Taster’s Club Best Small Batch Bourbon
Written by Emma C | Updated July 2023
As the fastest-growing bourbon market segment, small-batch bourbon is having a moment, and there are plenty of fantastic options. While small-batch bottlings are often blended from about 10 barrels, this can vary. There may be no regulation on using the term, but it’s generally perceived as an indicator of quality. What remains true among the ambiguity is you have nearly endless small batch options to choose from. This can be a pretty big task for even the biggest bourbon enthusiasts, which is why we’ve created this Taster’s Club guide to the best small batch bourbon available in our bottle shop. Check it out.
Taster’s Club Best Small Batch Bourbon Available in our Shop
1. E.H Taylor Small Batch
E.H. Taylor Jr.’s Small Batch bourbon is a sipping bourbon that honors the uncompromising legacy of Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., bourbon’s founding father. It’s handmade and has been aged inside century-old warehouses built by the maker. Barrels are evaluated and chosen to create a perfect blend of distincti character unlike any other.
Region: Kentucky | Tasting Notes: Caramel Corn, Butterscotch, Pepper | ABV: 50%
2. Wilderness Trail Small Batch
Wilderness Trail’s Small Batch Bourbon mash bill consists of 64% corn, 24% rye, and 12% malted barley with its own yeast strains. You’ll get an herbaceous, minty note from the rye with just the right amount of gentle spice and menthol. The spirit is smooth enough to enjoy on its own yet robust enough as a delicious kick to any mixed drink.
Region: Kentucky | Tasting Notes: Herb, Spice, Mint | ABV: 50
3. Four Roses Small Batch
This small-batch bourbon is a combination of four original bourbon recipes expertly selected by Four Roses’ Master Distiller at the peak of maturation. The result is a very approachable, mellow, perfectly balanced bourbon. You’ll get aromas of winter spice, honey, and floral, followed by similar flavors plus fruit and oak.
Region: Kentucky | Tasting Notes: oak, fruit, floral | ABV 45%
4. Michter’s US*1 Bourbon
Featuring the highest quality American corn, Michter’s US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon is mellow and earthy. It’s batched in a holding tank that fits up to 20 full barrels and offers nuanced, complex flavors of vanilla, sweet corn, and peach, followed by a rich, peppery finish.
Region: Kentucky | Tasting Notes: Corn, Vanilla, Peach, Pepper | ABV 45.7%
5. Elijah Craig Small Batch
This award-winning, small-batch bourbon from Elijah Craig is expertly aged in level 3 charred oak barrels and known for its signature warm spice and subtle smoke flavors. Each barrel is thoughtfully hand-selected by the brand’s Master Distillers.
Region: Kentucky | Tasting Notes: subtle smoke, spice, caramel | ABV 47%
6. 1792 Small Batch
Sophisticated and complex, 1792 Small Batch Bourbon is a distinct bourbon whiskey created with precise craftsmanship. The spirit is made from the brand’s signature high rye recipe and the combination of select barrels carefully chosen by 1792’s Master Distiller. With an expressive and elegant flavor profile of bold spice, sweet caramel, and vanilla, the bourbon is uniquely brash and bold, yet smooth and balanced.
Region: Kentucky | Tasting Notes: spice, caramel, vanilla | ABV 46.85%
7.Bib & Tucker Small Batch
Like the turn of the century that inspired it, boldness and refinement come together to create Bib & Tucker’s award-winning Small Batch bourbon. The dark maple spirit’s aging for a minimum of six years in new American white oak barrels produces an unparalleled smoothness. You’ll get sweet, mellow aromas of charred oak, butterscotch, toasted pecans, burnt sugar, and maple. Similar flavors along with cinnamon, pie, spice, and graham cracker follow, ending with a shorter finish.
Region: | Tasting Notes: Butterscotch, Pecans, Burnt Sugar | ABV 46%
8. Evan Williams 1783
Evan Williams’ award-winning 1783 Small Batch bourbon honors the year that Evan Williams founded Kentucky’s first distillery. Created from fewer than 200 barrels, this extra-aged small batch bourbon offers classic aromas of caramel, charred oak, and vanilla, followed by the same flavors plus brown sugar.
Region: Kentucky | Tasting Notes: Caramel, Charred Oak, Vanilla | ABV 45%
7. Larceny Small Batch
Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon originates from John E. Fitzgerald and the Old Fitzgerald brand’s history. Larceny’s Master Distillers select barrels from the rickhouse’s floor locations to create this six-year-old taste profile, which includes sweet caramel, honey, and fruit notes. Because the distillery uses more wheat than other similar bourbons, this small batch gives a softer, rounder character.
Region: Kentucky | Tasting Notes: caramel, honey, fruit | ABV 46%
8. Garrison Brothers Small Batch
Garrison Brothers gets the highest quality new American oak barrels it can and ages its bourbon in the hot Texas heat. Doing this means the bourbon sucks up as much flavor as possible. As it matures, the spirit cycles through the wood’s pores and crevices, soaking in the sugars from the sap, and creating an aroma brimming with butterscotch, nutmeg, and vanilla. Full-flavored notes of fruit dominate the palate, with hints of butter, whipped cream, angel food cake, and oak. The finish is smooth, with chocolate and espresso notes.
Region: Texas | Tasting Notes: Angel Food Cake, Fruit, Oak | ABV 47%
There you have it – the best small batch bourbon list to reference whenever you have guests coming by, you want to elevate your home bar, or you just need to unwind after a long day. For more fantastic bourbon ideas, check out our Bourbon Club which regularly gets you brand-new picks. It’s really a no-brainer – we do all the work and you just sit back and enjoy a new bottle delivered right to your door each month.
