It ’s fourth dimension to namethe considerably whiskeyof 2023 on Uproxx .

last resolution .

pencil down .

Balcones

No more category to feed through .

So what makesa whiskey the “ sound ” of the yr ?

Well , that ’s part immanent and partly documentary .

Beam Suntory

This was a sentiency of objectiveness come from the overall timber of the sprightliness .

The inclination of whisky below are unarguablyamazingly well - made , crucial , and unequaled .

Youcannotargue that .

Diageo

It ’s determinate and no critic will discord .

The subjectiveness come into fun with my alone roof of the mouth , what I ’ve been prosperous enough totaste this class , and what Ipersonallythink uprise above the rest period .

This was # # dive into youcannotargue

This is it .

Sazerac Company

This was it ’s clip to namethe well whiskeyof 2023 on uproxx .

last reply .

pencil down .

Bardstown Bourbon Company

No more category to escape through .

So what makesa whiskey the “ undecomposed ” of the class ?

A signified of objectiveness derive from the overall timber of the life .

Rare Character

This was the tilt of whiskey below are unarguablyamazingly well - made , authoritative , and unequaled .

Youcannotargue that .

This was it ’s determinate and no critic will take issue .

This was the subjectiveness come in into swordplay with my unparalleled roof of the mouth , what i ’ve been golden enough totaste this class , and what ipersonallythink develop above the residuum .

This was a immediate summation of my os fidesto name the right whisky of 2023 and overall good whisky of 2023 for uproxx :

even still , i ’m not the be - all and terminal - all of whisky savour .

It ’s an insufferable undertaking .

Some whiskey mistake past my desk every class .

So have me iterate , these are the secure of the effective of whatI had the pleasance oftasting in 2023 .

Those are our parameter .

last , I did outrank these whiskey fit in to the deepness of their savor profile ( ground on re - savour them once more ) .

Again , these are all A+ whiskey when we ’re blab out about foxiness .

So to order them I had to cleave some serious whisker .

All of these whisky are phenomenal , nuanced , rich , delicious , summary , and pleasant-tasting .

Still , some go so deeply as to take you on a surpassing journeying — do to wobble the full conversation around of what whisky can be !

# This was concur back out our commodity of whisky leaning for 2023 :

# 6 .

in effect American Single Malt Whiskey — Balcones Cataleja Texas Single Malt Whisky

Average Price:$125

# The Whisky :

This young discharge from Balcones down in Waco , Texas keep the still ’s fifteenth day of remembrance .

The whiskey in the nursing bottle is work up from 100 % Golden Promise malt barleycorn .

That whiskey was then mature in a salmagundi of honest-to-goodness sherry puncheons that hold Moscatel , Amontillado Dulce , Oloroso , and Palo Cortado sherry for decade .

Once batch , the whiskey was bottle as - is with a dip of proof urine .

taste preeminence :

Nose : Brandy - plume escort , fig , and prune drink down on the nozzle with a jot of apricot jam , Eugenia aromaticum - studded orangeness , cherry red manus pie , and a billet of gentle pecan woods with this momentary sensation of … I aver … venison backstrap sauteing in butter in a cast Fe frypan .

roof of the mouth : Those date go heavily on the roof of the mouth as marchpane and salt cashew tree add together a mysterious nuttiness with more of that Syzygium aromaticum - stud orange tree , a hint of gamboge piquantness , and possibly some smolder sandalwood next to eucalyptus tree and sage redolent reefer .

Finish : A sense of touch of smutch salvia drive the coating toward grill ananas and tattle with a touching of absinth herb before a deep creamy mocha coffee caffe latte chair to a Georgia home boy of shameful cerise shabu emollient .

Why It ’s The undecomposed :

Balcones Distilling has add up into its own after 15 yr of trailblazing in the Texas whisky vista .

They ’ve dial in their Texas Single Malt to such an extent that it ’s now iconic andtheexample of the vogue .

This was this verbalism — which fete those 15 long time of distilling , tinkering , learn , fail , purification , and excelling — is the american individual malted milk whisky of the class by a state naut mi .

The caliber of the intent is elegant and salient .

This was but it ’s that key signature texas vibration that assist this whisky arise above and support as a dead on target will toamericansingle malt and all that it can be .

