Over the past handful of years, one of the biggest trends in bourbon has been the proliferation of high-proof, cask-strength whiskey releases. Before they’re packaged, whiskeys are usually diluted with water to bring them down to an easier-to-drink proof. Cask-strength whiskeys, however, are sold at their full strength. When producers deem them ready, they remove the bourbon from the barrel and bottle it without dilution, preserving the intensity of the whiskey.
Many whiskey enthusiasts see barrel-proof products as the purest form of a bourbon. They tend to drink a little hot, with alcohol content wavering between 100 and 140 proof. But many drinkers love the no-holds-barred punch of flavor and aroma that these cask-strength whiskeys deliver.
After the 1988 introduction of Booker’s, the first commercially available, modern cask-strength bourbon, the category has grown exponentially with a few notable, extremely popular, high-end expressions. We asked 12 bartenders to recommend their favorite underrated barrel-proof bourbons, to help you cut through the noise and find out which bottles are worth the hunt.
The most underrated cask-strength bourbons, according to bartenders: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Charles Goodnight Straight Bourbon Whiskey Wild Turkey Rare Breed Old Grand-Dad 114 Angel’s Envy Cask Strength George T. Stagg Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Strength Booker’s Bourbon Bardstown Bourbon Company Collaborative Series: Goose Island Larceny Barrel Proof Penelope Barrel Strength Stagg Jr.
“Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is my pick for cask-strength bourbon. At this level of ABV, the heat usually takes over, without the base notes
