What is the most “Scotch like” Bourbon?

[SharpieB]

My dad is a huge Scotch fan as am I. He has zero experience with bourbon except for the odd Jack shot or bourbon and Coke.

I had a neat Buffalo Trace tonight and thought that someone that wasn’t a whisky fan might think it was a scotch. Much more so than any Canadian Rye. My dad was asking why I was such a bourbon fan, and I was hoping to do a little tasting at Christmas.

In your opinion, what is the bourbon that is closest to scotch?

 

[oldtree]

add a shot of port wine to buffalo trace bottle. may need more or less for your taste.

 

[Whisky]

What kind of Scotch does he like? There’s so many types of Scotch it’s hard to narrow it down without more information.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Interesting question with many a Single Malts aged in Bourbon barrels but not the other way round and then made from a different grain as well….

Maybe an older wheated one with more dry notes than sweet corn and vanilla?

 

[NewYorkBuck]

Angel's Envy. Aged in Scotch barrels.

My favorite Bourbon.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Angel's Envy. Aged in Scotch barrels.

My favorite Bourbon.

I always thought Bourbon has to go in a fresh barrel by law. Is this a secondary cask aging?

 

[Whisky]

I always thought Bourbon has to go in a fresh barrel by law. Is this a secondary cask aging?

That’s correct, to be called Bourbon they must be aged in new charred barrels. There are some Bourbons that are “finished” in barrels from other spirits. Regular Angels Envy is finished in Port wine barrels and there was a limited release at some point of Sherry barrel finished which may give a Scotch like profile. I haven’t heard of Angels Envy being finished in Scotch barrels.

Edit to add: There is controversy over finishing bourbon and whether or not it’s still technically Bourbon after being finished in anything other than than new oak barrels.

@SharpieB if your dad prefers peated scotch see if you can find High West “Campfire,” it’s a blend of Bourbon, Rye, and a blended malt Scotch whisky. There are American Single Malts like Westland, and there are Sherry finished like the Angels Envy mentioned above. If you can narrow down the type of Scotch he likes I can give you a few more suggestions.

Picture of some of the bottles

 

[RayClem]

One of the thing that makes Scotch unique is that single malts are all distilled in pot stills. There are some whiskys distilled in Scotland using column stills, but they are used in blended Scotch whisky along with a variety of single malts.

Most bourbon is distilled in column stills, which makes for a less flavorful whiskey. There are a few bourbons distilled in pot stills. Makers Mark uses a column still for the primary distillation, but has a pot still for the secondary. Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series 2021 Release: FAE-01 was ranked the No. 2 whisky for 2021 by Whisky Advocate magazine.

If you want a true pot still bourbon, one of the best may be Willett Pot Still Reserve. It comes in a bottle shaped like a pot still. I have not tasted it, but it came highly recommended on one of the Youtube channels. It was a bourbon distiller's favorite bourbon, and he did not work for Willett.

 

[Whisky]

One of the thing that makes Scotch unique is that single malts are all distilled in pot stills. There are some whiskys distilled in Scotland using column stills, but they are used in blended Scotch whisky along with a variety of single malts.

Most bourbon is distilled in column stills, which makes for a less flavorful whiskey. There are a few bourbons distilled in pot stills. Makers Mark uses a column still for the primary distillation, but has a pot still for the secondary. Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series 2021 Release: FAE-01 was ranked the No. 2 whisky for 2021 by Whisky Advocate magazine.

If you want a true pot still bourbon, one of the best may be Willett Pot Still Reserve. It comes in a bottle shaped like a pot still. I have not tasted it, but it came highly recommended on one of the Youtube channels. It was a bourbon distiller's favorite bourbon, and he did not work for Willett.

Great explanation.

Willet can be pretty polarizing in the Bourbon world. It seems like you either like it or hate it. I personally like it and usually have a bottle on the shelf- it’s getting harder to find though. I had never considered the pot vs column distillation until now. I like Scotch and like Willet but my Bourbon only friends don’t care for Willet at all.

Makers Mark FAE-01 is a great bourbon. I picked up a couple of bottles after tasking it when it was first released.

 

[Tirvine]

Some of us who love both bourbon and Scotch might try to steer you away from a bourbon that has been finished in a nontraditional way because we prefer traditional Scotch to Scotch finished in Port barrels or barrels that held other sweet and strongly flavored fortified wines. I would opt for a classic but gutsy bourbon like an older bottling of Knob Creek or Booker's. Although the taste is quite different, the intensity and layers of flavor somehow remind me of Islay.

 

[FL shaver]

My immediate thought was of High West Campfire, but it’s a blend of bourbon, Scotch, and rye, and although I enjoy it, I would rather have a bourbon or Scotch, or rye, especially given its price. It is smoky and reminiscent of a mild Islay.

The closest bourbon I have had to Scotch is WLW - expensive and allotted. It is the honey sweetness of WLW that gets me close to a Sherry Scotch, Highland or Speyside, far from the Islays.

