April 03, 2026

Are Smaller Bottles (375ml) The Future Of Allocated Bourbon

1 hour 17 minutes

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We dig into why 375ml bourbon bottles are suddenly everywhere and what that shift means for prices, access, and trying new whiskey without committing to a full bottle. Along the way we swap festival stories, call out standout distillery releases, and make the case for half bottles as the ultimate share-friendly format.

• New Orleans Bourbon Festival highlights, logistics and surprise moments
• Makers Mark barrel pick timeline and how releases get coordinated
• Why 375ml bottles help with rising bourbon costs and buyer hesitation
• How allocated and limited releases reach more people in half bottles
• Pocketable sharing bottles, travel wins and shelf-space reality
• Standout examples from Woodford, Old Forester 117, Jim Beam experimental series and Bardstown Cathedral
• Whether 375s feel special when the same whiskey exists in 750ml
• The business tradeoffs of more bottles, more corks and higher per-ounce pricing
• Comparing festival strategies, booth lines and bottle hunting expectations

Let us know what your thought is on 375s. Leave a comment before before, thumbs up, thumbs down, you know

Half bottles are making big waves in bourbon, and we have questions. When a distillery drops a 375ml instead of a 750ml, is that a sneaky way to charge more per ounce, or the smartest way to help more people actually taste the good stuff? We talk through the real-world math, the collector mindset, and the simple truth that most of us want variety without turning our home bar into a storage unit.

I’m joined by Matt from Cleveland On The Rocks, and we connect the 375ml trend to what we’re seeing at distilleries and bourbon festivals. We revisit the New Orleans Bourbon Festival experience, including how the layout, food, and producer access changes the whole weekend, then compare it to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival reality of booth lines and timed bottle drops. If you’ve ever planned a trip around an allocated release, you’ll recognize the strategy behind smaller formats.

Then we get specific: Old Forester 117 series, Woodford gift shop releases, Jim Beam’s experimental 375s, and the kind of special story-driven bottles that feel tailor-made for the half-bottle format. We also dig into why 375ml bottles can be the best “try before you commit” move for rum finishes, honey finishes, and other experiments, plus why they are built for sharing and traveling.

If you’re curious whether 375ml bourbon is a trend or the future of limited releases, hit play and weigh in. Subscribe, share the show with a bourbon friend, and leave a review with your take on half bottles.