Every year countless bottles of coveted brownwater find their way into my garage bar speakeasy where they are opened and shared with friends, neighbors, and the occasional random stranger who’s riding by on a bike and like a moth to the flame is drawn to the sweet glow of perfectly backlit brownwater lining the walls of the garage. Thankfully I have no shortage of thirsty friends who don’t mind drinking on the cheap at one of the best whiskey bars in the area…albeit, in a garage so I can work through a pile of bourbon. As I look back over the year, and a lot of beveraging, there are a handful of standouts that rise to the top of the pile. In no particular order, The Bourboneur Top 7 Bourbons of 2024 are:
What a great pour – I liked this one enough that when I had the chance, I scooped up three more bottles (because I clearly don’t have enough bourbon as it stands). I had heard of this bottle being referred to as a “Stagg killer” and I am a huge fan of George T. Stagg which, to me, is hands down one of the best bourbons year-to-year. Even in all its Stagg-licious glory it found itself second fiddle to Smokeye Hill Barrel Proof in the 2024 ASCOT awards. Smokeye Hill is a product of Hazelwood Spirits Company in Colorado Springs, Colorado which sourced this bourbon from Ross and Squibb Distillery (aka MGP) out of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Although one could quickly dismiss this as “another MGP product,” they use their own proprietary recipe that includes heirloom varieties of blue and yellow corn and then it seems they truck the white dog to Colorado to get barreled and aged in the high desert climate there. They also barrel using 30- and 53-gallon barrels with varying char levels between #2 and up to #5. They have a number of small batches that have been released to date with 131 proof being what was judged at the ASCOT awards, 131.2, 131.4, 132, and 134.2 proofs are also out in the wild these days. The current Bourbon Blue Book® average value for this bottle is $135…I expect this may be one of the few that increase in price in the year ahead.
Back in 2021 during the fun times of COVID, Wild Turkey released Russell’s Reserve 13. It was a limited run and meant to be a one-time deal but was immediately met with great praise and a demand from the masses for more. With the wildly successful Russell’s Reserve 13 having five releases under belt, 2024 saw the release of its big brother, Russell’s Reserve 15. It’s one of the few terrets inducing bourbons I’ve had this year with a “woah momma” involuntarily finding its way out of my mouth after my first sip. Wild Turkey certainly bottled up some magic with this one, showcasing big flavor, and the best cherry note in the mix – and I don’t even like cherry – but wow. If you haven’t had the opportunity to try this one, you need to. You won’t be disappointed…except for when it’s gone! The Bourbon Blue Book® currently has this selling for an average of $472. It dropped close to the $400 some months ago and continues to rise as people are catching on to the fact that this is a truly exceptional bottle and with each one that gets opened, there’s one less to be had!
Out and about on a rare evening off, I had this pour the other night for the first time at a bottle share event at one of my favorite haunts, and it definitely was a stand out. I think at first I had perhaps unfairly put this up against Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend – both blended by Nancy Fraley, both cigar blends – but they’re different creatures altogether and I should have had that in my mind from the start, after all Still Austin is still working with their own barrels here. Setting aside my inherent bias going into tasting this, it really was a great pour. Still Austin uses a blending technique called Petites Eaux which hails from the Cognac and Armagnac regions of France. I’d personally never heard of this technique but in translation it means “small waters” and is made by putting water into an old cask. In doing so it pulls some amount of alcohol out of the wood, ending up around 20% ABV after six months and slows the rate of dilution. For Still Austin, this creates a unique complexity which this Bourboneur very much enjoyed. Currently this bottle according to the Bourbon Blue Book® is averaging $259 on the secondary and has been consistently trading hands around this price point.
After reading my thoughts on Smokeye, you shouldn’t be surprised to see this on the list. It’s hard to believe that the first of this lineup was released more than twenty years ago in 2002 – but here we are. Year after year, it’s consistently fantastic – balancing out sweet notes like caramel with more earthy notes like barrel char and layering in just the right amount of baking spices at the same time. This year’s GTS is no different, but, it detours from its ethos slightly with less heat than usual and an amped up fruitiness in the form of some dark fruit like cherry perhaps. Whatever it’s got going on is heavenly, and can be yours for the low, low price of only $668 according to the Bourbon Blue Book®.
Giddy up Cowboy – with this year’s bottling being the 10th anniversary of the Cowboy lineup, it certainly delivered. Before I had nabbed a bottle of this, I had it out a local watering hole. I ordered and was asked how I’d like it, and I replied neat, with the bartender quickly retorting, “wow, respect.” It clocks in just above the hazmat line (for those unfamiliar with the term, that’s 140 proof) and is a beast of a bourbon. It’s not for beginners, but it’s a bourbon that has flavor for days and feels almost as big as Texas herself. Proofy, potent and loveably palatable. I nabbed the bottle I have off the secondary for shockingly less than I could buy it off the shelf at the big box store down the road but expect to pay around $263 for your bottle according to the Bourbon Blue Book®.
I’ve made no secret of my love for what King’s County is doing, and the uniqueness of their pours – utilizing only a two grain mashbill which, frankly, produces a pour that has a very distinctive roundness to it. I bought a private barrel they released online which was barreled in August of this year (5595T). Typically, these “private barrel” labels suggest a pick from some “partner” or “affiliate” but in this case it was picked by the blending team and was augmented with additions of older and more concentrated small-format whiskeys. Sadly, there were only 153 bottles produced, with two of them finding their way to my bar shelves – but – there’s always a lot of great stuff coming out from Kings County – so keep an eye out…or don’t as that will just make it easier for me to keep buying up all the bottles!
Previously owned by National Distillers, the Old Grand Dad brand for most of its tenure was a high brow bourbon. In 1987 it was sold, eventually finding its way under the auspices of Suntory Global Spirits. Not entirely surprising shortly thereafter the flavor profile changed, and not for the better. Fast forward a few decades of Old Grand Dad being a bottom shelf wonder, and these teenage barrels of Old Grand Dad juice that had been lying around for some are like a surprise birthday party they were never expecting. They taste absolutely nothing like any other Beam product – its soft, fragrant and has a little sweetness to it – but not too much. I think part of my interest in this bottle is likely to do with the nuance of it and backstory, part the hunt of tracking it down – but past all that, it’s a great pour even despite a finish that doesn’t linger on. It’s very approachable at 100 proof and is a step in a very interesting direction for the brand, peeking my interest for what else might be in store in the years to come. The secondary price on a bottle according to the Bourbon Blue Book® is $208, barely north of the suggest retail price of $195.
Data matters and having up-to-date and reliable information to make informed decisions about buying, selling or trading coveted bottles of brownwater is critical. The secondary market doesn’t stand still and neither do we in cataloguing and providing the web’s most accurate, reliable and up-to-date pricing around. As new bottles hit the market, their pricing changes daily…finding a ceiling, and eventually a floor. The market shifts up and down, commensurate with the economy – with the bourbon secondary market down nearly nine percent year-to-date. If you’re looking for a resource that’s based on real data grounded in actual sales on the secondary market, is updated regularly, and has values for over 5,500 bottles and growing at your fingertips, you need to look no further than the Bourboneur App for iOS and Android. The app does require a paid subscription, only $3 per month or $25 a year, which easily pays for itself!
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