Month: December 2020

We have come (finally) to the end of the year, and that means the Gents must start the process of going through our favourite bourbons (old and new) to decide which ones make our top ten of the year and which one will take the top spot.

Like most people this year though, we didn’t have the normal luxury of being able to sit in the same space and debate the list while pulling bourbon after bourbon from the shelf to refresh our memories. We did the list over Skype and, while it worked for the purpose of the list, it unfortunately did not work audio wise hence there is no podcast recording this year to accompany the top ten. We apologise to the 5 people who used to download it.

Our regular readers will know that for the last 3 years we have had the same winner - George T. Stagg. Will it win again this year or have we finally found bourbons we have enjoyed more? Will Noah’s Mill manage to stay in the top ten and be the only bourbon to feature on every end of year list we have done? And, finally, Will anyone start at number ten and slowly work their way to the number one pick? Or will you all just scroll right down to the bottom and just see who won? Well, let’s find out.

But wait! Before you dive in, here is a reminder of the rules that govern our choices for bourbons of the year;

The Rules

1. The list is open to any bourbon, no matter when it was released or when we tasted it. i.e. It is NOT exclusive to bourbons released in 2020 or that we have tried in 2020.

2. Either Mav or Mr Pie must have actually tasted the bourbon for it to be in consideration.

3. The list does not have to reflect the Gents previous review scores.

4. This list is our list. You don't have to like it.

It says something about our list that a bourbon as good as this only makes it to number 10. It oozes quality and, most of all, consistency. We have never had a bad bottle of the small batch. In fact that is the reason we prefer it over the single barrel variant. This bourbon always delivers and, due to the BIB tag, you get a lovely 50% ABV to give it that extra kick and longer finish.

Henry McKenna Single Barrel almost won the bourbon of the year in 2019, ultimately finishing second to the mighty Stagg. It’s large drop in the top ten can be ignored, it is still the same top-class drink that we raved about last year and it still makes us smile every time we taste it. Its placement here only reflects the fact that the Gents (probably due to lock down boredom) have purchased more new bourbons than ever before, and most of them have ended up making this list.

With caramel notes throughout, and the near-perfect hit of rye grain spice (not too little, not too much) make this a sippers dream. We cannot stress enough that if you see this bottle in the wild then snap it up.

As mentioned above, the Gents have been on a buying spree this year and Widow Jane is the first of our new bottles that have made it to the top ten.

This is a 10-year-old Brooklyn bourbon that is made up of sourced Kentucky whiskey (we will let you re-read that sentence and decide for yourselves what determines a bourbons origin). The master distillers have done a great job here in producing a fantastic tasting bourbon at a decent percentage. However, it’s the nose that really blows you away. How they have managed to pack in so much complexity to it is beyond us, but pour yourself a dram and get ready for apple, honey, citrus, toffee, brown sugar, oak, caramel and more

As a previous winner of Mr Murray’s whisky of the year, the Gents decided to give it a try and eventually managed to find a bottle. Murray may not be the most politically correct reviewer out there, but he does know a good bourbon when he encounters it. However, as you eagle eyed readers will have spotted, we do not agree that this the best bourbon of the year, in fact it’s not even the best bourbon we’ve had this month. That said though, if you ignore the hype and remove the accolade it was given, this is still a great bourbon with lots to offer, and can hold its own. Just don’t go into it expecting it to be the second coming.

Dropping slightly from last year’s number 3, Decades is still one of the best bourbons the Gents have been lucky enough to own. Hand-selected barrels between 10 and 20 years of age, provides the whiskey which offers all the unmistakable notes that Wild Turkey brings to the glass. The way it walks the line between sweet and spice is sublime, the Gents can only applaud this show of skill and craftsmanship. Wild Turkey, the Gents salute you!

Being the joint creation of Jim Beam Master Distiller Fred Noe and Suntory Master Blender Shinji Fukuyo, we really shouldn’t have been too surprised at just how good this bourbon is. Many may pass this off as a gimmick, or as a forced move by Suntory now that they own the Beam brand. Quite frankly we are happy for them to do so, because it might just stay a hidden gem for a bit longer - before everyone realises just how good this is and it becomes hard to find.

