Trader Joe's Luxurious New Bourbon Has Been Spotted On Shelves (And It's $50)

Thanks to local regulations, not every Trader Joe's sells alcohol, but the ones that do often offer customers a booze selection as varied and reasonably priced as everything else in the store. The chain is known for new, unusual, and possibly limited-time options, and this includes an apparently brand-new bourbon just arriving on store shelves.

Trader Joe's Cask Head Bourbon is a 100-proof Kentucky bourbon finished in old sherry casks for six months. The relatively plain purple label reveals that the sherry casks came from Spain, specifically the southern city of Jerez, Andalusia — the historic home of sherry.

According to the label, the barrels previously held Pedro Ximénez sherry, named for the grapes that age into a naturally super-sweet wine. It's possible that Trader Joe's intentionally sourced these barrels for the rich flavors they once held and could impart upon its bourbon. And the brand's history with whiskey suggests that this one is at least worth a try.

It may not be the most obvious choice, but Trader Joe's has carried some seriously good whiskey before. Its store brand High Rye Bourbon is critically acclaimed, but the award-winning Trader Joe's bourbon is prone to disappearing from shelves due to assorted stocking issues and delays unfortunately typical of private label products.

It's unknown who actually distilled the whiskey before it was put in sherry casks, but Buffalo Trace is one of the big brands people suspect is hiding behind Trader Joe's labels, specifically the store's regular Kentucky bourbon. If you can't find the new sherry stuff, though, Kentucky Bourbon is one of the foods (and drinks) you should already be buying from Trader Joe's anyway.

Although there's little in the way of reviews of this sherry-aged bourbon just yet, Trader Joe's did once offer a single-malt scotch aged in sherry casks. That product received generally pleasant reviews, though some scotch enthusiasts found it underwhelming for their tastes. But one common agreement was that it was great for the price, and Trader Joe's Cask Head Bourbon likely is too.