The Story

Our first introduction to Peerless Distilling Co. was back in 2019 and was rather memorable. It was our first time stepping into the Liquor Barn in Lexington, KY, and we were pretty amazed at how cool the place was. In addition to having a ton of whiskey bottles (as was expected), there was a spot with a glass display where you could take a look at those ultra-rare or hard-to-find bottles. One such bottle sitting in the case was the brand new (at the time) Larceny Barrel Proof – with a steep price tag of $150. We kinda hemmed and hawed about the price before the lady at the counter gave us a rather useful tip.

“If you’re interested in trying it first, we have a tasting bar where you can buy yourself a sample” she said, as she gestured directly across to the other end of the store.

We thanked her and made our way over. When we approached the tasting bar, we discovered that Larceny BP was indeed available for purchase (if memory serves, I believe it was $8 per pour) along with a handful of other bottles. For this trip, it was my wife and I, and we decided she would get a pour and I’d get one too. I chose to go with Larceny Barrel Proof, and she finally settled on an interesting bottle that we’d never heard of before.

Peerless Small Batch Bourbon.

So we got our samples and sat at a table near the tasting bar. We chatted for a moment before a quick ‘cheers’ and a sip. My wife’s eyes lit up.

“Wow…this one’s actually really good!”

I’ll be honest; at first I thought she was looking at the pour through rose colored glasses. We were, after all, on vacation in one of our favorite places in the world and enjoying one of our favorite hobbies – sampling whiskeys. I replied with “oh, good! I’ll try it in a minute” and went on to speak the praises of the Larceny BP right in front of me. We were both super excited to get the opportunity to try it.

After the first sip we swapped pours to see what the other was tasting. I grabbed the Glencairn and took a sip, swished it around for a bit and then sent it down the hatch.

Wow. She wasn’t kidding. This was incredible.

“What did you order, again?” I asked as I turned around to look at the lineup of bottles on the tasting bar.

“It was that Peerless bourbon!” she replied. I quickly sipped my Larceny again, evaluated and then let the flavors dissipate. Then went in for another taste of Peerless. It was clear as day.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but….I like what you got better.”

“Me too!” she said excitedly.

And that was it; Peerless was immediately on our radar from that day forward. And what a statement…we put it up against a barrel proof offering from one of the largest bourbon producers in the world, and for both of us, it came out on top.

So where did this wunderkind of whiskey come from? How did we not know anything about it until that day? Well it turns out that was Peerless’ first batch of bourbon ever. They actually had a long history stemming back to 1889 when their ancestor Henry Kraver bought the distillery that would later be turned into Peerless Distilling Co. back in 1907. For some time the distillery was successful up until some major unforeseen setbacks, including Prohibition and the passing of their founder, Henry Kraver. The distillery would shut its doors in 1938.

Fast forward to 2014 when the brand was revived, and very quickly made a name for itself. They distilled their first batch of bourbon in 2015 and bottled it in 2019, which was the Peerless batch we were lucky enough to get our hands on back in 2019 at Liquor Barn.

That same expression is what we are reviewing today – the Small Batch Bourbon. Each small batch is bottled at barrel proof, no water added, and using a sweet mash process. Our bottle comes in at 110.1 proof.

So let’s get into it!

Nose

It’s oak forward on the nose with aromas of caramel, butterscotch, and a bit of perfume.

Palate

The palate begins sweet and features those oak notes upfront with salted caramel, brown sugar and a touch of orange zest and pepper spice.

Finish

On the finish you’ll get a touch of molasses and cinnamon sugar before giving you one last taste of that underlying oak profile.

Verdict

Our bottle of Peerless Small Batch bourbon cost us $74.99 here in our state and we think it’s an incredibly enjoyable pour. We’ve admired Peerless since we tried their first bourbon batch back in 2019 for its full flavor and character. For us, this is an easy ‘buy’ rating. We’d say a fair range is in that $70-$80 mark as it is already a rather pricey bottle, but it absolutely delivers at that price.

Overall, we’re giving Peerless’ Small Batch bourbon an 8.3 out of 10 for it’s well-balanced oaky and sweet notes and for having a nice depth that showcases with a fair amount of proof.

Also, be sure to read up on our visitor experience at Peerless’ Distillery in Louisville – you won’t regret it!

Do you own this bottle? Then surely you’ll want to add it to your inventory using our web app! It’s free to use. Sign up here to get a handle on that unruly home bar.

Cheers friends!