Like every other reviewer, critic, or WhiskeyTubers this time of the year, it is time to spend countless hours scouring over the past year to determine which bourbon, whiskey or rye should make their Top 5 Bourbons of the year. So, what are the Bourbon Bossman® Top 5 criteria for 2024 bourbon or whiskey of the year? Well, that is pretty easy, as there are only two requirements. First, the bottle needs to be a 2024 release and secondly, it should have received a review score of Save It! (5), that is it.

Although many of these bourbons or whiskies may be near to impossible to find now, I feel this list is more meant to perhaps entice the reader to try a new distillery or perhaps hunt for an annual 2025 release. But please remember, I am not an advocate of purchasing bottles at secondary costs. If you can find one of these bottles still on the shelf or you come across next year’s special release at a reasonable price, then go for it. Otherwise, no bottle I have ever tried is worth putting your financial security at risk, let alone paying double, triple, or even quadruple the MSRP for.

As a reminder to first-time readers, please keep in mind that this list is purely my personal opinion and may be subjective. These annual top 5 lists may and typically will differ vastly from reviewer to reviewer; spoiler alert, I can guarantee my number three will be higher on the list for others. Because all of these featured bottles were so amazing this year, I chose to rank these six top bottles through a blind tasting.

Now this is the industry standard for most reviewers creating their list, but this was the first year I chose to go this route. Although I love the concept of what a blind tasting offers, I can also guarantee that more often than not a blind tasting of the six bottles will change in ranking depending on your mood that day. I guess what I am trying to say is do not latch onto the actual rankings of my top 5, rather that all these bottles are excellent in my opinion, and should be sought out! With that said, here are my Top 5 Bourbons and Whiskies of 2024:

As always, several releases made other reviewers’ top lists that I was unable to find in NoCo. Although there were several I was unable to enjoy in 2024, these are the top five bourbons that I had the most FOMO about and wish I could have tasted in 2024:

• Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Straight Bourbon
• Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch
• Maker’s Mark Cellar’s Age
• Michter’s 10 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon
• Still Austin 5 year old Bottled in Bond Red Corn

If you are curious about bourbon, whiskey, or the occasional scotch like I am, and enjoy reading reviews and possibly the occasional rant, please feel free to subscribe and follow my continued adventures into 2025.

Please remember, drinking bourbon is a personal adventure, so do not be afraid to drink it neat, with ice, or add some water. It’s your bourbon, you bought it, and you should enjoy it how you want to enjoy it!

Cheers! Prost! Sláinte!

Bourbon Bossman®