The Types Of Bottles That Raise Red Flags For Bourbon Experts

The old saying about not judging a book by its cover is also true about bourbon. Scanning the shelves of your local liquor store, you might find options ranging from familiar longstanding brands to eye-catching, unusually packaged varieties. According to bourbon experts who spoke with Mashed, this latter group is a particular red flag when buying your next bottle. They warned that over-the-top packaging might be a distraction.

That's the conclusion of Blake Johns, founder of Smokeye Hill, a Colorado-based bourbon distillery. One of his rules of thumb when trying new whiskey is to "avoid buying anything in an absurdly shaped glass bottle." The specific examples he mentioned included containers shaped like machine guns or swords. "That has 'gimmick' written all over it ... you're usually paying for the novelty of the glass, not the quality of the whiskey inside it," he noted. The feeling is shared by fellow expert Heather Butcher, director of Food and Beverage at Conrad Indianapolis. She avoids heavy wax tops, ornate bottles, and velvet bags.

One possible example of gimmicky packaging comes courtesy of Willett Pot Still Reserve. To be clear, the experts didn't highlight this product. However, it touts a unique bottle designed to look like a traditional pot still. As for the quality of the contents, reactions have been mixed. A review on Breaking Bourbon gave the liquor a 3 out of 5 but noted that it "doesn't quite live up to its show-stopping decanter." A quote from the review blog District Drams summed up the situation succinctly: "I don't actually like this very much, but people come over and think the bottle is cool, so they drink it."

There's no guarantee that buying outlandish, high-concept bottles will result in a poor drinking experience. But it's worth considering how the packaging for popular bourbons often looks. Notwithstanding some variation for individual branding, most top-sellers, such as Jim Beam, Evan Williams, and Maker's Mark, bear a familiar, traditional shape. Similarly, the winners of the best bourbon categories at the 2026 World Whiskies Awards come in bottles with typical shapes.

Overall, the keys to picking a good bourbon are fairly straightforward. Factors like the bottle's age, proof, mash bill reveal a good deal of important information. However, more sophisticated shoppers can consider single barrel vs. blended options and whether the item is "bottled in bond." This is a legal designation that people associate with transparency and quality. It means that the bourbon was produced in one distillation season by a single distiller at a single facility and then aged four years (under government supervision). It must also meet precise bottling guidelines, such as having no added colors or flavors.

Naturally, overly flashy bottles are far from the only red flag noted by experts. A lack of details (or, conversely, a long but ultimately thin marketing story) is another one. Celebrity endorsements don't mean much in terms of your drinking experience, either. However, few warning signs are as easy to spot as over-the-top packaging, making this a good way to separate the true contenders from the potential pretenders.