Good Times Miami Vice Bourbon Review: Is It Worth $120?

Good Times Miami Vice Bourbon delivers a tropical cocktail flavor while keeping the bourbon in charge. Strawberry leads, coconut lingers, and the pineapple brings a tart edge. We found this 116-proof bourbon surprisingly light to drink, even with three different cask finishes competing for attention.

At a glance

• Age: 9 years
• Proof: 116
• Finish: Strawberry brandy, pineapple brandy, and coconut rum casks
• Release: Limited release, standard-size bottle
• Price: $100 listed online; Steve paid $120 plus tax
• Tom’s rating: Solid double blue on our scale
• Steve’s rating: Solid red on our scale

Three cask finishes on a nine-year bourbon

Miami Vice combines bourbon finished separately in strawberry brandy, pineapple brandy, and coconut rum casks. Those finished whiskeys are then blended together. The idea follows the frozen Miami Vice cocktail’s strawberry, coconut, and pineapple flavors.

Good Times gets barrels that have held other products, including chocolate-related and brandy products, then uses them to add flavor to whiskey. Its lineup also includes a Samoa expression, a Hawaiian honey rye, and a Creamsicle expression. We think Good Times and Old Kirk are connected with Whiskey Thief Distilling.

Our big question was whether all that finishing would overwhelm a nine-year bourbon. We’d previously tried an Epic whiskey that felt overly finished. Tom was especially skeptical here because he doesn’t seek out coconut or heavily finished bourbon.

Appearance and nose: burnt amber and strawberry jam

The pour had a nice burnt amber color. It looked clean, with nothing extra floating in it.

Strawberry jumped out first, especially strawberry jam and red berries. We also picked up fruity candy and a little Fruity Pebbles. Pineapple and citrus followed, with one of us finding a little chocolate alongside the fruit.

Vanilla and oak were still there underneath the sweeter aromas. At first, neither of us found much coconut or coconut rum on the nose. That was a welcome start for Tom, who isn’t a big coconut rum fan.

Returning to the glass after tasting changed the nose. Coconut became easier to find, and the pineapple smelled fuller, without the bitterness we associated with its tartness on the palate.

Palate: strawberry candy and creamy coconut

The first sip brought strawberry and coconut right away. Steve found red fruit candy and coconut cream, while the coconut also had a lightly toasted character.

Coconut can easily take over a drink. Here, it pushed against the bourbon without winning. The bourbon stayed the standout, with coconut more of an afterthought. Even Tom didn’t find the amount offensive.

The mouthfeel was coating, creamy, and oily. We wouldn’t call it thick or viscous, but it had enough texture to hang around.

Pineapple showed up more as tartness than a clear pineapple flavor. It added a little spice between the strawberry opening and the vanilla-coconut finish. It reminded us of pineapple’s sharp edge, without that tongue-burning feeling from eating too much of it.

Finish: long tropical flavor with light bourbon heat

The finish carried the same tropical flavors forward. Strawberry led into light coconut, vanilla, and that pineapple tartness. Steve described it as getting the Miami Vice slushie experience without the brain freeze.

There was a little bourbon heat, but it did not drink like 116 proof to us. We guessed it felt closer to 90 or even 84 proof. The flavor came across as light despite the long tropical finish.

Steve would have enjoyed more chocolate, cocoa, or tobacco notes. Still, those flavors would have taken it away from the Miami Vice character Good Times was aiming for.

Value: would we buy another bottle?

Tom’s biggest hesitation was the price. The nose impressed him, and the flavor pleasantly surprised him after his early doubts. He also thought this could appeal to a casual drinker who isn’t a bourbon enthusiast.

The price held his rating back, even allowing for the effort behind the finishes. After tasting it, though, Tom said he would buy another bottle.

Steve found the whiskey unique and special. He probably wouldn’t buy a second bottle unless his wife loved it, which was part of his hope when he bought it. That’s a difference in repeat-purchase interest, not a complaint that the flavor missed its target.

Good Times earned another look

This was Steve’s first Good Times whiskey, and it made him want to explore more of the lineup. The bottle delivered the flavor it advertised, which gave us a reason to be curious about what else Good Times can do with a barrel.