Bourbons Distilled Outside Kentucky Worth Your Attention
Bourbon Is American — Not Just Kentuckian
Bourbon must be made in the United States, but there is no legal requirement that it come from Kentucky — a fact that an increasingly impressive roster of distilleries outside the Bluegrass State is proving with great conviction. While Kentucky still accounts for the vast majority of the world's bourbon production, distillers from Texas to Colorado to South Carolina are crafting expressions with distinct regional characters shaped by local grain, climate, and water. Scorching Texas summers accelerate barrel interaction in ways that Kentucky's temperate seasons never could, and high-altitude Colorado distilleries are bringing old-world production techniques to America's native spirit. The result is a diverse and genuinely exciting landscape of non-Kentucky bourbons that reward curious drinkers willing to look beyond the familiar zip codes of bourbon country.
Garrison Brothers Small Batch: Texas Heat Does the Work
Founded in Hye, Texas, Garrison Brothers holds the distinction of being the first legal whiskey distillery in Texas and a pioneer of bourbon production outside of Kentucky. Every bottle is milled, cooked, distilled, barreled, and aged entirely on-site in the Texas Hill Country, making it a true grain-to-glass operation. The flagship Small Batch is built from Texas corn, soft red winter wheat sourced from local farms, and two-row barley, bottled at 94 proof. The brutal Texas summers force the spirit to interact intensively with the wood, and the distillery uses barrels with extra-thick staves specifically designed to withstand the extreme heat. On the nose you get caramel, sweet tea, and soft leather, while the palate delivers rock candy sweetness, caramel apples, and a lasting warm finish. Buy it now!
High Wire Distilling: Bringing a Lost Corn Back to Life
Founded in 2013 by Ann Marshall and Scott Blackwell in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, High Wire Distilling is one of the most acclaimed craft distilleries in the coastal Southeast. Their flagship expression is built entirely from Jimmy Red corn, a magenta-hued landrace grain grown for decades on nearby James Island that had been nearly driven to extinction before High Wire helped revive it. The bourbon is aged in virgin American oak barrels with a heavy char and carries tasting notes of corn fritters with maple syrup, caramelized sugar, sweet mint, bright cherry, and ample oak. High Wire mills, mashes, ferments, distils, and ages everything in-house with no contract sourcing, making it one of the most authentically grain-to-glass bourbons in America. The distillery has earned international acclaim, and the Jimmy Red expression routinely appears on best-of lists alongside far more established Kentucky producers. Buy it now!
Leopold Bros. Bottled in Bond: Colorado's Old-World Approach
Brothers Todd and Scott Leopold operate their distillery out of Denver, Colorado, and their Bottled in Bond Bourbon is one of the most technically rigorous craft bourbons made outside Kentucky. The mash bill of 64% corn, 21% floor-malted barley, and 15% heritage Abruzzi rye is fermented in open wooden tanks using both house-cultured and wild indigenous yeast strains — a nod to pre-Prohibition production methods. The spirit is pot distilled, enters the barrel at an unusually low proof of 100, and is aged five years on earthen floors in an unheated dunnage-style bonded warehouse. Leopold Bros. also has the largest traditional floor malting room of any distillery in the United States, malting Colorado-grown barley entirely on-site. Tasting notes run to cinnamon bread, toasted pecans, apples cooked in butter, whole cloves, and smoked cedar — a genuinely complex and distinctive pour.
Balcones Texas Blue Corn: Waco's Bold Statement
Balcones Distilling, based in Waco, Texas, has been one of the most talked-about craft distilleries in the country since it started winning major international awards only a few years after opening. Their Texas Blue Corn Bourbon is built from roasted Hopi blue corn, a heritage grain that gives the spirit a distinctly different flavor foundation than the yellow dent corn used by most Kentucky producers. The roasting process contributes deep, almost chocolatey grain notes alongside the classic bourbon sweetness of vanilla and caramel. Balcones uses pot stills and takes an artisan approach throughout, resulting in a bourbon that is bold, dense, and unmistakably Texan in character. It is widely cited as one of the finest non-Kentucky bourbons available and helped establish Texas as a serious bourbon state alongside Garrison Brothers.
