Best American Whiskey: A Taste Off

What makes a great whiskey?

Is it the neck-tickling moment of sweet, floral, fruity and spice hitting the olfactory all at once?

Yeah, that can do it.

Or, does great whiskey drip down the palate like butter and massage the roof of your mouth? Um, yeah, that’ll do it.

But the greatest American whiskeys I’ve ever tasted dance on the tongue with a tapestry of fine, delectable notes sticking around long after the liquid is swallowed. 

As I began my quest to select my American Whiskey of the Year, with more than 35 contenders, I knew finish would be my ultimate decider. Finish is the residual flavor on the palate after you’ve taken your sip of something. The more I study whiskey the more I have come to believe that taste and finish mean more to me than aromas or color. 

I was right. 

This is my preference. And no matter how hard I try to remove potential bias, such as doing tastings blind, and having as a neutral playing field as possible, such as using the same glass across the board, my desire for a long, beautiful finish plays a role in what I select. 

How I taste: I swirl, pushing the aromas up toward the opening of the glass while analyzing the color. My mouth has been known to water as the legs just drip and stagger down the glass. Then, I smell, looking for the bad (gym socks) and the good (yummy smells, such as caramel) and letting my olfactory sort of set my brain up for the taste, when I feel the whiskey on the tip of my tongue and let it walk about. I note all the points the whiskey hits and what flavors arise. More times than not, when I am tasting, I can rank whiskeys just on these factors. But when all things are equal or great in their own right, my choices come down to the finish. 

And I’ll be damned if during the Kentucky Bourbon flight, a finish so strong didn’t jump up, punch me in the face and steal my lunch money that it nearly ruined the rest of the taste off. 

In blind tastings, sometimes you taste something so amazing it can shock your palate to only want that flavor, that mouthfeel and finish. The moment I tasted glass “Y” in my blind taste off I knew that it was in my Top 5 and most likely my No. 1 whiskey. It was so complex, so velvety, with a finish that just didn’t quit.

When I first put Y upon my lips, I sort of kept these thoughts to myself (I live streamed the tasting), because I didn’t want to end the tasting then and there. After all, I am about giving every glass its fair shot. 

But the greatest American whiskeys I’ve ever tasted dance on the tongue with a tapestry of fine, delectable notes sticking around long after the liquid is swallowed. 

Before I get too far into my love affair with Y and some worthy foes to its eventual crown, let me tell you why I am doing this. For a decade, I’ve been a whiskey critic working with magazines and competitions, and I follow their guidelines. Last year, I started my own awards, of sorts, with Barrell Craft Spirits 15-year-old winning it all. 

This year, I Live Streamed it on YouTube, hoping showing my tastings processes and methodologies can inspire somebody out there to do the same. See, we all taste differently. And what is right to my palate may not be to yours. I also know there’s a great deal of mystery behind whiskey awards, albeit the ones I am a part of are quite transparent. So, I wanted this completely out there and open. If I look stupid, pick an unpopular whiskey, whatever, it’s all right there for you to consume and judge. 

Onto my tasting, I had the following categories: Best Wheat Whiskey (Woodford Reserve’s Wheat Whiskey), Best Celebrated-Related Whiskey (Cedar Ridge Collaboration with Slipknot—No. 9 Reserve), Best Barrel Finish (Angel’s Envy Cask Strength, 2019), Best Non-Kentucky Bourbon (Woodinville), Best Kentucky Bourbon, Best Tennessee, Best Blend of Straights (Barrell Bourbon Batch 21) and Best Rye (Thomas Handy).

I started with Tennessee, because I thought the category would be easy to pick. I was sort of amazed how right I was. My Tennessee pick, which I later learned was Uncle Nearest 1820, stood out in a big way and took third in the overall tasting. It was a caramel and butterscotch whiskey. 

As I revealed the winners, come to find out, Uncle Nearest would be the only non-Kentucky bourbon. While I loved the rye winner, which was Thomas Handy, it goes back to the preferences for a taster. And right now, in my life, Kentucky bourbon is more my jam than rye, albeit I see rye growing. 

Really, this whole tasting came down to Y and anything that stood in its way. Letters T, Old Forester 1920, and EE, Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, were savory and spicy respectively and went toe to toe with Y. But lacked the depth in the finish to go much further. Old Forester was my No. 4 pick and Four Roses 5. It’s worth pointing out that of my Top 5, Old Forester 1920 is the most widely available on the list and can be found in most markets for less than $60.

Glass U was coming in as a complex beast with a finish to match Y. And it was more delicate, loaded with pastry notes. But in the end, Y was already tapped into my brain, pulling the strings of my palate and on my last taste of it, I could feel the neck hairs stand up—a sign of greatness. 

When I revealed Y was King of Kentucky, I was surprised, because the King didn’t fair well in my tasting last year or a previous blind tasting, making me predict that its style didn’t suit me in blind competition. And who knows if it wins if I taste off again in January?

But on this night, Y or King of Kentucky was my clear American Whiskey of the Year. In my career, I’ve never tasted a whiskey with such a decisive victory.  It was sublime.

Top 5

5. Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch

4. Old Forester 1920

3. Uncle Nearest 1820

2. Michter’s 20-year-old

1. King of Kentucky

Subscribe to Fred Minnick’s YouTube Channel to see more his live tastings. He is the editor-in-chief of Bourbon+ Magazine. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and his free drinks newsletter.