3 Musician-Made Whiskies You Should Try Next

Country music and whiskey go together like peas and carrots. We’ve seen it in songs, album covers, concerts, and on Broadway. Wherever you look and or go in the world of country music, you’re going to see whiskey.

Given whiskey’s undying presence in the genre, many musicians have started subsidiary brands creating and promoting their spin on the brown stuff. Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Bob Dylan, Luke Bryan, and countless others have all done so. Distilling whiskey as a musician has purportedly become a right of passage. Though, there is a valid question that ensues: is any of it good?

Well, to save you from answering that question, here are three musicians whose whiskey has been vetted by professionals and fans.

1. Chris Stapleton’s Traveller Whiskey

Recently released in January 2024, Traveller Whiskey was created by Buffalo Trace in collaboration with Stapleton. The distiller claims the liquor to be art, stating, “we really do think that both Chris’ music and the whiskey we make at Buffalo Trace is art,” per a Breaking Bourbon review. Breaking Bourbon thought the whiskey to have, “a unique flavor profile that will appeal to the masses.”

Seemingly, this was and is Stapleton’s goal. Since its release, fans have been raving about the product due to its quality and connection to Stapleton’s hit, “Traveller.”

2. JYPSI by Eric Church

Church is no stranger to the booze business. The Grammy-nominated artist already has his own bar on Broadway, and now, a whiskey brand. Distilled by Outsider Spirits, JYPSI Whiskey has racked up the accolades since its release in May 2023—winning Double Gold at The World Spirits Competition. Additionally, F. Paul Pacult, author of The New Kindred Spirits, said “I’d hands down give it the FULL MONTY of 5 stars.”

Church is no stranger to success, so it is on-brand for his product to be praised. Furthermore, he claims he loves distilling whiskey because “It’s a creative process, an adventure, and a story – like music.”

3. Whiskey Myers & Red-Handed Bourbon

Thanks to their name, it’s no surprise Whiskey Myers distills whiskey. That being so, Whiskey Myers and Treaty Oak Distilling teamed up to create Red-Handed Bourbon. According to Treaty Oak, “We are pushed to re-think the creative process the way disruptive musicians, chefs and painters do.” Hence, their collaboration with Whiskey Myers.

The Whiskey Wash acknowledged the distillers’ attempts at uniqueness, stating, “You almost wouldn’t know this was a bourbon by the nose” and “It’s pretty tasty for a two-year bourbon.”

Photo: Becky Fluke / Courtesy of Sacks & Co.