We’re already halfway through Bourbon Heritage Month. That means it’s high time to do a massive blind taste test of some new bourbons. There’s just so much out there, friends. And there’s really no better way to filter through the static than taking away labels and preconceptions to find the gems in a blind taste test.

For this blind tasting, I grabbed 20 new releases from this year, month, and even week. That means that some of these are just hitting shelves right now while other bottles are 2023 batches of standard releases from around the country. Our lineup today features the following 20 new bourbons:

• Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish Blend
• Old Elk Straight Bourbon Whiskey Four Grain
• Backbone Bourbon The Forge Blended Bourbon Whiskey
• Blue Run Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Trifecta Blend
• Milan & Greene UNABRIDGED A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskies
• Wheel Horse Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch
• Remus Straight Bourbon Whiskey Highest Rye Aged 6 Years
• W.H. McBrayer Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch Barrel Strength Batch 3: Legacy Collection
• Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series: Amburnara
• Garrison Brothers Guadalupe Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Casks
• Dread River Distilling Co. Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Watershed Distillery Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 4 Years Bottled In Bond
• Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch No. C923
• New Riff Single Barrel Barrel Proof Bourbon Kentucky Straight Whiskey Topflight Series by ReserveBar
• Barrell Bourbon Cash Finish Series: Tale of Two Islands
• Eight Settlers Devil’s Gate Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch
• Shortbarrel Single Barrel Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon
• Rabbit Hole Limited Edition Artist Series Single Barrel Heigold Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Remus Repeal Reserve VII Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Thirteenth Colony Distilleries Southern Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch

My wife was kind enough to shuffle, pour, and catalog these for me for the blind tasting. After that, I ranked each pour based on quality, profile depth, and balance. There is a lot going on with these very diverse bourbons — so let’s dive right in!

• The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys From Kentucky, Ranked
• The Absolute Best Bottle Of Whiskey From Each Of The 50 States
• The ‘Smoothest’ Bourbons On The Market, Blind Tasted And Ranked
• The ‘Smoothest’ Bourbons Under $100, Blind Tasted And Ranked
• The 100 Best Bourbons Under $100 Right Now, Ranked

Part 1 — The Bourbon Heritage Month Blind Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a leathery sense of old dried chilis that have just been kissed with heat before a sense of dried cranberry and rich malted chocolate take the nose toward soft plummy cakes full of soft powdered spices.

Palate: A hint of maltiness comes through early on the palate with a fleeting sense of smoked red berries before deep vanilla buttercream creates a luscious foundation for rich pipe tobacco, cranberry sauce cut with anise, clove, and nutmeg, sticky toffee pudding, and mulled wine cut with toffee and dry reeds.

Finish: The spices warm on the finish before descending toward soft nutcakes and winter-spiced doughnuts with a light sense of stewed plum and pear over old saddle leather and rickhouse dank.

Initial Thoughts:

This hits the trifecta of brilliance — it’s so deep and rewarding, it’s perfectly balanced, and it tastes truly special.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a clear sweet porridge craftiness before dark fruit and almonds mingle with sweet apple wedges and vanilla sheet cake with a hint of leather, creamy oats, and toffee.

Palate: The taste is all about the creamy and nutmeg-heavy eggnog with an oaty vibe next to a nice counterpoint of sweetgrass and vanilla pipe tobacco.

Finish: The mid-palate has a sweet winter spice vibe that leads to a raw and sweet carrot and apple cores next to a hint of new wicker.

Initial Thoughts:

This is pretty good all around. It’s very crafty but balanced with classic bourbon notes.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is very light and you have to dig for moments of brown sugar, mild oak, and maybe some brown spice.

Palate: The palate has moments of classic bourbon vanilla, caramel, cherry, and winter spice.

Finish: The end gets creamy with a honeyed vibe next to salted caramel and eggnog with a hint of tobacco.

Initial Thoughts:

This starts off really weak and then builds over the palate to a truly solid finish. Still, that’s not balance — which is a shame.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Vanilla-dosed milky lattes with a touch of cinnamon stick drive the nose toward a hit of dried chili, old clove, and brown butter with a light sense of apple cider and figs.

Palate: The apple and cinnamon take on a mulled cider vibe on the palate with macadamia nut cookies, sourdough bread crusts, and soft caramel candies cut with mint syrup.

Finish: The soft and espresso-laden vanilla returns on the finish with a creaminess that helps the finish stay silky as a whisper of smoldering orchard barks and winter spice barks sneak in with a nice warmth.

