Welcome back to Your Bourbon Journey! It’s the first Friday of October, which means it’s time to crown our September Whiskey of the Month!
During September, we tasted 25 different whiskeys across 12 sessions—from legacy heritage releases and hazmats to wild craft experiments. After whittling the field down, 5 standout bottles earned a spot on our tasting table for an epic head-to-head blind showdown.
This lineup is a massive clash of unique mash bills and complex cask finishes, boasting an average age of 6.2 years, an average proof of 113.54, and an average price of $105.14. With the cutoff for our year-end Sweet 16 sitting between 95 and 99.5, the stakes couldn’t be higher. In fact, first and second place were separated by just a quarter of a point!
Which pour took the September crown and punches a ticket toward our Whiskey of the Year tournament? Grab a glass and taste along with us!
🔔 Don’t forget to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to follow along on the journey! Which bottle would you pick blindly? Let us know in the comments below!
Let us know in the comments: What has been your favorite pour this month? Don’t forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the bell so you never miss a review, blind flight, or cocktail guide!
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🥃 THE SEPTEMBER CONTENDERS (Alphabetical Order):
- Glenns Creek Distilling — B.O.B. (Best Oat Bourbon) | 106.8 Proof
- Single barrel Kentucky straight bourbon with 19% oats in the mash bill.
- Good Times Bourbon — Cigar Batch “Mexican Vanilla” (Barrel 709) | 116 Proof
- 10-Year Indiana straight bourbon finished in Oloroso Sherry, Cognac, Armagnac, & Mexican vanilla staves.
- James B. Beam Distilling Co. — Booker’s “The Reserves” (2026 Batch) | 125.1 Proof
- Uncut Kentucky straight rye finished in French apple brandy casks & steeped with cinnamon sticks.
- New Riff Distilling — DUET American Whiskey (Rhinegeist Collaboration) | 111.2 Proof
- 6-Year high-barley blend aged in oak, Oloroso, and PX sherry, married in a craft beer oak foeder.
- Shortbarrel — Sapsquatch (Batch SB-2) | 108.6 Proof
- 6+ Year high-rye straight bourbon finished in Kelvin toasted barrels, Vermont maple syrup casks, & sugar maple spirals.
🥃 OUR SCORING PROCESS: We’ve revamped our scoring to be more transparent than ever. No more “Redundancy”—just pure, data-driven blind competitions. Read the full breakdown of our new rubric and the “Sweet Sixteen” bracket process on our website: 👉 https://yourbourbonjourney.com/2026/02/27/decoding-the-pour-the-new-your-bourbon-journey-scoring-woty-process/
📊 SEE THE LIVE LEADERBOARD: Want to see where this bottle ranks against the rest of the field? Check out our real-time leaderboard here: 👉 https://yourbourbonjourney.com/2026/02/27/the-live-leaderboard-road-to-the-sweet-sixteen/
🚨REMEMBER TO ALWAYS DRINK RESPONSIBLY🚨
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NOTE: The spirits in this review were purchased by us. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is simply our opinion based on what we tasted on this day. Please drink responsibly.
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