This is it. It’s time to name the best whiskey of 2023 on Uproxx. Final answer. Pencils down. No more categories to run through. So what makes a whiskey the “best” of the year?
Well, that’s partially subjective and partially objective. A sense of objectivity comes from the overall quality of the spirit. The list of whiskeys below are unarguably amazingly well-made, important, and unique. You cannot argue that. It’s definitive and no critics will disagree. The subjectivity comes into play with my unique palate, what I’ve been lucky enough to taste this year, and what I personally think rises above the rest.
A quick rundown of my bone fides to name the best whiskeys of 2023 and overall best whiskey of 2023 for Uproxx:
Even still, I’m not the be-all and end-all of whiskey tasting. No one is. It’s an impossible task. Some whiskeys slip past my desk every year. So let me reiterate, these are the best of the best of what I had the pleasure of tasting in 2023. Those are our parameters.
Lastly, I did rank these whiskeys according to the depth of their flavor profiles (based on re-tasting them once more). Again, these are all A+ whiskeys when we’re talking about craft. So to rank them I had to split some serious hairs. All of these whiskeys are phenomenal, nuanced, deep, delightful, succinct, and delicious. Still, some go so deep as to take you on a transcendent journey — managing to shift the entire conversation around of what whiskey can be!
Average Price: $125
This new release from Balcones down in Waco, Texas celebrates the distillery’s 15th anniversary. The whisky in the bottle is built from 100% Golden Promise malted barley. That whisky was then aged in a variety of old sherry puncheons that held Moscatel, Amontillado Dulce, Oloroso, and Palo Cortado sherries for decades. Once batched, the whisky was bottled as-is with a drop of proofing water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Brandy-soaked dates, figs, and prunes pop on the nose with a hint of apricot jam, clove-studded oranges, cherry hand pies, and a note of soft pecan wood with this fleeting sense of … I swear … venison backstrap frying in butter in a cast iron skillet.
Palate: Those dates go hard on the palate as marzipan and salted cashews add a deep nuttiness with more of that clove-studded orange, a touch of lemon zest, and maybe some smoldering sandalwood next to eucalyptus and sage aromatic sticks.
Finish: A touch of smudging sage drives the finish toward grilled pineapple and peach with a touch of absinth herbs before a deeply creamy mocha latte leads to a scoop of black cherry ice cream.
Why It’s The Best:
Balcones Distilling has come into its own after 15 years of trailblazing in the Texas whiskey scene. They’ve dialed in their Texas Single Malt to such an extent that it’s now iconic and the example of the style.
This expression — which celebrates those 15 years of distilling, tinkering, learning, failing, refining, and excelling — is the American single malt whiskey of the year by a country mile. The quality of the spirit is refined and outstanding. But it’s that signature Texas vibe that helps this whiskey rise above and stand as a true testament to American single malt and all that it can be. This isn’t a single malt that’s chasing Scotland or Japan. This is a single malt that’s proudly its own thing that highlights the terroir of Texas (and America) so vividly and beautifully.
When folks look back on the bottles of American single malt whiskey that helped define the style, Balcones is going to be central to that conversation and this bottle will be a highlight.
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $7,000
This new version of Hibiki 21 will be on any collector’s wish list. The whisky in the bottle is a blend of malt and grain whiskies chosen and blended by Suntory’s legendary Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo alongside his blending team. The team specifically chose Mizunara oak casks for the heart of the whisky out of respect for their shared Japanese heritage.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Jasmine blooms draw you in on the nose with a hint of savory fruits like dragonfruit and kumquat with a hint of star fruit next to burning incense coming from a distant sensor on the other side of the room.
Palate: Old potpourri with a hint of sandalwood drives the palate toward a super subtle sense of acacia bark next to a faint whisper of betel nut and maybe some floral honey with an almost crisp edge.
Finish: Spiced whisky wood staves arrive late on the finish with a sense of dried jasmine and lavender next to dried coriander and a fleeting sense of sweet incense in the far distance on a cold night.
