Basil Hayden Kentucky Straight Bourbon Review

Basil Hayden Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is an affordable bourbon that is low in proof but has enough flavor due to its high rye content to be enjoyed as a neat whiskey, on the rocks, or in any whiskey cocktail.

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I asked Tim Heuisler, global small batch brand ambassador for Suntory Global Spirits, what he thinks makes Basil Hayden stand out, and he says it’s all about the bourbon’s adaptability.

“It is extremely versatile, playing well in aperitif style cocktails, but can still hold its own with the classics,” he told me. “Coming from behind the bar, Basil Hayden was always the bottle I pulled if I had a group of both novice and experienced whiskey drinkers at the same table. Everybody gets along with it.”

Read on for more thoughts about Basil Hayden. And if you're curious about other popular bottles, check out our in-depth reviews of Woodford Reserve, Wild Turkey 101, Redbreast 12, and Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

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Related: This Sold-Out Whiskey Brand Just Released a New American Single Malt

Basil Hayden at a Glance

• Bottom line: Basil Hayden is affordable and light enough for newcomers to bourbon, with a low ABV and a hint of spice on the palate.

• Type: Bourbon

• Casks: New charred oak

• Still: Column stills

• ABV: 40 percent (80 proof)

• Age: No age statement

• Appearance: Light copper color

• Nose: Vanilla, brown sugar, fruit

• Mouthfeel: Light and thin

• Taste: Caramel, vanilla, black pepper, baking spice, oak

• Finish: Quick fade with notes of honey and stone fruit

Pros and Cons of Basil Hayden

Basil Hayden Review

Basil Hayden is part of the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection, which also includes Knob Creek, Booker’s, and Baker’s. The brand was created by legendary Jim Beam master distiller Booker Noe in 1992.

At 80 proof, it has the lowest alcohol content of the four whiskeys in the Small Batch Collection, but the mash bill contains nearly 30 percent rye, which makes it stand out. That recipe gives this whiskey a nice bit of spice on the palate to counteract its sweetness, and that, combined with the low proof, has made this a favorite of many bartenders.

Like many others, I first discovered Basil Hayden near the start of my whiskey journey. I was living in San Francisco at the time, and my go-to order at the city’s many wonderful dive bars was a beer and a shot of Jim Beam.

On one occasion, the bartender suggested I give Basil Hayden a try instead, so I said yes (he comped it, so of course). I could tell immediately that this was a step up from Jim Beam White Label. It had a classic bourbon flavor profile of vanilla, caramel, stone fruit, oak, and brown sugar notes buttressed by a layer of spice that I was unfamiliar with at the time.

There are some whiskey fans who wish that Basil Hayden was available at a higher proof than the minimum 80—and indeed I’ve been lucky enough to try it at cask strength, straight from the barrel at the distillery, and it was fantastic. But that’s not the point of Basil Hayden, and there are plenty of other whiskeys which serve that purpose. This bourbon is meant to be an easy drinker with some pep, and in that it succeeds.

How to Drink Basil Hayden

Like any whiskey, there is no right or wrong way to drink Basil Hayden, and you should enjoy it however you choose.

“In the words of Fred and Freddie Noe [seventh and eighth generation master distillers at Beam], ‘Drink it any damn way you please,’” says Heuisler. “Our bourbons are meant to be enjoyed with others, so trust your instincts and find what feels right in the moment.”

I always recommend trying a neat pour first of any whiskey, however, to familiarize yourself with its character. And at 80 proof, there is no reason to be intimidated by an unadulterated sip of Basil Hayden.

It’s also an excellent whiskey to use in any number of cocktails, from classics like an Old Fashioned or Manhattan to something more complicated. That extra level of spice from the high rye content really goes a long way in making it stand up to combining with other components, and it rarely gets lost in the mix.

“I’d recommend the Basil Hayden 75, our newest signature cocktail,” Heuisler tells me. “It’s a fresh take on the classic French 75–Basil Hayden, lemon, and sugar, topped with some prosecco. It’s super refreshing.”

History of Basil Hayden

Rye farmer and whiskey pioneer Meredith Basil Hayden, Sr. moved from Maryland to Kentucky in 1785. He chose to distill his bourbon with a higher percentage of rye. So, when Booker Noe set out to create a similar high-rye whiskey in the 1990s, he named it after Hayden.

Basil Hayden’s, as it was known at the time, was first released in 1992 as part of the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection (the name switched to Basil Hayden in 2021). The term small batch has no real meaning other than, presumably, a smaller batch of barrels than is usually blended together for a whiskey. But Booker Noe popularized the term, and it became something that other brands latched onto.

Until 2014, Basil Hayden had an eight year age statement, but now it just says “artfully aged” on the bottle.

Over the years, many other expressions have been added to the portfolio, including a 10-year-old bourbon, a malted rye whiskey, Toast—which has brown rice in the mashbill and is finished in a toasted barrel—and Subtle Smoke, which is aged in a smoked barrel.

Related: I Tried Redbreast's Core Whiskeys Side by Side. This Pour is My Clear Favorite

How Is Basil Hayden Made?

Basil Hayden, like all of the Small Batch Collection whiskeys, is made at the James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont, KY. But there are some key differences between it and other brands.

"Basil Hayden is distilled to a lower proof than the rest of our products (120 proof), and utilizes our high rye mash bill—twice our standard amount of rye—and our National Distillers yeast strain,” says Heuisler.

Beam obtained that particular yeast, an ingredient that is key in any whiskey’s flavor, in 1987 when the company acquired the Old Grand Dad, Old Overholt, and Old Crow labels.

After distillation, the whiskey is matured in new charred oak barrels, as required by law. Heuisler says that the specific location of those barrels is part of what separates Basil Hayden out.

“With any of our Small Batch brands, the barrels are placed in specific parts of our warehouses for maturation until they’ve reached the flavor profile we’re looking for,” he says. “Basil Hayden is always bottled at 80 proof, whereas our other Small Batch brands are higher proof, providing a well curated bourbon for just about any occasion.”

If You Like Basil Hayden You’ll Also Like…

Four Roses Bourbon

Four Roses is another affordable bourbon that has a higher rye content than most. It uses ten different recipes for its core bourbon, a combination of two mash bills and five different yeast strains. It's another versatile and tasty bourbon that is perfect for newcomers to the category.

Jim Beam Black

Jim Beam Black was recently relaunched with a seven-year age statement and is all the better for it. It's basically an older and higher proof version of White Label, so if you haven’t paid much attention to that bourbon for a while, you should give this a try.

Buffalo Trace

The eponymous bourbon from the Buffalo Trace distillery is another good entry level bourbon, but it’s also one that experienced whiskey drinkers and bartenders alike still enjoy. There is less spice on the palate, but the bourbon’s mellow and sweet flavor profile make it approachable without losing any complexity.

Why You Should Trust Me

I've written about spirits for numerous publications for a decade. Throughout that time, I've sampled thousands of bottles in every category of spirits, visited distilleries across the world to see how the juice is made, and honed my palate and nose.

I'm also a judge for two spirits competitions, the John Barleycorn Awards and the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, for which I blind taste hundreds of spirits to determine what stands out based on flavor, mouthfeel, color, and aroma.

For this review, I sampled Basil Hayden neat, over ice, and in cocktails, and talked to some experts to provide some insight and context about the brand.

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