Bourbons of the Year: Top Picks, Value Plays, and a Surprise Rum for 2025

A new year is here, and Eat Drink Smoke does it the only way that makes sense — by waiting until the calendar actually turns.

In this episode, Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy reveal their Top Three Bourbons of the Year, based not on hype or releases, but on everything they actually reviewed on the show in 2025. No Top 10 lists. No arguments about rankings. Just the bottles that stayed with them.

Fingers lays out his value-driven list, keeping every pick under $50, including:

• Kirkland Bottled-in-Bond from Costco

• 2XO American Oak

• And his top pick: Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye

Tony counters with a memory-based list that ignores price entirely, featuring:

• Espy House George 1794

• Keeper’s Heart Irish & American Whiskey (110 proof)

• And a surprise number one that isn’t a bourbon or a rye: Bacoo 12-Year Rum

Along the way, they discuss:

• Why 2025 was a strange year for bourbon

• How palate changes affect what sticks with you

• The difference between “good” and “memorable”

• Why value still matters — even when it doesn’t

• And whether calling it “Bourbons of the Year” still makes sense

They’re also smoking the Oliva Master Blends 3 Churchill, breaking down flavor, strength, construction, and pairing as the conversation moves from reflection to anticipation.

Next week: Cigars of the Year.

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