The 15 Best Allocated Bourbons (and Ryes) of 2025

Like many things in the current bourbon world, the concept of allocated whiskey surely begins with Pappy Van Winkle.

No, not necessarily the Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year Old that was released for the first time in 1994. Back then, if you really wanted to, you could find that bottling at a “better” liquor store in whatever town you lived in and still get it for the retail cost of $80. Few people wanted to pay that much, though.

But the now-iconic Kentucky bourbon began to score well with critics and became a cult favorite among the culinary cognoscenti and by the early 2010s it was becoming harder and harder to find. In 2011 journalist Wright Thompson even penned a piece for Grantland where he called liquor stores just to see what they would respond when he asked if they had any Pappy in stock.

“I get my allocation in the very beginning of November,” one liquor store owner told Thompson.

That might have been the first-ever online mention of allocated bourbon. Today, of course, it’s become as common an industry buzzword as “single barrel” or “small batch.” Allocated bourbons are the bourbons that are hard to find, often LEs (limited editions) released in limited supply (perhaps only a case) to select liquor stores, are usually expensive, are even more insanely hyped-up online, and are often (but not always) delicious.

There’s no master list of allocated bourbons per se. You have your expected BTACs (the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection), your Parker’s Heritages, your Old Forester Birthday Bourbons. What’s allocated in one state might be considered a shelf turd in another. Sometimes bourbons even go from readily available to allocated (see: Weller, Blanton’s, etc.). Nowadays, there are bourbons that are allocated that no one even really cares about. There’s little rhyme or reason to what is and is not considered allocated.

Whatever the case, despite the minor downturn in the industry overall, people still can’t get enough of allocated bourbon (and rye). It’s the human condition to yearn for something that we are inherently told is hard to get.

We were lucky to taste pretty much all of the allocated bourbons and ryes released this year. Here are our top picks. The prices listed here are MSRP, but it should be noted that for some bottles, unless you’re in a control state, what you pay will likely be much higher.

Why You Should Trust VinePair

Throughout the year, VinePair conducts dozens of tastings for our Buy This Booze product roundups, highlighting the best bottles across the world’s most popular wine and spirits categories.

As part of this work, VinePair’s tasting and editorial staff samples thousands of bottles every year. This helps us keep a finger on the pulse of what’s new and exciting. Crucially, it also provides us with the context needed to distinguish the simply good from the truly great — whether from a quality or value-for-money perspective, or both.

VinePair’s mission is to offer a clear, reliable source of information for drinkers, providing an overview applicable to day-to-day buying and drinking.

How We Taste

We believe in tasting all products as our readers typically would: with full knowledge of the producer and — importantly — price. Our tastings are therefore not conducted blind. For this allocated bourbon roundup, all expressions were sampled in Glencairn glasses and allowed to rest for a few minutes prior to tasting. We then evaluated the aromas, flavors, texture, and finish of each allocated bourbon. Unless there was something notably off or worrying about a bourbon’s appearance — and on this occasion we encountered no such examples — we did not evaluate the products from a visual perspective.

How We Compiled the List

In order to provide our readers with the most comprehensive and thoroughly tested list of the best allocated bourbons and ryes, VinePair invited producers, distributors, and PR firms working on their behalf to send samples for consideration. These bottles were submitted free of charge — producers didn’t pay to submit nor did VinePair pay for the products. All were requested with the clear understanding that submission does not guarantee inclusion in the final list.

Not only would such an agreement contradict our editorial ethics and samples policy, it simply wouldn’t be possible to include everything we received. For this allocated bourbon roundup, we tasted over 25 new releases from the year.

During tasting, we assigned a score to each product on a 100-point scale based on the quality and intensity of its aromas, flavors, texture, and finish. Then we reviewed all scores and compiled an editorially driven list that meets our criteria of 15 best allocated whiskeys this year.

The 15 Best Allocated Bourbons and Ryes to Drink in 2025

The Best Allocated Bourbon

Russell’s Reserve 13 Bourbon (Spring 2025)

First introduced in 2021, Russell’s Reserve 13 Year Old Bourbon has quickly ascended to being one of the most desirable allocated releases. All have been great — including 2024’s 15-year-old edition — but the newest release offers something else to seize on. Coming in at 123.8 proof, it is the highest-proof, non-single barrel product to ever come out of the Wild Turkey Distillery. Despite the ABV, there’s little ethanol at all on the nose; instead you have the classic Wild Turkey notes of oak, leather, and cinnamon red hots. The palate is likewise restrained of the heat that overwhelms so many allocated bottlings. There’s a delightful melange of rich caramel, cocoa, and even more baking spice. The finish is long and welcoming, making this an instant classic and something actually worth paying elevated prices for.