Why It’s The Best:
This is a wildly unique whisky that delivers with such subtleness that it’s almost inexplicable. At first glance, it’s soft and almost minimalist. Then it blooms on your senses and takes you down these hidden paths and alleys that reveal intensely unique and varied flavor profiles that feel like walking through markets in Delhi, Tokyo, and Taipei before settling into this vibe of a lush hash lounge in a Tangier overlooking the sea. T
his is truly a journey in a glass and one of the most peerless whisky pours of the year.
ABV: 45.8%
Average Price: $1,627
Talisker’s seaside vibes are on full display in this beautiful bottle. The 2023 limited release (the 30-year is on a random release schedule) was around 3,000 bottles, making this a very rare expression from the Isle of Skye distillery. Those bottles were pulled from both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and masterfully blended right next to the sea at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is shockingly subtle and soft with velvety notes of smoldering dried nori next to matchsticks dipped in a buttery and rich dark chocolate with sea salt gently sprinkled all over.
Palate: The palate leans into the dialed-back peat by bringing about a smoked cream with fire-seared peaches next to a hint of wet cedar, very old tobacco leaves, and a touch of almond or oat milk flecked with salt.
Finish: That salt drives the mid-palate towards a finish that’s like getting kissed by merfolk on a beach next to a campfire that’s heating a cauldron full of spicy stewed peaches in more of that cream.
Why It’s The Best:
Talisker released some true bangers this year, but nothing topped this masterpiece. Perhaps most importantly, this whisky exuded true approachability while never for a moment letting forget that it was 100% unparalleled as a softly peated single malt.
You feel the extraordinary vibrance and one-of-a-kind vibe of where this whisky is made from the very first whiff from the nose. Then the palate takes you on a journey through from the sea to the hills looming over the Isle of Skye before gently embracing you with a delicate warmth. All of that is to say that this is Talisker — and Scotch whisky as a whole — at its absolute zenith.
ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $22,999
Eagle Rare Straight Bourbon is made from Mash Bill #1 at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. That’s their low-rye mash bill, and that’s all that’s known about the juice. That whiskey was then left to rest for nearly two decades in a warehouse before being moved into Buffalo Trace’s new state-of-the-art Warehouse P facility. When the whiskey hit 25 years old, something magical happened to the barrel and it was ready for bottling.
The single barrel was proofed down to Eagle Rare’s 101-proof and otherwise bottled as-is, yielding only 200 bottles. The bottle is also a collectible with a hand-hammered sterling silver eagle wing wrapped around a hand-blown crystal decanter. That striking bottle comes in a custom display box that opens like an eagle’s wings.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose hints at old oak staves resting in a musty warehouse before veering toward stewed cherries with hints of clove and nutmeg next to salted dark chocolate shavings and rich powdered sugar icing cut with bourbon vanilla and light pipe tobacco essences with a whisper of fall leaves and orchard barks.
Palate: The rich vanilla gets buttery and creamy with an almost eggnog vibe thanks to the spice on the lush palate has dried cranberry, brandy-soaked cherry, and dried figs lead to rich toffee rolled in dark chocolate and anise before getting cut with a touch of earthy tobacco pulled from fresh black dirt.
Finish: The finish hugs you gently with warmth tied to winter spice barks soaked in apple cider cut with black cherry as the dirt takes on a warehouse must with gently sweet oak staves mingle with a whisper of whole black pepper and clove buds over creamy dark orange spice cake.
Why It’s The Best:
This is arguably the most important bourbon release of 2023. The science behind the final stages of aging — a controlled warehouse environment where atmospheric pressure, humidity, temperature, and even the f*cking breeze were dialed in — created a unicorn whiskey where something magical happened. This ultra-aged whiskey isn’t over-oaked or bitterly tannic like so many 20+-year-old bourbons. Instead, a moment of alchemy created a lush and almost fresh version of 25-year-old Kentucky bourbon that’s astoundingly soft and supple while still holding onto the insane depth that only aging that long can achieve.
When we look back on high-age-statement Kentucky bourbon years from now, this whiskey will be a hallmark of when someone figured out how to do it right.
