Big Gus 100 Black Rye Bourbon

Big Gus 100 Black Rye Bourbon: The Legend of Angelo’s

Big Gus 100 Black Rye Bourbon is the private-label whiskey of Angelo’s Steak Pit, the landmark Panama City Beach steakhouse that has fed Gulf Coast vacationers for generations. It’s named for Big Gus himself, the larger-than-life icon featured front and center on the label. Timber Creek Distillery of Crestview, Florida, created it in collaboration with the restaurant. In fact, this is a one-of-a-kind, handmade, unfiltered bourbon with heavy rye content and subtle barley overtones, bottled at a full 100 proof for maximum flavor.

Built for Steak, Bottled at 100 Proof

The flavor tells you why a steakhouse commissioned it. Big Gus pours with a sweet corn and caramel core, layered with underlying hints of smoked cinnamon from its signature black rye. Also, the profile carries enough backbone to stand beside a wood-fired ribeye and enough sweetness to sip long after the plates are cleared. Left unfiltered, the whiskey keeps every bit of the texture and character the barrel gave it. Timber Creek, founded in 2014, now ranks among Florida’s most awarded craft distilleries. It produces this bourbon grain-to-glass on a family farm in the Panhandle, where hot summers and cool nights work the oak hard and fast.

The partnership between Angelo’s and Timber Creek is a genuine local story: a beach-town institution and a farm distillery, less than an hour apart, making a bourbon that could only come from Northwest Florida. As a result, bottles are available through Angelo’s, including a 375 mL size sold from the restaurant. This makes Big Gus both a souvenir and a serious whiskey. A second label variant featuring a city skyline extends the family. The promise stays the same though: 100 proof, unfiltered, black rye character, and the name of a Panama City Beach legend on every bottle. Come for the steak; leave with the bourbon.

In short, Big Gus 100 Black Rye Bourbon is best enjoyed in person. Come find it at one of our tours and tastings sessions in Crestview. And if you want spirits made under your own label, explore our private label program. You can also plan a private event here on the farm, or reserve our hands-on bourbon blending experience. Finally, for more on the process, read about what makes a bourbon a bourbon.