The Liquor Connoisseur has reviewed bourbon from Kentucky, Texas, New York, and Oklahoma — across every price point, mashbill style, and proof level. This is our definitive ranked list of the best bourbons we've reviewed, updated as we add new episodes. Every bottle on this list has been tasted blind or on-camera by Crystal and Roger with full tasting notes published. No paid placements. No hype. Just the bottles that earned it. 🥇 #1 — Frank August Small Batch Bourbon | 2025

The Kilinga Bacanora series reaches its most personal chapter. In Part 3, Crystal and Roger learn the multigenerational family story behind Kilinga — a Bacanora legacy rooted in Sonora, Mexico, and a deep belief that this spirit holds the power to heal, connect, and honor what came before. Episode Highlights Spirit featured: Kilinga Bacanora (Sonora, Mexico) Agave: Pacifica agave, wild-harvested Category: Bacanora — a protected designation of origin spirit Theme: Family legac

Part 2 of the Kilinga Bacanora series moves from origin story to liquid education. Crystal and Roger explore the three core expressions — Blanco, Silvestre, and Reposado — and break down what makes each one distinct, how the Pacifica agave expresses itself differently across these styles, and what tasting Bacanora teaches you about agave spirits as a category. Spirits Covered Kilinga Bacanora Blanco — unaged, pure agave expression Kilinga Bacanora Silvestre — made from wild-h

The Tyree Williams series concludes with its biggest question: how did American spirits come to dominate the global market, and where does the industry go from here? Crystal and Roger bring their sharpest questions to this final conversation, and Tyree delivers with a perspective shaped by years working inside the spirits industry. Episode Highlights Guest: Tyree Williams — spirits industry strategist and educator Topic: America's outsized influence on global spirits Focus: B

If Part 1 explained why spirits brands fail, Part 2 goes deep on the single biggest obstacle every producer faces after making a great product: getting it on a shelf. Crystal and Roger continue their conversation with Tyree Williams on the American three-tier distribution system and what it actually takes to move a bottle from distillery to consumer. Episode Highlights Guest: Tyree Williams — spirits industry educator and strategist Topic: The three-tier distribution system e

Before Crystal and Roger could understand Kilinga's liquid, they needed to understand Bacanora itself. In Part 1 of this three-episode series, they sit down with the Kilinga team to learn about a spirit most people have never heard of — one that's been made in Sonora, Mexico for centuries, was illegal for decades, and is now fighting for its place on the global stage. Spirit Overview Spirit: Bacanora — Mexico's third Denomination of Origin spirit after Tequila and Mezcal Regi

Crystal and Roger sit down with Tyree Williams for a conversation every spirits entrepreneur and serious drinker needs to hear. Why do most new spirits brands fail within five years — and what do the survivors do differently? Tyree brings the data, the experience, and the candor to answer that question without sugarcoating it. Episode Highlights Guest: Tyree Williams — spirits industry educator, strategist, and advisor Topic: Why new spirits brands fail and what winning brand

Coffee liqueur has been done — and mostly done wrong. Lebowski's Kool-Luah flips the script. Crystal and Roger bring this unexpected bottle to the Liquor Library and discover a coffee liqueur built on actual craft principles, not artificial flavoring and corn syrup. The result is something worth talking about. Bottle Specs Spirit: Lebowski's Kool-Luah Coffee Liqueur Category: Coffee Liqueur Base: Premium coffee-forward liqueur Price range: ~$30–40 Comparison: Think Kahlúa, do

What happens when you pair a botanical gin with fine craft chocolate? Crystal and Roger find out when they bring Castle & Key Roots of Ruin Gin to the table alongside Bissinger's Chocolate for one of the most specific and satisfying pairing experiments in Liquor Library history. Bottle Specs Spirit: Castle & Key Roots of Ruin Gin Distillery: Castle & Key Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky (est. 1887, restored 2016) Style: Garden-forward craft gin with botanical complexity ABV: 4

Dan Abel Jr. has been thinking seriously about the intersection of fine chocolate and craft spirits for years. Crystal and Roger bring him into the conversation to break down the science and sensory logic behind spirit-and-chocolate pairings — and walk away with a framework that changes how they approach both. Episode Highlights Guest: Dan Abel Jr. — Bissinger's Chocolatiers (founded 1845) Topic: Pairing craft spirits with fine chocolate Key question: What makes a spirit-choc