Such a wide range of flavors in Scotch and I’m finding it hard to match up with a single bourbon.

 

[SharpieB]

What kind of Scotch does he like? There’s so many types of Scotch it’s hard to narrow it down without more information.

He isnt a fan of highly peated scotch so likely not many Islays would suit him. He likes blends like Chivas and single malts like Macallan and Glenfiddich.

 

[Tirvine]

He isnt a fan of highly peated scotch so likely not many Islays would suit him. He likes blends like Chivas and single malts like Macallan and Glenfiddich.

Then I'd go with a high wheat bourbon.

 

[NewYorkBuck]

That’s correct, to be called Bourbon they must be aged in new charred barrels. There are some Bourbons that are “finished” in barrels from other spirits. Regular Angels Envy is finished in Port wine barrels and there was a limited release at some point of Sherry barrel finished which may give a Scotch like profile. I haven’t heard of Angels Envy being finished in Scotch barrels.

Edit to add: There is controversy over finishing bourbon and whether or not it’s still technically Bourbon after being finished in anything other than than new oak barrels.

@SharpieB if your dad prefers peated scotch see if you can find High West “Campfire,” it’s a blend of Bourbon, Rye, and a blended malt Scotch whisky. There are American Single Malts like Westland, and there are Sherry finished like the Angels Envy mentioned above. If you can narrow down the type of Scotch he likes I can give you a few more suggestions.

Picture of some of the bottles
View attachment 1380110

You are correct. When I said Scotch barrels, I meant the barrels they use are typically used to age Scotch rather than Bourbon, not barrels that Scotch was already aged in. At least that's what they told me at the distillery when I visited a few years ago.

My bad.

In any event, I think their process gives their Bourbon some very nice Scotch elements. Funny I drink Bourbon in the Summer, and Scotch in the Winter. Angels Envy transitions me nicely in the Autumn ...

 

[ByMyBeard]

Then I'd go with a high wheat bourbon.

Just to expand on this, your wheated bourbons would be anything Makers Mark, Larceny, Rebel, Weller (if you can find it), and Horse Soldier Small Batch (possibly other bottles...I can't keep them straight). There's also a wheated Woodford, and Bernheim is a 100% wheated whiskey. Wheated whiskey's aren't typically my thing, so others may provide better suggestions there.

Of course, there's a very well thought of wheated whiskey known as Pappy, but you won't find it anywhere.

 

[Tirvine]

Just to expand on this, your wheated bourbons would be anything Makers Mark, Larceny, Rebel, Weller (if you can find it), and Horse Soldier Small Batch (possibly other bottles...I can't keep them straight). There's also a wheated Woodford, and Bernheim is a 100% wheated whiskey. Wheated whiskey's aren't typically my thing, so others may provide better suggestions there.

Of course, there's a very well thought of wheated whiskey known as Pappy, but you won't find it anywhere.

I have never tried Pappy, but I certainly enjoyed Old Rip when it was under $40 a fifth. I find it intriguing that Maker's is a wheater. I just find it pretty balanced but also a bit too sweet. I guess the wheat explains it. I am more of a high rye guy or a fan of just very conventional, but terrific, bourbons like Knob Creek.

Rye is very hard to work with. I guess MGP has really helped everyone turn out more and better high rye products. My son in law made some triticale whiskey about three years ago. I am looking forward to trying that! Seems like a natural.

 

[Bob Vdr]

Give Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select a try.
I'm also a fan of scotch more than anything else and from all the bourbons I've tried so far, I'd rate the Woodford the closest I've tasted to a single malt scotch. To me, Woodford resembles a bit some Speyside single malts (Aberlour/Glenfarclas/Macallan), think dried fruits, cocoa, sweetness and subtle dark spices.

 

[SharpieB]

Just to expand on this, your wheated bourbons would be anything Makers Mark, Larceny, Rebel, Weller (if you can find it), and Horse Soldier Small Batch (possibly other bottles...I can't keep them straight). There's also a wheated Woodford, and Bernheim is a 100% wheated whiskey. Wheated whiskey's aren't typically my thing, so others may provide better suggestions there.

Of course, there's a very well thought of wheated whiskey known as Pappy, but you won't find it anywhere.

Thanks. I was lucky enough to pick up a few bottles of Weller Special Reserve recently and will let him try that.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Thanks. I was lucky enough to pick up a few bottles of Weller Special Reserve recently and will let him try that.

I guess Weller 12 is gone from the market into unicorn heaven?

 

[SharpieB]

I guess Weller 12 is gone from the market into unicorn heaven?

No idea but for some weird reason the Ontario, Canada government run liquor stores had the Special Reserve for a few days for the equivalent of about $30USD/750ml. I grabbed 3 bottles before it sold out. They had a couple other bottlings but they sold out in minutes.