10 Bourbons to Give for Christmas that You can Actually Find, & Afford
Holiday shopping can be stressful, especially when it comes to shopping for Bourbon. Most wishlists are laden with impossibilities like Blantons, Weller, Elmer T Lee, or Pappy Van Winkle. The unfortunate reality with those products is that in the rare case you find them, they are often inflated in price substantially. You can deliver a quality product that is readily available to under the tree and still illicit an excited smile.
With the national marketplace being so diverse state-to-state I did my best to include products that are available in as many states as possible. You may not be able to find everything, but you should be able to find at least a few of the following. I made the decisions on what to include in this list based on cost, availability, and actual quality. In short, things I would be happy to get as a gift.
Happy hunting!
Legent, ~$35
A collaboration between two whiskey legends. Fred Noe Master Distiller of the Jim Beam Distillery and Shinji Fukuyo who is the Chief Whisky Blender for Suntory. Fukuyo’s touch is seen in this whiskey with parts of it being finished for a time in red wine and sherry casks. Fukuyo then blended these parcels of whiskey with straight bourbon that saw no secondary aging. The result is a beautiful marriage of classic bourbon notes of caramel, spice, and vanilla and notes of dried red fruit, honey, and a different depth of spiced fruit.
Photo credit: Beam Suntory
Balcones Texas Pot Still Bourbon, ~$30
Bourbon ain’t just from Kentucky, you know. Balcones Distillery down in Texas knows their way around a still. Using Texas blue corn they make a Bourbon that is close to classic while still having a contemporary flair to it. The notes they provide are, “Nose: Honeycrisp apples, toasted oak, kettle corn, graham cracker, oiled glove. Palate: Honey, sweet cream, candied pecans, sandalwood, and leather. Finish: Soft and sweet, drying and tannic fade with lingering spice”
Photo credit Balcones Distillery
Pinhook Bohemian Bourbon High Proof, ~$45
Pinhook is a company that both owns racehorses as well as some fantastic holdings in whiskey. Each release of their whiskey is named after one of their horses, that are all named after whiskey. This particular batch of their bourbon is a piece of living history. It is the first bourbon to see public eye that has been distilled at the historic Castle and Key Distillery in over 50 years. It was even distilled by rockstar distiller Marianne Eaves! This batch is comprised of only 100 barrels.
Pinhook’s notes: Proofed at 114.5, this High Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon has a bright nose of tangerine, preserved lemon, and brioche, which lead to a deep and lush palate of dried papaya, toffee, cocoa, and almonds.
Photo credit: Pinhook
Redwood Empire Pipedream, ~$35
Keeping to the theme of whiskey released being named after other things, here is Pipedream from Redwood Empire. Pipedream is the name of a notable Redwood tree in Patriarch Forest. While this California distillery does in fact distill their own whiskey, this particular release marries their own make with barrels of bourbon from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. The blended barrels range in age from four to twelve years old.
Redwood Empire’s notes: “Rich, deep and complex with roasted pecan, vanilla, and lingering char and woody notes. Smooth with a hint of black pepper on the finish.”
Photo credit: Redwood Empire
New Riff Single Barrel, ~$45
Bottled at barrel proof from one single barrel, this New Riff is sure to be a delight to find under the tree. New Riff uses 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley in their mash and it leads to a supremely balanced bourbon. New Riff also has a standard release that is Bottled-in-Bond and is only ~$35, which I would also highly recommend.
While every single barrel expression is slightly different, here’s what New Riff had to say: ”Broad, fulsome mouthfeel, leading to a sweeter vanilla accent, before a gathering of rye spices (clove, cinnamon, mint, dark berry) into the finish.”
Photo credit: New Riff
Nevada H&C Distilling Co Smoke Wagon Small Batch, ~$45
The folks over at Nevada H&C have access to fantastic barrels of bourbon from Indiana powerhouse MGP. The barrels they selected and blended produce a phenomenal bourbon begging to be sipped. This one might be a touch harder to track down than the rest, but it’s definitely not to be passed on when you come across it.
Nevada H&C’s notes: “Initial sweet notes on the front of the tongue. Well balanced mouth feel with spicy notes including white pepper on the middle and back of the tongue from the younger vintage and high rye mash bill. Good balance of sweet and oak flavors including hints of caramel (from the #4 charred barrels, caramelized wood sugar), fruit flavor and rye spice.”
Photo credit: Nevada H&C Distilling Co
Jefferson’s Reserve Old Rum Cask Finish, ~$75
Finished for fifteen months in barrels that previously held Gosling’s Family Reserve rum, this bottle is hard to top. The classic bourbon notes of carmel, vanilla, sawdust, and spice are accented perfectly by the molasses cookie and maple syrup notes introduced by the rum cask. This bourbon may sound like it borders on being a dessert only treat but worry not — the balance and structure is absolutely there and it is not cloying by any means.
Photo credit: Bowtie Barbeque
Barrell Bourbon Batch 26, ~$75
Barrell Craft Spirits never disappoints with their blends. They push the envelope on many of their projects and nail it with ease, so on their more classic styled products they knock it out of the park without breaking a sweat. This batch of their bourbon is a blend of nine, ten, eleven, thirteen, and fifteen year old barrels from distilleries in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana.
Barrell’s notes: “Like a well-aged Sauternes, a complex array of fresh, dried, and cooked fruits dominates the aroma, supported by pungent florals and a delicate layer of barrel-spice. The palate is concentrated and extractive, having pulled quite a lot of sugar and peppery spice from the cask. Water tames it, bringing forth a panoply of tropical fruits on the nose and creamy desserts on the palate.”
Photo credit: Barrell Craft Spirits
Joseph Magnus Bourbon, ~$90
Truly world class, this triple casked bourbon is a bit higher in cost but definitely not short on value. After spending time in new charred oak, the bourbon sees ex-cognac and ex-sherry barrels. The resulting spirit is absolutely decadent. The depth of flavor is astounding. Rich dark fruit, bitter orange peel, toffee, vanilla bean, and wonderful spice. The availability of this one can be a bit more sporadic relative to the rest of this list, but again — not to be ignored.
Photo credit: Jos. A. Magnus & Co
Wyoming Whiskey Double Cask, ~$60
This isn’t Kentucky. Wyoming Whiskey makes one of the best wheated bourbons on the market. This release takes their core bourbon after five years of time in new charred oak and places it gently into Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks for a time. One of my top favorite bourbons ever, and not overly expensive or hard to find either.
The nose is prominently Sherry. Dried and candied fruit like figs and dates, honey, chocolate, and spice integrate wonderfully with the classic bourbon notes of caramel, sweet corn, toasty oak, and subtle vanilla. The palate has a sweet entry of rich candied fruits and Heather honey give way to a spicy and confectionery mid palate. A little butterscotch, a splash of vanilla, and creamy milk chocolate lead into a well tempered grilled yellow corn on the cob and toasty oak classic bourbon. The finish is long, lingering, and nutty. Walnut oil, dried red fruit, and oak.
Photo credit: Google Images
