One of my favorite things to drink is a good finished whiskey. While I love straight bourbon, rye and others as they are the art of finishing a whiskey is just pretty cool to me. I sit down with 8 finished whiskeys from 5 whiskey producers to see how they fair in a blind taste test! Let’s dive in shall we!
Tasting notes: Glass A
- Nose: Cinnamon sugar, nutmeg, chocolate frosting, faint leather and tobacco
- Palate: Bold palate with dark fruits, cherry cola, rye spice and nutmeg
- Finish: Lingering dark red fruit and tannin for a nice well rounded finish
Tasting notes: Glass B
- Nose: Apple cider, vanilla, clove, very malty and a hint of grain.
- Palate: Drinks like a single malt. Rich creamy palate. Warm baking spices, eggnog, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Finish: Very short and malt forward finish.
Tasting notes: Glass C
- Nose: Butterscotch, green apple/ green grapes, almost tart on the nose slight bit of lemon rind.
- Palate: Wine forward palate, with notes of creamy butterscotch candy, pepper, vanilla and plum.
- Finish: Long fruity finish with that is very juicy.
Tasting notes: Glass D
- Nose: Brown sugar, smells like TN whiskey, chocolate, dark fruit (apricots and plums)
- Palate: Flavor bomb on the palate. Brown sugar, chocolate, plum, cream cheese frosting
- Finish: Toasted brown sugar for a light to medium finish
Tasting notes: Glass E
- Nose: Fruit forward, green apple, rye spice, lemon, caramel, vanilla and oak
- Palate: Grain forward, spearmint , oak, sweet wheat and custard
- Finish: Short finish finish with not a ton of flavor.
Tasting notes: Glass F
- Nose: White wine, cherry, orchard green apple, white pepper and vanilla.
- Palate: Very easy sipper, vanilla, white pepper, grape and brown sugar.
- Finish: lingering notes of toasted vanilla and brown sugar.
Tasting notes: Glass G
- Nose: Cream soda, vanilla, very fruity
- Palate: creamy palate, rye spices, pepper, vanilla, oak and honey
- Finish: short finish with a pop of those spices.
Tasting notes: Glass H
- Nose: Citrus, rye spices oak and vanilla
- Palate: Drank very sweet, with a bit of backend rye spice and toasted vanilla.
- Finish: A nice medium finish that was decently rounded
Blind Tasting Thoughts
There were four pours that stood out to me during the blind part of the tasting Glasses A, C, D and F. Having a bit left in each glass I ran through those four and found my winner!
Ranking Finished Whiskeys From 8th to 1st
8th – Copper & Kings Apple Brand Finish
- Age: A blend of 15, 10 and 5 Years
- Mashbill: 64% 5 year Bardstown Bourbon Co., 24% 10 year Barton, and 12% 15 year Heaven Hill
- Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Apple Brandy Casks
- Finish: Apple Brandy for 12 months
- Price: $65
7th – Whiskey War Double Oak Batch #6
- Age: At least 5 years old
- Mashbill: Undisclosed
- Style: Straight Whiskey Double Oaked
- Finish: Double Oaked for 6 – 12 months
- Price: $69.99
6th – Blacked x Rabbit Hole
- Age: Undisclosed
- Mashbill: 13-year-old straight Tennessee bourbon whiskey featuring a mash bill of 64 percent corn, 36 percent rye, and Rabbit Hole Heigold High Rye Double Malt Kentucky straight bourbon, made from a mash bill of 70 percent corn, 25 percent malted rye, and 5 percent malted barley.
- Style: Blend of Straight bourbon whiskeys
- Finish: Calvados
- Price: $149.99
5th – Bardstown Bourbon Company Goose Island Collaboration
- Age: Blend of 7, 6 and 9 year
- Mashbill:
- 56% 7 Year Kentucky Bourbon (53% Corn; 26% Rye; 21% Malted Barley) – Finished
- 26% 6 Year Kentucky Bourbon (53% Corn; 26% Rye; 21% Malted Barley) – Finished
- 18% 9 Year Kentucky Bourbon (78% Corn; 13% Rye; 9% Malted Barley) – Not Finished
- Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Finish: Stout finish for 12 months
- Price: $159.99
4th – Whiskey War Double Oak Batch #8
- Age: Over Five Years
- Mashbill: Undisclosed
- Style: Blend of Straight Whiskeys
- Finish: Double Oak
- Price: $69.99
3rd – Whiskey War Double Oak Finished In PX Sherry Casks
- Age: 6 years old
- Mashbill: Undisclosed
- Style: Blend of straight whiskeys
- Finish: Double Oak and PX Sherry
- Price: $109.99
2nd – High N’ Wicked “The Jury”
- Age: 15 Years Old
- Mashbill: 84% corn, 8% rye, 8% malted barley
- Style: Tennessee Bourbon
- Finish: Aged 14 years new #4 char American white oak. Finished for 12 months in Ex-Tinta Negra Madeira Casks
- Price: 149.99
1st – High West Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 11
- Age: Undisclosed
- Mashbill: Blend of 95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP; 80% rye, 20% malted rye from High West distillate
- Style: Blend of Straight Rye Whiskeys
- Finish: Port Barrels
- Price: $149.99
I think this crop of whiskey was really hard to judge, but it pushed my palate and had a great time diving into all the complex and rich flavors. If you are looking for a whiskey producer to keep an eye on don’t sleep on the team from High Bank Distillery. But all in all I am not shocked that High Midwinters Nights Dram Act 11 won this competition as this was a stellar blend the team put together!
Let us know your thoughts on the whiskeys we tried and if you would rank them differently.
Listen to Bourbon Lens on your favorite podcast app or stream on Spotify. If you’d like to support Bourbon Lens, subscribe to our Patreon, sign up for our “Weekly Pour” Newsletter, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
If you like cocktails, subscribe to our second podcast, Cocktails with Friends. Cocktails with Friends is hosted by our good friend and partner, Bob Cutler.
Recent Bourbon Lens Coverage
- Jeptha Creed Launches Limited Red, White & Blue Kentucky Straight Bourbon to Honor Veterans and Support CreatiVets
- Old Commonwealth Distillery Introduces New “Kentucky Nectar” Bourbon
- Hoste Cocktails Unveils New 2024 Gold Fashioned
- Rabbit Hole Distillery Launches Limited Edition 8-Year Boxergrail Founder’s Collection Rye Whiskey
- Historic Bourbon de Luxe Brand Gets New Life from Rolling Fork Founders
- Breckenridge Distillery’s New “Dad’s Stash Whiskey” Supports No-Shave November
