When you think of whiskey chances are the first thing to come to mind is likely Tennessee. This state is the birthplace of Jack Daniel’s whiskey which is still one of the most popular whiskeys in the world. 

Whiskey manufacturing began in Tennessee in the 1800s and was a major factor in the economy before prohibition in 1919. During the prohibition era, many of Tennessee’s distilleries went out of business and for many years it seemed like the tradition of Tennessee whiskey would be lost. Fortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Once prohibition ended, Tennessee’s whiskey industry gradually recovered and today it has become a major part of the state’s economy and culture once more.

Although Tennessee is commonly associated with whiskey, few people know that Tennessee whiskey is actually a term for a specific kind of alcohol that is strictly regulated.

What is Tennessee Whiskey?

The term Tennessee whiskey is frequently used in country songs and is almost completely synonymous with Jack Daniel’s Whiskey. However, many don’t know that Tennessee whiskey is actually its own category of alcohol that needs to meet certain requirements to be legally referred to as Tennessee Whiskey.

For a drink to be classified as Tennessee whiskey, it must meet certain standards set forth by Tennessee state law. For a drink to be Tennessee whiskey it must be made in Tennessee and be distilled from at least 51% corn.

The whiskey must also be barrelled and aged in a specific way. Before it can be barrelled, the whiskey must go through what’s known as the Lincoln County process. This is a special way of filtering the freshly-distilled alcohol before it can be aged in the barrels. 

Once it has been filtered, the makers have to put the whiskey in new charred oak barrels where it will be aged. 

There are some exceptions for specific manufacturers. However, the general rule is that for a whiskey to be considered Tennessee whiskey, it must go through those processes.

How Did We Pick

To select the whiskeys for this list we tried to find small distillers that specialized in producing small batches of high-quality whiskey. We also looked for whiskeys that boast a unique flavor while following the traditional Tennessee whiskey filtering and aging process.

10 Best Tennessee Whiskeys

1. George Dickel Barrel Select

The first whiskey to make it on today’s list of the 10 best Tennessee Whiskeys is George Dickel Barrel Select.

This Tennessee whiskey is manufactured by George Dickel, a distillery company located in Tennessee. It was established in 1878 when it opened its first distillery, Cascade Hollow Distillery, in Coffee County. During the time of prohibition, the distillery was relicensed to allow it to act as a medical distillery which allowed it to survive the dry period. After the prohibition was lifted, operations returned to normal and the business continued to grow.

130 years later, George Dickel is still making fantastic whiskey that is enjoyed in Tennessee and beyond.

The Barrel Select is one of the finest whiskies that this distillery manufactures. It is aged in charred oak barrels for at least nine years before they are opened up and sampled. The master distiller samples each barrel and only a small number are bottled and sold as George Dickel Barrel Select.

The whiskey is described as a smooth, balanced whiskey with hints of vanilla, charcoal, and spice. 

2. Prichard’s Tennessee Whiskey

One of the more famous Tennessee whiskeys is Prichard’s Tennessee Whiskey. This whiskey sets itself apart from the others because it is one of the few that is granted an exception to Tennessee’s strict whiskey laws. It does not have to go through the Lincoln County Process and they are the only distillery that has been granted this exception to maintain the tradition of their whiskey that goes back to the early 1800s.

The current president and master distiller of Prichard’s Tennessee Whiskey is Phil Prichard. He started his career in the US Navy where he served in Vietnam. From there he moved on to owning a successful business in the dental industry for 30 years.

He first became interested in the art of distilling whiskey in 1993 and has since devoted himself to honing his craft. 

This whiskey is made using a traditional pot still and is distilled from white corn instead of the yellow corn that is most commonly used in Tennessee whiskeys. This provides the whiskey with a slightly sweeter flavor that sets it apart from other Tennessee whiskeys. It is still made in the same style that it was five generations ago when Benjamin Prichard started Prichard’s Distillery.

This whiskey is sold in bottles of 750 mL and contains 40% alcohol making it one of the weaker Tennessee whiskeys on this list.

3. Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey

Next on the list, we have Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey. This whiskey is manufactured by Davidson Reserve which is one of the only distilleries of Tennessee whiskey that manufactures the whiskey from start to finish on-site and does not outsource any part of the process. They opened their distillery in 2011 and have specialized in distilling true small-batch whiskey ever since then.

The Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey has won many awards over the years including Double Gold and Best in Class at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

This award-winning whiskey is made from a base of 70% white corn, 25% rye, and 5% malt and is twice distilled. After distillation, the whiskey is filtered through sugar maple charcoal following the Lincoln County Process. This allows the whiskey to be extra smooth and creates a good balance of sweetness in the whiskey. Once it has been filtered the whiskey is placed in large barrels where it is aged for at least four years. 

Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey has its distinct maple scent and sweet flavors of caramelized sugar, graham cracker, pineapple, peach, and marshmallows.

You can purchase this whiskey in 750mL bottles and it has an alcohol content of 48%.

4. Heaven’s Door Double Barrel Whiskey

For one of the more unique whiskeys on this list, we have Heaven’s Door Double Barrel Whiskey. This whiskey was created by famous country singer Bob Dylan and Heaven’s Door Distillery. Although celebrity collaborations are often looked down upon, this whiskey has had international success and won many awards including the Whiskey of The Year award in 2019 at the London Spirits Competition.

The main factor that sets this whiskey apart from the rest is its three-whiskey blend. Unlike the other whiskeys on this list, Heaven’s Door Double Barrel Whiskey is made from a mixture of three whiskeys and goes through a double aging process.

It is made from a mixture of one straight rye whiskey and two traditional bourbon whiskeys, all of which are aged for at least 6 years before being mixed. After the whiskeys are combined they are aged for another year in heavily charred oak barrels. It also goes through the Lincoln Country Process which gives it a smooth finish.

The flavor of this whiskey includes notes of toasted caramel, dark cherry, dry oak, vanilla bean, and apricot.

One standard bottle of this Tennessee whiskey contains 750mL of whiskey and has an alcohol content of 50%. 

5. Sweetens Cove Tennessee Blended 2021

Another fantastic blended whiskey, and the one that takes the prize for most expensive on this list, is the Sweetens Cove Tennessee Blended. This limited release whiskey was hand blended by Marianne Eaves, the master blender behind Sweetens Cove, and released in limited quantities in 2021.

In 2019 a group of friends pooled together to purchase the land that the famous Sweetens Cove golf course rested on in an attempt to preserve the experience for future residents and visitors of Tennessee. One of the traditions on this golf course was to take a shot of whiskey on the first tee.

In an effort to continue this tradition, the new owners began to work with Marianne Eaves, Kentucky’s first female Bourbon Master Distiller since before prohibition. With her, they began to create their signature blends and have released one every year since 2020.

Their 2021 blend is made from a mix of 3 Tennessee bourbons that have been aged for 4, 6, and 16 years respectively. 

The flavor notes of this whiskey include baking spice, vanilla bean, brown sugar, and sweet toasted oak.

The whiskey is bottled at 56% percent alcohol and sells for $199.99 per bottle making it the most expensive whiskey on this list by far.

6. Chattanooga Whiskey Barrel 91: Tennessee High Malt

The next whiskey is the Chattanooga Whiskey Barrel 91. This is the signature Tennessee whiskey of Chattanooga Whiskey which was founded in 2011 to bring the whiskey business back to Chattanooga, a whiskey hotspot before the days of prohibition. 

This whiskey is referred to as “Barrel 91” because, during the early days of the distillery, they did an experimental batch of 100 barrels. Out of the 100 barrels, barrel 91 was selected to be the basis of their malt recipe for the rest of their whiskeys. 

Barrel 91 is distilled from a combination of yellow corn, malted rye, caramel malted barely, and honey malted barley which is then fermented in a 7-day fermentation process. This fermentation process helps to emphasize the malt in the whiskey and also brings out the lighter, fruitier notes. 

After the fermentation process, the whiskey is split into barrels that are made from either charred or toasted oak barrels. After at least two years in the barrels, the whiskey is moved to one 4000-gallon white oak barrel where it will be finished.

The tasting notes of this Tennessee whiskey include sweet tea, dried apricot, and honeyed toast.

One bottle has an alcohol content of 44.5% and contains 750mL of whiskey.

7. Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey

From another Tennessee distillery that has been around for over 100 years, we have Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey. This distillery was started by a man named Charles Nelson who immigrated from Germany to the United States in 1850. On the way over the family lost their money and each family member had to find work to make ends meet.

Charles found his way into the butcher industry where he first learned about distilling whiskey. He opened a grocery store where he sold his whiskey but quickly realized that he could maximize his profits by focusing solely on the production and sale of whiskey.

By 1885 Charles had sold almost 380,000 gallons of his Tennessee whiskey in that year alone. After he died in 1891 his wife Lousia took over the business and made a name for herself as one of the only female distillery owners at the time. When prohibition hit, the business could no longer stay afloat and shut down for almost 100 years.

Eventually, the business was reopened by the descendants of Charles Green, and they began to produce their famous Tennessee whiskey once more.

The whiskey is distilled from a simple combination of corn, wheat, and malted barley following Charles’ original recipe. It is then filtered through a sugar maple charcoal and left to age in charred oak barrels that give the Tennessee whiskey its signature taste.

