American Whiskey
American whiskey comprises a huge swath of sub-categories, and most of the whiskeys you’ll encounter fall into one of these. Bourbon (distinguished by its 51%-or-greater corn mashbill) is undoubtedly the largest of these, with Rye (at least 51% rye) arguably second. Tennessee Whiskey (a subset of Bourbon, made in Tennessee and charcoal mellowed) is another major, with Wheat Whiskey, Corn Whiskey, and Malt Whiskey all having their adherents. White whiskey (unaged whiskey) is another segment growing in size. Other categories, including Blended Whiskey, Light Whiskey, and Spirit Whiskey can also be found occupying this broad catch-all category.
Top American Whiskey Categories:
Bourbon
Tennessee Whiskey
Rye
Wheat Whiskey
American Single Malt
When Beam Suntory’s Legent hit the scene it immediately became one of my favorite new whiskeys, and I was over the moon excited to hear about the brand’s first extension to the line, a limited-edition whiskey called Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish Blend. While purists groused over whether the original Legent was officially a bourbon due…
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Heaven Hill’s micro-brand Square 6 expands with the launch of its Wheated Bourbon, joining its High-Rye Bourbon and High-Rye Rye. Like the other members of the Square 6 family, this one’s made at the artisanal distillery located at 528 W Main Street in Louisville, “just steps from the site of Williams’ original distillery founded in…
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Jack Daniel’s whiskey is hardly ever difficult to find, but the brand’s annual Single Barrel Special Release collection is so highly allocated and fervently sought after that it defies those expectations. It also treads the road less traveled in that, aside from their Distillery Series, Jack Daniel’s Special Releases have represented some of the wildest…
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Green River made welcome waves last year in the world of affordable bourbon with the launch of its first eponymous, house-distilled offering, a rye-heavy mashbill, five-year-old bourbon costing all of $35. At Drinkhacker HQ, we were impressed. And apparently, we weren’t the only ones, as Bardstown Bourbon Co. acquired the distillery that summer. For 2023,…
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It seems Jack Daniel’s is capitalizing on momentum after successful releases of their Bonded and Triple Mash whiskeys in 2022, both of which carried bottled-in-bond designations. While on a recent trip to their Lynchburg, Tennessee distillery, company reps told me both releases received better-than-expected responses from consumers and critics alike. Now, the Brown-Forman owned whiskey…
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Based in Colorado Springs, Distillery 291 has recently released Batch 12 of their ongoing E Series, which is their limited release offerings of experimental blends. This comes hot on the heels of the All Rye Colorado Whiskey which we recently reviewed (and have covered various other offerings across their portfolio over the years). Batch…
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It’s been two years since Drew’s review of Stagg Jr. Batch 15, and we’re now taking another spin with the whiskey — RIP to the “Jr.” designation — after a short hiatus. It’s understandable: in the time since Drew’s review, bourbon has, somehow, managed to become even boomier, the average consumer is exceedingly educated, and…
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Milam & Greene’s Unabridged label gets its second installment, although this year there’s no mention of compadres Noah Rothbaum and David Wondrich having a hand in the blend. Master distiller Marlene Holmes says that there’s older stock in this release than in Unabridged Volume 1, but it remains a cask-strength blend of rare casks from…
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Still Austin iterates again this year with a new bourbon, made with red corn and bottled in bond. It’s the first in a line of four bonded whiskeys that will roll out over the next year, this one made with a mashbill of 36% Jimmy Red corn, 34% white corn, 25% rye, and 5% malted…
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It’s time for another experimental, Distillery Exclusive release from Stranahan’s. As always, this starts with Colorado single malt, this time finished for at least three years in red wine casks — a mix of Bordeaux and pinot noir. Total aging time is seven years in barrel, the first four years spent in a Level 4…
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