Hi Bourbon enthusiast
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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 Whiskeys 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.
Penelope Founder’s Reserve: 15 Year American Light Whiskey was released at the tail end of 2023, but didn’t start to see more widespread distribution until early 2024. A lesser known whiskey style, there aren’t many light whiskeys on the market and they tend to come and go as one-off releases. This release followed a previously released 13 year version, and was created using MGP’s 99% corn mashbill.
Light whiskeys typically offer sweet-focused flavor profiles, and that is the case here. The whiskey opens with a kettle corn scent that’s joined by pecan, nutmeg, and honeycrisp apple. The palate brings rich tiramisu along with kettle corn, honeycomb, and brown butter. There’s a heavy dose of oak on the finish which is accented by lingering clove and cinnamon spice notes. It’s a kaleidoscope of sweets, but finds complementary oak and savory spice notes as it concludes. And while it comes in over 128 proof, it isn’t overpowering.
An exemplary expression of the American light whiskey style, Penelope Founder’s Reserve: 15 Year American Light Whiskey reaches for the high point this style of whiskey is capable of achieving, standing out as one of the most memorable whiskeys of the year.
With the Little Book series, Master Distiller Freddie Noe experiments with unique blends that encompass many types of whiskey. While he included rye in the past, Chapter 8 “Path Not Taken” was arguably his first focus on bourbon’s spicier right hand man. For fans of bold, spicy, complex ryes, Noe really delivers with this one.
Chapter 8’s magic is in just how cohesive and rye-forward the final blend turned out. An aspect that cannot be overstated, Chapter 8 is extremely rye-forward and as quintessentially rye as any whiskey, despite not technically qualifying as a rye by legal definition. Because the rye category isn’t as expansive as bourbon, there is more opportunity for whiskey makers to deliver something that’s worth paying attention to in the market, but also far fewer attempts are made compared to bourbon. Little Book Chapter 8 “Path Not Taken” is a bold, complex whiskey that reaches the high point the Little Book series has become known for, and rye lovers will love the extra emphasis on rye by Freddie Noe this time out.
Many are still unfamiliar with the Old Potrero brand, despite our continued acclaim for it. While they might seem new on the scene, the company has been distilling since 1993, which is why you see high aged releases from them. Their whiskeys are almost universally made with 100% malted rye, which likely has to do with scotch’s popularity in the 90s when the company began distilling. Luckily for them, malted rye is now coming en vogue and they have high aged spoils to spare.
This year saw the release of a bottled in bond 16 year old rye from them, which is far older than many whiskey drinkers typically expect from a bottled in bond whiskey. Old Potrero Bottled in Bond 16 Year Old Whiskey is a glimpse into Old Potrero’s past, which is getting increasingly harder to do. Many of their older stock was also aged in used bourbon barrels, which gives their aged whiskeys a much lighter color and the general “whiskey” designation. But the combination of 100% malted rye used in the mashbill and aging in used bourbon barrels is why they are so unique tasting and also gentle compared to many other modern day releases.
Though the company has been doing a great job reinventing themselves both brand-wise and whiskey-wise, their old school releases are something special. Old Potrero Bottled in Bond 16 Year Old Whiskey is a soft-spoken and delicate sip that is a rarity in today’s barrel proof world. Though its flavor profile may be tight, it’s exact and its overall balance is constructed with precision.
Jack Daniel’s has always held a spot among the mindset of American Whiskey drinkers. Its ubiquitous Old No. 7 whiskey can be found the world over, and for better or worse, it’s the first memory of drinking whiskey that many people have. Over the last decade, however, they’ve also started to wedge their way into whiskey drinkers' minds as an amazing old-school turned new-school whiskey maker thanks to their expansion into special releases and other experimental type bottles. When it comes to Jack Daniel’s, nothing drives more excitement among whiskey fans than the words “Coy Hill.”
A follow up to previous Coy Hill releases that started in 2022, this year’s Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill Barrelhouse 8 Special Release Single Barrel Whiskey consists of 258 barrels that are aged just shy of 11 years and range in proof from 122-137.5. The whiskey is bold in nature, like past Coy Hill releases, yet also different enough to stand out on its own. The fact that it carries a sub-$100 price tag in an ever-rising limited edition market, caused its popularity to soar even more. Full of rich bold flavors, Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill Barrelhouse 8 Special Release Single Barrel Whiskey showcases the depth of Jack Daniel’s distilling capabilities and will make consumers yearn for more high-proof, high-aged releases from this storied Tennessee distillery.
This year’s Single Cask #11: Leiper’s Fork Tennessee Whiskey is Lost Lantern’s first Tennessee whiskey release, and their first release from Leiper’s Fork Distillery, a small-scale distillery located in Franklin, Tennessee. Producing roughly 500 barrels a year, Leiper’s Fork won’t be on many people’s radar, however, Lost Lantern is trying to change that. This small distillery isn’t producing Tennessee whiskey like you may be used to and it shows in Single Cask #11.
This is a slow burn whiskey in that the more you sit with it, the more it reveals itself. It’s the definition of a “slow burn” whiskey if there ever was one. An expansive range of flavors delivers a sip that is sweet, savory, and spicy all at once. This is a whiskey that will push you in all the right ways and the challenge it presents comes along with a reward that is well worth it. An intensely unique whiskey that leaves a wonderful and lasting impression, shining light on a small unknown distillery, epitomizing what Lost Lantern set out to accomplish.