Initial Thoughts:

This is balanced, deep, and very tasty. It didn’t jump out at me but it got the job done.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Light notes of cherry cola, fig pudding, and marzipan lead to a sense of old boot leather and mint tobacco with a whisper of toffee

Palate: There’s a hint of earthiness on the palate that supports more dark Cherry Dr. Pepper, dry black tea leaves, moist marzipan just kissed with pear brandy, and a sweet oakiness tied to fresh pipe tobacco.

Finish: There’s a moment of absinthe on the finish that leads to dark orange oils and maybe some lemon pepper tobacco with a touch of cedar.

Initial Thoughts:

This is complex yet very light. It’s interesting and I want to go back to it. I feel like there’s a lot more to unravel in this pour.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Bright berries and light honey-laced grits drive the nose toward soft caramel cut with orange and chocolate with a touch of cedar.

Palate: Soft vanilla and more caramel create a lush palate with hints of winter spice and maybe some dried red chili next to wet brown sugar and rum raisin with a dash of old leather tobacco pouches.

Finish: A hint of earthiness attaches to the grits as layers of spice — anise, clove, dried chili, nutmeg — build toward a leathery tobacco finish.

Initial Thoughts:

This is a very solid classic bourbon. Nothing more, nothing less.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Maple syrup over vanilla-heavy pancakes pop on the nose with a sense of peach pie and mint tobacco over cinnamon bark, barrel must, and old boot leather.

Palate: That peach pie takes on a canned peach vibe on the palate with vanilla sheet cake drizzled with caramel and buttercream icing before rum raisin and leathery figs arrive with a dose of menthol tobacco packed into an old cedar box.

Finish: Bold warmth from the woody spices is countered by vanilla buttercream and eggnog on the finish with deep boot leather, old cedar humidors, and still-smoldering sage with a light sense of barrel house floors.

Initial Thoughts:

This is another really nice classic bourbon. It’s balanced and tasty though maybe a touch warm on the very end.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a rush of brandy-soaked dark fruits — dates, figs, prunes — next to old oak staves with a touch of fall leaves and apricot jam that leads to — I swear — rubber fishing lures.

Palate: Those dark fruits dominate the palate with added winter spices that lean allspice heavy alongside plenty of oakiness with this fleeting sense of blackberry bramble, thorns and all.

Finish: The spice and berries really amp up at the finish with a sense of fresh cranberry sauce and pecan chocolate clusters.

Initial Thoughts:

This is a confounding pour of whiskey. It ends wonderfully but that rubbery note on the nose just throws the whole thing off.

Taste 9

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is full of patchouli and green tea powder with a deep sense of cinnamon bark, allspice berries, and whole nutmeg next to walnut-heavy zucchini bread, apple bear claws, and a whisper of almond milk.

Palate: The palate is straight-up masala chai with a deep sense of luscious salted butter next to pumpkin pie topped with candied pecans before veering into roasting herbs and root beer floats.

Finish: The end pulls it all back toward lemon pudding and spiced apple cider with a note of rum raisin and brandy-soaked peaches next to hints of old cedar and smudging sage.

Initial Thoughts:

Amburnara! That cask finish is drastic and this sip is bafflingly complex. I need way more time to figure it out than a blind taste test. That said, this pour makes me want to spend that time figuring it out. It’s just fascinating.

Taste 10

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.

Initial Thoughts:

This is craft whiskey done right. It’s grain-forward but so well-balanced.

Taste 11

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Hefty notes of dry (almost burnt) grains dominate the nose supported by a light sense of vanilla extract and some burnt caramel too with a ton of ethanol.

Palate: There’s a sense of classic bourbon notes — cherry, spice, oak, caramel — and that’s about it.

Finish: There isn’t a whole lot to the finish besides an echo of oak and spice with some vanilla and fruit.

Initial Thoughts:

This is pretty flawed sadly.

Taste 12

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Red apple skins and cinnamon sticks drive the nose toward salted butter creamed with brown sugar and allspice with a mild note of sweet and toasted oak that almost has a singed marshmallow vibe.

Palate: Chicory coffee grounds and black cherry ice cream pop on the palate as salted caramel, rich vanilla cake, and soft winter spice balance everything out.

Finish: That winter spice goes woody on the end with a dry vibe before soft vanilla creaminess smoothes everything out.

Initial Thoughts:

Hey, this is pretty good — but standard — stuff.

Taste 13

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Big notes of stewed apples lead to apple cider spiked with dried red chili, allspice, and anise on the nose before dark chocolate oranges and salted caramels give way to old oak staves with a hint of vanilla-mint tobacco.

Palate: That vanilla creates a silky palate with tons of butterscotch and caramel popcorn with a good flake of salt as cinnamon and chili-heavy cider leads to Christmas nut breads and old leather tobacco pouches with a hint of dark cherry.