Remus Repeal Reserve: Indiana's Blending Masterclass
Ross & Squibb Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana — home of the former Seagram's distilling complex — is one of the most prolific bourbon producers in the United States, supplying sourced whiskey for more brands than almost anyone else in the country. The Remus Repeal Reserve Series is the expression where they proudly put their own name front and center, and it consistently represents the pinnacle of their output. Each annual edition blends bourbons of different ages, including whiskey as old as 17 years, to deliver a rich profile of oak, leather, chocolate, and pine. The 2024 edition brought particularly expressive results, balancing the mature oak notes of older barrels with bright new flavors from younger components. For drinkers who want to understand what Indiana can do with bourbon on its own terms, this is the bottle to seek out.
McKenzie Bottled in Bond: New York's Underdog Overachiever
Finger Lakes Distilling in New York produces the McKenzie Bottled in Bond Bourbon, a surprisingly well-rounded whiskey that applies the exacting federal Bottled in Bond standards — 100 proof, aged at least four years, distilled in a single season — to an atypical grain recipe that sets it apart from mainstream expressions. The result is a whiskey that is both affordable and genuinely impressive, earning comparisons to far pricier Kentucky releases. The distillery is better known in some circles for its award-winning rye whiskey, making the bourbon an under-the-radar find for those who look beyond the flagship. It carries classic bourbon notes of vanilla, caramel, and oak with a balanced, rounded mouthfeel that makes it just as easy to sip neat as it is to mix. For value-conscious collectors and newcomers to non-Kentucky bourbon alike, this is one of the easiest entry points on the map. Buy it now!
Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon: Barrel-Proof Texas Thunder
Cowboy Bourbon is Garrison Brothers' most celebrated and sought-after release, a barrel-proof expression limited to a few thousand bottles per year that has been released annually since 2015. Aged through seven scorching Texas summers — first in white American oak barrels, then finished in rye whiskey casks — the bourbon comes in at around 108 proof and delivers a rich, layered profile with caramelized sugar, toasted oak, and a whisper of vanilla. The extreme Texas climate pushes the spirit to interact with wood at an accelerated pace compared to Kentucky aging conditions, contributing to the bourbon's deep amber color and assertive character. It is widely described as the boldest and most quintessential Texas bourbon available, the expression that best embodies what the Lone Star State brings to American whiskey. Bottles sell out quickly each year, and the secondary market prices reflect just how seriously collectors take this release. Buy it now!
St. Augustine Distillery: Florida's Humid Aging Experiment
St. Augustine Distillery in St. Augustine, Florida, operates out of a meticulously restored 1920s ice plant and is one of the most acclaimed craft distilleries in the Southeast. Their Florida Straight Bourbon is grain-to-glass, milled and mashed on-site using locally and regionally sourced grains, and aged in Florida's humid subtropical climate — conditions that create their own accelerated wood interaction similar in some ways to what Texas distillers experience. The result is a bourbon that delivers notes of caramel, dark fruit, oak, baking spices, and dark chocolate with a smooth and polished finish. The distillery has earned a strong national reputation for quality, and the bourbon has attracted attention from reviewers who praised it as distinctly its own thing rather than a pale imitation of Kentucky's best. St. Augustine's location along the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the U.S. adds an appropriate sense of history to a bottle worth discovering. Buy it now!
Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch: Cowboy State Craftsmanship
Wyoming Whiskey is a fifth-generation, family-owned distillery that produces its bourbon from non-GMO, locally grown Wyoming grains, giving it a direct agricultural connection to the high-altitude landscape of the American West. The Small Batch expression is the distillery's flagship and serves as a clear demonstration of what the Wyoming terroir brings to bourbon — a climate with wide temperature swings between seasons that drives meaningful interaction between spirit and barrel throughout the year. The bourbon is bottled at a modest proof that makes it approachable for everyday drinking while still delivering the vanilla, caramel, and toasted oak profile expected of a well-made straight bourbon. Wyoming Whiskey has won numerous medals at major spirits competitions and has helped put the Mountain West firmly on the bourbon map alongside better-known craft regions like Texas and Colorado. The distillery's ranch setting and grain-to-glass commitment give it an authenticity that resonates with both casual drinkers and serious collectors. Buy it now!