MSRP: $200
Rating: 95

The Best New Allocated Bourbon

Bomberger’s PFG (Precision Fine Grain)

New this year from the Michter’s Legacy Series, PFG refers to an in-house production technique that even necessitates a trademark. It starts out as Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, aged in new toasted and charred American oak barrels, before going into second, customized, proprietary-toasted PFG™ barrels made out of a blend of air-dried and seasoned woods from various origins. Whether that’s marketing mumbo jumbo or not, the proof (ha!) is in the pudding. This is an insanely complex whiskey, fruity and spicy, floral and charred, chocolaty and creamy.

MSRP: $140
Rating: 94

The Most Interesting Allocated Release

Parker’s Heritage 11 Year Kentucky Straight American Whiskey

One of the O.G.s in the allocated game, Heaven Hill’s top LE is perennially stellar, yet always different. This year is no exception. This 19th release in the series is an 11-year-old Kentucky straight American whiskey — neither bourbon nor rye — blended from three distinct mash bills: a 15-year wheated bourbon; an 11-year corn whiskey; and a 12-year whiskey distilled from rye and malt, and bottled at cask strength. Not surprisingly, it’s a unique, complex beast. There’s a ton of baking spice on the nose, yet there’s also a lot of sweet cream and heirloom corn notes. The palate is straight maple syrup, with notes of cherry Luden’s, and a nice balance of oak, leading toward a minty yet savory finish. Surely the most interesting allocated release of the year.

MSRP: $180
Rating: 94

The Allocated Steal of the Year

Booker’s ‘Jimmy’s Batch’

A reliable, mostly affordable stalwart in the small batch bourbon category for now nearly 40 years, at some point over the last decade, even Booker’s became allocated. That’s fine, we suppose, as it had become all too easy to take Jim Beam’s uncut and unfiltered product for granted. Sure it’s always good to great, but what else is there to say? Then along comes Jimmy’s Batch, a tribute to Wild Turkey’s longtime master distiller, and the late Booker Noe’s good friend, Jimmy Russell. (Released in late, late 2024, we didn’t get access to it until early this year.) It has the expected high proof (125.8) and youthful aggression (7 years, 9 months) of all Booker’s releases, but there’s something a little more going on here that makes you sit up. The cola-dark liquid bursts with vanilla, leather, and baking spices on the nose, but the palate is sweet and creamy, with tons of caramel, leading into a finish that just doesn’t quit. It’s the best Booker’s release in years.

MSRP: $100
Rating: 96

The Best Allocated Bourbon to Splurge On

Michter’s 20 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon

If, in our opinion, many bourbons become way too over-oaked once they reach two decades of maturity — thus rendering their equally bloated price a bit farcical — that is 100 percent not the case with this allocated offering. This semi-occasional release occurs whenever Michter’s has barrels of such caliber; this year’s minuscule bottling comes from sourced liquid purportedly from Brown-Forman’s Kentucky distillery. At 57.1 percent ABV the age has taken all the edges off the proof — there’s little heat or burn. Instead, there are luscious aromas of vanilla and butterscotch on the nose. The palate balances that sweetness out with dark chocolate, dried fruits, and barrel spice. The finish is long and coating, demanding you come back for more — oh, but at this price, let’s be prudent and nurse this gorgeous bottle as long as we can.

MSRP: $1200
Rating: 97

The Best of the Rest

Larceny Barrel Proof (Batch B525)

While taters scour shelves and pay elevated, secondary-market rates for many of the country’s top wheated bourbons — your Pappy Van Winkles, your Wellers — there’s quietly been a regularly released “wheater” that’s much easier to find and at a fair price to boot. Coming from the same Heaven Hill mash bill that produces the more ballyhooed Old Fitzgerald decanter series, this is a tad more youthful but every bit as good. One of three Larceny Barrel Proof allocated releases in 2025, all of which were great, the Batch B525 was the best of the bunch. There’s cherry soda on the nose with an underlying floral hit, roses perhaps, leading into a s’mores-like palate with a hint of roasted nuts and little burn despite the 117.4 proof.

MSRP: $65
Rating: 94

Jack Daniel’s Tanyard Hill Rye

The maker of one of the best-selling whiskeys on earth conversely releases some of the best allocated releases year to year. The latest offering in Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Special Release Series is a bit of a followup to the highly coveted Coy Hill from 2024 (and 2022). Aged in warehouses on Tanyard Hill, next to the literal Coy Hill, this is J.D.’s standard rye mash bill aged for nearly a decade and then bottled at an extreme 72.95 percent ABV. And yet, it’s drinkable. Hot, sure, but on the palate a pleasant sweetness comes through — Rolos maybe, with hints of dark fruit and a little nuttiness. There’s some leather and pipe tobacco, too, with tannic oak on the finish. An allocated side of Jack well worth investigating.

