One Of Bourbon's Best Kept Secrets

There are few secrets left in the world of whiskey, with collectors on social media sharing details in realtime, but there's been a hidden gem hiding in plain sight at Mission for the last few months and we're finally ready to blow the whistle on it. It's called Benchmark Bourbon and it's made by Buffalo Trace, the same distillery that produces Blanton's, Weller, Elmer T. Lee, and Pappy Van Winkle. 

For years, Bourbon enthusiasts have relied on the standard Buffalo Trace and Eagle Rare editions for their value-priced labels, but when Buffalo Trace's Benchmark debuted for just $8.99 a bottle, consumers were almost confused: could a Kentucky Bourbon for less than $10 really be all that good?

Things got really interesting a few years back when we noticed a line extension of Benchmark on the shelves of Kentucky retailers during our visits. Rather than just the standard No. 8 brand, there were also Top Floor, Small Batch, Bonded, Single Barrel, and Full Proof options - a veritable smorgasbord of proofs, flavors and concentrations. 

When Buffalo Trace made these releases available in California last year, we snatched up every bottle available to us. The most expensive of the Benchmarks - the ultra-sweet 62.5% ABV Full Proof Edition - tops out at $23.99, which seems almost impossible for cask strength Buffalo Trace Bourbon, but seeing is believing and tasting is the truth. The whiskies are well-made, true-to-style, and unbeatable for cocktail fans. 

If you haven't discovered Buffalo Trace's value-priced Bourbons yet, you're missing out on one of the great whiskey values in the world, hiding in plain sight on our shelves right now. 

Our First Ever Single Barrel of Rittenhouse Rye

From floor seven of rickhouse L, barrel #7989517 was originally barreled in March of 2018 before bottling just before the year’s end. Put this one in the 4 years and 9/10 month old category. It’s bottled at 100 proof just like the standard Rittenhouse, but this one has some unique character. We didn’t have a huge selection of barrels to choose from, but then again it’s not like there’s a bad bottle of Rittenhouse out there. The standard Rittenhouse is pretty much the perfect rye whiskey for cocktails, even if it’s not the world’s most exciting sipper.

Our job was to find the perfect version of Rittenhouse for sipping as most folks buying a bottle will likely be looking for a deviation from the regular formula. This cask was the obvious pick of the litter. There’s more vanilla and actually less rye spice in this whiskey. It’s creamier from front to back and there’s a lift of baking spices on the finish. Upon the first sip of the standard Rittenhouse rye, the peppery and herbaceous character of the rye is generally front and center with the oak playing second fiddle. The oak and the vanilla are what shine in this bottling. 

And it’s just $29.99! Grab yours before they’re gone!

Keep An Eye Out For The Old Scout

It’s been a good three years since Mission purchased a single barrel of Smooth Ambler Old Scout. Given their new six year old stocks and bargain price point for cask strength Bourbon, we knew it was time to pull the trigger once again!

One of the pioneers of the MGP independent scene, Smooth Ambler’s quality has never been in question and with the updated bottle and rustic new label, we think customers are going to go crazy for this one. Six year old cask strength single barrel Bourbon from MGP is always a hit, especially when it’s just $44.99. Orchard fruits on the nose with candied vanilla is a great way to start. The sweetness of the whiskey is pronounced on the first sip, almost syrupy with brown sugar notes, but it’s buttressed by black pepper and some herbaceous characteristics. This is a workhorse of a whiskey as is evident from the harnessed horse on the front label. Can you afford NOT to buy one at this price?

Our First Single Barrel of 2023 - 9 Year MGP!!

With the barrage of 4 to 6 year old MGP Bourbon casks that have been on the market over the last year, we were taken aback by the 9 year old samples (and the pricing!) available to us from Coppercraft this past Fall. Everywhere you look, 4-5 year old barrels of Indiana Bourbon are on the shelf, many with custom labels and quirky graphics, but with that market as saturated as it is we wanted to find something exciting.

That’s when Coppercraft informed us of a small supply of 9+ year old cask strength Bourbon barrels and we didn’t hesitate. Our selection came in at 55.02% ABV and we couldn’t be happier!

You can really the taste the additional aging with every sip, each note lasting longer on the finish and with more richness than many of the other MGP barrels we’ve selected over the last few years. The integration of flavor is what also stands out. There’s honey, vanilla, oak, spice, and pepper, but each note is seamlessly blended into the next, never losing the harmony from front to back. The result is a whiskey that glides across the palate with weight and viscosity even at the 110+ proof.

Don’t wait too long on this one. It’s been a while since we had something this good for this price in the single barrel market.

Our First Ever Angel's Envy-Distilled Single Barrel

If you followed OUR VISIT TO LOUISVILLE THIS PAST AUGUST, you may remember my excitement in tasting Angel's Envy very own aged distillate for the first time. If you're confused as to what that means, let me clear it up: Angel's Envy has—up until very, very recently—purchased Bourbon from another Kentucky distiller and bottled that whiskey under the Angel's Envy label. In 2017 (or circa), they began distilling their own Bourbon. In 2022, that whiskey passed the five year mark.

We're excited to tell you that this barrel is one of the first from that new DNA. And, believe us, you can taste the difference.

