Brown sugar | Caramel | Charred oak | Light nougat | Faint vanilla | Honey graham cracker | Classic bourbon scents

Rye spice | Tannic charred oak | Leather | Honey | Baking spices | Mixed peppercorns | Burnt caramel

Dry oak | Leather | Burnt caramel | Faint cinnamon spice | Rye spice | Extremely dry

Peerless Toasted Bourbon Batch 2 is the company’s second release of toasted bourbon, following the release of Batch 1, which arrived to the market in early 2024. The company takes their standard bourbon and ages it in a char level 3 barrel for 5 years. Once aged to the company’s desired flavor profile, the bourbon is finished in a toasted barrel for an unspecified amount of time.

Toasted barrel finished bourbons has quickly become a category in and of itself over the past few years, and it’s nice to see Peerless Distilling Company continue to explore this category with their Toasted Bourbon series. Opening on classic bourbon scents of brown sugar, caramel, charred oak, and a nice honey graham cracker aroma, the sip immediately gives off a welcoming embrace. The midpoint is where the bourbon starts to take a turn. While classic bourbon flavors are still present, drier, spicier notes start to prominently arrive, along with tannic oak and burnt caramel elements. This theme carries through to the finish, which is a swirl of spice, burnt caramel, and dry notes to a fault. Fans of Peerless will appreciate the chance to taste the distillery’s take on a toasted barrel finished bourbon. It’s an above average bourbon, but for the price, I would have liked to see the drier, burnt notes toned down throughout the palate and especially the finish.