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $159
This is a much-sought-after blend from Kentucky darling Bardstown Bourbon Company. The blend in this case is a mix of seven-year-old Indiana straight rye with a mash bill of 51% rye, 45% corn, and 4% malted barley blended with a 17-year-old Tennessee straight bourbon with a mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. Once those barrels are batched, the whiskey is re-barreled in Foursquare rum barrels for an additional 23-month rest.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Woody banana and rich marzipan pop on the nose with a deep and sharp clove, anise, and cinnamon vibe next to peanut butter clusters dusted with toasted coconut, burnt orange zest, and sea salt with this whisper of rum-soaked raisins and old oak in the background.
Palate: The rye funkiness drives the rummy oak tannins towards a soft sticky toffee pudding with rich toffee, mild vanilla oils, and a sense of spiced mincemeat pie.
Finish: The finish is lush and silken with a sense of fresh and warm vanilla pods over warm grog with a handful of dark and woody winter spices countered by luxurious and buttery salted caramel with a fleeting hint of smoldering marshmallow.
Why It’s The Best:
Blending Tennessee bourbon and Indiana rye is about as American whiskey as you can get. Layering in an almost 2-year finish in beloved Foursquare rum barrels from Barbados is just the icing on the cake. But this whiskey goes beyond all that and transcends as the tastiest sipper of the year.
This is a whiskey that you immediately say “Holy Shit!” to when you get that first sense of the nose and profile on your palate. The team at Bardstown Bourbon Company did something magical in that this whiskey is so distinct while just plain delicious. It’s the sort of whiskey where you feel the build — the Tennessee bourbon, the Indiana rye, the Barbados rum — but you never see/feel the seams. It’s flawless.
And then it explodes with fun and refreshing flavor notes on your senses, which draw you back again and again to find more and more depth.
ABV: 58.4%
Average Price: $500
This elite whiskey is a collaboration between Rare Character’s Pablo Moix, Rare Bird 101’s David Jennings, and Wild Turkey’s Bruce Russell. The whiskey in the bottle is a single barrel of Wild Turkey rye that was distilled back in June of 2014 and left to age in the famed Tyrone rickhouse at Wild Turkey (on floor four if you want to get granular). That barrel was pulled in October of 2023 and bottled 100% as-is, making this highest-proof and only barrel-proof single-barrel Wild Turkey ever released.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark candied orange and brandied cherry jump out of the glass toward the nose as rich toffee rolled in almond and dusted with dark chocolate and a pinch of salt leads toward this sense of Earl Grey tea leaves soaked in dry champagne with this faint whisper of chinotto sneak in with a light effervescence.
Palate: The taste opens with a light fresh sourdough rye bread with hints of fennel and poppy seed before soft black peppercorns gently lead the palate toward candied lime and orange peels, vanilla buttercream, nutmeg and clove-spiked walnut bread, salted butter, and more of that champagne-soaked Earl Grey layered into a rich pipe tobacco leaf with a hint of worn saddle soap.
Finish: The spice leans into woody cinnamon barks, clove buds, allspice berries, and star anise with a moment of sarsaparilla wood before brandied cherries, pear compote with saffron, and apple fritters with powdered sugar icing meld into a lush vanilla-forward creamy eggnog with a whisper of peppermint and tobacco.
Why It’s The Best of 2023:
The first ever single barrel rye at cask strength from Wild Turkey via Rare Character and Rare Bird 101 is not only important, it’s a masterpiece. This whiskey is so good that it might change the way Wild Turkey releases its rye whiskey, which is one of the best ryes on the scene in general. That makes this bottle of whiskey very important as this could be the first meeting of a very long and fruitful shift in Wild Turkey’s rye whiskey releases.
What makes this a true masterpiece is that this whiskey transcends being an American rye and becomes a spectacular whiskey full stop. I know this is a cliché — but if you don’t fall in love with this whiskey, you might not like whiskey at all. Moreover, this goes so far beyond the “classic” rye notes of grassy rye bread or woody spice. This layers soft dark fruits, deep creamy nuttiness, succinct woody spice notes, sharp and exacting botanicals, and this luxurious soft lushness that’s unparalleled in any whiskey this year.
This is a true testament to how great, varied, and delicious rye whiskey can be and a once-in-a-lifetime standard bearer of the beauty of whiskey in general. This is a bottle of whiskey that makes you fall in love with whiskey as a spirit — and that’s what makes this Uproxx’s #1 pick for best whiskey of 2023.
