Editor’s Note: Voting is live on our Instagram now!
Though the water cooler talk and workplace hype surrounding March Madness will be different this year, at least it will exist. Last year’s dance was canceled as COVID-19 spread.
This year, March Madness, and the bracket mudslinging that comes with it, are back. But you know what’s more fun than watching a bunch of 18- to 22-year-old superhumans shoot threes for a few weeks? Arguing about bourbon.
To coincide with the tournament, we’ll be running our own Bourbon Bracket, a 16-bottle pick ’em where reader votes determine the best whiskey of the bunch. Beginning on Monday, March 22nd, we’ll be posting the matchups to our Instagram story where you can go vote for your favorite bourbon and propel them to victory. Yes, the bottles are seeded 1 through 16, just like with March Madness. And yes, the seeds (and snubs) will draw the ire of … probably everyone.
Here are the 16 hopefuls, in order of their seeding.
Vote on the Gear Patrol Instagram right now.
1.Buffalo Trace
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This is our inaugural Bourbon Bracket, but it’s safe to say Buffalo Trace was a lock for the #1 seed. The explosion of this whiskey’s popularity (and its parent distillery’s) goes hand-in-hand with the modern Bourbon Boom.
2. Knob Creek 9-Year-Old Small Batch
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Well-priced? Check. Available everywhere? Check. Knob Creek’s 9-year-old Small Batch, which got its age statement back in 2020, is the quintessential go-to bourbon. And while its stats are impressive, it might be even better once poured.
3. Maker’s Mark
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While Pappy introduced many in the bourbon world to the concept of wheated bourbon — bourbon whose mash replaces rye with wheat — Maker’s Mark had been serving it to them for decades. Classic Maker’s remains one of the best “gateway” whiskeys money can buy.
4. Evan William’s Black Label
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One of the most popular bourbons in the world, Evan Williams’ Black Label belongs to a rare group of whiskeys loved by college kids and bourbon veterans alike. Its low proof, wallet-friendly price and wide availability have made it a staple of bar backs and home bars for years.
5. Wild Turkey 101
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A wildly good value buy that seems to only get the credit its due by whiskey geeks and communities of bourbon enthusiasts, Turkey 101 is an unapologetic taste bud punch priced like whiskeys that prioritize smoothness over flavor.
6. Four Roses Single Barrel
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Whereas most distilleries keep mashbills, yeast strains and other whiskeymaking specifics close to the vest, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky’s Four Roses wants to share its secrets (most of them, anyway). Its single barrel product, which is one of the single barrel whiskey community’s favorites, is made with one of five different yeast strains, one of two mashbills and at various ages and proofs. In short: no bottle is the same.
7. Blanton’s Bourbon
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One of the casualties of bourbon’s hype phase, Blanton’s is harder to come by (and more expensive) than ever. But whiskey doesn’t blow up for nothing; Blanton’s high-rye flavor burst, single barrel status and highly giftable bottle design earned the bottle its popularity.
8. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof
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The definition of an “if you know, you know” bourbon. On the shelf, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof looks nearly identical to its lower-proof, standard Elijah Craig kin, but once opened, they couldn’t be further apart. Where regular Elijah Craig is welcoming and easy-drinking, Barrel Proof asks for your ID at the door. It’s whiskey at its most powerful.
9. Booker’s Bourbon
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In the 1980s, Booker Noe and a number of bourbon soothsayers rejected the idea that Americans wouldn’t buy good bourbon, only good scotch. Booker’s was one of the first high-proof, ultra-premium bourbons to hit shelves in the U.S., effectively laying the groundwork for the bourbon world of today. You can enjoy its history or just shut up and drink it on the rocks.
10. Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 23-Year
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If we’re obligated to include a bottle of Pappy, it’s going to be the most extravagant one and it’s going to be a double-digit seed. It’s terrible and not worth the effort if you don’t have it; it’s liquid gold if you dropped a few grand on it; and it’s probably somewhere in-between if you managed to snake a bottle at a cut price. One thing is certain: no whiskey stokes heated arguments like Pappy.
11. Jim Beam
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Jim Beam White is the Tim Duncan of bourbon. It is the king of fundamentals: available everywhere, cheap everywhere, mixes well and isn’t too shabby on the rocks. Like Duncan, there’s nothing sexy about it, but it gets the job done.
12. W.L. Weller 12-Year
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It’s only natural that Weller 12 lags a few spots behind Pappy; Buffalo Trace’s other line of wheated bourbon rode the Pappy wave until it was nearly as hard to find as its more illustrious cousin. Like Blanton’s, Weller 12 was once readily available for less than $50 — today it’s bought and sold for four-times that.
13. Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
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Woodford Reserve is known as a great gateway bourbon, which means it’s rarely involved in discussions among whiskey nerds. Double Oaked is the exception. It’s evidence that lower proof bourbon can be truly excellent, and a great example of experimentation paying off in a big way. The double-barreling process and lower proof create a vanilla-heavy whiskey that tastes like a toasted marshmallow.
14. George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond
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Technically Tennessee Whiskey, effectively bourbon. George Dickel’s Bottled-in-Bond whiskeys, now in their third year, have already earned more awards than most whiskeys earn in a decade (one of which was Whisky Advocate’s No. 1 Whiskey of the Year). Take that away and you have well-aged bourbon available under $50, which is good enough reason to buy on its own.
15. 1792 Full Proof
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Another darling of reviewers and award shows that doesn’t get the respect (read: sales) it deserves. And just like a true 15 seed, it’s likely most casual whiskey fans won’t have ever heard of it.
16. Old Grand-Dad 114
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Like an athletic program with budget problems, Old Grand-Dad was closer to being chopped liver than a little-known whiskey going up against Goliath (Buffalo Trace). The brand owner, Beam-Suntory, were considering taking it off life support but, for whatever reason, did not. Thank goodness. We’ve dubbed it our “Best Kept Secret” bourbon for a reason — its unabashedly high in proof, packed with flavor and affordable as hell. Can it upset a 1 seed? Crazier things have happened.
Vote on the Gear Patrol Instagram starting 3/22!