MSRP: $80 (700 mL)
Rating: 95

Old Fitzgerald 9 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Spring 2025)

Released twice per year (spring and fall), some Old Fitzgerald decanters are better (and certainly older) than others, but they are all solid and, of course, beautifully packaged. This year’s spring release was certainly nowhere close to as good as the legendary 25th Anniversary release of last year, but it’s still quite tasty. The nose offers notes of apple fritters, baking spices, and oak. The palate gives off some Fig Newton, with hints of cream cheese frosting and gingerbread.

MSRP: $130
Rating: 93

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

Our top BTAC offering of the year is this annually released, uncut, unfiltered rye of over six years old. Despite its youth, it was by far the most well rounded in this year’s series. The nose offers spicy oak balanced by some citrus and orchard fruit. The palate is an explosion of flavor; baking spices, dried fruit, and nuts, with a warm and lingering finish, though certainly some burn. Bottled at 129.8 proof, it drinks a ton hotter than most all the other high-proof whiskeys on this list, which is its one demerit.

MSRP: $150
Rating: 97

George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Hazmat! It’s hazmat! You’ve heard of hazmat right?!?! The most tater-coveted in the BTAC series is jacked up to a startling, hazardous materials proof of 142.8 this year, one of the label’s highest ever numbers. And we’re not going to claim for a second that at 15 years and 4 months, it’s not hot. It is. Almost off-puttingly so. And yet, the nose is so beautiful, with vanilla and a hint of pipe tobacco, that leads into a palate packed rich with butterscotch and leather. Maybe just add a few drops of (non-allocated) water.

MSRP: $150
Rating: 95

Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon

The same Mash Bill No. 1 as fellow BTAC brethren George T. Stagg and E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond, it nevertheless manages to taste completely different from both. This year’s release is actually matured to 18 years and 4 months, trumping the age statement. It has a beautiful herbal nose, while the palate leans more Neapolitan ice cream, leather, and lingering oaky spiciness. It’s fantastic, but is it that much better than the recently released, and (supposedly non-allocated) Eagle Rare 12 Year Old? For the elevated price, we’d say no.

MSRP: $150
Rating: 94

E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon

A new offering in the BTAC collection this year is yet another line extension. It’s named after the so-called “Father of Modern Bourbon” who helped modernize distilling operations while also playing a pivotal role in formalizing industry-wide quality standards through the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897. It has the exact same mash bill as Eagle Rare 17, is four years younger, and just a proof point lower. Nevertheless, it is tannic and bitter on the palate, with the spicy rye note really coming through above just a mild hint of cherry cola sweetness. If that seems like a pan, it’s not; you’ll keep coming back for more.

MSRP: $150
Rating: 94

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged

The third release in Maker’s Mark’s buzzworthy, age-stated, cask-strength series comes from a blend of three bourbons — chiefly an 11-year-old alongside a 13- and 14-year-old. The latter barrels are reportedly the oldest that have ever gone into a Maker’s product. But, if there are any fears that such aging might make the classic wheater taste like splinters, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The nose offers apple pie, a little dried citrus, dark cherry, and plenty of oak. The palate is fruit cake, brambles, and some signature marzipan, of course. The finish keeps any sweetness in check with notes of leather, pipe smoke, and dark chocolate.

MSRP: $175
Rating: 94

Four Roses 2025 Limited Edition Small Batch

Year after year, Four Rose’s allocated release remains a bit slept on by taters. Here is yet another release that seemed to garner little discussion online, but was, yet again, fantastic. A changing blend year to year, 2025’s bottling is a blend of three 13-year-old bourbons from three different mash bills (OBSV, OBSK, and OESV for our connoisseurs here), plus a 19-year-old from the distillery’s lower-rye OESV mash bill. No shock, this is exceedingly complex. Big and bold on the nose, cinnamon, nutmeg, and even mint. The palate offers stone fruit, more spices, and a little florality. Rich and oily on the mouthfeel, the palate runs long with mint and oak.

MSRP: $250
Rating: 95

WhistlePig The Boss Hog XII: Feather & Flame Straight Rye Whiskey

How does WhistlePig keep doing it? Here, using sourced 95/5 MGP rye from Indiana, this liquid spends its secondary maturation in barrels seasoned with pulque curado crafted from agave, cacao, and Mexican chiltepín, guajillo, and pasilla peppers. It may sound like a gimmick, but they pull it off! The nose has the classic 95/5 rye herbal notes, while the palate is spicy and sharp, with hints of citrus zest, nicely balanced with sweeter notes of Werther’s Original and Mexican hot chocolate. The finish is pleasant and lingering, with the chili peppers tickling the back of your throat. You really won’t taste anything else like Feather & Flame this year — maybe ever again. It likewise remains one of the few allocated releases priced correctly at MSRP, meaning there is little to no secondary market for this bottling — in our opinion, a good thing.

MSRP: $600
Rating: 95

The article The 15 Best Allocated Bourbons (and Ryes) of 2025 appeared first on VinePair.