2oz Willet Family Estate Small Batch 4yr Cask Strength Bourbon
2oz Bombergers Declaration 2025*
2oz Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered
2oz Ironroot Assemblage Straight Rye Whiskey
2oz Hirsch The Horizon
2oz Knob Creek Blenders Edition 01*
2oz Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey*
2oz Hillrock Estate Double Cask Bourbon
steps
Every time you buy a new bourbon, add a small amount to your infinity bottle
After adding to the infinity bottle, swirl to mix, and then wait at least 12 hours before sampling the result **(to allow the flavors to marry)**
When you start to run out of space, drink down the existing juice to make room for more. This will alter the ratios of the constituent bourbon, but in traditional [Solera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solera) style, a fraction of each will remain
Over time the infinity bottle will begin to take on its own character, which you can guide by the inclusion of bourbons with specific flavor profiles
notes
**2017-06-12** Decided to start my own Bourbon infinity bottle. Bourbons I particularly like/ think are a good value are denoted with an asterisk
**2018-11-17** Tasted before adding the 1792, and it has a Bulleit backbone, but with notes of the Hudson Baby shining through. Most of the others are not noticeable, with maybe a hint of Old Forester
**2020-09-21** After quite some time away from bourbon, I have recently started drinking it as my nightcap, and as such have gone through a few new bottles. With the addition of the Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, the infinity bottle (750ml) is full. The Woodford comes through when I taste it, with some of the spice and heat of the Old Ezra, but it's getting pretty hard to tease out the constituent bourbons.
**2020-10-07** The Old Forester 1920 is coming through as the dominant note, but in a subdued sort of way that makes it more palatable than drinking it straight (likely because the overall mixture is lower proof than the 1920 by itself. Not sure if it's because that's what I recently added (although I did wait well over the recommended 12 hours before sampling it), and I didn't mix things around well enough, or just because that's what I've been drinking lately, and so my palate is acclimated to the flavor profile. Either way, the infinity bottle flavors continue to impress.
**2020-11-22** With the addition of the Balcones Baby Blue and Michters American whiskey, this infinity bottle is technically no longer a bourbon (an eagle eye may notice Jack Daniels earlier on, but while they don't call it a bourbon, Jack meets all the requirements). I decided to branch out to these two whiskeys because I felt the bottle needed a little rounding out, and have really been enjoying the subtle complexity of both Balcones and Michters. Additionally, both are made in the 'bourbon style', with the Balcones being 100% blue corn, and the Michters American whiskey being the Michters bourbon mash bill, just aged in used oak instead of new, so overall the bourbon spirit remains.
**2021-02-22** With the addition of a few wheated bourbons, the infinity bottle flavors have rounded out and gotten noticeably richer. The bottle was close to full, so I've been drinking it down and comparing it to the recent (lesser known, craft) bourbons I've been buying, and I find it to consistently beat them on flavor, mouthfeel, and finish.
**2021-04-16** I just added Balcones Texas Rye, which in typical Balcones style has a very unique flavor profile. They use a variety of less common ryes, which leads to a subtle spicy chocolate flavor to round out the more traditional rye spice notes, with a classic Balcones finish. Of course, this isn't technically a bourbon, but given that I've previously added a few straight corn whiskeys, I figured adding some straight rye would balance things out nicely. More importantly, I'm really enjoying the flavor profile of this one, so interested to see how it affects the overall infinity bottle taste.
**2021-05-19** Currently, the predominant flavors I'm getting are a mixture of the Makers Mark Cask Strength and the Balcones Texas Rye, which pair great together! There's a residual depth of flavor that I'm attributing to the long tail of other bourbons, and a faint woody smoke note presumably from the Longbranch. I'm tempted to try blending some of the remaining Makers and Balcones Rye together instead of drinking them on their own because of how much I'm enjoying their complimentary flavors.
**2021-11-21** Having just yesterday added the Russell's Reserve, I taste that most strongly initially, but the flavor profile quickly mellows out and expands. Most of the recently added bourbons had relatively characteristic flavor profiles, but the richness of the High West Bourye and Rendezvous, and almost cognac-like quality of the Hillrock Solera seem to come through. There's also still an undertone of the Balcones Texas Rye chocolate, but much mellower than before.
