Welcome to the JULY BLIND WHISKEY OF THE MONTH SHOWDOWN! 🥃🔥
In this episode, we put five incredible Straight Bourbon Whiskeys to the ultimate blind taste test. From rare cask finishes and double-Italian wine cask experiments to heirloom blue corn mash bills and heavy-hitting barrel proofs, this lineup is packed with power and flavor!
Can an underdog craft bourbon take down legacy titans, or will a legendary barrel proof beast sweep the rankings? Watch to find out—no bias, no label influence, just pure palate evaluation!
OUR FIVE CONTENDERS (in alphabetical order):
- 🪵 Barrel Bourbon Cigar Blend – The Multi-Cask Powerhouse: A heavy-hitting blend boasting up to 18-year aged whiskey finished across four distinct casks, including Madeira, Armagnac, Rum, and Hungarian Oak.
- 🍷 Blood Oath Pact 12 – The Italian Wine Experiment: A limited release blending 7, 9, and 12-year bourbons finished in both fruit-forward Montepulciano and savory Sangiovese wine casks.
- 💥 Booker’s 2026-02 Milkshake Batch – The High-Proof Beam Beast: A high-octane Kentucky Straight Bourbon sitting at 124.4 proof, aged over 7.5 years and packed with iconic Beam character.
- 🌽 Glenns Creek Patriotic Meri-COB – The Heirloom Triple-Corn Craft: A unique Kentucky bourbon crafted from a rare 100% heirloom corn mash bill featuring Bloody Butcher Red, Hickory King White, and Hoppi Blue.
- ⛰️ Smokeye Hill Barrel Proof – The High-Altitude High-Proofer: A 132-proof Colorado-aged monster distilled with a proprietary 4-grain heirloom blue corn mash bill.
👇 Which whiskey do you think took 1st place? Drop your guess in the comments BEFORE the final reveal!
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📊 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/
🥃 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/
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🥃 The July Lineup Competitors (Alphabetical Order):
Barrell Bourbon Cigar Blend
- Classification: Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Madeira, Armagnac, Rum & Hungarian Oak Casks
- Distillery: Blended & Bottled by Barrell Craft Spirits (KY, IN, TN)
- Age: 7.5 to 18 Years | Proof: 111.2 (55.6% ABV) | SRP: $84.99
Blood Oath Pact 12
- Classification: Straight Bourbon Whiskey (Double Italian Wine Cask Finish: Montepulciano & Sangiovese)
- Distillery: Lux Row Distillers (Master Distiller John Rempe)
- Age: Blend of 7, 9, and 12-Year Bourbons | Proof: 98.6 (49.3% ABV) | SRP: $129.99
Booker’s 2026-02 “Milkshake Batch”
- Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Distillery: Jim Beam
- Age: 7 Years, 6 Months, 12 Days | Proof: 124.4 (62.2% ABV) | SRP: $100.00
Glenns Creek “Patriotic ‘Meri-COB” (Heirloom Collection)
- Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Distillery: Glenns Creek Distillery
- Mash Bill: Triple Heirloom Corn (Bloody Butcher Red, Hickory King White & Hoppi Blue)
- Age: 47+ Months | Proof: 106 (53% ABV) | SRP: $75.00
Smokeye Hill Barrel Proof
- Classification: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Distillery: Distilled in IN; Barreled, Aged & Bottled by Smokeye Hill Spirits (Colorado Springs, CO)
- Mash Bill: 4-Grain Heirloom Blue Corn Mash Bill
- Age: 5 Years | Proof: 132 (66% ABV) | SRP: $89.99
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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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