Teenage Tasteland: Comparing 2025 hype 18 year bourbons. Calumet 18 year bourbon VS Redemption The Ancients 18 year Bourbon.

Sup t8er bois. Today, we are going to do what we want because we are 18 now and are going to be comparing some adult beverages of the same age. A lot has been said about these 18 year offerings that have made their market debut this year, so I wont get too into the background of these other than to give a personal anecdote: I have been frequenting an NYC whiskey bar for over 10 years and have oddly grown up with it. The place gave me something of a home during a tough period and made me always feel welcome. Over the years, I got to know the staff and a few years ago this squat, rectangular bottle appeared on one of the top shelves and with every visit I would see a bit gone from it. I learned that this was Redemption Ancients 18 Year Rye and boy, was a pour of it expensive! At that time I was sticking to lower tier pours but always wondered what this crazy looking bottle was all about. Finally one day I visited the bar and saw that it was almost empty with just maybe 1 or 2 pours left. I told the bartender who had become my buddy that this was something I was always curious about and he just plucked the bottle off the shelf and poured me the rest of the bottle. No charge. I was shocked! I tasted it and it was the best whiskey I ever had! I was blown away and I think that moment was when it became crystal clear to me that whiskey could be beautifully artful in how it could be crafted and also that whiskey people are some of the most generous and kind people around. I have been on the hunt for a reasonably priced Redemption 18 year Rye ever since and when I saw the 18 year bourbon hit the market at the beginning of the summer, I jumped at the chance to own it! Of course I had to put it up against something and it made sense to compare it to another 18 year 2025 newcomer, the Calumet 18. Ok enough reminiscing, let's get into it!

Methodology: Tasted neat in Norlans rested for an entire afternoon spent at the mall skating in the parking lot 

First up is the Calumet 18. This is a Barton distillate and as the story goes, Western Spirits Beverage Company that owns the Calumet NDP brand bought a huge number of barrels to age around Bowling Green KY and has been doing so, releasing 14, 15 and 16 year bottles sequentially over the last few years to lukewarm reception. This year they have gone big with their voting - age debut featuring a fancy bottle and very fancy packaging reminiscent of Still Austin Tanager. 

The Deets: 

Age: 18 years 

Mashbill: 74% Corn, 18% Rye, 8% Malted Barley 

Proof: 118 ( I see what they did there) 

Appearance: Rich, chestnut saddle brown. Looks really great with the burnished gold label 

Nose: Warm leather and tobacco with mild vanilla and honey 

Mouthfeel: Medium body with good fattiness, not super heavy or syrupy

Palate: I get a cherry vanilla tart and some bitter molasses and root beer at the beginning, followed very closely behind with rich deep oak and leather and vanilla tobacco. This whiskey tastes big and burley and very very oaky. There is some very faint rye spice, but the salient tasting note here is oak and lots of it. There is a slight bitter black tea and bergamot note towards the end. With a pleasant kentucky hug tingle. 

Finish: Long, oaky and tannic. This stuff will dry out the tongue but the good thing is that it gives you an excuse to wet it with the next sip. 

Overall: this is quite the glow-up from Calumet. The earlier 14-16 year offerings were suffering from an awkward development stage, but this 18 year is fully developed and shows off a rich oaky and leathery maturity. Unfortunately there isn't too much to differentiate this from most other higher age around 120 proof offerings on the market and it gets lost conforming to the in-crowd even though it tries to be unique with its clothes and packaging. I give it a solid 8/10. 

Next up is the Redemption Ancients 18  year Bourbon. This is an MGP distillate and is a combination of high rye and low rye bourbon mashbills that were distilled in 2006 (was that really 18 years ago?!). This uses the same bottle as the legendary Redemption Ancients 18 year Rye so it has very big shoes to fill. The little tag in the corner even says "Pre-Prohibition Rye Revival". Let's get into it!

The Deets: 

Age: 18 years

Mashbill: Undisclosed

Proof: 103.4

Appearance: Rich auburn golden brown honey. This stuff looks every bit of 18 years old. 

Nose: Raisin bran, sweet chicory wood and molasses

Mouthfeel: THICC heavy and rich. This stuff feels heavy and syrupy. Less fatty than the Calumet, but more rich and velvety

Palate: Dark plum and luxardo cherry syrup. This stuff is sweet, smooth and rich. There is a slight floral note and then it gets to business with oak and leather. To me, there is a cherry wood quality to this reminiscent of a Hibiki Blossom Harmony that gives it an extra dimension of complexity. It finishes with brown sugar coated fig newton toasted on cedar planks. No burn to speak of. 

Finish: Long and confectionary and by that I mean there is a distinct baking spice and brown sugar breadiness that it finishes out with

Overall: Man, this stuff is a surprise. I was expecting a bit of a letdown with the relatively low 103.4 proof, but I'm glad Redemption held off the high octane to focus on putting out something very interesting and complex. I don't think there is another 18 year bourbon I've tried that has quite this level of pleasant sweetness and delicate balance for its age. If you think this will in any way resemble an Elijah Craig or KC 18, think again, this is in a (graduating) class of its own. Also for an MGP source this is really very unique. There is no Penelope that is quite this layered and interesting I've yet had. I really think this stuff is quite excellent and I give it a solid 9/10.

Seeing that I'm something of a scientist myself, I blended these together 50:50 and think the end product is pretty great! There's something for everyone here. The big bold dark wood of the C18 together with the sweet, sugary goodness of the R18, really makes this almost perfect! I give the blend a 9.5/10. 

So there we have it, do these 18 year hype bottles have enough maturity to leave home and take over the world or should they return to the basement and search for better opportunities? Let's discuss!
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