13th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The Championships

Welcome back, folks! We are now at the end of the 2026 contest. Eight whiskeys entered the arena. Four have fallen by the wayside. There have been some delicious treats, with not a single stinker in the bunch. Let’s see how it all ends and if we’ve learned anything along the way. First, we have the Round Two matchups.

Division 2: Crooked Meteor (Maker’s 46) vs. Wobbly Parachute (Benchmark Single Barrel)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: On the mouth Wobbly Parachute is giving me a little more cherry and baking spice. Crooked Meteor also gives some fruit and baking spice, but tosses a little bubblegum in there too. Crooked Meteor has a softer mouthfeel, being almost velvety by comparison. Wobbly Parachute is sweeter on the nose showing more toffee-This is so close that I'm going to hazard a guess that the winner here goes on to take the whole thing. I like Crooked Meteor's nose better. Wobbly Parachute has a nicer finish. At the end of the day though the mouthfeel of Crooked Meteor gives this just the slightest edge.

Winner: Crooked Meteor (Maker’s 46) moves on to the Championship Round on the strength of the wonderful, softer mouthfeel.

Division 1: Gilded Thunder (Redemption) vs. Marble Iguana (1792)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: Gilded Thunder has a nicer nose. In a head-to-head comparison there is something a little bitter on Marble Iguana's nose that Gilded Thunder doesn't have. Marble Iguana has a nicer finish. There is more oak, more warmth and even a hint of smoke on it. Gilded Thunder is more gentle and has less complexity to it. The mouth is where this will be decided though. Unfortunately both of the mouth's are fairly gentle and unassuming. All things considered Marble Iguana has a bit more complexity on the mouth and since both are tasty, that will be enough to take the contest.

Winner: Marble Iguana (1792) moves on to the Championship Round on the basis the added complexity of the palate.

Championship Round: Crooked Meteor (Maker’s 46) vs. Marble Iguana (1792)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The noses of these two are fairly similar with Marble Iguana being a little more "perfumy" than Crooked Meteor. Crooked Meteor has a nicer finish showing more baking spices. Crooked Meteor is sweet, fruity, floral, and spicy on the mouth. Marble Iguana is showing more mint, oak, and baking spice. This is really hard. Both of these are delicious bourbons.

Winner: Crooked Meteor (Maker’s 46)

Congrats to Maker’s 46, the 2026 BourbonGuy.com Bracket Champion!

So, what did I learn about each of these?

Well, starting with the winner? It was no surprise to me that Maker’s 46 took the contest. My wife and I did a draft before hand to see who would win. She went first, I won’t tell her pick to win yet, but mine was Maker’s 46. It was the first one I drafted for my “team.” Even though wheated bourbons are known for being softer (and as such don’t always fair well in the head to head format of a bracket), to me, it had the best shot because it has a full and rich flavor and enough spice to stand up the bourbons made with rye as a flavoring grain, while maintaining the soft mouthfeel that wheated bourbons are known for.

Moving over to the other finalist, 1792 was my wife’s first draft pick to win it all. And it nearly did. We had a very difficult time picking the winner this year. It came down to mouthfeel and that’s where 1792 fell behind. Both are delicious bourbons and I’d be happy to have either of them on my shelf (and lucky me, I have both).

I’m going to talk about Early Times Bottled-in-Bond and Redemption together here. Sometimes you end up with a matchup that you just kinda know isn’t going to matter in the final results. And that was this one. While I liked both of them, I knew going in that the last time I’d had Early Times Bottled in Bond, I wasn’t impressed. I felt that it had gone downhill from previous times I’d purchased it. And honestly with Redemption, at only 88 proof and two years old, I didn’t expect that it would even make it out of the first round. As I mentioned in the competition post that featured them, these are both brands in transition though. One to a new owner, and the other to a new proof level. So whatever we learned here won’t make much difference to the future.

Let’s finish off Division 1 by talking about Yellowstone Select. This was my number two draft pick. I honestly thought it might have a chance to at least leave the first round, but I chose it before the seeding matchups were finalized so I had no idea who it would be going against. In this case, it was a good bourbon going up against a great one.