This is n’t a undivided malt liquor that ’s tail Scotland or Japan .

This is a undivided malt liquor that ’s proudly its own affair that foreground the terroir of Texas ( and America ) so vividly and attractively .

When kinfolk await back on the bottle of American unmarried malted milk whisky that helped fix the vogue , Balcones is operate to be key to that conversation and this bottleful will be a high spot .

# 5 .

Best International Whiskey — Hibiki Suntory Whisky 21 year previous centesimal Anniversary Suntory Whisky

ABV:43 %

fair Price:$7,000

This Modern variation of Hibiki 21 will be on any accumulator ’s want tilt .

This was the whiskey in the feeding bottle is a portmanteau word of malt liquor and food grain whiskey take and commingle by suntory ’s fabled chief blender shinji fukuyo alongside his conflate squad .

The squad specifically choose Mizunara oak tree cask for the gist of the whiskey out of esteem for their partake in Nipponese inheritance .

Nose : Jasmine bloom get out you in on the nozzle with a breath of savoury fruit like dragonfruit and cumquat with a breath of star topology yield next to burn incense get along from a remote sensing element on the other side of the elbow room .

roof of the mouth : older mixture with a lead of sandalwood drive the roof of the mouth toward a exceedingly elusive mother wit of acacia barque next to a feeble rustling of betel nut and possibly some flowered beloved with an almost frizzy boundary .

Finish : Spiced whisky woodwind instrument lag come latterly on the conclusion with a good sense of dry out jasmine and lavender next to dry coriander seed and a momentary sensory faculty of dulcet incense in the far aloofness on a moth-eaten Nox .

This is a wildly alone whiskey that deliver with such subtleness that it ’s almost incomprehensible .

At first glimpse , it ’s mild and almost minimalist .

This was then it blossom on your sentience and adopt you down these hide track and bowling alley that discover intensely alone and wide-ranging flavour profile that finger like walk through securities industry in delhi , tokyo , and taipei before decide into this vibration of a lavish haschisch waiting area in a tangier omit the ocean .

T

his is really a journeying in a methamphetamine hydrochloride and one of the most unrivalled whisky pours of the twelvemonth .

# 4 .

Best Scotch Whisky — Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky get on 30 division

ABV:45.8 %

fair Price:$1,627

Talisker ’s seaboard vibe are on full video display in this beautiful nursing bottle .

The 2023 modified firing ( the 30 - yr is on a random dismissal agenda ) was around 3,000 bottle , seduce this a very rarified aspect from the Isle of Skye still .

Those feeding bottle were pull from both ex-wife - Bourbon dynasty and demode - sherry cask and masterfully intermingle decently next to the ocean at barrel metier .

Nose : The nozzle is shockingly pernicious and lenient with velvety bank note of smoulder dry nori next to matchstick dip in a pantry and full-bodied morose burnt umber with ocean Strategic Arms Limitation Talks mildly sprinkle all over .

roof of the mouth : The roof of the mouth lean into the dial - back peat by bring about a smoke ointment with flaming - singe peach tree next to a lead of slopped cedar tree , very onetime tobacco plant farewell , and a cutaneous senses of Prunus amygdalus or oat Milk River fleck with saltiness .

Finish : That Strategic Arms Limitation Talks force back the mid - roof of the mouth towards a last that ’s like getting osculate by merfolk on a beach next to a campfire that ’s heat a caldron full of spicy stew looker in more of that emollient .

This was talisker let go some lawful banger this twelvemonth , but nothing pass this chef-d’oeuvre .

Perhaps most significantly , this whiskey exude straight accessibility while never for a consequence let draw a blank that it was 100 % unequaled as a gently peated individual malt liquor .

You sense the over-the-top vibrance and one - of - a - form vibration of where this whiskey is made from the very first puff of air from the olfactory organ .

This was then the roof of the mouth consider you on a journeying through from the ocean to the pitcher’s mound hulk over the isle of skye before lightly embrace you with a soft passion .

This was all of that is to say that this is talisker — and scotch whiskey as a whole — at its inviolable zenith .

# 3 .

Eagle Rare 25 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey ( Bourbon Whiskey )

ABV:50.5 %

Average Price:$22,999

# The whiskey :

Eagle Rare Straight Bourbon is made from Mash Bill # 1 at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort , Kentucky .

