Who Makes Trader Joe's Store-Brand Bourbon?

No trip to Trader Joe's is complete without picking up a few private-label products, many of which rival name brands. If you're lucky enough to live in one of 17 states where Trader Joe's can carry liquor, its cheap, store-brand bourbons are definitely worth your time. But since the grocery doesn't have its own distillery, who makes Trader Joe's private-label bourbons? The answer is not so simple.

Trader Joe's currently carries three private-label bourbon whiskeys: Kentucky Bourbon, Kentucky Best Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and Tennessee Sour Mash Bourbon Whiskey. Each is made by a different distiller, as evidenced by the labels. The Kentucky Bourbon is "distilled by Bourbon Square Distilling Company, Louisville, [Kentucky]," though it appears no distillery goes by that name. Upon looking it up in the Kentucky business filings, you're redirected to the real name of the company: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Inc. The assumed-name filing through the Commonwealth of Kentucky also shows an address tied to Sazerac, the parent company behind Buffalo Trace.

The labels on the other two bourbons only point to bottlers. Kentucky Best Straight Bourbon Whiskey lists Lux Row Distillers, which distills at least six brands on-site, so it's possible Kentucky Best could be one. As for the Tennessee bourbon, Dynasty Spirits is the bottler, but it's based in Texas, so how could that be? Well, Dynasty Spirits makes Lonehand Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey, so it stands to reason they work with a Tennessee distiller, although which one remains unclear.

The mystery behind who makes Trader Joe's bourbon isn't unique to its spirits. The California-based grocery store does not have manufacturing facilities and sources most items from existing brands . A former Trader Joe's employee told Eater that companies can't disclose their business relationship with Trader Joe's and vice versa. That makes sense considering brands are essentially competing with themselves, since private labels are often much cheaper. But Trader Joe's is not the only store to carry its own bourbon. Both Costco and Sam's Club have store-brand bourbons. The difference is, the real distiller is right on the bottle: Barton 1792 Distillery. Interestingly, bourbon lovers tied an earlier iteration of the Trader Joe's Kentucky Bourbon to the same distillery , as well as a limited release Barrel Entry Proof Kentucky Bourbon .

While reviews on the current iteration of Trader Joe's Kentucky Bourbon are mixed, at least on Reddit, the Kentucky Best and Tennessee Sour Mash bourbons are more highly regarded. One reviewer gave Kentucky Best an 83 out of 100 score and called it "a solid, unpretentious, good-value bourbon."

Although Trader Joe's is unlikely to ever confirm exactly who makes each of its bourbons, labels and public records offer plenty of clues. In the end, whether you're trying to score a bottle from a well-regarded distiller or just trying to get a cheap bottle of booze, your taste buds are the only judges that really matter.