Kings County Distillery Empire Bourbon: Brooklyn's Grain-to-Glass Pioneer
Kings County Distillery operates out of the Paymaster Building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, making it one of New York City's most storied craft spirits producers and a pioneering force in the urban distillery movement. Their Empire Bourbon is made primarily from New York-grown corn along with malted barley, reflecting the distillery's commitment to sourcing grain as locally as possible. Kings County has built a reputation as one of the most innovative craft producers in America, helping to put Brooklyn on the bourbon map through a combination of careful distilling practice and strong institutional support from the spirits community. The Empire Bourbon carries notes of sweet corn, honey, vanilla, and a mild spice finish that speaks to the lighter, grain-forward style the distillery favors. It is widely available across the northeast and has served as many New Yorkers' first serious introduction to craft American bourbon. Buy it now!
Journeyman Featherbone Bourbon: Organic and Midwestern
Journeyman Distillery, based in Three Oaks, Michigan, operates out of a former corset factory whose original owner was a committed prohibitionist — one of the more ironic distillery settings in American whiskey history. The distillery specializes in organic spirits across a wide range of categories, and their Featherbone Bourbon is built from certified organic Midwest grains that deliver the classic flavor profile bourbon drinkers expect. Tasting notes lean into spice, vanilla, and caramel with a balanced and rounded mouthfeel that makes it an easy sipper for bourbon fans exploring beyond the Kentucky canon. Journeyman has earned a loyal following in the Midwest and beyond, with the Featherbone serving as an accessible gateway into their broader portfolio of organic American whiskeys. The distillery's dedication to grain quality and organic certification sets it apart in a crowded craft market. Buy it now!
High West American Prairie Bourbon: Utah's Big-Sky Blend
High West Distillery, founded in Park City, Utah by a former biochemist, became one of the most recognized names in American craft whiskey by applying a winemaker's blending philosophy to bourbon production. The American Prairie Bourbon is their flagship expression, blending 2-year, 6-year, and 13-year aged bourbons sourced from quality producers to create a thick, rich, and layered pour that earned a 93-point rating from The Tasting Panel. The blend strategy allows High West to deliver consistent complexity that single-age statements can struggle to achieve, with the older stock contributing depth and the younger bourbon keeping the profile lively. Flavor notes include caramel, vanilla, dried fruit, and a warming baking-spice finish that fits the mountain West's rugged character. High West is nationally distributed and widely available, making it one of the easiest non-Kentucky bourbons for curious drinkers to find on a well-stocked shelf. Buy it now!
Southern Distilling Co.: North Carolina's Wheated Dark Horse
Southern Distilling Company is based in Statesville, North Carolina, and has quietly been building a reputation as one of the most impressive wheated bourbon producers anywhere in the United States. Their Single Barrel Cask Strength release is the expression that has drawn the most critical attention, with reviewers noting that it can hold its own against far more celebrated wheated bourbons from Kentucky in blind tastings. North Carolina's warm, humid summers provide a southern aging climate that accelerates extraction from the barrel and contributes to the rich, sweet profile associated with wheated mash bills. The cask strength bottling captures the bourbon at its most honest, delivering concentrated notes of caramel, stone fruit, baking spice, and vanilla with a powerful but smooth finish. The distillery is helping put the Carolinas on the bourbon map alongside better-known non-Kentucky regions, and their Single Barrel is the bottle that makes the strongest argument. Buy it now!
Garrison Brothers Balmorhea: Double-Oaked and Desert-Aged
Named after the small West Texas town famous for its spring-fed swimming hole, the Garrison Brothers Balmorhea is the distillery's double-oaked expression and one of their most refined releases. The bourbon is matured for four years in fresh American white oak barrels before spending an additional year in a second new white oak barrel — a process that layers additional vanilla, wood sugar, and tannin complexity onto the already-concentrated Texas spirit. The extreme Texas heat that defines all Garrison Brothers products works at an amplified pace during this extended finishing process, resulting in a bourbon that is noticeably denser and more structured than the flagship Small Batch. Tasting notes include roasted caramel, orange zest, cinnamon, sweet tea, and tobacco, with a finish that lingers considerably. It represents the more polished and contemplative side of Texas bourbon, a contrast to the explosive barrel-proof energy of Cowboy Bourbon. Buy it now!
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