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Wilderness and Whiskey

Whiskey BUY or PASS: The Bottles We Would Buy Again

See which empty bourbon and rye bottles we'd buy again, from Old Fitzgerald 19-year to Four Roses, plus our passes on Elijah Craig and WhistlePig CampStock.

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond 19-year is a BUY for us. After finishing a bottle, our test is simple: would we spend our money on another one? BUY means we would; PASS means we wouldn't. These are our empty-bottle decisions, including a few bottles we enjoyed but still wouldn't replace.

BUY: More bourbon and rye we'd buy again

  • Baker's 7 High Rye Bourbon
  • Jefferson's Tropics
  • High West Cask Strength
  • Eagle Rare 10-year
  • Pinhook 8-year
  • Early Times Bottled in Bond
  • Sazerac Rye
  • Russell's Reserve 10-year
  • Elijah Craig Private Barrel, the Esquire store pick
  • Green River Single Barrel. We love some Green River.
  • Bardstown Origin Series
  • Peerless Toasted Bourbon. We'd buy this one all day long.
  • Rabbit Hole Dareringer
  • Speakeasy by Willett
  • Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Strength
  • Holladay Soft Red Wheat
  • Knob Creek Single Barrel 9-year
  • Barrell Seagrass. This got an emphatic BUY from us.
  • Redwood Empire Bourbon Cask Strength
  • Four Roses OBSK
  • Four Roses OBSF
  • Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye, 134 proof
  • Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Rye, 130.8 proof. We think this was a store selection.
  • Sagamore Double Oak
  • Pursuit Double Oak, the S&W store pick with the signature on it
  • E.H. Taylor Small Batch
  • Kirkland Bottled in Bond
  • Chattanooga Founder's 12th Anniversary. We loved this bottle.
  • Penelope
  • Sagamore Port Finish
  • Widow Jane Decadence

PASS: Bottles we wouldn't replace

  • Benchmark No. 8
  • 1792 Small Batch
  • Larceny
  • Jefferson's Ocean
  • Jim Beam Single Barrel
  • Redwood Empire Pipe Dream
  • Penelope Valencia
  • Rebel Distiller's Collection
  • Evan Williams Single Barrel
  • Bowman Brothers Small Batch Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey
  • Barrell Bourbon Batch 036
  • Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B524
  • I.W. Harper Cabernet Cask
  • James E. Pepper, 96 proof
  • Four Roses Bourbon, the standard bottle
  • Angel's Envy Perfect Port Edition
  • Fallen Oak Maryland Distillery Bourbon Whiskey
  • First Call Cask Strength
  • Woodford Reserve, the red-label bottle at 90 proof
  • Chattanooga Bottled in Bond
  • WhistlePig CampStock. We loved it, but we'd still pass on another bottle.
  • Yellowstone Toasted, 100 proof
  • Elijah Craig C923. An emphatic PASS from us.
  • Redemption Bourbon

Another empty-bottle check is planned for winter

We couldn't choose one overall favorite from this group. We plan to do another BUY or PASS check in winter, using the other bottles we finish during the year.

Which empty bottle in your collection would you buy again?

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