Still Austin Tanager Bourbon 2025 Review [In Depth]

Still Austin Tanager Bourbon 2025

by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer

Still Austin Tanager Bourbon 2025 Details

Distillery: Still Austin

Type & Region: Bourbon, Texas, USA

Alcohol: 53.75%

Composition: 53% Blue Corn Bourbon, 25% Red Corn Bourbon, and 22% White Corn Bourbon. Each component has rye and malted barley in it

Aged: At least 6 years

Color: 1.6/2.0 on the color scale (burnt umber)

Price: $150

From the company website:

Made from a combination of red, white, and blue corn bourbon, along with rye and malted barley used as small grains.

The whiskey has been aged for at least 6 years and was hand-selected for its most exceptional qualities by our Master Blender Nancy Fraley and our Master Distiller John Schrepel.

To create our most premium offering to date, Nancy and John combined our finest 6-year old high rye bourbon with pure Texas water and aged it to at least 50 proof for at least one year before adding it to the base whiskey for final proofing. This ancient blending technique, known as Petites Eaux (small waters), has been used for centuries in the Cognac and Armagnac regions of France.

Petites Eaux creates a rich and complex flavor profile, adding more caramelized wood sugars and length to the palate of the final product. This is similar to the standing practice of ‘barrel rinsing’ used amongst many bourbon producers, but utilizes a much longer aging process. For Tanager, the result is a cigar blend whiskey with a remarkably sweet and soft finish.

Still Austin Tanager Bourbon 2025 overview

Still Austin is back with the 2025 release of Still Austin Tanager bourbon. Like last year’s release, this is a blend of bourbons using their various mashbills that is slowly proofed-down over time to get to a desired ABV and influence the oak-spirit interaction.

The overall concept of the 2025 release is the same as the 2024 release, with some changes. There are 2 that I know about, and the rest are probably trade secrets. The first is that the 2025 release appears to be 1 year older than last year’s release. The second is that the blend of the 3 bourbon mashbills is different. I have no idea how it affects the end product.

2024 vs 2025

Blue Corn bourbon: 60% vs 52%
Red Corn Bourbon: 27% vs 25%
White Corn Bourbon: 13% vs 22%

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A quick lesson on why proofing down the whiskey in the barrel over time is meaningful. You probably already know that the maximum entry proof of new make into a virgin white oak barrel is 62.5% ABV, but some distilleries go lower. The entry proof impacts how the new make and oak barrel interact, with a higher entry proof creating more intense interactions that extract more from the barrel.

More interaction is not necessarily better or worse, just different…although many believe that a lower barrel entry proof helps make the whiskey better. By aging some of the whiskey at 50 proof (25% ABV) for 1 year, they are creating a different interaction with the oak (and different personality) that they then blend to create the desired profile.

Let’s find out what the 2025 version has to offer in this 2025 Still Austin Tanager bourbon review.

This sample was provided to me at no cost. All opinions are still my own.

As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.

Still Austin Tanager Bourbon 2025 smell

Right out of the gate, this flat out smells old with dark caramel, old oak, vanilla bean paste, dried cherry, dark chocolate, dark cinnamon, baked red apple and dried orange peel, clove, a little wood varnish and tobacco. The heat is super mellow, but to be fair I’m smelling this after 20 minutes of rest.

Rich, dense, and decadent that keeps pulling me back in. I with it had more pop and vibrance to give it another dimension to contrast the amazing darkness

Learn more about Still Austin Tanager 2024

This 6 year old bourbon has that old man strength that’s super dark and oaky, but in a refined and mature way that’s almost 1990’s Wild Turkey-like. This could potentially pass for a 13-15 year old Kentucky bourbon.

After 15 minutes of rest, I smell dense butterscotch, vanilla bean paste, old oak, cinnamon, dark chocolate, apple cider caramels, mocha, buttercream, luxardo cherries, and oak varnish with an occasional shimmer of orange peel and clove. It smells more sweet and not quite as oak forward this time around.

