Flavored Whiskey
As with other spirits categories, whiskey can be flavored with herbs, spices, fruit flavors, or just about anything else, typically just before it is bottled. One of the biggest trends in whiskey in the last decade has been the growth of cinnamon-flavored whiskey, particularly Fireball. Honey-flavored whiskeys have also surged in popularity in recent years. These flavored styles offer an easier, sweeter, and friendlier entry point into the sometimes daunting world of whiskey and are usually geared toward novice drinkers, though a few more elevated offerings are on the market. Note that flavored whiskeys are distinct from whiskeys that are aged or finished in a unique barrel (such as a used Port wine barrel or a maple wood barrel), even though it may impart a specific and unique flavor. These types of whiskeys are categorized (and are widely considered) as full members of their parent category (bourbon, rye, Scotch, etc.).
Top Flavored Whiskey Posts:
George Dickel Tabasco Barrel Finish
Sons of Liberty Pumpkin Spice Flavored Whiskey (2016) and Gala Apple Flavored Whiskey
Ol’ Major Bacon Flavored Bourbon
Old Forester Mint Julep
Fireball Cinnamon Whisky
Wild Turkey American Honey Sting
Is the world ready to try a high-end, 23-year-old flavored whiskey? One brand is banking on the answer being “yes,” and thus Crown Royal Golden Apple was born. As the newest entry in Crown Royal’s Master Series, Golden Apple is a blend of Canadian whiskies aged for 23 long years that is flavored with golden…
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Just when you think you’ve seen everything along come something new: Pineapple flavored Scotch courtesy of Buchanan’s. Officially billed as a “spirit drink” — Scotch cannot legally be flavored — it is a product “crafted with Scotch whisky, pineapple, citrus, and other natural flavors.” While I would suggest this is exclusively a mixer for oddball…
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An introduction to the origins of Whiskey in the Wild sounds a bit like the opener to the standard bar joke: “a food chemist, pro hockey player, biotechnician, and physician walk into … er… the woods.” And they start a whiskey company. Or rather, they start a whiskey-centered lifestyle company catering to like-minded consumers with…
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It’s been a hot minute since we last checked in on Michigan’s Journeyman Distillery. Now we’re back with a look at two humorously named expressions, one a wheat whiskey and the other a flavored rye whiskey. Thoughts follow. Journeyman Corsets, Whips & Whiskey – A single distillation of 100% organic Michigan wheat bottled at cask…
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Our last encounter with Ballotin‘s (many) chocolate whiskey flavors was back in 2016. Since then, the company’s continued to innovate on the choco-whiskey tip, including this new release, Chocolate Toffee. The flavor design should be fairly self-explanatory, and for the most part Ballotin comes through with this expression. There’s chocolate on the nose, plus an…
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Village Garage Distillery (housed in a former garage for the local highway department, hence the name) can be found in Bennington, Vermont, where it was founded in 2018 and began releasing products in 2021. All of the company’s spirits are made in the state — though not necessarily by the company itself. In addition to…
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Michigan’s Traverse City makes a wide range of whiskeys which we’ve covered in depth in the past. Now there’s a limited edition offering on the table: Traverse City’s bourbon infused with Michigan peaches (and natural flavor, natch). Let’s put it through its paces. The big question with a product like this isn’t whether it smells…
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New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling is back at it again with another oddity: Crab Trapper, a bourbon-based whiskey “steeped with a custom crab, corn, and spice blend mixture, best likened to a Low Country Boil.” The green crabs used in the whiskey have an invasive species in New England for over a century, so using them…
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It’s two words — “Nut Cracker” — on the label, but “Nutcracker” officially. Whatever the case, this is a pecan flavored rye whiskey from Durham, NC-based Lonerider Spirits, and with that you know everything about it that I know. One sniff and whoosh! it’s a sugar bomb that hits the nostrils. Overbearingly sweet and laden with…
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The orange whiskey invasion has finally crossed the pond and made it to Ireland, with Jameson Orange now a thing. Unlike Jim Beam Orange, which turned out to be an orange liqueur, Jameson Orange is a flavored whiskey — specifically Jameson with “zesty orange flavor” added. The results are both wholly expected and fairly tepid.…
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