We recently posted a question to the Facebook world asking bourbon drinkers to name their top 4 bourbons they would serve on our flight board. The response was unreal! Thank you to everyone who commented and shared their favorites. We had everything from general distillery brands, to specific batch numbers, and even pictures of the current offerings at home bars...so much sharing going on in a world where sharing seems to be scarce, so we decided to reward that sharing spirit by going through ALL of the comments and compiling a list of the top 4 bourbon suggestions for your next flight board. There were over 50 different bourbons mentioned, but here were the favorites:
Tied for fourth place was Four Roses and Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, both outstanding bourbons. Check out our previous blog post here ( https://www.columbusbarrelco.com/post/distillery-highlight-four-roses ) for an in-depth look at Four Roses. Wild Turkey bourbon is aged in an American White Oak barrel with the deepest No. 4 “alligator” char. It was originally crafted by Eddie Russell, Kentucky Bourbon Hall-of-Famer and son of Jimmy Russell – the world’s longest-tenured active Master Distiller.
Third place goes to W.L. Weller Special Reserve, produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery. Touted as the Original Wheated Bourbon Whiskey, it was the first bourbon made with wheat instead of rye grain, giving it an exceptionally smooth taste. Sitting on a shelf, you’ll notice the rich, burnt orange color right away compared to other bourbons. In 2019, W.L. Weller Special Reserve won 5 silver medals and 3 gold medals in various competitions, including the second finest whiskey in the world. It’s no surprise this was a favorite!
Second place goes to Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It was first produced in 1812 on the site of the Woodford Reserve Distillery, and has 212 detectable flavor notes. I’m wondering how many drinks you would need to name all of those flavors, and at what point do you just start making up flavors because you’ve had too much to drink?? There’s actually a pretty cool video on the Woodford Reserve website about tasting all 212 flavors, so if you’re interested, it’s definitely worth checking out.
The moment you’ve all been waiting for…in First place for the best bourbon (as unofficially told to us through Facebook comments) is Blanton’s Bourbon, produced at Buffalo trace Distillery. This was the world’s first Single Barrel Bourbon, and set the standard for all other single barrel bourbons to follow. It originated in 1984 when Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee sought to make the world’s finest bourbon before he retired. Thinking back on his early career working under Colonel Albert Blanton in the 1940’s, Lee recalled Colonel Blanton hand-picking “honey barrels” from the center of (now famous) Warehouse H and bottling that bourbon one barrel at a time for visiting dignitaries and important guests. Following in that manner, Lee created a “super premium” category of bourbon with the world’s first Single Barrel Bourbon.
There you have it folks! The top 4 recommended bourbons to serve on your next flight tray. Thanks for all your comments on our Facebook ad; we loved hearing from fellow bourbon enthusiasts about your favorites! Cheers!
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