Looking for the next great undiscovered bourbon? Check out this tasting brief, which rounds up 27 new bottles from (mostly) craft producers—all boasting unique flavor profiles.

Here you'll find:

• Five bourbons from Iowa, Indiana, New York, and Colorado that prove Kentucky no longer has a lock on America's homegrown whiskey style
• Six bourbons made with heirloom grains, from ancient Egyptian wheat to Jimmy Red corn, plus an experimental bourbon that incorporates peated malted barley
• A half-dozen miscellaneous bottles, including two from Heaven Hill's micro-distillery

We also take a focused look at the "Summer of Bourbon" offerings from independent bottler Lost Lantern, which we found to be excellent. The collection includes several single casks from craft distilleries across the country, as well as two multi-barrel blends that show off the company's prowess in this arena. Summer may be over, but any of these bourbons are worthy of year-round sipping.

Grab a glass and enjoy!

Non-Kentucky Bourbons

Cedar Ridge Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon (Batch 0001)

While baking spice is a common tasting note for bourbon, this cask-strength debut from Iowa's leading whiskey distillery goes deeper into the cabinet to pull in dried chiles, dried ginger, cumin, and cardamom, alongside candied orange peel, dry-roasted almonds, cappuccino, and campfire marshmallow aromas. The palate is dry and nutty, with milk chocolate and oak lending just enough sweetness to balance the spice. More nuts, sweet oak, and spiced milk chocolate on the lengthy finish.

George Remus 6-Year-Old Highest Rye Straight Bourbon

The mashbill's 39% rye content gives this bourbon plenty of spice and herb aromas, balanced by red apple, candied orange peel, roasted sweet nuts, and plenty of oak. The palate is hot with cayenne, white pepper, and ginger, balanced by sharp oak and dark chocolate that turns bitter with water. Dry, medium-long finish of unsweetened chocolate, roasted nuts, oak, and persistent spice.

Hudson Whiskey 5-Year-Old Straight Bourbon

An autumnal whiskey, with dry aromas and flavors throughout: on the nose, nutty grain, toasted oak, crunchy fall leaves, coffee bean, and dry-roasted spices. The full-bodied palate is replete with oak and hot with clove and cinnamon, looping in sweet tobacco, dried apples rings, and dried orange peel as well. Medium-long on the finish, with hot cinnamon, toasted oak, and dried tea leaves.

Great Jones Jean-Michel Basquiat Bourbon Finished in Pineau des Charentes Wine Barrels

A perplexing nose, loamy with acorns, dried leaves, and brackish water, with a bit of spice and some poached pear. The palate makes more sense: spiced orange, red berries, milk chocolate, vanilla, and generous, sturdy oak on a remarkably full body. It finishes medium and well-rounded with spice, oak, and chocolate.

Woody Creek Colorado Straight Bourbon

Woodsy, dry spice character on the nose: aromatic cedar, orange pekoe tea, black pepper, chocolate-covered nuts, and strawberry jam. The palate is incredibly dry, peppery-spiced and grainy, with cloves, dry-roasted nuts, and oak. More dry oak, grain, and peppery warmth on the medium finish.

Heirloom Grain (And A Peat Experiment)

Daniel Weller Emmer Wheat Recipe

The first in an experimental line of wheated bourbons, this was made with Emmer wheat, a strain that originated in Eygpt. The nose is fruity and ripe with apples, plums, and nectarines, plus vanilla bean, RC Cola, rickhouse oak, and maple syrup-covered walnuts. The age of nearly 12 years is evident on the palate, as mature and at times bitter oak tangles with spiced black tea, dark berry jam, peppery-hot spices, and leather. Water brings tannins to the fore, a welcome textural balance. Medium length on the finish, with leather, black pepper, roasted walnuts, and bitter oak.

High Wire Distilling Co. Jimmy Red Straight Bourbon Finished in Sherry Casks (Batch 5)

Restrained to the point of austere at times, but nevertheless displaying an opulence in its mix of flavors, thanks to the careful application of sherry finishing. Leather jacket, cherry skins, dark berries, dark chocolate, antique oak, and a touch of maple syrup on the nose; over time, sweet almond emerges. The palate is spiced and dry, with a strong oak backbone, and cacao nibs, black pepper, a hint of tobacco, and general heat throughout. Persistent cacao and bitter leathery oak on the spare finish.

