Peerless Pursuit (Round 2)! Peerless 5 Year Single Barrel Bourbon vs Peerless Double Oak Master Distiller Pick

Note: this review was originally posted in November 2022 on r/bourbon

Background

In May 2022 I took a look at some Peerless Rye offerings, a 3 year pick and a Double Oak Rye pick from Caleb Kilburn (Peerless’ Master Distiller). Since I covered a bunch of Peerless fun facts there, I’ll keep the intro short and sweet on this one. This time, we’re checking out the bourbons. The two whiskey’s on hand are a single barrel pick from DC’s Cinder BBQ, and another single barrel, double oak bourbon pick from Caleb Kilburn/Peerless’ gift shop. Let’s see how they stack up!

Peerless Bourbon - Cinder BBQ Pick (5 Years, 110.8 Proof)

Nose: Oak, heavy duty amount of caramel, and hints of butterscotch. Decently sweet and inviting.

Palate: Powdered sugar, cherry syrup, Dr Pepper, occasional black pepper and nutmeg spiciness provides a nice balance to the sweeter notes.

Finish: Finish is cola, oak, and there is an earthy, somewhat herbal and medicinal note, not necessarily in a bad way, I just can’t quite put my finger on it.

6.5/10

Overall: The best regular bourbon I’ve had from Peerless to date. First and foremost, credit to Cinder on the pick. Second, this pick makes me hopeful at the upward trend of Peerless age statements and stocks. The small batch Peerless bourbon has historically not done much for me, but their bourbon and rye picks have steadily started to trend a bit older, and this leads me to think/hope a little longer in the barrel will go a long way with their standard offerings.

Peerless Single Barrel Double Oak - Master Distiller Pick (NAS Years, 109.9 Proof)

Nose: Cherry cordial, maple syrup, butterscotch. It’s rich with dark sugars.

Palate: Chocolate cherries again, caramel, graham cracker, s’mores and an undercurrent of wood that teeters on too much at times but more often than not end up just right.

Finish: Black licorice, nutmeg, polished wood, long and delightful.

8/10

Overall: Ah this is complex and delightful. Layers of flavor on the sip, particularly dark sugars, and a great texture too. There’s a nice, syrupy, viscosity that really amps up the experience on the palate. While I have enjoyed more standard double oak offerings like WRDO and OF 1910, I find them to be considerable less nuanced than what this offers. WRDO gives me pretty consistent mocha/oak/hints of banana notes, and I definitely enjoy that pour, but this is much more complex. Being barrel proof is doubtless a major factor, but either way great stuff here.

Last but not least, ranking scale and some examples:

1 | Disgusting: Sagamore Spirit Tequila Finish

2 | Poor: Black Maple Hill Oregon Straight Bourbon Whiskey

3 | Bad: Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel

4 | Sub-par: Blade and Bow Straight Bourbon

5 | Good: Old Forester 1910

6 | Very Good: Willett 4 Year Family Rye

7 | Great: Little Book Chapter 3

8 | Excellent: Russell's Reserve 13 Year

9 | Incredible: A Smith Bowman Cask Strength (Batch 1)

10 | Perfect: George T Stagg 2020