What is toasted bourbon?

There are so many bourbon terms out there and sometimes when you know what they mean, you can get exceptional deals on great tasting bottles just because you know what to look out for. Toasted bourbons, for me at least, typically fall in this category!

When I was newer to my bourbon journey I think I picked up my first bottle of toasted bourbon just because it sounded cool, but I was pleasantly surprised when I had my first sip. So let's get into it.

Toasted bourbon has to do with the barrel the whiskey/bourbon ages in. A traditional barrel goes through a pretty violent process to get ready for the whiskey. It is chared very aggressively which leads to a lot of smokey and harsher flavors to the bourbon. Toasted on the other hand is a low and slow approach to getting the barrel ready. This leads to more subtle and nuanced flavors of the bourbon and also allows for more of a natural wood flavor to be present.

In my experience, the notes of vanilla are so much more present in a toasted bourbon, which makes it perfect for so many cocktails that have sweeter flavors. My wife and I recently made a S'mores old fashioned with a toasted bourbon and it was amazing.

My favorite two toasted bourbons are the Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel and the Penelope Toasted. Luckily Elijah Craig Toasted has been easier to find recently, so if you see a bottle I highly recommend that one as a great first toasted bourbon to try! What's your favorite toasted bourbon? Let me know by rating it on the world's best bourbon app, NEAT: Whiskey Finder!.