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You must be 21 or over to enter this website. If you're not old enough to drink, then you're not old enough to read Breaking Bourbon.
Please read and drink responsibly.
Each year we taste and review hundreds of American whiskeys, which are predominantly bourbons but also include ryes, malts, finished whiskeys, and other classifications of American-made whiskeys. Our annual “Best Whiskeys of the Year” series features five categories: “Best American Single Malt, “Best American Whiskey,” “Best Rye,” “Best Finished,” and “Best Bourbon,” finally culminating with our overall #1 Whiskey of the Year.
Our Best American Single Malts of 2024 start with those ongoing releases or new ones released in 2024 and rated 3.5 barrels or higher, but are not based purely on our initial tasting and individual rating. Instead, we retaste and discuss this wide range of whiskeys extensively. We ask questions, such as is the whiskey exciting, memorable, unique, and most importantly, how does it compare to the rest of the field for the year.
We look for whiskeys that move us, and dig into whiskeys that may be off the beaten path. While availability and price are factors, they are not absolute. The intent is to highlight the whiskeys of the year that stand out the most to us, even if they might be difficult to obtain - and the reason we maintain evergreen “Best of” lists to highlight more readily accessible whiskeys. Ultimately, we must agree on which whiskeys make the list, and which do not - combining the diversity of our different palates.
Notably, 2024 was a slower year for standout American single malts, which is why this specific list is shorter than others in our best of category in 2024.
Westward Whiskey entered the annual limited edition market with a band last year by releasing Milestone Edition No.1. The company has made a name for itself in the American whiskey space due to its singular focus: American single malts. Based out of Portland, Oregon, Westward Whiskey has quickly grown in popularity in this space. Instead of using a barrel finish for their annual limited edition whiskey, they instead focused on using a Solera style American single malt. Questions remained if the first edition was just a one-hit wonder or if the company would be able to replicate its success year after year.
Turns out that American single malt drinkers had little to worry about, as Milestone Edition No. 2 reinforced with a vengeance that Westward Whiskey is the pre-eminent distiller of American single malts currently. Being a whiskey that utilizes the Solera method means by its very nature that each release in this ongoing series will be different. Milestone Edition No. 2 continues to showcase the company’s niche in this space and pushes the brand to the next level once again. It’s a bold and expressive sip that’s a flavor bomb from start to finish. Milestone Edition No. 2 was one of the best American single malts, and, quite frankly, one of the best whiskeys overall to come out in 2024.
Wyatt Earp single malt whiskeys were introduced in 2024, and the brand is one of World Whiskey Society’s numerous offerings. The brand pays tribute to Wyatt Earp, an “American lawman and gambler” who lived from 1848-1929. Earp danced between the two sides of the law, moving from boom town to boom town. At one point in Earp’s travels, he was part of a federal posse formed alongside Doc Holliday.
World Whiskey Society sources whiskey from many distilleries across numerous states, and those sources sometimes include barrels from defunct distilleries that will come and go, and with unfamiliar flavor profiles. The exact source for Wyatt Earp Small Batch American Single Malt is undisclosed, but it originated from a distillery in Oklahoma. The whiskey’s flavor profile stands out, as it is unlike any other American single malt. Being heavily sweet and dark-fruit focused, this makes for a rich, full-bodied sip that’s filled with dark fruits and accenting sweet and savory flavors. While Wyatt Earp Small Batch was released alongside a barrel proof counterpart, this lower 96 proof version sheds a bit of heat allowing the flavors through with wonderful intensity. Wyatt Earp Small Batch American Single Malt is a whiskey that makes an immediate and lasting impression with an utterly fascinating range of flavors.
American single malts are still coming into their own. The style of whiskey is still waiting for its official designation from the TTB, and it's still a relatively unproven wild west for American single malt producers today. Though the style of whiskey still has its main players, a newcomer can enter the ring at any moment.
Copperworks Distilling Co. is a distillery located in downtown Seattle, Washington, and has been operating since 2013. Copperworks Maltsmith starts as a craft beer (without hops) made from barley grown in and around Washington. It is then distilled twice in traditional copper stills handcrafted for the distillery. Why Copperworks Maltsmith works has a lot to do with its combination of pale and caramelized malts that are then combined from 14 new oak casks and six refilled Copperworks Maltsmith American Single Malt casks to form the company’s flagship American single malt. That’s a lot, but the sip it delivers will make you forget all that.
Though the whiskey isn’t as complex as you may expect it to be based on its origins, it delivers where it counts. It skews sweet with ample amounts of honey and caramel present, but offsets it with precise amounts of roasted malt, burnt butter, toasted oak, leather, and pepper. Copperworks Maltsmith American Single Malt is malted-forward, as American single malts should be, and it does a great job of being approachable, especially to those new to the style of whiskey. While we look forward to it growing and developing more complexity based on its “brewer-style recipe,” it shouldn’t be overlooked what it's offering here and now.
American single malts are quickly growing into their own, but compared to bourbon, rye, finished whiskey, and American whiskey, they are the new kids on the block. As a result, there are far fewer players in the space and even fewer than have been around distilling for a considerable amount of time.
Westward Whiskey is one distiller that staked their claim early in the American single malt realm and has been a trailblazer as a result. What’s so interesting about Westward Whiskey, is they have been at it long enough to see their whiskey enter a later stage of aging and development. Though it is unusual for Breaking Bourbon to call out two whiskeys by the same distillery in a single Best Of category, thanks to Westward Whiskey’s early start, it’s paying dividends, and what they released in 2024 is incredibly noteworthy and impossible to single out just one.
Their standard expression is elegant and sophisticated, and their cask strength version ramps up everything that’s great about it to a pitch perfect degree and even made our Best of List in 2022. With Westward Whiskey Bottled in Bond American Single Malt’s extra aging time (now reaching 7 years old), we can taste first hand how one of American single malt’s prominent brands is changing over time and how increased aging time is transforming and further deepening the whiskey’s flavors to incredible results. With so few examples of this available, it’s an exciting time to be a fan of American single malts and experience the progress Westward Whiskey has made.