Moving over to Division 2, we start with Benchmark Single Barrel and Four Roses Small Batch. This was one that I really didn’t know what to think. And in the end, Benchmark beat Four Roses Small Batch, the Four Roses expression that used to be my favorite of their core lineup. In the end, it was the proof that held Four Roses back since both are delightful bourbons.

And finally we get to Woodford Reserve. This was a dark horse pick for me, knowing that it would depend on the seeding matchups to see if it would make it to the second round. Like all of the bourbons in the competition, it is delicious (I love it when that happens in a bracket). It just didn’t have the complexity to top the eventual winner.

Now that we are done, it’s time to turn the page to the future. Next week, we will start to look at the samples that have been stacking up while the contest was going on. As much fun as this was, it’s fun to try new bourbons too.

Once again, congrats to Maker’s 46 on their 2026 Championship!

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13th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1d: Redemption Bourbon vs Early Times Bottled-in-Bond

Hello again my friends! We are back with the final of our Round 1 Competitions. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2026 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 1’s Number 1 seed, Early Times Bottled-in-Bond taking on Number 4 seed, Redemption. This is an interesting competition as it featured the highest proof pour versus the lowest proof as well as the two least expensive pours in the competition. Fun fact, each of these pours seem to be brands in transition as we will detail below.

This bottle of Redemption is a two year old sourced bourbon from Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, producers of Bib & Tucker, Masterson’s Rye, Gray Whale Gin, and Josh Cellars wine. Redemption is sourced from MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. We are featuring a slightly older bottling as it looks as if the brand may have updated their bottle and possibly reformulated their bourbon since this bottle was produced. At least according to their instagram posts. I got this one at Total Wine in Burnsville, MN for $21.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.47 per pour.

Their opponent is Early Times Bottled-inBond, long a product of the Brown Forman Company of Louisville, KY, the brand is now owned by Sazerac. This particular bottle is still using Brown Forman stocks but was blended at Sazerac’s Barton 1792 plant. I got this one at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN for $23.99 for a 1 Liter bottle or $1.20 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind, and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all recorded before we knew which bourbon was which. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were tasted side by side and will have influenced the perception of one another.

Gilded Thunder (Redemption)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.47

Details: 44% ABV

Nose: Cherry, oak, brown sugar, and baking spice.

Mouth: Caramel, cinnamon, oak, stone fruit, and vanilla.

Finish: Medium or less in both length and warmth. Notes of cinnamon, oak, and vanilla.

Velvet Turnip (Early Times Bottled-in-Bond)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.20

Details: 50% ABV

Nose: Caramel, cinnamon, oak, and vanilla.

Mouth: Oak, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth with notes of oak and cinnamon.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: Velvet Turnip is brash and oaky. Gilded Thunder is more nuanced. Gilded Thunder is sweeter. Velvet Turnip is spicier. Both are very tasty, yet completely different. This is a tough one. I feel like this pairing comes down to your mood on a particular day. It's like deciding between pizza or burgers. Both have their place, it just depends on the mood. Today I'm feeling like mellow, and nuanced. Gilded Thunder wins.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: I would love to say that I am surprised by the result here. And in some ways I am. I mean, Early Times, in this bottle, is a bit of a collaboration between two of the best bourbon makers on the planet in Brown Forman and Sazerac. Of course, the main reason that I’m not surprised is simply the fact that MGP also makes amazing whiskey. Full stop. Age be damned, I’ve had some lovely two year old MGP in the past and I have no doubt that I will again. I am surprised that proof didn’t win out in this instance. It very often does in these competitions, which is why we use it as the first qualifier for seeding. Of course that also means, we just had our first upset of the competition. Which is always fun.

Winner: Redemption is advancing to round 2.

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13th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1c: Maker’s 46 vs Woodford Reserve

Good afternoon friends! We are back yet again with the third of our Round 1 Competitions. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2026 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 2’s Number 3 seed, Woodford Reserve taking on Number 2 seed, Maker’s 46.

