I've touched upon Brother Justus here before. It was in service to apretty dense Father's Day whiskey guide, and it was my first experience with the Minnesota-based brand.
That included last year's Founder's Reserve. I thought it was pretty good -- sweet, fruity and a little earthy. Whiskey expert Fred Minnick liked it even more. He named it one of histop five American whiskeys of the year.
The 2026 edition promises something new. Summer fruit flavors and a blend of pale ale single malt barrels. That leaves some expectations to be met, but Brother Justus has, to date, stood up alongside Joseph A. Magnus as a spirit that proves the coldest weather states in the midwest can do whiskey, too.
Let's see what we've got.
Founders Reserve IV (2026): A-
A slightly dense pour leaves some
legs slowly running down the sides of the glass. The smell off the top is sweet with a slight briny edge before big fruit flavors kick in. Berries and sugar abound.
The first sip is very sweet -- not cloying or overpowering, but undeniably a sugary malt. Once it clears the tip of your tongue, those fruit flavors clock in. There's a lot of southern pie flavors at play -- blackberry, plum, a little cherry maybe? Either way, it's a big swirl of pleasant flavors, warming in a way that lets you know it's whiskey, but not matching the kind of intensity you might expect from a 110 proof spirit.
The blending has undoubtedly sanded down some of the rough edges, but you sink into the oak flavors you'd expect from the barrel. It shows up with a bit of a creme brulee influence; toasted sugar and vanilla. It stands out as a sipper. There's enough complexity here to bring you something new each time you take a pull, which is exactly what I want from a whiskey.
The question is whether it will be too sweet for some. Ultimately, that dry, slightly spiced finish helps tie everything together for a satisfying sip.
Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's?
This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Brother Justus' Founders Reserve IV over a cold can of Hamm’s?
Yeah. I really appreciated the sweeter, juicier profile here, tempered just enough with that salt and caramel to snap each sip off dryly and give you a chance to come back for me.
This is part of FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Brother Justus' Founders Reserve IV is like drinking whiskey jam
