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
Based in Waldport, Oregon, Gatsby Spirits is a new operation that is crafting a variety of products (under two separate brand names), including some curious and unusual ingredients. We tasted all three of Gatsby’s offerings. Let’s dig in. Gatsby Spirits The Tides Vodka – Made from a blend of a 4x distilled corn mash and…
Whoops: Graverobber Unholy Rye, from New Hampshire-based Tamworth Distilling, is intended as an annual autumn release, and here it is, February! That’s on us, but all the same here’s a look at this flavored rye (distilled here, not sourced), which is “infused with maple syrup tapped from graveside maple trees.” Maple-flavored whiskey is great, but…
For its next trick, Evanston, Illinois-based Few Spirits has dropped Few Immortal Rye, a version of its cask-strength Few straight rye whiskey (70% rye, 20% corn, 10% malted barley) that’s proofed to bottling strength “with cold-extracted “8 Immortals” tea from renowned Denver-based tea purveyor, The Tea Spot. Immortal Rye is thought to be the first…
So you want to get on the Skrewball bandwagon and drink peanut butter whiskey… but you’re allergic to peanuts! What then? Why, check out Porter’s peanut butter-flavored hooch, unabashedly marketed right on the label as an Imitation Peanut Butter Flavored Whiskey. That’s intentional, Utah-based producer Ogden’s Own says, so as to inform the 1.2% of the…
Coffee is becoming increasingly visible in the whiskey world, with Jameson Cold Brew already a popular option for blending these two great tastes. For something a little more traditional — and considerably sweeter — check out this new expression from Devils River, which rides the line between whiskey and liqueur a little closer to the…
Junior Johnson was a major NASCAR driver — but before that, he was a moonshine distiller, and was actually convicted for it in federal court. (Ronald Reagan pardoned Johnson in 1986.) Before his death in 2019, Johnson teamed up with Piedmont Distillers in North Carolina to craft his moonshine recipe the legal way. Today, Midnight…
Madison, NC-based Piedmont Distillers, best known for the Moon Mountain Moonshine series, also produces Catdaddy, an unusual mashup of moonshine and spiced rum. Catdaddy is triple distilled from corn, then flavored “with hints of vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon,” though it’s unclear if that’s exactly what comprises the flavoring bill. The finished product is unaged and…
The new Whistler Irish Whiskey brand comes to us from family-owned Boann Distillery, which can be found in the Ireland’s Boyne Valley. “At Boann, we pride ourselves in being one of the most innovative whiskey distilleries in Ireland, and in late 2019 our new state-of-the-art facilities and custom copper pot stills produced the first spirit…
The Standard Proof lineup is from the same Tennessee-based company that makes Barsmith Grenadine, and here the operation turns its flavoring attention to real spirits, not just sugar syrups. The collection of six rye whiskeys are all made from undisclosed sourced spirit (the mashbill being 51% rye, 44% corn, and 5% malted barley), then infused…
Jameson‘s latest bottling isn’t yet another standard spin on Irish, it’s a combination of whiskey with cold brew coffee flavor added. Makes sense, after all. The most iconic coffee + whiskey cocktail is, of course, Irish coffee. There’s not a lot of backstory here, but Jameson reps say that customers have been asking for this…