Maker’s 46 was the second wide-release, permanent product in the history of Maker’s Mark. The first being…Maker’s Mark. It came after much experimentation under the direction Bill Samuels Jr., son of founder Bill Samuels Sr. The “46” is said to be the winning trial number in the original experiments. Maker’s 46 takes the original wheated Maker’s Mark and “finishes” with the addition of French Oak staves toward the end of the aging process for a sweeter and spicier product. Maker’s 46 is produced at the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, KY. This bottle was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN for $29.97 for a 750 mL bottle or $2.00 per pour.

Their opponent is Woodford Reserve, a product of the Brown Forman Company of Louisville, KY, partially produced at their aptly named showpiece Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, KY. That distillery always felt like one you should dress up for. Fancy place. This bottle was purchased at Total Wine in Burnsville, MN for $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $2.00 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind, and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all recorded before we knew which bourbon was which. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were tasted side by side and will have influenced the perception of one another.

Crooked Meteor (Maker’s 46)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $2.00

Details: 47% ABV

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, nutmeg, and a hint of cherry.

Mouth: Spicy and sweet. Nutmeg, cherry, cocoa, vanilla, black tea, and oak.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of sweet cherry, vanilla, cocoa, and nutmeg.

Jittery Compass (Woodford Reserve)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $2.00

Details: 45.2% ABV

Nose: Banana, cherry, vanilla, cinnamon, and a touch of caramel.

Mouth: Cherry, caramel, vanilla, nutmeg, and ginger

Finish: Medium in both length and warmth. Notes of vanilla, ginger, caramel, and nutmeg.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: This is a tough one! They are both really good. Crooked Meteor is spicy and sweet. Jittery Compass has nice fruit notes and also has tasty baking spices. Crooked Meteor  has a more complex mouth and that's carrying it today.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: I love tastings where I need to have both tasting ounces almost gone before I am forced to make a decision. That usually means that they are both good and I am enjoying the tasting. And this one was one of those. Both were good and I was starting to think I was going to need to steal some of my wife’s in order to find a winner. It was that close. But in the end, the more complex Maker’s 46 won out by just a touch.

Winner: Maker’s 46 is advancing to round 2.

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13th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1b: 1792 vs. Yellowstone Select

And we’re back with the second of our Round 1 Competitions. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2026 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 1’s Number 3 seed, Yellowstone Select taking on Number 2 seed, 1792 Bourbon.

Yellowstone Select is the flagship product of the Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, KY. This is the first time that a Yellowstone release has been in the contest. Prior to the brand, coming home to Limestone Branch, it certainly would have qualified. But then it got better and was priced out of range. And now because inflation is weird, it fits again. This bottle was purchased at Total Wine in Burnsville, MN for $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $2.00 per pour.

Their opponent is a bourbon that I have consumed more than my fair share of as we used to get a lot of barrel pick versions of it down at my local corner liquor store. 1792 Bourbon is produced by Sazerac at their aptly named Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, KY. This bottle was purchased at Total Wine in Burnsville, MN for $25.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.73 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind, and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all recorded before we knew which bourbon was which. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were tasted side by side and will have influenced the perception of one another.

Marble Iguana (1792)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.73

Details: 46.85% ABV

Nose: Dusty oak, vanilla, baking spice, and caramel.

Mouth: Oak, allspice, citrus zest, cinnamon

Finish: Warm and on the shorter side of medium length. Notes of oak, cocoa nibs, and stewed apple.

Feral Teacup (Yellowstone Select)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $2.00

Details: 46.5% ABV

Nose: Almond, vanilla, oak, and a hint of baking spice.

Mouth: Bitter almond, oak, dried grain, and baking spice.

Finish: Slightly medicinal and of medium length. Notes of mint, dried grains, and almond.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: Feral Teacup is showing a lot more grain in the mouth. Marble Iguana is spicier and shows more fruit. Both are decent pours, but I’m getting an odd finish on Feral Teacup, probably due to the influence of tasting head-to-head in a single sitting, but that’s the name of this game. I like Marble Iguana better due to the nicer experience on the finish and the abundance of dried grain notes on Feral Teacup.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: As always, it is fun to see how the bourbons compare in a head-to-head setting. I was a bit shocked that I was as hard on Yellowstone Select as I was, considering how much I like its limited edition brethren. Though as I say over and over, this is not intended to be a normal tasting. I’ve enjoyed many a Yellowstone pour over the years without thinking of dried grains or medicinal finishes and I expect I will again in the future. However, I do really enjoy 1792, so the outcome itself doesn’t really surprise me.