While selecting a barrel, we were able to sample each Port-finished cask side by an unfinished cask of the new Angel's Envy Bourbon as a control. Knowing we were choosing from stocks of the new distillate, we wanted to give our customers the chance to taste the whiskey itself in as pure of a state as possible. Hence, we searched around for the Port cask with the least amount of influence, rather than the richest, most dessert-y expression. There was an incredible specimen that lived up to the hedonistic and supple delight that is Angel’s Envy at full proof, brimming with candied fruit and dark chocolate flavors. However, we chose the one that tasted the most like Bourbon and the least like Port. 

​And let me also tell you: the new Angel’s Envy-distilled Bourbon is GOOD. It's deliciously woody, mellow on the palate, rich up the middle, and seductively sweet on the finish—and that's before the port maturation! That little kiss of red fruit on the back end is most certainly present in this single barrel expression, but it's far from the focus. You may not even know it was finished in Port were it not labeled on the front of the bottle. If anything, it just tastes good old fashioned Kentucky Bourbon with a kick from the 110 proof.

We’re excited to be one of the first store's in America to bring you back a barrel directly from the distillery. We hope you love it as much as we do!

Tournament of Roses Returns

It's a celebration of roses!

As a special commemoration of Pasadena's world famous Tournament of Roses Celebration each New Year's Day, Four Roses has released a limited amount of its single barrel Bourbon to select Pasadena retailers as a special edition this holiday season!

Available only in Pasadena, we're making it available to all our web customers today and anyone who wants to place a pick-up order (if you want to pick up in another location, check out with "Shipping" and you'll see our new Ship to Store options).

While the Tournament of Roses edition doesn't differ from the standard Four Roses single barrel OBSV formula or proof, there is a limited amount of barrels selected and designated for the release. We've got a decent supply for the moment, but we don't expect them to last. There's so much Pasadena pride in our community at Mission, the staff may buy them all before our customers do!

Don't buy yours from a scalper on Ebay next month. Grab one from us today!

Two New Barrels

We've got more new single barrels of Bourbon than we can shake a stick at right now! Two new beauties just landed today, including one that was actually selected almost a year ago and got lost in transit, only to wind up in our warehouse today.

Last December we had the chance to snag an extra barrel of Knob Creek, but there was no time to get barrel samples to make the selection before the year-end deadline. That's when I reached out to Beam and the Noe boys and said: "I will entrust our selection to your fine palates."

Because this one was selected by either Fred or Lil' Book, I decided to have some fun with the name. This latest 9 year, 11 month old (just a month shy of 10) selection is called Noe's Nose Knows.

The nose of this whiskey is like butterscotch candy saturated in deep, dark aromas of oak and cedar. The palate is more of the same with dark cocoa nibs and tobacco leaf fleshing out some of that oakiness. The heat is strong in this one and I needed to dial it back with some water in order to break through to the core vanilla notes that are lying deliciously in wait. Another fun little number to add to the Knob Creek single barrel tally, and one that tastes absolutely nothing like the other two we currently have available.

Knob Creek Mission Exclusive "Noe's Nose Knows" 9 Year Old Single Barrel 120 Proof Kentucky Bourbon $59.99

When Vic and I visited Maker's Mark this past September, we spent quite some time trying to find a way to do something new and exciting with the Maker's Mark stave barrel program. Rather than select a single cask like most distilleries, Maker's allows you to choose a custom recipe of different stave types that will be inserted into a new barrel and filled with cask strength Bourbon for an extended aging period. Which staves you choose determines the flavor profile. What I told Vic was this: Maker's is a classic wheated Bourbon and we should try to make something that really accentuates that profile. The resulting recipe included 4 Baked American Pure, 4 Seared French Cuvée, and 2 Toasted French Spice staves: a combination that tasted like apple pie and sweet oak.

We decided to call it American Dessert as a result, and I think you'll all understand why when you taste it. There is nothing even remotely herbaceous about this whiskey. Every single flavor brimming at its core is rooted in cinnamon, sweet oak, caramel-covered apples and nutmeg sprinkled on top. The classic creamy wheated profile completely fools your tongue, tricking you into thinking this is 90 or maybe 95 proof instead of the 109.2 proof it actually is. Never in a million years would I assume this was 54.6% given how velvety it flows from front to back. Wheated Bourbon fans: this is your baby. You'll love this.

Maker's Mark Mission Exclusive "American Dessert" Private Selection 109.2 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon $69.99

Fourth Floor Vanilla

Knob Creek "Mission Exclusive - Fourth Floor Vanilla" 9 Year Old Single Barrel 120 Proof Kentucky Bourbon $59.99

The second of 10 (yes TEN!) Knob Creek barrels from our most recent trip to Kentucky has arrived at the warehouse and is currently available to order! All of the barrels we selected are named after the floor of the rick house where the barrel was matured and the dominant flavor profile.

The "Fourth Floor Vanilla" barrel is like pancake syrup on the nose with intensely pungent cedar notes that will have you digging your nostrils deeper and deeper into the glass with every whiff. The intensity of the baking spices along with the 120 proof heat will punch you in the palate right off the bat, but after a few sips and a drop of water you’ll realize this is a giant vanilla bomb. Caramel, butterscotch intermixed with cloves and pine. The herbaceous and black pepper notes are almost entirely absent in this one. It’s like a vanilla candy dusted in cloves that was dropped in the forest.