Bourbon Home Brew Kits

Bourbon and whiskey essences

There are thirty-odd bottles in this collection and they look much the same on a shelf. Two things actually separate them: which range they belong to, and which style they are aiming at. Get those two right and the choice becomes easy.

The three ranges

• Top Shelf. The standard range and the widest choice. This is where most people start and where most people stay.
• Top Shelf Select, the Classic bottles. The step up, sitting above Top Shelf on price. Three in the bourbon line: Classic American Bourbon, Classic Tennessee Bourbon and Crafter's Cut. Worth it once you know you like the style and want more from it.
• Original. Available as a four pack. The entry point.

The styles

• Kentucky bourbon. Corn-forward, sweeter, vanilla and caramel. The default idea of bourbon.
• Tennessee whiskey. The sour mash style. Drier and smoother than Kentucky.
• Rye whiskey. Peppery and spicier. A genuinely different drink, not a variation, and the pick if bourbon has always been a bit sweet for you.
• Wild Eagle and Southern Haze. Bourbon profiles sitting alongside the two mainstream ones.

Flavoured bourbons

Honey, Cherry, Apple and Cinnamon. These are their own category and worth being honest about: they are sweeter, more approachable, and they are what gets served to people who say they do not like whiskey. If you are after a straight bourbon, none of these is it.

Single bottles or multipacks

Most Top Shelf flavours come as a single bottle or a 10 pack of the same flavour, and the Select range does the same. There are also mixed Any Mix packs in 10, 24 and 36 if you would rather spread the choice than commit to one. Buy singles until you have a favourite. Buy a 10 pack after that.

Ships Australia-wide from our Melbourne store. If you are trying to work out whether the Select range is worth the difference over standard Top Shelf, ask us. We have made both.