Still Austin Bottled-in-Bond Red Corn Bourbon

A well-presented nose with toasted tobacco, honey-roasted peanuts, sun-warmed wooden boards, fragrant and generous vanilla, and interwoven apple; water emphasizes the fruit notes and brings out a pleasant marzipan aroma. On the palate, nut, oak, and vanilla flavors form a base for milk chocolate, apple, and warm baking spices that bloom with water. Nutty oak, vanilla, allspice, and fading milk chocolate on the medium-length finish.

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Straight Bourbon Made With Peated Malt

Using peat-smoked barley in bourbon has become a small trend, led by craft distillers, but here it's done by one of Kentucky's biggest producers. On the nose, peat char and ash mingle with nutty grain, vanilla, rich oak, and deep, candied fruit: red candy apple, watermelon Jolly Ranchers. Smoke hits up front on the palate, but it quickly transmogrifies into chalky minerality—the inside of an oyster shell, minus the salt. A fine layer of soot comes to rest atop oak, vanilla, roasted nuts, and dark berry fruit. Medium-short on the finish, with sooty ash, charred nuts, and dry oak. Interesting and well-made, but the novelty seems to be the point.

New Riff Yellow Leaming Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon (Batch 1)

Like New Riff's other bourbon made with heirloom corn, this has a simple character that nevertheless makes the most of what it is. Syrupy cooked cherries and oranges, iced tea, dried ginger, nuts, and leathery oak on the nose lead into a well-balanced palate of sweet cooked cherries, milk chocolate, tea leaf, and sturdy oak. Spices, especially cinnamon and ginger, bloom when water is added. The finish combines nutty grain and integrated spice with generous oak, and a whiff of char at the very end.

New Riff Blue Clarage Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon (Batch 1)

Distilled with an heirloom corn variety, this bourbon meets New Riff's usual high standards for production quality but falls short on its typical complexity of flavor. Lightly floral with chalky notes of talcum powder on the nose, it's dry, spiced, and hot on the generously oaked palate. Light vanilla and hits of dark berries aren't enough to draw out what is ultimately an abbreviated, simple whiskey.

High Wire Distilling Co. Classic Jimmy Red Straight Bourbon (Batch 30)

The first bourbon made with heirloom Jimmy Red corn after its revival from near-extinction, and utterly distinct. Fresh-cut wood, cinnamon hard candies, and raw macadamia nuts lead the nose, but a building sweep of vivid fruit—kiwi, watermelon, and peach—takes over. The palate is less fruity than the nose would suggest, more about cinnamon apple, vanilla, and dry oak. Spice and oak persist on the medium-length finish. Water not recommended.

Assorted Bottles

Harlem Standard Four Grain Straight Bourbon (Batch 2)

Schooltime aromas of peanut butter sandwich cookies and fresh red apples permeate the nose, along with marmalade, spice, and sweet oak. The spice character weaves in and out on the palate, lending dimension to orange and apple fruitiness, vanilla, and sturdy oak. The finish is short, with sweet oak and milk chocolate. Water recommended.

Weller Special Reserve

The nose is tingly with baking spices and dry oak, alongside Lipton iced tea, toasted grain, and some blossom apple sweetness. Dry, with chewy tannins, the palate has notes of cherry skins, semi-sweet chocolate, integrated baking spices, and sturdy oak, though water turns it bitter and brings out a more prominent grain character. The finish is medium-short with leather on peppery oak. Plenty of people go nuts for Weller but there are better bourbons that are much easier to find.

Square 6 Wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Blending two wheated bourbon mashbills, both made on a pot still at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience's microdistillery. Youthful grain is front and center, with aromas of cinnamon and brown sugar muesli, green banana, pineapple rind, and fresh-cut lumber. A hot, simple palate of cinnamon, candied orange, milk chocolate-covered peanuts, and tannic, bittersweet oak leads into roasted peanuts, sweet oak, and hot cinnamon on the short finish.

Harlem Standard Straight Bourbon

Sweet, fruity, and a little floral on the nose, with orange blossom, lemon curd, vanilla graham crackers, and baked apples. The short, facile palate is dominated by wood sugars, with faint spice and apple; water brings out an angular, unsanded quality. Hot and simple on the finish. Not badly made, but underdeveloped.

Square 6 High-Rye Kentucky Straight Bourbon

A new bourbon recipe from Heaven Hill, made at its Evan Williams Bourbon Experience microdistillery. The nose is dominated by pencil shavings and grain silo aromas, with light vanilla, dried flowers, dried apple rings, and crushed peanuts, while the palate is spiky and peppery, hot with cinnamon, and bitter with burnt pecans, unsweetened chocolate, flamed orange peel, and oak. Persistently hot and bitter on the finish.