**2021-12-26** I've added quite a few bourbons since last tasting the bottle, but even with all of the additions, the same core flavor backbone I remember from before seems to come through. These latest bottles include mostly standard flavor profile bourbons, like the Old Tub, Basil Hayden, and Featherbone. I was hoping that the Jack single barrel would be interesting, but ended up finding it not worth the additional cost. The Old Bardstown had a similar flavor profile to Rowan's Creek (which I quite like), but not as good. Overall the bottle tastes mostly the same, if a little subdued by these lower proof and relatively unremarkable additions.
**2021-12-28** After a few recommendations from friends, I picked up some Bowman offerings. Both the Bowman Brothers small batch and Isaac Bowman port finished were delicious, and I'm interested in trying more Bowman products. I like most Old Forester bottles, and the Statesman was no exception, with a sweeter more fruity taste. I don't think it's quite as good as their 1920 or 1897, but still a solid bourbon. Finally, I decided to try Jefferson's reserve, which was surprisingly full flavored for the price... I'll definitely be checking out their other offerings.
**2022-01-03** The Iron Smoke Bottled in Bond reminds me of Hudson Baby bourbon. I picked up Tuthilltown's Bright Lights bourbon, which seems like their closest replacement for the discontinued Hudson Baby, but it's nothing alike, tasting much more run-of-the-mill. I presume that's because of its more traditional mashbill, but am disappointed overall. Finally, even though I didn't think the Basil Hayden was anything remarkable, I learned that their Toast offering has an interesting flavor profile due to the addition of brown rice to the mashbill. It does have a mellow creamyness, but not enough spice or flavor to keep me interested. It seems to be mostly lost in the infinity bottle.
**2022-02-16** My last few additions have included stalwarts like the Willett Family Estate Rye, and Knob Creek 12. The Willett Rye especially adds a nice spicyness, like a more refined version of Rowan's Creek. I decided to add a bit of the Balcones Single Malt because I really enjoyed its richness, and figured it would complement the existing flavors in the bottle. I think I'll start standardizing on 2oz going forward instead of 3, since the bottle is getting pretty full.
**2022-06-17** I was able to get my hands on a few limited edition bottlings from High West, including their Midwinter Night's Dram, which was fantastically layered and complex. I remember liking Koval, but the bottle I got this time was pretty bad. The Four Roses small batch was tasty as expected, but not worth the extra cost over their regular small batch and single barrel offerings in my opinion. Kings County reminded me a bit of the discontinued Hudson Baby Bourbon. Finally, the Old Grand-Dad was surprisingly drinkable for its low cost and high proof, and probably one of the best dollar value bottles I've had at ~$26.
**2023-02-25** I've been drinking [Rye Manhattans](/manhattan.html) as of late, so most of the whiskey bottles I've been picking up are Rye's. I figure since I was into high corn mashbill bourbon earlier on, adding these higher rye mashbill whiskeys is just restoring the overall balance of the infinity bottle (I also threw in a little Mellow Corn to further balance the scales). Overall, I've found rye whiskey to be cheaper than bourbon for equivalent value (potentially due to the surge in demand for bourbon specifically during Covid, which seems to be slowly abating). The Sagamore, Sazerac, Elijah Craig rye were all very tasty, and I enjoyed sipping them neat in addition to putting them in Manhattans.
**2023-12-27** Lots of good stuff added recently, and to make room I ended up using some of the infinity bottle juice in a round of Manhattans, which were fantastic. The extra flavor and proof that has collected in the infinity bottle came through wonderfully in the Manhattan, and was complimented nicely by the rest of the cocktail ingredients. It's something I may try doing more often to use as an additional comparison point for how the infinity bottle flavor profile is evolving.
**2024-12-22** Recently I've been trying various Texas bourbons, and have also managed to find a few rarer bottles from Weller and Buffalo Trace that I've added in. The Texas bourbon additions have added some sweetness and heat, while the Weller, EC 18, and Old Rip 10 contribute some additional depth of flavor.