The 13 Best Whiskeys of 2023*

*So far

When we make lists like this 2023’s Best Whiskeys article over at Tasting Table, it’s always a bit questionable how much we want to subdivide. Like we knew Best Bourbons was coming up, so do we put any on this list? If we’re not doing a single malt roundup yet, do we do those? Or is this just the adrift whiskeys that escape any designation? Is it everything or nothing?

We leaned on whiskeys that mostly aren’t bourbon, because otherwise the winning bourbons’ presence on that other list, yet absence from this one, would be curious. I have no idea how Sexy Motor Oil #3 up there migrated from the best bourbons list to best whiskeys, but hey, I guess it still counts. It’s a really good whiskey, head and shoulders above the other bottles I’ve tried from Breckenridge. I caught coffee and chocolate from this thing without half-trying, just enjoying it last night over a riff session with some friends. And not the kind where you stick your face in a glass and try to pull out descriptions for review, just two separate instances of accidentally nosing the thing and my brain lighting up with recognition before I had to remind it I’m drinking whiskey, not morning beverages.