Winner: 1792 is advancing to round 2.

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If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

13th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1a: Benchmark Single Barrel vs. Four Roses Small Batch

Here we go! Let’s get down to the competitions. I hope that you guys are as excited about this as I am. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2026 BourbonGuy.com Brackets starts with Division 2’s Number 4 seed, Four Roses Small Batch taking on Number 1 seed, Benchmark Single Barrel Bourbon.

Four Roses Small Batch, produced by the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY, used to be this Four Roses Fanboy’s favorite pour from them. I really enjoyed the mellow, nuanced flavor. Of course, as I grew accustomed to higher proof bourbons, it soon felt a little…weak. I still enjoy a pour of it now and then, because it is delicious, but I don’t buy it nearly as often as I used to and that makes me just a little sad. This bottle was purchased at Total Wine in Burnsville, MN for $26.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.80 per pour.

Their opponent is a bourbon that I don’t think I’ve ever had before, though it’s Bottled-in-Bond cousin was in the competition last year. Benchmark Single Barrel was produced by Buffalo Trace at their Frankfort, KY distillery. This bottle was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN, for $23.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.60 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind, and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all recorded before we knew which bourbon was which. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were tasted side by side and will have influenced the perception of one another.

Wobbly Parachute (Benchmark Single Barrel)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.60

Details: 47.5% ABV

Nose: Strong toffee note initially followed by cinnamon candies and brown sugar after a bit.

Mouth: Cinnamon, toffee, vanilla, and oak

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium length. Lingering notes of vanilla, cinnamon, and oak.

Drowsy Lantern (Four Roses Small Batch)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.80

Details: 45% ABV

Nose: Cinnamon, mint, and caramel rolls.

Mouth: Cinnamon gum, mint, smoke, and caramel.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of oak, baking spice, and mint.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: Wobbly Parachute is much sweeter. Drowsy Lantern feels dry by comparison. Wobbly Parachute has a thicker mouthfeel. Drowsy Lantern seems a little more complex and nuanced. Wobbly Parachute is a more pleasant pour when directly comparing them head to head.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: I’m a bit surprised by this one. Not because of an upset or anything—I mean, usually, proof beats price in these matchups, and that happened again. It’s just that I tend to personally like Four Roses’s bourbon more than Buffalo Trace’s. But hey, that’s why these are done blind, right?

Winner: Benchmark Single Barrel is advancing to round 2.

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If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

13th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The “inflation is Weird” edition.

You know what time it is! The NCAA basketball and hockey tournaments are getting started here soon, which means everyone is in bracket mode. It really is a wonderful time of year. Up here in the northernmost state in the contiguous U.S., the snow is still trying to fall—we got over a foot at my house this weekend. Though, thankfully, the end is in sight. Gardeners have started their seeds, there are days when the windows can be opened, and, of course, there are brackets to be filled out—and busted.

No, not those silly basketball or hockey brackets. We’re talking bourbon brackets. And let me tell you, this really is my favorite time of year. In fact, I enjoy it so much that next year, when I may decide to hang up the ol’ keyboard, I already know what my last series of posts will be: brackets. But don’t worry—that’ll be 2027 at the earliest, since I want to make it to 15 years of publishing before I make a decision.

I’m calling this round the “The Inflation Is Weird” edition. Mostly because I had to raise the price requirements yet again. As I mentioned last year, it was getting really hard to find enough entrants that haven’t been here over and over for under $25. Well, this year, I decided to take actual inflation numbers into account.

