My favorite whiskies of 2021: the Bourbons

I listed my in-no-order favorite half-dozen bottles of 2021 yesterday, and today I’m explaining why this trio of bourbons stood out among all their brethren. Tomorrow I’ll hit the single malts and rye.

If I had to pick out unifying themes that elevate these bottles into rarefied air, I’d say “density” and “balance.” Each of these bottles is a liquid Dostoevsky novel in terms of how much they pack in and how much they throw at you, but they never lose their even keel. Each is barrel proof and they range from 6-12 years old, but each piles on the flavors and sweetness perfectly to tame the heat and oak.

The Stagg Jr. Batch 13 remains maybe my favorite bourbon I’ve ever tried. Certainly I have to acknowledge the fact it was my Christmas gift last year from the Lovely Assistant strongly predisposes me to liking it. But even setting that aside as much as I can, this is still a ridiculously complex, dense bourbon. Batch 13 has the cherry cola note I find in nearly all Stagg releases I’ve tried, but in a twist it’s no more than a bit player: roasted pecans and dark molasses are the premier acts here. I’ve always had a fondness for bourbons that pull a wildcard from their usual flavor set.

You can count me among the converts to the French Mendiant stave. This Carteret County ABC Makers pick is nearly 50% French Mendiant, and if High West has popularized the BouRye concept, then Makers might have stumbled into BouMalt. This is the first Speyside Bourbon I’ve ever tried — there’s a rich butterscotch coating a Jenga tower of layered sweet spices that opened my eyes to how nuanced a wheated bourbon could actually be.

ECBP A121 is the adherent to orthodoxy in this trio. To me, the best ECBP batches tend to present classic bourbon flavors in a perfectly balanced, unified manner. It’s the equivalent of nailing a recital of Beethoven’s Ninth — it’s all been done before, but the wonder is in how it comes together. If B520 found the dead epicenter of bourbon balance, then A121 just shifted its weight slightly to one foot before pouring a bottle of caramel sauce on itself. It’s the most decadent form of centered balance.

Image courtesy of Jon who also writes on Low Class & High Proof.

Low Class & High Proof

I learned how to make cocktails watching Danger 5