New And Fascinating Bourbon Whiskeys, Blind Tasted And Ranked

It’s not hard to find a new bourbon on the shelf these days. What’s hard is finding one that’s not only tasty but excites you. There’s just so much and, let’s be honest, a lot of it is very mid. Obviously, it can’t all be Pappy Van Winkle 15-Year Bourbon or Michter’s 10-Year Bourbon but still, there’s still so much on the shelf that how do you even know where to start?

I feel that question in my bones. It’s my job to vet bourbons and even I find it to be… a lot. I’ve already tasted literally hundreds of bourbons for work this year (a ton of it was perfectly fine). And even still, there are always new bourbons arriving on my desk to sample. So to help you sift through all the static of non-stop bourbon releases, I’m conducting a new blind taste test.

There’s no real trick here besides that these are all new(ish) bourbons from the last six months to the last few weeks — days even — that are on shelves around the country now. Our lineup today features the following bottles of bourbon:

Rattle & Snap Tennessee Straight Whiskey Aged 4 Years
Jefferson’s Marian McLain Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys
Kentucky Senator Bourbon Release #3 John C. Carlisle
Rieger’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
Monk’s Road Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Tommyrotter Napa Valley Heritage Cask Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Traverse City Whiskey Co. Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Seasoned Sherry Casks
Blood Oath Pact No. 9 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks
Peg Leg Porker Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Nelson Bros. Whiskey A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Finished in Trubee Honey Casks

After tasting these bourbons blindly, I’ll rank them according to taste alone. It’s that easy. Hopefully, you’ll find a new bourbon that speaks to you (read those tasting notes!). If you do, click on the price link to see if you can find that bourbon in your neck of the woods. Let’s dive in!

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

Part 1 — The Bourbon Whiskey Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a sense of classic bourbon cherry on the nose with a hint of apricot jam over warm buttermilk biscuits with a hint of cinnamon and a faint whisper of Big League Chew gum.

Palate: An earthy vanilla vibe drives the palate toward cherry bark and light grassiness with a hint of apple cider just kissed with a floral vibe.

Finish: The end leans into an apple woodiness with a dry sense of cloves and old vanilla pods.

Initial Thoughts:

This was a pretty good standard whiskey overall. That earthiness leads me to think it’s a Tennessee whiskey but something unique.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a mix of old whiskey barrels wrapped in worn saddle leather with a sweet and creamy sense of honey, vanilla, and old cinnamon sticks dipped in hot apple cider.

Palate: The palate is fruity with a sense of mango chutney and rum raisin next to dark chocolate-covered espresso beans, salted toffee, and banana bread inside of a cedar box with a twinge of smoldering wild sage.

Finish: The end is lush and full of dark holiday cakes brimming with soft spices, roasted nuts, and dark dried fruits next to more of that creamy honey and silken vanilla.

Initial Thoughts:

This is pretty good too. It’s deep and classic with a nice nutty finish. I liked this overall.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is deep and classic with a sense of roasted nuts, toffee, and vanilla cake next to subtle winter spices, apple cider sharpness, and a hint of oak-toasted marshmallows.

Palate: The spice melds with the nuttiness in a holiday cake with a can of cream soda on the side before orchard bark and porch wicker arrive with a sense of old gingerbread cookies dipped in dark chocolate.

Finish: Toffee tobacco and singed applewood drive the palate toward a big Kentucky hug (warmth) of winter spice barks and old cellar oak and rich marzipan just kissed with apple brandy.

Initial Thoughts:

This was really nice and deep and took me on a journey. It’s also just pretty freaking delicious.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is old and leathery with a good layer of salted caramel over pecan waffles with buttercream and cinnamon syrup next to a hint of black peppercorn and woody orchards.

Palate: Maple syrup attaches to the pecan waffles with a sense of Christmas nut cake, dried cranberry, and vanilla cream with a touch of winter spice barks and burnt orange.

Finish: The end has a classic warmth derived from spiced wood notes next to a hint of winter cake tobacco with plenty of dark and spicy syrup and buttery caramel.

Initial Thoughts:

This is pretty damn good too. It’s on the nuttier side, but that’s not a knock.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is a stone-cold classic bourbon nose of dark Cherry Coke, spiced winter cakes, and salted caramel with an old oak barrel sense.

Palate: The palate leans into the spiced dark cherry with a hint of root beer (maybe even Dr. Pepper) next to singed apple and cinnamon bark with this fleeting sense of peanut brittle underneath it all.

Finish: The end leans into the smoldering woody spices and orchard barks with a hint of marzipan and burnt orange rounding things out.

Initial Thoughts:

I like this a lot too. It was classic but deep.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This has a pretty light nose full of dark red fruits, leather, and caramel with a hint of vanilla oils.

Palate: The palate is a mix of roasted nuts and winter spice barks with a hint of that sweet dark fruit and caramel.

Finish: The end plays on those classic bourbon themes with a light finish.

Initial Thoughts:

This tasted like a good but very standard bourbon.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is lighter but leans into rum raisin and caramel with a hint of Cherry Dr. Pepper and cinnamon toast.

Palate: There’s a good amount of cinnamon and vanilla on the palate with a touch of walnut bread with plenty of butteriness, clove, and anise.

Finish: The end hints at apple cinnamon tobacco and vanilla beans but ends very lightly.

Initial Thoughts:

This was nice but didn’t have the oompf it needed.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose runs deep with a sense of red fruit leather, dark yet sharp woody spice barks, salted toffee rolled in toasted almond, and a fleeting whisper of dark chocolate sauce cut with salt, lavender, and red chili.

Palate: The palate opens with juicy pears and grilled peaches next to stewed plums and leathery prunes over rum raisin dipped in that dark and spicy chocolate with a hint of creamy cherry butteriness.

Finish: The woody chili spice and creamy dark fruit kicks up on the end with a sense of sticky toffee pudding tobacco, old cedar humidors, and a bushel of dried vanilla pods layered with smudging sage.

Initial Thoughts:

Well, this is outstanding whiskey.

Taste 9

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is pretty standard on the nose with caramel, oak, spice, and cherry.

Palate: The palate is largely the same with a bourbon-y Cherry Coke vibe overall.

Finish: The end is short and sweet but clearly hits nice bourbon notes.

Initial Thoughts:

This was pretty standard stuff. It was well-built but very much feels like a cocktail bourbon that you use to build with.

Taste 10

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a sense of a fruit orchard on a sunny day with subtle spice barks and floral honey next to a moment of leather, caramel tobacco, and almond.

Palate: Those almonds take on some toast on the palate as vanilla cake cut with buttercream and floral honey leads to a sense of honey sesame crackers and sharply spice oak staves.

Finish: A bright pepperiness drives the finish into spiced honey with a touch of toasted oats, marzipan, and burnt orange with a whisper of chamomile tea.

Initial Thoughts:

This is another excellent whiskey. It’s got a clear honeyed vibe which just works with the spice, wood, and nuttiness.

Part 2 — The Bourbon Whiskey Ranking

This just inched out the Blood Oath today thanks to a profile that went beyond classic and into that something extra. There was a nice earthiness with a hint of funk that really deepened the overall experience. This is a great Kentucky bourbon pour.

But this is going to be harder to find at retail. But you can get a pour Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, D.C. if you want to give it a try before you start the hunt.

Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Bourbon Whiskey

Hard to find or not, the top three pours really are the good stuff, folks. I’d focus mostly on those if you’re looking for something new.

That all said, numbers eight through four are all perfectly good and very drinkable bourbons worth checking out. They won’t blow your socks off but they’ll get the job done. Sometimes that’s enough. JHust depends on what the goal is!