As an aside, inflation is super weird to me. Based on things that I don’t even want to try to understand, things just cost more than they used to. And if it’s a little bit, that’s somehow a good thing, but if it’s a lot (or, oddly, if it goes down), then that’s really bad. And it doesn’t hit everything the same, which my pattern-seeking mind finds overwhelming. And then the president always gets blamed for it, which is also weird since the last president to try directly setting price controls was Nixon. And while it had a bit of short-term success, Smart People™ seem to agree that it was a seriously bad idea. Probably why no one has tried it since. It’s just all-around weird, and I am glad that (under normal circumstances) people much smarter than I am are in charge of handling it.

So, like I said before I got sidetracked, I started this site in 2012. So I went to my favorite inflation calculator—the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator—to look at what the original bracket upper limit of $20 would be in 2026 money. I was a bit shocked to find out that it was almost $29. So I rounded up and made the upper limit $30 just to keep things nice and easy.

One thing I noticed while doing the research is that while it feels like the bourbon market has gotten more expensive, and in many ways it has, the reality is a bit more nuanced. I went back through every whiskey featured in this series over the last 13 years, and most of the true bottom-shelf brands have disappeared from shelves, at least near me. And the ones that remain haven’t increased in price as quickly as inflation. In terms of purchasing power, many have effectively gotten cheaper. That’s how bottles like Maker’s 46, Four Roses Small Batch, and Woodford Reserve ended up in this year’s competition when they were far out of range for those original Bottom-Shelf Brackets. Of course with newer, higher-priced labels hitting the shelves, the category as a whole feels more expensive when you’re standing in the bourbon aisle, even though individual bourbons are effectively cheaper now. Like I said— inflation is weird.

Let’s get into the actual contest, though.

The Selection Rules

This year’s selection process was simple:

• It had to be bourbon.

• The bottle size had to be at least 750 mL.

• It had to cost under $30.

That’s it!

For seeding, I usually start by sorting by proof first, followed by stated age (if applicable), and then use price as the final tiebreaker. But this year, every entrant had a different proof, so we just went down the line, with the highest proof being the number one seed and the lowest proof being the lowest seed. The idea being that, often with inexpensive bourbons, proof will beat age in a head-to-head competition—or so it has played out over the previous 12 editions. To avoid stacking the deck against the second division, I alternated which division received the higher seed. So Division 1 got the overall number one, but Division 2 got the higher-proof of the number two seeds. Here’s what that got us:

Division 1

• Seed 1: Early Times Bottled-in-Bond

  • The only 100 proof bottle in this competition. It is also the least expensive per 50 mL pour. The brand is currently owned by Sazerac, though the distillery of distillation on the label is still the old Brown-Forman DSP-KY-354. Barton 1792 (DSP-KY-12) is also listed as a production site, likely for bottling.

  • Purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel (Prior Lake, MN) for $23.99 for a one-liter bottle.

  • Nonsense name: Velvet Turnip

• Seed 2: 1792

  • Flagship product of Sazerac’s Barton 1792 distillery in Bardstown, KY, bottled at 93.7 proof.

  • Purchased at Total Wine (Burnsville, MN) for $25.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

  • Nonsense name: Marble Iguana

• Seed 3: Yellowstone Select

  • The base entry for the historic Yellowstone bourbon brand, bottled at 93 proof.

  • Purchased at Total Wine (Burnsville, MN) for $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

  • Nonsense name: Feral Teacup

• Seed 4: Redemption Bourbon

  • Sourced MGP bourbon bottled at 88 proof and age-stated at 2 years old. This was the lowest proof and, as such, the lowest seed in the contest.

  • Purchased at Total Wine (Burnsville, MN) for $21.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

  • Nonsense name: Gilded Thunder

Division 2

• Seed 1: Benchmark Single Barrel

  • A product of the Buffalo Trace Distillery, bottled at 95 proof.

  • Purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel (Prior Lake, MN) for $23.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

  • Nonsense name: Wobbly Parachute

• Seed 2: Maker’s Mark 46

  • The only wheated bourbon, bottled at 94 proof.

  • Purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel (Prior Lake, MN) for $29.97 for a 750 mL bottle.