The original Tennessee whiskey has warm caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and apple scent that complement its tasting notes of brown sugar, cinnamon roll, and caramel apple.

This whiskey is sold in 750 mL bottles and has an alcohol content of 45.5%.

8. Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey

Another female blended whiskey is the Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey. Uncle Nearest distillery began with a man by the name of Nathan Green. He was a former slave who began to distill whiskey and soon passed on his knowledge to everyone around him. He is the person who taught Jack Daniel how to brew whiskey, one of the most famous names in the whiskey world. To this day, many refer to him as one of the fathers of modern Tennessee whiskey. 

Nowadays, the business is owned by Nathan Green’s descendants who continue to distill whiskey in his name and the business remains a black-owned business. The brand still specializes in brewing small batches of high-quality whiskey in the traditional way that was created by Nathan Green himself.

1884 has a scent reminiscent of honey, warm brown sugar, cedar, orange peel, and tobacco flower. It also has a slight spiciness from ground ginger and white pepper.

As for the taste, when drinking this small batch whiskey you will notice a sweet caramel flavor that is balanced out by the spiciness of the tannins from the oak barrels. It also has notes of chocolate, cinnamon, and cigar leaf.

This whiskey has an alcohol content of 46.5%.

9. Peg Leg Porker Tennessee Straight Bourbon

This sweet whiskey is distilled and bottled by Carey Bringle, a restaurant owner who is responsible for much of the popularity that barbecue has and maintains in the state of Tennessee. 

To make this smooth, sweet whiskey Carey filters the whiskey through hickory charcoal in the traditional Lincoln Country Process. From there it is placed in barrels where it is aged for the next 8 years before it is bottled and sold under the same name as Carey’s famous restaurant.

The Peg Leg Porker Tennessee Straight Bourbon has notes of almond, chocolate, coconut, and brown sugar that are sure to please even the most novice of whiskey drinkers. When water is added the whiskey opens up to reveal flavors reminiscent of milk chocolate and strawberry jam. With its smooth finish, you are sure to enjoy this Tennessee whiskey.

One bottle of Peg Leg Porker Whiskey contains 750 mL of whiskey and has an alcohol content of 52.5%

10. Roaming Man Tennessee Straight Rye

The last whiskey we’ll be covering today is the Roaming Man Tennessee Straight Rye. This whiskey is produced by the Roaming Man Distillery which is located in Gatlinburg Tennessee. Unlike the other distilleries mentioned, this distillery does not exclusively produce whiskey. It is also known for canned cocktails, vodkas, and other spirits in addition to their whiskeys. 

This company even produces moonshine, an alcoholic beverage that has a rich history in the south starting with prohibition. Some of the moonshine flavors that they sell include peppermint, apple, blueberry muffin, peanut butter and jelly, and maple bacon moonshine.

Over the years, Roaming Man’s whiskey has won multiple awards with 2021 being an especially successful year for the whiskey. In 2021 the whiskey won gold awards from the San Diego International Wine and Spirits Critics, American Spirits Council of Tasters, and the Microliquor Spirit Awards. They also won two platinum awards the same year from the SIP awards and L.A. Spirits Awards.

This whiskey has flavor notes of cinnamon, cedar oil, clove, orange, and iced tea. However, it’s likely you won’t notice these flavors until you’ve added a generous amount of water to open the whiskey up.

This whiskey is the strongest on the list and is bottled at 60.5% alcohol. If you’re looking for a strong, barrel-proofed whiskey, this one is definitely for you.

This whiskey is only sold in 375 mL bottles and needs to be purchased directly from local carriers. It is rare to find this whiskey carried in more mainstream liquor stores. To find out where it is carried, go to the company’s website where they provide a list of all local carriers of the whiskey.

Explore Other Types of Whiskey

Conclusion

If you have never tried Tennessee whiskey before there’s no better time than the present to purchase a bottle for yourself. Unlike other whiskeys, Tennessee whiskey has a smooth finish which makes it extremely popular amongst whiskey experts and novice drinkers alike.

When picking a whiskey do your best to look for a distillery that only produces their whiskey in small batches. This will ensure a higher quality whiskey and more variation in flavor than you find with mass-produced whiskey.

Although picking a whiskey with a lower alcohol content may seem tempting, it is recommended that beginners stick with stronger whiskeys. This is because a stronger whiskey will almost always have more flavour than a similar whiskey with a lower alcohol content. The flavors will be more concentrated and you will be able to pick up on and enjoy the notes of the whiskey from the first smell to the finish.

Remember, you can always add water to open the whiskey up and make it easier to drink, but you can’t add more flavour to a bottle of whiskey once the manufacturing process is complete.

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