Finish: The end amps up the ABVs dramatically as chili, black pepper, and anise drive the end toward an almost cool mint tobacco vibe with a vanilla buttercream underbelly.

Initial Thoughts:

This is a big and powerful Kentucky bourbon. I think it needs a rock to calm that end down a bit, but that’s a nitpick.

Taste 14

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is soft, kind of like freshly baked rye bread, with notes of eggnog spices, slick vanilla flan, thin caramel sauce, and hints of spicy orange zest.

Palate: The palate amps everything up as the orange peel becomes candied and attaches to a moist holiday cake, dried cranberry and cherry, more dark spice, a touch of nuttiness, and plenty of that vanilla.

Finish: The end takes its time as the whole thing comes together like a rich and boozy fruit cake as little notes of leather and tobacco spice keep things interesting on the slow fade.

Initial Thoughts:

This is another whiskey that just freaking good.

Taste 15

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with big notes of bananas foster, peach cobbler, and blackberry crumble next to roasting herbs, smoldering smudging sage, old cedar kindling, and rich vanilla-chocolate malted tobacco with a dash of Cherry Coke and Almond Joy.

Palate: Lushness dominates the palate with dark chocolate-covered espresso beans, candied orange peels, candied almonds, black cherry soda, cream soda, plum pudding, and mincemeat pies dusted with powdered sugar before dark and lightly smoked oak arrives.

Finish: That smoky oak leads to pepper brisket fat and salted butter cut with cedar tobacco before veering toward blackberry pie and red currants swimming in dark chocolate with a faint whisper of fresh vanilla pods.

Initial Thoughts:

This is a wild bourbon that’s also freaking delicious. It all somehow works with a perfect balance.

Taste 16

Tasting Notes:

Nose: A lot of red berries and vanilla dominate the nose with hints of oak and maybe some woody spice.

Palate: Vanilla pods and sweet buttermilk biscuits drive the palate toward masa and woody spice.

Finish: The end has moments of brown spice and old vanilla with maybe a touch of fruit.

Initial Thoughts:

This is fine.

Taste 17

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a clear sense of fresh orange zest and dark cherry on the nose with a hint of winter spice, old dried prunes, and a hint of black tea.

Palate: The winter spice leads to creamy vanilla and eggnog on the taste as a peach cobbler with fresh vanilla whipped cream leads to warming tobacco spices and hints of old oak.

Finish: Marmalade and leathery dried apricot counter the vanilla creaminess with a light sense of winter spice barks rolled up with soft pipe tobacco leaves and dipped in black cherry soda.

Initial Thoughts:

This is very deep and balanced with a great texture. This is the good stuff.

Taste 18

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a sense of dried dark berries that leads to malted chocolate and vanilla over candied orange and cherry that’s helped with buttermilk biscuits dripping with salted butter and honey before sharp red pepper spice cuts in with rich tobacco.

Palate: Toffee rolled in roasted almond and kissed with dark orange drive the palate toward dried red chili pepper, old winter spice barks, and creamy vanilla buttercream with a sense of chocolate-laced tobacco packed into an old pipe.

Finish: That chili pepper spice attaches to the chocolate tobacco on the finish and creates a luscious finish full of vanilla butteriness, dark berry competes, and marmalade next to light nuances of an old oak stave and smudging sage with a whisper of fatty roasting herbs.

Initial Thoughts:

This is goddamn delicious.

Taste 19

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Pecan waffles covered in salted butter and fresh maple syrup pop on the nose next to candied cherry, rum raisin, and cinnamon-heavy apple cider with a kick of fresh pipe tobacco and silky vanilla cream.

Palate: That silkiness creates a lush palate full of more rum raisin, brandy-soaked cherries, old cinnamon sticks soaked in mulled wine, walnut-laden Christmas cakes, and soft oakiness with a sweet tobacco edge.

Finish: The cinnamon amps up on the warm finish with more of that creamy vanilla veering toward eggnog with a dusting of nutmeg and drizzled with salted caramel before a whisper of peppermint candy cane arrives with an underlying sense of old oak cellars.

Initial Thoughts:

This is another winner. It’s balanced, deep, and delectable.

Taste 20

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a sense of corn husks and cherry candy with a touch of cinnamon.

Palate: The palate hits classic notes of cherry, caramel, and oak with a hint of spice.

Finish: The finish leans into the spice with a good cherry body supported by rich vanilla.

Initial Thoughts:

This is perfectly fine.