  • Nonsense name: Crooked Meteor

• Seed 3: Woodford Reserve

  • A product of Brown-Forman, bottled at 90.4 proof.

  • Purchased at Total Wine (Burnsville, MN) for $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

  • Nonsense name: Jittery Compass

• Seed 4: Four Roses Small Batch

  • One of four core products in the Four Roses lineup. It was long my favorite of the bunch before its lower proof made their single barrel offering my go-to from them. It is bottled at 90 proof.

  • Purchased at Total Wine (Burnsville, MN) for $26.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

  • Nonsense name: Drowsy Lantern

Keeping It Blind: The Setup

Of course, that list doesn’t eliminate inherent bias, does it? So, as usual, we took a few extra steps to keep the tasting blind—while still keeping track of what advanced.

Here’s how we set it up (it’s an oh-so-simple process):

1. I seeded the whiskey in the bracket as listed above.

2. I poured 200 mL bottles of each bourbon and labeled them with their nonsense names.

3. I made a separate bracket using only the nonsense names and handed it, along with the bottles, to my wife.

From there, she takes over.

• She doesn’t know what’s in each bottle (thanks to the nonsense names).

• She pours and keeps track of the winners.

• All I have to do is taste, write, and pick my favorite. It’s a pretty slick system.

The empty bracket is below, and as usual, there were plenty of surprises along the way. But that’s for the future. In the meantime, who you got? Let us know down in the comments!

Fun fact, using that same BLS Inflation Calculator, I checked on the state of the Federal Excise Tax on distilled spirits. If you want to make a bourbon producer mad, mention that if the excise tax, which was last adjusted in 1991 to $13.50 per proof gallon, had kept up with inflation, it would currently be at $32.78. In fact the opposite happened and we are currently in a tiered system where the first so many proof gallons are severely discounted. This was what funded much of the Federal Government prior to the income tax so it is fun to look at. Though I am seriously not advocating for higher bourbon prices…

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If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Columbia Creek Tennessee Whiskey

I’d like to thank Columbia Creek and their PR partners for providing this sample with no strings attached.

The sun is coming out here in Minnesota. The snow is melted, or at least it was. We are in that time of year where you don't know if you need to shovel the driveway or if you can sit on the deck in shorts. And no, I don't mean you folks from more southern climates. In Minnesota, it isn't unusual for folks to be in shorts as soon as the temp hits the 50s in the spring. And by "folks" I mean me. Of course, I tend to wear shorts all year long. I'm not going to let a little thing like the outside weather keep me from being comfortable in my house. That's what blankets are for. I'm stubborn like that.

Which leads me nicely to tonight's whiskey. Columbia Creek Tennessee Whiskey is a sourced whiskey out of Columbia, Tennessee, which the press release says is "where mules outnumber stoplights and pride runs as deep as the creeks." They also use the mule as a mascot on the bottle. The company that has released this particular Tennessee Whiskey is SNL Alcohol Beverage Group who, according to their website (SNLCapitol.com), specializes in buying ingredients, making new make whiskey, aging it, and then selling it to other producers at a profit. Not a bad idea as long as you can keep finding buyers. Here is what the press release has to say about the whiskey:

“Inspired by the legendary mule — Columbia’s enduring symbol of strength and persistence — Columbia Creek moves to its own tempo. Made with a classic Tennessee mash bill of 80% corn, 10% rye, and 10% malted barley, then distilled in a traditional column‑and‑doubler system, every drop balances purity with bold, full-bodied flavor.

Before barreling, the whiskey undergoes the slow, time-honored Lincoln County charcoal mellowing process, giving it a smooth, refined edge that separates Tennessee whiskey from bourbon pretenders. The spirit then rests — not rushed, not disturbed — in heavy-charred new American oak, soaking up six long Tennessee years of heat, cold, and honest change.”

Let’s see how they did, shall we?

Columbia Creek Tennessee Whiskey

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided by the producer at no cost for review purposes. It is available on the ColumbiaCreekWhiskey.com website for $49.95 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 47.8% ABV. 6 years old. Mash bill: 80% corn, 10% rye, 10% malted barley.