Still Austin Tanager 2025 still smells amazing, but the balance is so different this time. It’s more varied with dark oak all the way to brighter fruit that smells incredible. As rich as it is, I still wish that would leap out the glass with a little more pop and power.

But seriously though, this smells incredible.

Still Austin Tanager Bourbon 2025 taste and aftertaste

The flavors have dense caramel, vanilla bean paste, dark oak with a little more char to it, dried cherry, cinnamon, dark chocolate, coconut cream, baked red apple, more vanilla bean, roasted coffee, tobacco, and nutmeg. Among other things, this is a very vanilla-y bourbon, as if it were infused with vanilla beans for 6 months. It’s also very dark, oaky, and spicy…a bit moreso than the scents are.

The flavors are rich, dense, layered, and decadent, but again I wish that it had more bright and vibrant character, especially some dried dark fruit with some occasional vibrant pop that would provide even better balance and variety. Nonetheless, the oak and spice have incredible depth that is the true core of the already very enjoyable experience.

This is delicious and easily competes with or even outdoes some of the expensive and allocated 13+ year old Kentucky bourbons (cough cough Russell’s 13 Year)

With “chewing”, I taste really dense caramel and butterscotch, old oak, and vanilla bean paste, then dried cherry, cinnamon, dark chocolate, baked red apple, roasted mocha, clove, tobacco. This is rich, expressive, bold, layered, and interesting. I get some vibes of 15-17 year old Hardin’s Creek Bourbon (from Jim Beam). It’s not quite to that level, but not so far off either.

Learn more about Still Austin Cask Strength Bourbon

The finish leaves sweet, woody, old, and spicy finish with caramel, old oak, dark chocolate, roasted coffee, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and baked red apple.

I keep drinking and enjoying this a lot, but as I do, again it’s quite clear to me that I want more fruit from the experience. Still Austin absolutely nailed the creamy, refined, and chocolatey oak, but coaxing out more fruit would truly take this to the next level. There’s definitely good fruitiness here, but more of it would go a long way and likely elevate this to “Top Shelf+”.

Still Austin Tanager 2025 is an incredible bourbon.

I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too. Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.

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Still Austin Tanager Bourbon 2025 Rating

First and foremost, Still Austin Tanager 2025 is an incredible bourbon that has no right to be the way it is at 6 years old. It’s black magic. It’s dark, full, sweet, woody in a very refined way, chocolatey, and so much more. This continues to be one of the more memorable bourbons that I’ve had in recent years and a testament to what the non-mega Kentucky and Indiana distilleries can create.

Purely from memory, I’m not sold that this is all that different or improved from the initial 2024 release, but I’m also very pleased that it’s still so dang good. Again, I have not compared them side by side, but I still have the 2024 release so I could. Hopefully I can find the time because I am curious.

While I’m still bummed that I couldn’t get a full bottle of the 2025 release (I still want one), I now feel more content with the 2024 release. The FOMO has diminished. I’m obviously very privileged because I got a free sample so I could discover that for myself, but please take my word for it. Nonetheless, I would most definitely pay $150 for a bottle and it’s definitely worth it if you can afford it.

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I hoped that this year’s release would get it over the top to “Top Shelf+”, but I have minor reservations that prevented me from doing that. It’s so close, but I couldn’t get over the hump because I never quite got the pop, the zing, the “wow”, and/or the “holy shit”. If you’re read any of my reviews of “Top Shelf+” booze, you may have noticed that common theme.

With “chewing”, the flavors didn’t have next level of pop, huge surge of flavor, and vibrant shimmer that blow my mind. This also isn’t quite as fruity as I want for a “Top Shelf+” or “Glass Case” spirit. This is where my personal preferences really kick in.

To close, Still Austin you are making amazing whiskey and 2025 Tanager is no exception. I’m a big fan of what you do, so please keep it coming (and improving).

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Meet the Author: Alex

I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.

There are no sponsors, no media companies, and no nonsense. Support The Whiskey Shelf by Buying Me A Shot.

Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.

BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)