The 100 Best Bourbons That *Aren’t* From Kentucky, Ranked

uproxx | ZACH JOHNSTON | May 1, 2023

[Excerpt]

To say that there’s a lot of bourbon on the shelves these days would be a massive understatement. In 2023, it’s actually appropriate to use the word “plethora” when describing the number of bourbon labels on the shelf (which means an “overabundance” or “excess” and not just “a lot”). There’s so much, in fact, that I can call out 100 great Kentucky bourbons one day and another 100 bourbons not from Kentucky the next.

That’s 200 bottles of bourbon that are all very good to great. And it barely scratches the surface!

Take a breath, I know it’s a lot. It’s mindboggling and, at times, frustrating when trying to actually figure out what the hell to buy and drink. So let us help with your whiskey collection curation.

Today, I’m calling out 100 great bourbons from all over the U.S.A. except Kentucky. You see, bourbon just needs to be made in the U.S.A. There’s no parameter or law requiring it to be made in Kentucky. That said, most of it is made there (well over 90%). And still, with less than 10% of bourbon coming from all 49 states, it wasn’t all that hard to find 100 killer bottles to list here. As we said, there’s a lot of this stuff being made right now — it’s a full-on boom!

To be clear, I do get that there’s also plenty of bad shit out there. But this list is about the good stuff that you can find, depending on how close or far you are from the source. And that’s the one caveat here. Some of these bourbons are hyper-local. You’re not going to find a few of these outside of distillery shops or local liquor stores. That said, there are some bourbons on this list that you can find worldwide — so it all balances out. Let’s just dive in!

Old Elk Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Barrels

ABV: 54.05%
Average Price: $94

The Whiskey:

This Colorado whiskey is made with a base of 51% corn, 34% malted barley, and 15% rye. That whiskey rests for five years before it’s batched and re-barrelled into 59-gallon port casks from Portugal. After 10 months to a year, those barrels are batched and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

  • Nose: This is crafty bourbon turned up to 11 with a sweet porridge nose, raw leather, cold apple cider, and a hint of fresh oak.

  • Palate: There’s a honey-apple crisp sweetness on the opening of the palate that leads right back into that slurry of sweet porridge — now with a white grits edge — before a nice ABV buzz (not burn) leads to orchard barks, winter spice mixes, and a soft sense of cherry bark.

  • Finish: The finish holds onto the buzziness as the fruit wood and spice settle into a soft and sweet grit ending.

Bottom Line:

This is a pure crafty bourbon that balances the sweet grains with an old-school finishing really well. It almost feels like the marrying of the new and old shouldn’t work but it just does here. This is a great crafty that goes the extra mile to create something fresh and unique.

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