Part 2 — The Bourbon Heritage Month Ranking

20. Dread River Distilling Co. Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 11

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $52

The Whiskey:

This new whiskey from Birmingham, Alabama, is made from a base of 60% corn, 30% wheat, and 10% malted barley. That whiskey ages for a few years before it’s batched and re-barreled into rum casks for a final rest.

Bottom Line:

Those burnt notes on the nose are flaws in the distillate, unfortunately. And the body of the bourbon is so light that the aging isn’t that dialed either. Sadly, this just isn’t there yet and a hard pass.

19. W.H. McBrayer Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch Barrel Strength Batch 3: Legacy Collection — Taste 8

ABV: 51.75%

Average Price: $99

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is a throwback to a different era (sort of). The whiskey is made according to a handwritten letter from E.H. Taylor to McBrayer back in the late 1800s. The mash used is 88.4% Bloody Butcher corn, 5.8% heritage rye, and 5.8% malted barley. The whiskey then aged for at least four years before batching, proofing, and bottling.

Bottom Line:

That rubbery note on the nose (almost a magic marker when I went back to it) is a flaw in the base spirit — something went wrong. That’s too bad as the aging of this works well and the whiskey actually finished well. Again, this just needs more time to dial in. Until then, hard pass.

18. Eight Settlers Devil’s Gate Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch — Taste 16

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

This Utah whiskey is named after the famed “Devil’s Gate” outside of Salt Lake City. The three-year-old whiskey in the bottles was distilled in Indiana and sent out to Utah where it was batched, proofed, and bottled.

Bottom Line:

This is fine. I don’t really see the point in tracking it down unless you’re looking for a mixing bourbon and you’re in Utah. But even then, there are $30 bourbons that blow this out of the water.

17. Backbone Bourbon The Forge Blended Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 3

ABV: 55%

Average Price: $101

The Whiskey:

This new release batch from Backbone is a blend with a 51% straight bourbon base. The batch is made up of five to seven-year-old bourbon, eight-year-old rye, and a 14-year-old light whiskey (aged in an uncharred barrel).

Bottom Line:

This had such a light nose that it threw the balance off. That’s a shame because the finish is pretty solid. Still, I’d skip this one.

16. Thirteenth Colony Distilleries Southern Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch — Taste 20

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $44

The Whiskey:

Thirteenth Colony is another Georgia distillery making waves right now. The Georgia-made whiskey starts off with a mash bill of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley. The barrels are four to six years old before batching, proofing, and bottling.

Bottom Line:

This is a “fine” bourbon (there’s nothing wrong with it at least). If you’re in Georgia, maybe try a bar pour or a cocktail made with it.

15. Old Elk Straight Bourbon Whiskey Four Grain — Taste 2

ABV: 52.95%

Average Price: $99

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from out in Colorado combines two whiskeys from Indiana (MGP) with Colorado’s Rocky Mountain vibe. The whiskeys are a corn/rye/barley mash bill combined with a corn/wheat/barley mash to create a four-grain experience from blending instead of scratch. That whiskey then spends six to seven years aging in the Rocky Mountain state before it’s bottled as-is.

Bottom Line:

This is a very solid crafty bourbon (those grains are there but they’re balanced well). I’d recommend giving this a shot if you’re looking for something unique and bespoke, especially if you’re looking for a grain-forward whiskey done right.

14. Watershed Distillery Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 4 Years Bottled In Bond — Taste 12

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $59

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is from a very local craft distiller in Ohio. The bourbon in the bottle is the distillery’s bespoke bourbon that’s been left alone for over four years before batching, proofing, and bottling.

Bottom Line:

This is good standard bourbon. I’d use it for basic cocktails and highballs if I was in Ohio and could get it locally.

13. Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series: Amburnara — Taste 9

ABV: 58.21%

Average Price: $89

The Whiskey:

This big new whiskey from Barrell Craft Spirits swings for the fences. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of Indiana bourbon (five, six, seven, to 10 years old) and five-year-old Kentucky bourbon. Once batched, that whiskey was then filled into a Brazilian Amburana cask for a final rest. Those barrels were then bottled 100% as-is.

Bottom Line:

Wow, this is a wild one. It’s truly deep and fascinating. But… it’s so far away from anything you’d expect from a bourbon that it’s hard to know where to put it. I like it, but I taste thousands of whiskey a year and crave uniqueness. If you’re a passive bourbon drinker, this will be baffling (and maybe not in a good way). You’ve been warned.

It’s still a really well-made whiskey regardless.

12. Milan & Greene UNABRIDGED Volume 2 A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskies — Taste 5

ABV: 58.8%

Average Price: $94

The Whiskey:

Unabridged Volume 2 just hit shelves. This edition utilizes both copper pot still bourbon made in T