of all time. Set on a space station jointly administered by Starfleet and Bajorans — who were previously brutally occupied by Kardassians — the show took the typical Trek formula and cast of characters but had room to let their stories breathe because they weren’t constantly rocketing off to a new planet to meet new aliens. As such, it had a lot to say about Colonizing, freedom fighters and terrorists, religious faith, and duty, yet still found some time to play baseball, too.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

3. Dexter/Dexter: New Blood

Year: 2006-2013/2021-present
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Julie Benz, Erik King, Lauren Velez, David Zayas, James Remar, C.S. Lee, John Lithgow, Julia Stiles, and Jimmy Smits
Genre: Crime Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Dark Comedy, Police Procedural
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-8: 96 episodes/Season 1: 10 episodes
Created By: James Manos Jr./Clyde Phillips
Trailer: Watch here

Dexter Morgan is a blood splatter technician/serial killer in Miami who loves his sister, excels at work, and kills people with decent regularity. The good news is that he was brought up with a moral code, so he sticks with murdering murderers. The police don’t seem too enthusiastic about that as an excuse, so he’s under constant threat of being discovered by the very people he shares a breakroom with. This series hit hard when it premiered, and it continues to shock, particularly because of its aggressive performances and ability to place Dexter in impossible situations that he juuuuuuuust manages to squeak out of. Most of the time. It eventually went delightfully off the rails, and the revival series New Blood clearly decided that staying grounded was overrated. It remains a guilty beach read in TV form.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

2. Chappelle’s Show

Year: 2003-2006
Cast: Dave Chappelle, Charlie Murphy, Donnell Rawlings, and Paul Mooney
Genre: Sketch Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-3: 28 episodes
Created By: Dave Chappelle, Neal Brennan
Trailer: Watch here

The GOAT that was too good to last. At first glance, there’s nothing groundbreaking about the structure of the sketch series. Dave Chappelle would do some standup and introduced some pre-recorded sketches to a clapping audience — but that standup, and those sketches, changed television. From Charlie Murphy‘s hilarious tales of Hollywood life to the Racial Draft to a very different look for Wayne Brady, Chappelle’s Show dared to push boundaries and go where other shows simply weren’t even thinking about going.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

1. Billions

Year: 2016-present
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Damian Lewis, Maggie Siff, David Costabile, Condola Rashad, Asia Kate Dillon, Kelly AuCoin, and Corey Stoll
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-6: 72 episodes
Created By: Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Andrew Ross Sorkin
Trailer: Watch here

What whip-smart series about prosecuting the super-rich for fraud just got a new injection of relevance? This one! Koppelman, Levien, and Sorkin’s original series offered a hip jab against the uber-wealthy, treading that balance beam that allows us to salivate in envy at the lifestyle while deeply, deeply wishing they would get taken down. Based on several real-world fraud cases, the inciting storyline focuses on U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades’ attempt to nail charming hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod for doing a bunch of illegal stuff in order to make and secure his billions. Unsurprisingly, the minds behind Ocean’s 13 and Rounders inject an incredible sense of cool alongside the twisting back stabs and reversals of massive fortune. Watch it for the clever drama, but be sure to take notes on some hot restaurants to check out for your next NYC visit.

Watch it on Paramount Plus

It is pretty wild to consider that Millennials are now entering their 40s and no longer hold the mantle of the young and up-and-coming generation. According to Pew Research, Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, so these days they range between the ages of 29 and 42.

These are the years when people begin to settle down, start families and experience the first uncomfortable signs of aging.

The Holderness Family is headed by a Gen X couple, Kim and Penn Holderness, who are best known for their viral comedy songs. Their latest video is about welcoming Millennials to their next phase in life, one that’s less about spending all night in the club and more about embracing a quieter, more practical life.

In this case, “the club” isn’t a loud place to get a Long Island iced tea but a state of mind where you’re more likely to appreciate a good walk for your mental health.

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Holderness Family Music has over 797,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 230 million views since they started their page in 2011. They “create original music, song parodies, and skits to poke fun of ourselves, the world we live in, and (hopefully) make you laugh.”

The “Welcome to the Club, Millennials” video is a bit of a departure from the usual intergenerational bickering we’re accustomed to seeing on social media. Instead, Gen Xers open their doors to the Millennials entering the next phase in their lives. “Well, Gen X is here to say ‘don’t be bummed, come on in, welcome to the club,’” Penn raps.

According to the song, if you’re a Millennial and have done any of the following, you’re officially in “the club,” whether you know it or not:

​Hung a calendar on your fridge

Have strong opinions on who’s the best “Jeopardy!” host

Play Wordle

Wore reader glasses

Drink seltzers

Had Gen Z call your clothes “vintage”

Gone Christmas shopping in October

Had a three-day hangover

Gone to a movie theater because it serves food

Took a mental health walks

Bought a chair for your back

Grooved to supermarket music

Own plastic houseplants

Taken supplements

Saved money for a Disney vacation

Have zero f**cks to give

Still love Blink-182

Millennials who are a little leery of aging should be happy to learn that they may be in the happiest times of their lives. According to developmental psychologists, the period of life between ages 30 to 45 is known as “established adulthood” and is a time of life when people are happiest.

Even though people in this age group are stuck in the “career and care crunch,” where they are likely to juggle a job while caring for children or older relatives, this developmental stage is also very fulfilling.

“Yes, people were feeling overwhelmed and talked about having too much to do in too little time,” Clare Mehta, Professor of Psychology at Emmanuel College, wrote in The Conversation. “But they also talked about feeling profoundly satisfied. All of these things that were bringing them stress were also bringing them joy.”

As Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. gets ready to drop into theaters this week, and punch you right in the feels, according to early reviews, director James Gunn has reportedly prepared an unprecedented amount (for Marvel) of theatrical versions to maximize the viewing experience for audiences.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s Vice President of Finishing and Stereo revealed that Gunn created just over 600 unique versions of the new Guardians movie, which is a record for Marvel Studios. Each version is specifically tailored, so the movie can best be seen on wide variety of screen and sound systems:

Gunn “designed it and he shot and framed for it [with this in mind]. That was his creative intention,” Jacobs explains, noting that sometimes these moments where the screen “opens up” were selected based on the visuals but there were no real rules. “Sometimes it’s the music, sometimes it’s what’s happening, sometimes it’s whatever.” Jacobs adds that the “really cool” 3D version also takes particular advantage of the variable framing options.

“Aspect ratio is something that James has really enjoyed being part of the storytelling process,” Jacobs relates.

Gunn reportedly took a page from James Cameron who delivered a record-breaking 1,065 versions for Avatar: The Way of Water. As for how Gunn had time to create all these alternate versions given Marvel’s notorious crunch-time for completing visual effects, the answer is easy: Gunn is just that good. He knew exactly what he wanted for his final Guardians film and executed it.

“It was the movie he was gonna make at the beginning. … We didn’t have to chase a lot of crazy, and the visual effects landed in a rational, sane way. We’ve all been just like pinching ourselves,” Jacobs said.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens in theaters on May 5.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)