Most cocktail books are either too basic or too precious. The Barrister's Book of Old Fashioneds and Other Cocktails is neither. Crystal and Roger dig into this standout volume and discover a reference work genuinely worth adding to your bar shelf — one that treats the Old Fashioned as the canonical cocktail it deserves to be. Book Highlights Title: The Barrister's Book of Old Fashioneds & Other Cocktails Format: Cocktail reference and guide Emphasis: The Old Fashioned as a c

Yéyo's high proof expression takes everything that made the original interesting and dials up the intensity. Crystal and Roger taste through this elevated expression and find a tequila that rewards those willing to pay attention. Bottle Specs Spirit: Yéyo High Proof Tequila Category: 100% Blue Weber Agave Blanco Tequila ABV: ~55%+ (higher than standard expression) Price: ~$45–55 Region: Jalisco, Mexico — Highlands Additive status: Additive-free Why High Proof Tequila Is Worth

Bardstown Bourbon Company's Stave & Finish series is built around a deceptively simple idea: take a good bourbon and finish it in a secondary cask to add a layer of complexity. Crystal and Roger put this Small Batch expression through its paces and report back on whether the extra step earns its price premium. Bottle Specs Spirit: Bardstown Bourbon Company Small Batch Stave & Finish Category: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Distillery: Bardstown Bourbon Company, Bardstown,

The cocktail mixer category has been stuck in a rut for decades — high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, colors that have nothing to do with the fruit on the label. Fresh Victor's Ken MacKenzie is changing that, and Crystal and Roger bring him to The Liquor Connoisseur to explain how. Episode Highlights Guest: Ken MacKenzie — Fresh Victor Cocktail Mixers Company: Fresh Victor — premium, natural cocktail mixers Products: Cold-pressed citrus and botanical mixer concentra

Crystal and Roger take the Black Momma Vodka experience all the way to the source — an in-person distillery tour followed by a focused review of the Peach Tea Vodka. What they find is a brand built on real craft conviction, not just a compelling backstory. Bottle Specs Spirit: Black Momma Vodka — Peach Tea Vodka Distillery: Black Momma Vodka (Black women-owned) Category: Flavored Vodka ABV: 35% (70 proof) Price: ~$25–30 Flavor: Peach tea — genuine flavoring, not artificial Th

The green fairy doesn't exist. Neither does the hallucination-inducing mystique that surrounded absinthe for a century. Crystal and Roger bring in Absinthia — the founder of Absinthia Spirits — to debunk every myth and reveal what absinthe actually is, why it was banned, and why it deserves a second look from serious spirits drinkers. Episode Highlights Guest: Absinthia Vermut — founder, Absinthia Spirits Spirit: Absinthe — botanical spirit with Grand Wormwood (Artemisia absi

MurMur Rum starts with a question most distillers wouldn't ask: what happens when you ferment mango alongside sugarcane? Crystal and Roger find out, and the answer is a rum that tastes genuinely unlike anything else in the category. Bottle Specs Spirit: MurMur Rum Category: Craft Rum — mango fermentation Key ingredient: Mango fermented alongside sugarcane ABV: ~40–43% Price: ~$30–40 Innovation: Mango introduced during fermentation, not added after distillation The Innovation:

Corte Vetusto is the kind of Mezcal that makes you understand why serious spirits drinkers become obsessed with the category. Crystal and Roger pull this bottle from the Liquor Library and find a production-focused, terroir-driven expression that rewards the attention you give it. Bottle Specs Spirit: Corte Vetusto Mezcal Region: Oaxaca, Mexico Agave: Espadín (Agave angustifolia) Production: Traditional tahona and clay pot still ABV: ~46–47% Price: ~$50–65 NOM: Certified mezc

Every year Crystal and Roger do the research so you don't have to. The Liquor Connoisseur Holiday Gift Guide cuts through the noise and delivers specific, honest recommendations for the spirit lover in your life — organized by budget, occasion, and how well you actually know the person you're shopping for. Gift Guide Overview Coverage: Bourbon, Scotch, Tequila, Rum, Gin, Vodka, and Mezcal Budget tiers: $25–50, $50–100, $100+ Occasion types: Casual gifting, serious collectors,

Most distillery tours show you the shiny copper stills. Crystal and Roger went to Bardstown Bourbon Company for the real tour — behind the barrels, into the rick house, where the actual aging happens and where the character of bourbon is built over time. Episode Highlights Location: Bardstown Bourbon Company, Bardstown, Kentucky Type: Rick house tour — barrel aging facility Featured: Multiple expressions at various stages of aging Key theme: How barrel placement and warehouse