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Every year Matt and I pick our favorite whiskey that we taste each month and pick our whiskey of the year from those whiskeys. This year, for the first time we have a clear winner – The Willett Eight Year Old Wheat Recipe Bourbon.

We did three blind tastings of the whiskeys of the month, picked four whiskeys and then did a blind tasting of those four whiskeys. The first flight of whiskeys were:

January – Southern Star Honey Barrel Finished Bourbon

February – Bomberger’s Declaration PFG Bourbon

March – Penelope Toasted Oak Bourbon

April – Peerless Toasted Oak Rye

The Southern Star Honey Barrel Finished Bourbon won that first round which surprised us. We thought the whiskey was the Peerless Toasted Barrel Rye because of the sweet butterscotch flavor.

The second flight was:

May – Heaven Hill Heritage Collection Nineteen Year Old Wheat Whiskey

June – Michter’s Ten Year Old Bourbon

July – Willett Eight Year Old Wheat Recipe Bourbon

August – Bomberger’s Bourbon 2025

We picked two from this flight because it was so close. The Willett Eight Year Old Bourbon and the Heaven Hill Nineteen Year Old Wheat Whiskey. This was a very close pick as to which was the best in this flight.

The third flight was:

September – Shenk’s Sour Mash Whiskey 2025

October – Michter’s Toasted Barrel Sour Mash Whiskey 2025

November – George Washington Commander in Chief Rye

December – Bardstown Bourbon Company Normandie Calvados Brandy Finished Bourbon

To our surprise, the Bardstown Bourbon Company Normandie won this tasting. We both thought it was the Michter’s Toasted Barrel Sour Mash Whiskey because of the sweet caramel and apple flavor we found in the Sour Mash.

This led us to the Final Four whiskeys. We blind tasted them again. It was a tough decision, but the Willett was the clear winner for both of us. The Heaven Hill Heritage Collection was just a little too woody for our final pick and the other two whiskeys were close behind the Heaven Hill Heritage Collection. The Willett Eight Year Old is still available on some shelves, but it is expensive at secondary prices, but well worth the money at MSRP.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller