Kick Off Bourbon Heritage Month with These Must-Have Releases

Few spirits come with the clout and historical root system that is American Whiskey. Among them is bourbon — and it’s by far the most popular uniquely American spirit. The entire month of September is dedicated to celebrating bourbon, its heritage, and the numerous producers who have been making whiskey for years, decades, and centuries. As we enter fall, and with it the advent of Bourbon Heritage Month, check out these seven must-haves you can’t miss while celebrating whiskey’s favorite holiday.



Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve

Hailing from the powerhouse that is James B. Beam, better known as Jim Beam for those more familiar with their modern offerings, comes Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon. Featuring a classic bourbon mashbill of 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% barley, Knob Creek embodies the quintessential whiskey. While their product portfolio is deep, Knob Creek’s Single Barrel Reserve is the perfect cross-section of value, quality, and availability. Weighing in at nine years old, 60% ABV, and a mere $55, this release has it all.



Rabbit Hole Heigold Single Barrel Bourbon

Rabbit Hole has quickly become a staple craft distillery deigned to scale just on the edge of NuLu. What was born to blow the cobwebs off the American whiskey category has become a multi-award winning fan-favorite brand.

Having won a long-list of San Francisco and New York World Spirits Competition awards, the Tasting Alliance partnered with Rabbit Hole to select a compelling single barrel to capture the voice an virtue of their work. Selected by SFWSC Judges with Rabbit Hole Founder & CEO, Kaveh Zamanian. The result is the astounding 108.3-proof Rabbit Hole + Tasting Alliance Heigold Single Barrel Bourbon that shines with toasted malt, butterscotch and comforting pepper spices.



Wild Turkey Longbranch

Switching gears a touch, Wild Turkey Longbranch exhibits a modern take on whiskey: the collaboration of one of America’s most well-known creative influences in Matthew McConaughey paired with generations of distilling expertise in Jimmy and Eddie Russell. Wild Turkey’s classic bourbon sees extra filtering with mesquite wood, bringing Longbranch Bourbon to deliver a modern take on a very old tradition in very delicious fashion. Best on a rock on a hot day, Longbranch is an easy sipper for every generation of whiskey drinker.



Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon

Known by many as the “father of bourbon,” Elijah Craig is a historical nod to one of whiskey’s earliest figureheads. Exhibiting a high rye mashbill, Elijah Craig’s Small Batch whiskey is never short on flavor and is bottled at 94 proof — plenty for cocktails and neat pours alike. Elijah Craig is produced at one of Kentucky’s largest and oldest producers: Heaven Hill. For the adventurous and proof-focused among us, do yourself a favor and chase down their Barrel Proof expression, which carries both a 12-year age statement and hefty ABV’s for the ultimate in bourbon flavor.



Maker's Mark Cask Strength Bourbon

Speaking of high proof whiskey, Maker’s Mark and their recent Cask Strength Bourbon releases are dominating the modern bourbon scene. Produced with a wheated mashbill for extra sweetness and character, this unsuspecting bourbon is the bottle to hunt. Coupled with fairly wide availability, this means drinkers across the country can actually track a bottle down.t. Maker’s is one of the few distilleries to focus, both then and now, on a singular mashbill, using wheat as their secondary flavoring grain. If you can’t find Pappy, it’s not hard to find many of the same enjoyable characteristics in one of bourbon’s most storied producers.



Barrell Single Barrel Bourbon

Few brands rose to fame quicker than Barrell Bourbon, produced by Barrell Craft Spirits. Barrell Bourbon is hard to beat and hard to find, but available in limited quantities for well under $100. It’s hard to stack up stats like that, especially since batches from Barrell tend to dry up fairly quickly.

With the launch of ReserveBar’s Topflight Series, you can also pick up a limited-edition Single Barrel or Private Release Barrel. One of the more unique offerings is this hidden gem in the form of the Barrell Single Barrel Bourbon S1B5 (Z5G2). This is actually a 99% Corn, 1% Rye mashbill that will not only offer you some delightfully unexpected tasting notes. It also evolves beautifully on a rock. At 8-years, with this mashbill, you'll find nothing else quite like it.



Remus Repeal Reserve 375ml Box Set

A modern take on luxury, Remus Repeal Reserve presents one of the most interesting bottling sets to be seen on the market. Whiskey hunters spend each fall hoping to score a single release from Remus's rare Reserve set. This box features not one, but four recent releases, bundled together in a unique box that gives a nod to Prohibition. Bottled at 50% ABV, it’s the perfect flight in a box to taste one of the newest whiskey hunts for fans of whiskey’s most notorious figurehead.



Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon

Last but not least features the Derby’s favorite bourbon: Woodford Reserve. Produced with extra aging in a second oak barrel, Woodford’s Double Oaked is perhaps the most delectable of readily available bourbons. Well known to be the whiskey that converts unsuspecting drinkers to raging bourbon fans, recent shortages have given way to fresh availability to fans of Double Oaked. It’s the perfect bourbon for a savory Old Fashioned and perhaps the easiest sipper in this Heritage Month roundup, whether it’s the heat of day or a crisp September evening.



Raise Your Glass!

No matter your selection, it’s impossible to go wrong with these selections for Bourbon Heritage Month. The bourbon industry is wildly diverse, even divergent at times, and it’s always an easy task to find a delicious sip, no matter your tastes, as we celebrate America’s uniquely crafted spirit. Find even more bourbons to celebrate the month in our Bourbon Collection here.