Nose: Delicate on the nose with notes of dried grains, apple, caramel, baking spice, and oak.

Mouth: Spicy with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, bubblegum, vanilla, fruit, oak, and a mineral note.

Finish: Medium in both length and warmth. Lingering notes of minerals, bubblegum, and cinnamon.

Thoughts: I wasn't expecting that kind of spice on the palate after such a delicate nose. Quite tasty, though. Good flavor on the mouth and finish. I can honestly say that I would have walked past this on the shelf, being a sourced Tennessee whiskey, but I like it. I will happily finish the bottle. If you see it and have an extra $50 in your pocket, it is worth trying.

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My Wandering Eye: Tamworth Garden V.S.O.P. Apple Brandy, 7-year-old

I’d like to thank Tamworth Distilling and their PR team for providing this sample with no strings attached.

It has been quite a while since we last did a My Wandering Eye post so I thought that I might start with a reminder of what we are doing in this series. My Wandering Eye is an ongoing series reacting to the continually rising prices in the bourbon world. We’ve reached a place where even average products have hit the range where they compete price-wise with other types of aged spirits. If I’m going to be asked to drop $40 to $75 on a mid-range bourbon, I might as well see what else I can get for that money. I hope to see if another spirits category offers something downright tasty in that price range. The goal isn’t to find cheap spirits but to maximize the quality I’m getting at a particular price point. The reviews in this series will all be written through a bourbon drinker’s lens.

I used to make hard cider every year. I've been traveling during apple season for the past few years, but it really is a fun project to do at home with friends or family. I got really into it too. I'd travel to rural Wisconsin and pick up apples straight from the orchards (the more rural you get, the less expensive the apples get). I had my own blend of apples that I liked to use. I'd calculated over the years which apples yielded the most juice per bushel, how each affected the flavor I wanted, all of that. Like I said, I was into it.

Because of my interest in both distilling and cider making, it wasn't surprising when I discovered that I really enjoyed apple brandy. It's just hard cider all grown up. And so when the PR folks for Tamworth Distilling reached out to see if I was interested in taking a look at their apple brandy, my answer was something along the lines of "yes please!" And when the bottle showed up, I was ecstatic to see that the variety of apple used to create it was one of the cornerstones of my own cider experiments: the Cortland apple. This was one of my family favorites growing up. I'd travel with my grandparents to the orchard (coincidentally in the same area I went to as an adult) and we'd pick apples. I don't remember all of the varieties, but I remember Grandma getting McIntosh and Cortland for sure. Cortland would last in the cellar for a decent amount of time, so we'd get to have one every now and then when going down for something else.

So that made me just a little predisposed to be happy to taste the product. Of course, the other thing is who made it. I'll quote the PR email for this bit:

Tamworth Distilling founder, booze baron Steven Grasse (AKA the father of craft gin), is known for creating brands including Hendrick’s Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Narragansett and more – but he is also a historian and author whose passion for American history underscores the craft-forward approach of his distillery and his spirited books, including Colonial Spirits: A Toast to Our Drunken History.

So now that we know the pedigree and why I was excited to give this a taste, let's get on with the tasting, shall we?

Tamworth Garden V.S.O.P. Apple Brandy, 7-year-old

Purchase Info: This item was sent at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $75 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.00

Details: 50% ABV. 7 years old.

Nose: Cinnamon, oak, apple, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Mouth: Juicy apple, almond, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering notes of juicy apple and vanilla.

Thoughts: Yum, yum, yum. Yumyum. Yum, yum, yum.

As you can see, I really like this. Unlike many apple brandies I've had, this tastes less of dried fruit and more like a juicy apple — which, I'll be honest, I really enjoy. There is a whiskey-like amount of heat and spice. This is a warm one, but not overly so. Fruity, baking spice, vanilla. It's delicious! It also makes a wonderfully apple-forward Sidecar with Grand Marnier and lemon juice. Big fan. So big, in fact, that before I even finished the tasting, I was on the company website ordering the XO 10-year-old version and a few other goodies that may or may not make it into future posts. I adore this brandy.

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If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.