Uncle Chicken's Sippin' Whiskey

A bog-standard bourbon affiliated with the rock-country group Whisky Myers. Orange juice, breakfast cereal with sliced strawberries, light oak, and mint tea on the nose. The palate is fairly one-dimensional, with clove-studded orange, dry and nutty oak, hot spice, and semi-sweet chocolate at the turn. Peppery, hot, and oak-led on the medium-short finish.

Focus on Lost Lantern: Summer of Bourbon

Lost Lantern Frey Ranch Distillery Single Cask Nevada Straight Bourbon

The nose opens with raspberries and mint leaves steeping in iced tea, a mix of sweet intense fruit and herbal aromas; there's also dark chocolate-covered marzipan, leather, and barrel char. Herbaceous and fruity-sweet on the palate, with raspberry purée, dark chocolate, mint leaves and oil, ginger, black pepper, and deeply charred oak flavors. Minty oak, dark chocolate, and lingering fresh ginger on the lengthy finish. An intense, powerful whiskey that somehow avoids burning out the palate—though generous water in no way diminishes its highly appealing profile.

Lost Lantern Soaring Spice Frey Ranch Distillery Nevada Straight Bourbon

Though the name sets up the rightful expectation of strong spice character, this bourbon is also deeply fruity, with concentrated aromas of cherry, plum, raspberry, and blueberry alongside enticing dark chocolate, mint, and herbs. Gingerbread spices, pepper, and herbs mingle with cherry syrup, dark chocolate, chestnut, almond, and savory-herbal oak on the palate, leading into a lengthy finish. An excellent whiskey.

Lost Lantern Ironroot Republic Single Cask Texas Straight Bourbon

Give this bourbon time—and plenty of water—and it will reveal all kinds of things: cherry cough syrup, burnt wood, dried herbs, leather, and roasted sweet cinnamon on the nose, then charred wood, cinnamon stick and candy, semi-sweet chocolate, dark-roast coffee, and mint oil on the chewy, thick palate. It eventually wraps up with peppery mint and long, lingering charred oak. An exemplar of Texas bourbon.

Lost Lantern Tom's Foolery Single Cask Ohio Straight Bourbon

Intensely aromatic, with a smoky edge of dried chilies, barrel char, flamed orange peel, and bold spices, as well as a prominent grain character when water is added. Full-bodied and tannic, the palate shares that intensity: spiced red berries, dark chocolate, dried chilies, barrel char, elote, and mint leaves; here, water deepens the fruit and adds peppery-spiced cola flavors. It finishes medium length on the back of charred oak, mint, and black pepper.

Lost Lantern Far-Flung Bourbon

The nose is a dessert-like delight: bananas foster, crème brûlée, caramel ice cream sundae topped with spiced, candied nuts. Surprisingly mild, given the proof, on the palate, with sweet banana and berries, spiced oak, milk chocolate, well-integrated spices, and dry tobacco at the turn. It finishes lengthy and dry, with Mexican milk chocolate, roasted bananas sprinkled with cinnamon, and oaky tobacco.

Lost Lantern Still Austin Single Cask Texas Straight Bourbon

The fragile, gentle nose opens with aromatic notes of dried citrus, sandalwood perfume, rose petal potpourri, and cold embers; a few drops of water bring out orange, vanilla, and light caramel, all a bit faded, like an old photograph. There's spiced smoke and oak on the palate, white pepper, allspice, and cinnamon; again, water allows orange to emerge, alongside rose petal, sweet dried apples, and dry-roasted pecans. A hint of tobacco at the turn leads into a medium finish of smoked nuts, toasted oak, and cracked black pepper.

Lost Lantern Boulder Spirits Single Cask Colorado Straight Bourbon

This has an unusually estery nose and palate, bright with bubblegum, pineapple, and lemon—but lest it go too far, there are balancing herbaceous evergreen and eucalyptus notes as well, and the barrel injects a welcome dryness to offset all the sweetness. The sweet-and-dry tug-of-war continues into the medium-short finish.

Lost Lantern New Riff Single Cask Kentucky Straight Bourbon

An unusual wallop of smoke hits the nose right off the bat: sweet like barbecue and toasted marshmallow, lengthened by toasted oak, and warm with pecans and vanilla. The palate, too, is smoky-sweet, with big, hefty flavors of toasted oak, pecans, and marshmallow, grilled apples, and spiced tobacco at the turn. Add some water and the smoke takes on an herbaceous character. The finish is lengthy and remains smoky with oak, tobacco, roasted nuts, and hot spice.