Bourbon County 2026: Rankings At First Sight
To our surprise, we were contacted for the first time in years regarding the 2026 Bourbon County lineup news from Goose Island, and even though our honesty probably explains the first part of this sentence, we figured we owed it to our followers to break down this year’s release and arbitrarily rank them on first sight based on what we think will work best, filtered through our long history of drinking BCBS.
All photos courtesy of Goose Island Beer Co.
Bourbon County Brand Original Stout | Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels
There’s nothing much new to say here, as this beer has hardly changed (at least in the last decade) with the barrel blend coming from the same four sources: Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Wild Turkey, and Four Roses. It will be released once again in 10-ounce 4-packs that retails around $26, which from our own limited observation of Binny’s shelves seems to have sold better than previous years’ releases. The single-serving approach is a winner for a beer like this: unlike the rest of this lineup, opening a bottle of Original doesn’t always need to feel like a special occasion. If you’re reading this article, you already know what to expect and whether or not you’ll be grabbing a pack of this. But like any annual release in a lineup of new and different, it falls to the bottom of my “need-to-try” rankings.
Ranking: 6 of 6
Bourbon County Brand Tiramisu Cask Finish Stout | Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels, then finished in rum barrels with espresso, cocoa nibs & vanilla
Goose has seemingly become more comfortable leaning into the “pastry” stout category over the past few years, making up half of this year’s lineup – just like last year. This one might be the most straightforward in terms of ingredients, but it’s the first time a bottle-released BCBS has spent time finishing in rum casks, which will hopefully add some interesting notes of caramelizing brown sugar on top of the coffee, cocoa, and vanilla. Since we haven’t gotten a straight-up Bourbon County Coffee since 2022, we’ll have to settle for this one. But I suspect this one will work incredibly well. It’s not the riskiest pick here, but it’s got a real chance to elevate what the base stout already does so well without overwhelming it.
Ranking: 3 of 6
Bourbon County Brand Apple Crisp Stout | Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with apple, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, oats & panela sugar
Calling all fans of 2020’s Caramella Wheatwine! …Hello? Anyone out there? Well, we did enjoy that apple, cinnamon, and caramel-loaded wheatwine six years back but did feel like the sweetness was a bit too over-the-top to sustain drinking more than a four-ounce pour. The hope with this one is that the stout cuts through with a bit more richness than sugar that wheatwines and barleywines often can’t avoid, leading to a nice slice of chocolate and caramel apple pie. We’re getting a few steps closer to the long-imagined Pear BCBS with some of this lineup, but this is a bit of a flavor retread that could still pull off a surprise upset once all is poured.
Ranking: 4 of 6
Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout (Pineapple Upside Down Cake) | Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels finished with pineapple, Montmorency cherry & panela sugar
Consider the last few years of Proprietor’s: baklava, Mexican spoon candy, rice pudding, the Jungle Bird cocktail. It’s easily the most divisive and experimental part of the lineup yearly, and this one is no different. In our tasting last year, I was the odd one out of three that didn’t love the baklava version – and then the year before, I was the only one who loved the tamarind-forward Mexican spoon candy barleywine variant. Cherry and pineapple have been in Bourbon County before but never together – and it’s really going to come down to personal preference with the inspiration. This is not a cake I really have strong feelings about either way, and I’m not convinced this one will win any tasting, but it should be fun.
Ranking: 5 of 6
Bourbon County Brand Triple Oak Barleywine | Barleywine aged in Kentucky Straight bourbon barrels and finished in a blend of Chinkapin, French & Hungarian oak casks
If you didn’t see this one and immediately think of Marty Scott, then you probably don’t spend as much time thinking about Revolution’s barrel-aged beers as we do. (Nor should you – it’s like half of our podcast.) But I’m game to see what Goose does with this complex blend of Angel’s Envy Triple Oak Bourbon and three other unique woods to layer some deep and oaky spice notes on a barleywine. It has the steepest hill to climb comparison-wise with Rev’s recent Double Barrel Straight Jacket and all the different Very Special Old takes on barleywine they release, but Goose has access to some excellent wood that should make this one worth seeking out.
Ranking: 2 of 6
Bourbon County Brand Toasted Barrel Rye Stout | Rye stout aged in Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight rye whiskey barrel and finished in toasted barrel
It seems like Goose Island decided that 2021’s Bourbon County Double Barrel Toasted Barrel Stout had a bit too much going on in the name there, as this successor was indeed double barreled in Elijah Craig Toasted Rye and Elijah Craig Toasted barrels. If it’s anything like the 2021 version, this has a real chance of being the standout, giving off a rich blend of nuttiness, baking spice, vanilla, and barrel char to give you the taste of adjuncts without any additional ingredients. The barrel-only stout variants have a long history of winning our tastings, so I’ll take the safe bet here and expect this one to be a knockout. The only mystery is if it’ll come in some sort of cool tube or not.