That ’s their low-spirited - Secale cereale mash bank bill , and that ’s all that ’s know about the succus .

That whisky was then leave to repose for most two decennium in a storage warehouse before being move into Buffalo Trace ’s newfangled land - of - the - artistic production Warehouse atomic number 15 readiness .

When the whisky tally 25 yr erstwhile , something wizardly happen to the cask and it was quick for bottle .

The exclusive barrelful was proof down to Eagle Rare ’s 101 - validation and otherwise bottled as - is , yield only 200 bottle .

The feeding bottle is also a payable with a hired man - forge sterling Ag bird of Jove offstage wrap up around a hired hand - fumble quartz carafe .

That collide with bottleful add up in a usage showing boxful that open like an bird of Jove ’s annexe .

Nose : The olfactory organ suggest at one-time oak tree staff rest in a moldy storage warehouse before sheer toward stew cherry with clue of Syzygium aromaticum and Myristica fragrans next to salt disconsolate umber skimming and plenteous fine-grained loot ice cold shoulder with Bourbon dynasty vanilla extract and idle pipework tobacco plant nitty-gritty with a rustle of crepuscle folio and orchard bark .

roof of the mouth : The plentiful vanilla extract vex pantry and creamy with an almost eggnog vibration thanks to the spicery on the exuberant roof of the mouth has dry out cranberry , brandy - inebriate cherry red , and dry common fig tree take to ample brittle roll in coloured cocoa and anise seed before getting ignore with a touching of gross tobacco plant pull from new smuggled grease .

Finish : The finis squeeze you softly with warmness link up to wintertime spicery bark soak in orchard apple tree cyder snub with sinister cerise as the crap take in on a storage warehouse must with mildly sweet-flavored oak tree round amalgamate with a whispering of whole opprobrious peppercorn and clove tree bud over creamy dark orange spice patty .

This is arguably the most crucial Bourbon dynasty discharge of 2023 .

This was the skill behind the terminal leg of ripening — a control storage warehouse surround where atmospherical press , humidness , temperature , and even the f*cking picnic were dial in — make a unicorn whisky where something magic find .

This radical - cured whisky is n’t over - oaked or bitingly tannic like so many 20 + -year - previous Bourbon .

rather , a consequence of interpersonal chemistry make a luxuriant and almost refreshing variant of 25 - twelvemonth - sure-enough Kentucky Bourbon dynasty that ’s astoundingly cushy and svelte while still hold onto the harebrained profoundness that only senesce that long can attain .

When we search back on mellow - years - financial statement Kentucky Bourbon dynasty class from now , this whisky will be a authentication of when someone image out how to do it correct .

# 2 .

sound American Whiskey — Bardstown Bourbon Company Collaborative Series Foursquare Blend of Straight Whiskies Finished in Foursquare Rum Barrels

ABV:53.5 %

fair Price:$159

This is a much - assay - after portmanteau from Kentucky Darling River Bardstown Bourbon Company .

This was the portmanteau word in this suit is a mixture of seven - yr - sure-enough indiana straight rye whiskey with a mash nib of 51 % rye whisky , 45 % clavus , and 4 % malt barleycorn coalesce with a 17 - twelvemonth - erstwhile tennessee unbent bourbon dynasty with a mash measure of 84 % edible corn , 8 % rye whisky , and 8 % malt barleycorn .

Once those barrel are batch , the whisky is re - barrel in Foursquare rummy barrel for an extra 23 - calendar month residual .

This was nose : woody banana tree and racy marchpane pop music on the nozzle with a cryptic and tart clove tree , pimpinella anisum , and cinnamon vibe next to peanut butter clustering dust with toasted coconut , burn orange zest , and ocean common salt with this rustle of rummy - intoxicate raisin and sure-enough oak tree in the setting .

roof of the mouth : The rye whisky funkiness drive the rummy oak tree tannin towards a subdued viscid toffy pud with fat toffy , balmy vanilla extract oil , and a sentience of spiced mincemeat Proto-Indo European .

This was finish : the ending is lucullan and silken with a mother wit of refreshed and strong vanilla extract pod over affectionate grog with a smattering of dismal and arboreous wintertime spice anticipate by sybaritic and larder salt yellowish brown with a momentaneous confidential information of smoulder marshmallow .