While it is a collaboration between Beam and Suntory, it is not a mix of Japanese and US whiskeys. It’s purely Beam stock and it shows on the nose with that unmistakeable Beam smell. The taste is where it starts to pull away. Some of the bourbon has been aged in red wine casks and sherry casks and that comes through on the palate in just the right amounts as not to be overbearing.

We really can’t stress enough how much we both enjoyed this bourbon. It manages to be totally different while retaining the good old Beam notes that we have all become accustomed to. Just buy it, trust us!

Holy shit! Surely something is either wrong with your eyes, or with our tech guys who run the website. There must have been a mistake…

Nope, this is correct, George T. Stagg has not only lost the title it has held for the last 3 years, but its also slipped to number 4.

Now, before anyone gets carried away and we start to receive emails and comments about the fact that Stagg is better than the bourbons that have replaced it in the list, let’s just clarify something. This is still the best bourbon we have ever had. Period.

So why isn’t it number 1 anymore? Well, the fact is that we have enjoyed drinking some of our newer bourbons more this year, it’s as simple as that. Our list doesn’t aim to be a rigid math based scoring metric where the highest rated one comes top, or where the BEST bourbon wins. This list is our FAVOURTIE bourbons of the year, and thus gives us a chance to look at what we have enjoyed drinking and have our top ten reflect that.

So while we still love (LOVE) the 2016 expression of this BTAC classic, we have finally found some new bourbons to replace it.

and they are…

This one came out of nowhere and blew us away. Found in a dusty old store somewhere in Scotland, the Gents decided to take a gamble on this one and see what it had to offer over the standard (and somewhat underwhelming) Yellowstone Bourbon.

Our conclusion was that it offers a lot. The nose and palate are both upfront oak heavy (a favourite profile for Mav) but with just enough toffee and caramel to keep it all nicely, and delicately, balanced overall. Which is some feat considering what these barrels have gone through according to the makers themselves;

“2016, we finished our Limited Edition bourbon in specially selected new wine barrels, which lent their special flavour to that year’s celebrated bourbon. Later that year, after the bourbon was dumped and bottled, the same 28 barrels were lightly charred and we filled them with our 2017 Limited Edition bourbon. This year, we took the very same barrels – now rich with complexity – and deeply charred them before filling them with our 2018 Limited Edition”

Now that explains the intense amount of oak!

P.S - The picture displays the 2019 version but it is the 2018 we have and sits here at number 3 on our list.

This was close. Very, very close.

This small, handily pocket size bourbon, is one of the best we have ever had and it almost took the top spot this year. In fact it only missed out due to the Gents opposite views on high percentage bourbons. Mav is all for them and the higher the proof the better. On the other side though Mr Pie’s enjoyment of a bourbon is often lessened (although not always) by the higher strength offerings.

Being the Gentlemen that we are there was only one way to resolve such a deadlock. We settled the argument in a civilised and British way by duelling with pistols at dawn on the lawn of the Bourbon Gents manor.

As you can see from its placement at number 2, and by the hole in Mavs shoulder, Mr Pie won and this incredible bourbon narrowly misses out on the top spot.

Here it is, the Bourbon Gents bourbon of the year 2020.

There was no need for pistols at dawn for this one. The Elijah Craig Single Barrel 18 hit that sweet spot for both of us.

This bourbon starts off strong right out of the gate as the nose is like something from another world (albeit a bourbon-based world). It hits you with so much that it takes some time, and a few visits, to fully note all the aromas you are being presented. Lots of chocolate, honey, oak and vanilla are the first things you get, then digging deeper you find orange and cinnamon along with some apple, black current and custard. It should be too much, and too many different smells overwhelming each other, but yet it all balances perfectly.

After you remember that you can also drink this as well as nose it, you finally pull yourself away from the aromas and dive in. At first you are expecting to be overloaded with wood and oak due to the age statement, but yet the first thing you get is honey, caramel, vanilla and maybe some popcorn. Then comes the oak, it complements the other flavours and stays around, underlying the tasting experience on to the finish where it takes over and leaves a smoky wood end to the drink.

It’s hard to fault this bourbon, in fact maybe only a few more percentage points into the proof could possibly make it better, but even then it may mess with the way it has been put together to create this amazing drinking experience and one that has put it top of our list for 2020.

Top 10 Posted - December 2020