Hello again my friends! We are back with the final of our Round 1 Competitions. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2026 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 1’s Number 1 seed, Early Times Bottled-in-Bond taking on Number 4 seed, Redemption. This is an interesting competition as it featured the highest proof pour versus the lowest proof as well as the two least expensive pours in the competition. Fun fact, each of these pours seem to be brands in transition as we will detail below.
This bottle of Redemption is a two year old sourced bourbon from Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, producers of Bib & Tucker, Masterson’s Rye, Gray Whale Gin, and Josh Cellars wine. Redemption is sourced from MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. We are featuring a slightly older bottling as it looks as if the brand may have updated their bottle and possibly reformulated their bourbon since this bottle was produced. At least according to their instagram posts. I got this one at Total Wine in Burnsville, MN for $21.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.47 per pour.
Their opponent is Early Times Bottled-inBond, long a product of the Brown Forman Company of Louisville, KY, the brand is now owned by Sazerac. This particular bottle is still using Brown Forman stocks but was blended at Sazerac’s Barton 1792 plant. I got this one at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN for $23.99 for a 1 Liter bottle or $1.20 per pour.
All of the competitions this year were tasted blind, and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all recorded before we knew which bourbon was which. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were tasted side by side and will have influenced the perception of one another.
Gilded Thunder (Redemption)
Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.47
Details: 44% ABV
Nose: Cherry, oak, brown sugar, and baking spice.
Mouth: Caramel, cinnamon, oak, stone fruit, and vanilla.
Finish: Medium or less in both length and warmth. Notes of cinnamon, oak, and vanilla.
Velvet Turnip (Early Times Bottled-in-Bond)
Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.20
Details: 50% ABV
Nose: Caramel, cinnamon, oak, and vanilla.
Mouth: Oak, cinnamon, and vanilla.
Finish: Medium in length and warmth with notes of oak and cinnamon.
Thoughts:
Pre-Reveal Thoughts: Velvet Turnip is brash and oaky. Gilded Thunder is more nuanced. Gilded Thunder is sweeter. Velvet Turnip is spicier. Both are very tasty, yet completely different. This is a tough one. I feel like this pairing comes down to your mood on a particular day. It's like deciding between pizza or burgers. Both have their place, it just depends on the mood. Today I'm feeling like mellow, and nuanced. Gilded Thunder wins.
Post-Reveal Thoughts: I would love to say that I am surprised by the result here. And in some ways I am. I mean, Early Times, in this bottle, is a bit of a collaboration between two of the best bourbon makers on the planet in Brown Forman and Sazerac. Of course, the main reason that I’m not surprised is simply the fact that MGP also makes amazing whiskey. Full stop. Age be damned, I’ve had some lovely two year old MGP in the past and I have no doubt that I will again. I am surprised that proof didn’t win out in this instance. It very often does in these competitions, which is why we use it as the first qualifier for seeding. Of course that also means, we just had our first upset of the competition. Which is always fun.
Winner: Redemption is advancing to round 2.