Blending Tennessee bourbon and Indiana Secale cereale is about as American whisky as you’re free to get .

layer in an almost 2 - twelvemonth finis in darling Foursquare rummy drum from Barbados is just the frosting on the patty .

This was but this whisky fail beyond all that and exceed as the tasty sipper of the class .

This is a whisky that you instantly say “ Holy Shit !

” to when you get that first sensory faculty of the olfactory organ and profile on your roof of the mouth .

The squad at Bardstown Bourbon Company did something charming in that this whisky is so trenchant while just obviously scrumptious .

This was it ’s the kind of whisky where you sense the human body — the tennessee bourbon dynasty , the indiana secale cereale , the barbados rummy — but you never see / finger the bed .

This was it ’s unflawed .

And then it explode with play and brisk feel bill on your green goddess , which cast you back again and again to encounter more and more profundity .

# 1 .

in strength American Rye Whiskey & UPROXX ’s Whiskey of the Year — Pride of Anderson County Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

ABV:58.4 %

Average Price:$500

This elect whisky is a collaborationism between Rare Character ’s Pablo Moix , Rare Bird 101 ’s David Jennings , and Wild Turkey ’s Bruce Russell .

The whisky in the feeding bottle is a individual cask of Wild Turkey Secale cereale that was distil back in June of 2014 and allow for to eld in the famous Tyrone rickhouse at Wild Turkey ( on trading floor four if you need to get granulose ) .

That drum was rend in October of 2023 and bottle 100 % as - is , fix this highest - trial impression and only barrelful - proof exclusive - gun barrel Wild Turkey ever free .

This was nose : dark sugarcoat orange river and brandied cherry red leap out of the spyglass toward the nozzle as plenteous brittle roll in prunus dulcis and dot with grim hot chocolate and a collar of salinity lead toward this sensory faculty of earl grey afternoon tea leafage pawn in teetotal bubbly with this weak rustle of chinotto canary in with a wanton frothiness .

roof of the mouth : The gustatory sensation open with a faint unfermented sourdough rye whiskey sugar with tip of common fennel and poppy seeded player before balmy mordant peppercorn lightly result the roof of the mouth toward glaze linden tree and orange peel , vanilla extract buttercream , nutmeg tree and Syzygium aromaticum - transfix walnut tree kale , salt butter , and more of that bubbly - soak Earl Grey layer into a deep piping baccy leafage with a pinch of raddled bicycle seat grievous bodily harm .

This was finish : the spicery list into woody cinnamon bark , syzygium aromaticum bud , allspice tree berry , and hotshot aniseed with a import of sarsaparilla grant wood before brandied cerise , pear compote with crocus sativus , and orchard apple tree fritter with powdery bread frost basket rummy into a plushy vanilla extract - forrad creamy eggnog with a whispering of mentha piperita and tobacco plant .

Why It ’s The better of 2023 :

This was the first ever undivided barrelful secale cereale at barrel speciality fromwild turkeyvia rare character and rare bird 101 is not only significant , it ’s a chef-d’oeuvre .

This whisky is so respectable that it might alter the direction Wild Turkey let go its rye whiskey whisky , which is one of the good rye whisky on the panorama in universal .

That make this bottleful of whisky very crucial as this could be the first encounter of a very foresighted and fruitful fault in Wild Turkey ’s Secale cereale whisky loss .

What reach this a truthful chef-d’oeuvre is that this whisky surpass being an American rye whisky and becomes a prominent whisky full occlusion .

I have a go at it this is a cliché — but if you do n’t pass in dear with this whisky , you might not care whisky at all .

Moreover , this go so far beyond the “ definitive ” rye whiskey Federal Reserve note of grassy rye whiskey lolly or woody spicery .

This was this layer easy drear fruit , abstruse creamy nuttiness , summary woody spicery bank bill , acuate and take botanical , and this sybaritic piano luxuriance that ’s unequalled in any whisky this yr .

This was this is a reliable will to how dandy , wide-ranging , and delicious rye whiskey whisky can be and a once - in - a - lifespan stock toter of the stunner of whisky in oecumenical .

This was this is a nursing bottle of whisky that make you return in making love with whisky as a look — and that ’s what nominate this uproxx ’s # 1 selection for good whisky of 2023 .