Our Favorite Bourbons So Far This Year

Town Branch is named after the waterway running through downtown Lexington, Kentucky. The mash bill for this bourbon is 72% corn, 13% rye and 15% malted barley. Released in 2012, it's the third spirit launched by Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co.

Secrecy surrounds this NAS/NDP bourbon. Here's what we DO know: Wathen’s Kentucky Bourbon — created by eight generations of distillers from Owensboro, KY – is made with a mashbill of 77% corn, 10% rye and 13% malt. This single barrel bourbon is smooth and easy drinking, but still offers a bit of bite at 94 proof.

Old Forester 100 Proof Bourbon is part of Brown-Forman’s historic lineup, a brand first introduced in 1870 as one of the first bourbons sold exclusively in sealed bottles. The name is often linked to a doctor who prescribed whiskey for medicinal purposes, though the signature on each bottle belongs to founder George Garvin Brown. It is bottled at 100 proof and is also available in an 86 proof version.

W.L. Weller — named after William Larue Weller — is a wheated bourbon brand now owned by the Sazerac Company which acquired it in 1999. Made at the Buffalo Trace Distillery, Weller Special Reserve is the entry bottling to the Weller portfolio which features wheat instead of rye as the flavoring grain in the bourbon. It is a no-age statement release which is bottled at 90 proof.

A three-grain bourbon distilled from a mash of corn, rye, and barley in Loveland, Colorado. Aged in new, American white oak barrels this bourbon is bottled at 88 proof.

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit is a single barrel bourbon bottled at 101 proof. As with all single barrel releases, there will be slightly different characteristics from one barrel to another. The Kentucky straight bourbon is aged around 8 to 9 years. Each bottle displays the bottling date, warehouse information, barrel number and the signatures of both Jimmy and Eddie Russell, Wild Turkey master distillers. Updated packaging as of fall 2018.

This is the flagship bourbon from Buffalo Trace, made from a traditional low-rye mash bill and bottled without an age statement at 90 proof. The former George T. Stagg Distillery was renamed Buffalo Trace when Sazerac Company took over ownership in 1999. Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee played a key role in the creation of Buffalo Trace Bourbon, which was released later that year.

Distilled at the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky (formerly the Labrot & Graham Distillery), this Kentucky straight bourbon was first introduced in 1996 and remains the brand’s flagship expression. The high-rye mash bill contains 18% rye and is made from a blend of pot still and column still distillates. Though it carries no age statement, the bourbon is typically aged between 6–7 years. It is bottled at 45.2% ABV.

Maker’s Mark Bourbon is a wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon made from a mash bill of 70% corn, 16% red winter wheat, and 14% malted barley. The recipe was developed by Bill Samuels Sr., who famously tested grain combinations through baking rather than distillation. His wife, Margie Samuels, designed the bottle’s shape, label, and signature red wax seal. The bourbon is aged 6–7 years in char #3 new American oak barrels and bottled at 90 proof.

Launched in 2010, Maker's Mark 46 is made by taking fully matured Maker's Mark Bourbon at cask strength and inserting specially seared French oak staves into the barrels. The bourbon finishes aging for a few months before bottling. The French oak staves selected from the Independent Stave Company, Maker's Mark long time cooperage, were named "Stave Profile No. 46." This is the first brand extension from the distillery since it started production in 1953 and is the first in its Wood Finishing Series. Note: As of March 2022 the brand has updated the packaging for its bottle and label to highlight the French oak staves.