I tried to be responsible.

That may be hard to believe, but it is true. In the past, when I have gone on vacation, I have taken a 12-bottle bourbon carrier with me. That sounds excessive only if you are the kind of person who does not understand that vacation bourbon is not about need.

It is about options.

This year, however, I decided to show restraint. Instead of taking the big carrier, I limited myself to the four-compartment bag Four Roses gave me last year.

Four compartments. Four bottles. A reasonable plan.

Then I noticed something important.

The Knob Creek Blender’s Edition and Jefferson’s Limited Edition Cask Strength bottles were both skinny enough to fit together in one compartment.

At that point, the rules had spoken. I did not violate the four-compartment limit. I simply interpreted it correctly.

So the vacation lineup became five bottles:

Knob Creek Blender’s Edition
Old Grand-Dad 114 Single Barrel
Evan Williams America 250, Barrel 222
Old Glory Tennessee Whiskey Single Barrel
Jefferson’s Limited Edition Cask Strength

Five bottles. Four compartments. No rules broken.

Probably.

Once the bottles were packed, I decided to turn the trip into a blind tasting. The plan was simple enough: taste all five bottles blind three times, average the scores, then do one final non-blind tasting in a proper Glencairn glass.

The first three rounds were tasted in plastic barrel-shaped glasses, which were fun and vacation-appropriate, but not exactly scientific. They worked well enough for a blind, but I knew the final round needed the Glencairn treatment. When the scores are this close, the glass matters.

The first round took place in Atlanta on Friday night. I wrote full tasting notes that round, and the results surprised me immediately. Knob Creek Blender’s Edition came out on top with an 85.82. Evan Williams America 250 finished second at 84.85. Old Grand-Dad 114 was third at 84.52. Old Glory came in fourth at 84.30. Jefferson’s finished last at 81.38.

That was not what I expected.

If I had guessed before the reveal, I probably would have put Jefferson’s or Old Glory near the top. Instead, Jefferson’s was at the bottom, and Old Glory was barely ahead of it.

This is why blind tasting is both wonderful and cruel.

The second round was more complicated. My nose felt a little broken that night, and the first pass made me wonder whether the order of the glasses was affecting the results. So I mixed them around and reevaluated.

That became the official Round 2.

Old Glory won that round at 83.87. Jefferson’s rebounded to second at 83.65. Evan Williams scored 82.35. Old Grand-Dad came in at 82.24. Knob Creek slipped to 81.81.

Now things were getting interesting.

Old Glory had jumped back into the fight. Jefferson’s had recovered. Knob Creek, which won Round 1, had fallen to the bottom in Round 2. Evan Williams was not flashy, but it was hanging around.

The third blind round came on Tuesday night. This time, Evan Williams America 250 made its move, scoring 84.85 and winning the round. Old Grand-Dad followed at 83.98. Jefferson’s and Old Glory were both right there, scoring 83.65 and 83.55. Knob Creek slipped again at 82.03.

After three blind rounds, the results were incredibly close.

Evan Williams America 250 led the blind field with an 84.02 average. Old Glory was right behind at 83.91. Old Grand-Dad 114 sat third at 83.58. Knob Creek was fourth at 83.22. Jefferson’s, despite improving after the rough first round, finished fifth in the blind average at 82.89.

The top two bottles were separated by only 0.11 points.

And yes, I noticed the fitting part.

The two somewhat patriotic bottles were sitting at the top: Evan Williams America 250 and Old Glory.

That would be a little too cute if I had known what I was drinking. But I did not. They got there blind.

Still, I wanted one more round. Not blind this time.

Blind tastings are useful because they strip away expectation. You cannot be influenced by the bottle, the story, the label, the proof or what you think you are supposed to like.

But most of us do not drink bourbon blind in real life. We pour from a bottle we know. We see the label. We know the proof. We remember what we paid. We bring some expectation to the glass.

So I decided the final round would be open-label and in a Glencairn.

That round gave me the clearest notes of the whole trip.

Knob Creek Blender’s Edition showed solid copper in the glass, with light peanuts, toasted oak, nutmeg and caramel on the nose. The palate brought peanut brittle, cinnamon, cherries, toffee and Werther’s. The mouthfeel was moderately oily, and the finish was decent in length, with cinnamon, oak and caramel. I scored it 83.87.

