The Top 10 Whiskies We Tried This Year

As another year draws to a close, we aretaking a look back at all the good thingswe got to try this year.

While we wouldn't go so far as to say this is a definitive list of the best whiskies available, we tried well over 100 different pours this year, and this is a list of the ones that really stuck with us and kept us wishing we had another pour.

1) Michter's 20 Year Bourbon

Looking back on this pour, it has toabsolutely be one of my favorite poursI've ever tried.

The bottle will set you back $700 if you're lucky enough to find it around retail (and several thousand most places). It highlights all the beautiful flavors Michter's is known for and then cranks it up to 11.

The pour is beautifully woody, but not too charred. It's balanced between a rich and dry toasted note and caramelized wood sugar. Pair that with a beautiful vanilla bean ice cream note and finished with dry wood and rich caramel butterscotch.

Special thanks to Silver Dollar for makingone of my dream pours happen!

2) Weller Full Proof SB

Another pour had at The Silver Dollar in Louisville, Ky that had our mouth watering was their Weller Full Proof Single Barrel.

While I like Weller, this pick was a cut above the rest. Weller Full Proof comes in at 114, and while it doesn't necessarily drink under the proof, the pour is smooth and full of flavor.

Vanilla and cinnamon sugar give an initial burst of sweetness before it mellows into a more robust caramel, oak, and leather.

You can taste the density of the wood sugar, as the pour coats your mouth and leaves a long and balanced finish on the tongue.

3) Willett Family Estate Bourbon

Willett was founded in 1936, and their family estate upper-shelf releases reflect that history both in taste and appearance.

The Family Estate bottle we had clocked in at just 127.6 proof and, again, while it was as hot as one might expect, it wasn't harsh and that proof carried some beautiful flavor with it. It was the "Center Point" pick that has gained some traction with Willett Bourbon fans countrywide.

The pour has legs, and coats your mouth as you pick through a salvo of flavors. Candied orange peel, vanilla spice, red hots, dried oak, caramel, and honey carry you through the heat and give you a palate of flavors to enjoy with every sip.

4) Michter's Barrel Strength Bourbon

Michter's does something unique with their whiskey. They enter the whiskey with some water at a lower proof to alter the way in which the whiskey interacts with the wood.

The limited release Barrel Strength bourbon takes all the flavors you love with Michter's, but, though the proof is higher, it doesn't drink much hotter than their regular bourbon, though the sweet flavors are more prominent.

It's an absolute flavor bomb with notes of spiced vanilla, caramel cream, and dried cherry hitting you in a wave before fading into the familiar toasted oak dry finish we've come to expect.

5) Blaum Bros. Oldfangled Knotter Bourbon

Blaum has picked up some traction as of late, and after trying it for myself, I can see why.

It's 12 years of hot and oily deliciousness.

It's got a creamy mouthfeel and with the heat comes tons of flavor.

Very rye spice forward for a bourbon will entice rye lovers without being off-putting for bourbon lovers. The rye note stays through the pour, but opens up to bring delicious notes of winter spice, allspice, roasted oak, charred caramel, spiced vanilla, dried orange peel, and dark cherries.

6) Michter's Toasted Barrel Rye

Michter's Toasted Barrel is something special. It's a pour people have gone pretty bonkers over, and for good reason.

The toasted barrel rye is full-bodied and balanced.

Notes of rye spice, dry roasted oak, and cinnamon spice hit on the front before fading into deep charred maple, pine wood sugars, black currant, and caramel candies.

The pour is worth the price of admission at less than $100 for the bottle.

7) Blanton's Straight From The Barrel

Blanton's is good. Don't get me wrong. But the craze for it has gotten out of hand.

That being said, the straight from the barrel expression is hot, delicious, and not for the feint of heart. Though, behind the heat lies a crazy amount of flavor that makes regular Blanton's seem like the shell of what it could be at a higher proof.

Tons of dry and spiced oak hit you off the bat, followed by charred butterscotch, vanilla, and torched sugar.

While the MSRP is just under $100, it's not yet available in the US save for a single special release.

8) Weller 107 NCF Store Pick

Weller 107 is a widely loved pour, and the single barrels are particularly delicious.

There are two types of single barrels. The first is the traditional chill filtered, and the second is more rare and labeled "NCF" which stands for "non-chill filtered." The NCF is the more sought after as Weller enthusiasts swear by the NCF. And, while this is the first NCF I've tried, it's also the best pick I've tried.

That could just be pure random chance, or there could be something to it.

It drinks below 100 proof and is full of caramel, vanilla, malty wheat, tobacco, allspice, and toasty oak make it a great pour.

9) Blanton's Single Barrel

Blanton's twice on one list?! I know, half of you are rolling your eyes and half of you are stoked.

However, hear me out on this one. I've had a lot of Blanton's in my time reviewing, and many of those have been barrel picks. But, this was the best Blanton's barrel pick I've ever had.

Picked by Davidoff of Geneva in Tampa, FL, this single barrel drinks incredibly smooth.

The palate was full of thick caramel cream, rose water, light tobacco leaf, dried oak, and bakingspice.

10) Four Roses Small Batch Select

Four Roses added the small batch select to their line of whiskies in five states in 2019. This expanded to another thirteen states in 2020.

The small batch select has a lot of flavor for a price tag under sixty-dollars and it's probably the most available pour on this list by a wide margin.

Dark chocolate truffle, cinnamon, clove, raw honey, Maduro tobacco, and dried orange peel give this bourbon a very easy-to-drink sweetness that would be great to pair with a more robust cigar or to have as an after-dinner drink.