The World’s Best Single Barrel Bourbon According To The NY World Spirits Competition

Three bourbon producers made the New York World Spirits Competition (NYWSC) World’s Best Single Barrel Bourbon final round. The finalists ranged from legendary historic producers like E.H. Taylor to new craft startups like Pinhook. Below is a brief background and tasting notes on the three finalists.

E. H. Taylor, Single Barrel, Bottled-in-Bond, 50% ABV, 750 ml was the top-ranked single-barrel bourbon, winning Best-in-Class Single Barrel Bourbon Up to 10 Years.

The brand is named for Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., a legendary figure in American whiskey history. Born in 1830 in Columbus, Kentucky, he was a descendant of two US presidents, James Madison and Zachary Taylor. For his numerous contributions to the American whiskey industry, he is hailed as the “Father of the Modern Bourbon Industry.”

Taylor worked as a banker and local politician in Frankfort, Kentucky, serving as mayor for 16 years. He entered the whiskey business in 1869 by purchasing the Leestown Distillery, which he renamed Old Fashioned Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. Today the O.F.C. distillery is better known as Buffalo Trace. Taylor introduced several innovations to bourbon production, including copper fermentation tanks, improved sour mash techniques, and steam-heated rack houses.

In 1887, Taylor built the Old Taylor Castle Distillery, which resembled a medieval European castle. He pioneered bourbon tourism and was instrumental in lobbying for the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, which set quality standards for whiskey production.

E.H. Taylor Single Barrel bourbon is predominantly aged in Buffalo Trace’s Warehouse C, which Colonel Taylor built himself in 1881. This unheated historic warehouse exposes the barrels to pronounced seasonal changes and creates a unique microclimate. The regular expansion and contraction of the barrel wood maximizes the interaction between spirit and wood and increases flavor extraction.

Each bottling is from a batch of hand-selected barrels whose aroma and taste profile Master Blender Drew Mayville deems exceptional. These factors create a bourbon with deeper, more pronounced aging effects and a unique character that can vary with each bottling.

On the nose, the bourbon presents pronounced aromas of caramel and vanilla, hints of dried fruit, subtle wood spices of cinnamon and nutmeg, and toasted oak. The whiskey is smooth and full-bodied on the palate, with a distinctive viscous texture and a pronounced mouth weight. It’s sweet, featuring caramel, creamy butterscotch, dark chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, a hint of clove, charred oak, and herbal and leather notes. The finish is sweet and exceptionally long, with lingering oak, spice, and tobacco notes.

The E.H. Taylor Single Barrel Bourbon offers a complex and well-balanced flavor profile, showcasing the quality and craftsmanship that Colonel Taylor championed. Its rich flavors and smooth character make it an excellent sipping bourbon, best enjoyed neat or with a small amount of water to open the flavors.

The NYWSC Judging Panel described the E.H. Taylor single barrel bourbon as showing “pronounced aromas of dried fruit along with butterscotch, caramel, and well-seasoned oak.”

1792, Single Barrel Straight Bourbon, 49.3% ABV, 750 ml.

1792 Bourbon is a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced by the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. The brand was introduced in 2002 and is named after the year Kentucky became a state. Originally known as “Ridgewood Reserve 1792” and later “1792 Ridgemont Reserve,” the name was eventually simplified to “1792 Bourbon.” The Sazerac Company has owned the brand and distillery since 2009.

The nose features bold aromas of candied cherry, freshly baked ginger snaps, apple, roasted corn, herbal hints of fresh mint and tobacco leaf, wet earth, and seasoned oak. The whiskey is smooth and robust on the palate with an oily texture and a pronounced mouth weight, featuring pronounced brown sugar, oak, and cold smoke flavors, along with vanilla, caramel, roasted nuts, chocolate, and rye spices of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. The finish is long and sweet, with creamy crème brûlée flavors and lingering oak and spice notes.

The NYWSC Judging Panel described the 1792 Single Barrel Bourbon as showcasing “pronounced spicy notes with sweet caramel and herbal/earthy flavors.”

The 1792 Single Barrel offers a more complex, intense, smoother, and well-balanced flavor profile than the 1792 Small Batch bottling. It showcases a range of non-traditional flavors, while maintaining the brand’s characteristic spice notes. It’s also sweeter, with more prominent caramel, vanilla, and graham cracker notes, and bottled at a slightly higher proof.

Pinhook Bourbon, True Single Barrel Straight Bourbon S2B32, 55.3% ABV, 750 ml.

Pinhook Bourbon was founded in 2010 by three friends: Sean Josephs, Jay Peterson, and Charles P. Fulford, III. The brand draws inspiration from the Kentucky horse racing tradition. The term “pinhooking” refers to the practice of buying young thoroughbreds, raising them, and selling them when ready to race.

Initially, Pinhook sourced whiskey from Midwest Grain Products (MGP). In 2017, it began distilling its proprietary mash bills at Castle & Key distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. The brand treats each batch as a unique new vintage bottling and proofing to express the best qualities of each set of barrels rather than blending for a consistent flavor profile.

The nose features powerful aromas of candied cherry candies and cinnamon toast, along with hints of fresh apple, roasted corn, oak, and a touch of fresh mint. The whiskey is full-bodied on the palate, with intense flavors of vanilla and caramel and a pronounced spicy character from its high rye content. There are also dark chocolate and roasted nut notes. The finish is long, creamy, and slightly sweet, with lingering custard, oak, and spice notes.

This Single Barrel expression is bottled at cask strength, unfiltered, and selected for its character. The proof likely averages around 114 or higher, delivering rich, balanced, though intense flavors notwithstanding its high alcohol content.

The NYWSC Judging Panel described the Pinhook Whiskey as expressing:

A complex array of flavors with prominent cherry and cinnamon notes, along with dark chocolate, nuts, and oak flavors.

The NYWSC featured three outstanding finalists for Best Single Barrel Bourbon. All three expressions represent unique aroma and flavor profiles that differ markedly from their large and small-batch versions. While the E.H. Taylor typically sells at a premium, the Pinhook and 1792 are quite reasonably priced, with the latter often available for under $50. That’s an excellent price for a top-rated, overproof bourbon.

See the New York World Spirits Competition website for a complete list of the whiskey medalists.