Old Grand-Dad 114 Single Barrel was solid copper, with buttery toffee, rich oak, dark chocolate and cardamom on the nose. The palate brought cherries, cinnamon, citrus zest, chocolate and toffee. The mouthfeel was lightly creamy, and the finish was solid, with orange, cherry and cinnamon. I scored it 84.96.

Evan Williams America 250, Barrel 222, was light mahogany, with toasted oak, cardamom, dark chocolate and peanuts on the nose. The palate brought toffee, brown sugar, nutmeg, chocolate and light oak. The mouthfeel was thinner, but borderline oily. The finish gave nice spice, with cinnamon, tart cherries and caramel. I scored it 84.30.

Old Glory Tennessee Whiskey Single Barrel was light mahogany, with toasted oak, buttered toffee, apples, chocolate and nutmeg on the nose. The palate brought brown sugar, caramel apples, cinnamon and light oak. The mouthfeel was lightly viscous, and the finish was nicely spicy, with cinnamon, tree fruit and caramel. I scored it 85.39.

Jefferson’s Limited Edition Cask Strength was solid copper, with toffee, nutmeg, toasted oak and dried cherries on the nose. The palate brought cinnamon, brown sugar, black pepper and tart cherries. The mouthfeel was nicely oily, but the finish was quicker than expected, with cinnamon and tart cherries. I scored it 84.20.

In the final Glencairn round, Old Glory won. Old Grand-Dad finished second. Evan Williams was third. Jefferson’s was fourth. Knob Creek was fifth.

When all four rounds were averaged together, Old Glory became the overall vacation champion.

The final standings:

Old Glory Single Barrel — 84.28
Evan Williams America 250, Barrel 222 — 84.09
Old Grand-Dad 114 Single Barrel — 83.93
Knob Creek Blender’s Edition — 83.38
Jefferson’s Limited Edition Cask Strength — 83.22

That is not a blowout. From first to fifth, the spread was barely more than a point.

Which tells me something important.

I picked well.

This was not five random bottles fighting for survival. This was five bottles that all live somewhere in my preferred flavor profile: cherries, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking spice, caramel, oak, chocolate, toffee and enough proof to keep things interesting.

Blinding them against each other was difficult because none of them were bad. The differences were narrow. A glass, a mood, a meal, a tired nose, a pour order or a little palate fatigue could move a bottle around.

But that is part of the fun.

The final champion was Old Glory, and it deserved the win. It gave me the best Glencairn round of the trip and stayed consistent enough through the blind rounds to earn the top spot.

Evan Williams America 250 was the blind champion, which feels especially appropriate. It did not need the label or the story to perform. It just kept showing up.

Old Grand-Dad 114 Single Barrel reminded me why that bottle is such a reliable pour. It may not have won the whole thing, but it never felt out of place.

Knob Creek Blender’s Edition had the best single score of the competition in Round 1, then faded later. That makes me curious rather than disappointed.

Jefferson’s Limited Edition Cask Strength was the strangest ride of the group. It started at the bottom, recovered nicely, and still gave me plenty to like. It may not have performed the way I expected, but I would not kick it out of the bag.

Then Scott brought the rest of my bottles to Chattanooga, which opened the door for one more surprise: Rittenhouse 250th Anniversary 10-Year Bottled-in-Bond Straight Rye.

I am not a rye guy. I have said that many times. But this one? This is an ultimate bourbon-lover’s rye.

It showed fruit, caramel, butterscotch, toffee, cinnamon and cherries, with enough rye character to be different without taking me out of my lane. I scored it 83.65 in one tasting and 83.22 in the final Glencairn round. That puts it right in the same general neighborhood as the bourbons, which is impressive for a rye in my glass.

So yes, Old Glory won the official vacation bourbon challenge.

Evan Williams won the blind.

Rittenhouse won the “wait, maybe I do like rye” award.

But the real winner was me.

I packed five strong contenders in a four-compartment bag, broke no rules that can be proven in court, and confirmed that I know my own palate pretty well.

That is not overpacking.

That is bourbon logistics.

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Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.