Infectious Charm. Devastating Wit. Below Average Looks.
Whiskey marketing isn’t all that bad. There are kernels of truth embedded in most of it, some kernels bigger than others. While reading on Knob Creek's 2001 Limited Edition release, I found myself a sucker. Any bourbon story involving Booker Noe passing down a bourbon tradition to his son, now Master Distiller Fred Noe, is... Continue Reading →
The phrase “Sherry Bomb” isn’t precisely a regulated one in the Scotch industry. A’Bunadh, Macallan, Dalmore, we can all agree on those. If a malt has a strong sherried presence but only was finished for a few years in a sherry cask, could it still be a sherry bomb? I think yes. And I think... Continue Reading →
If you must know, Colonel E.H. Taylor was a janitor at Buffalo Trace distillery in the 1770’s. He then joined the military, became a Colonel, and single handedly won the Battle of Ticonderoga while plastered from drinking an allocated bottle of Sazerac Rye 18. He also invented bourbon with his best friend, Elijah Craig. Now... Continue Reading →
I remember the day I lost all of my whiskey connoisseur credibility. It was the day that Maker’s Mark reversed their decision to lower the ABV on their flagship Kentucky straight bourbon. This about face came as a result of severe push back from Maker’s Mark passionate consumer base. The mere thought of the red... Continue Reading →
Highland Park Distillery’s true dark origins can be found in its creation in 1798, in the northernmost reaches of Scotland on Orkney Island. In 2017, Highland Park revamped their image, with new designs and expressions. Unfortunately, this means the end of the Dark Origins expression, to be replaced with the Valkyrie in their lineup. Dark... Continue Reading →
Ezra Brooks was a Kentucky carnival barker who traveled from town to Kentucky town with his rainbow colored still selling magical bourbon whiskey for 5 cents a shot. His legend lives on today in such bottles as Ezra Brooks 12 Yr Single Barrel. And none of this is true. Everyone thinks Elijah Craig invented bourbon... Continue Reading →
When it came to the whole craft whiskey boom thimgamajig, my innocence was lost almost immediately. It didn’t win me friends in the industry at the time, but I think I did give credit where credit was due in terms of what tasted good. As a consequence, I didn’t fall madly in love with the... Continue Reading →
If you woke up this morning with a still, small voice in your head seducing you with desires to find online whisky reviews for bottles not even available anymore, then you’ve arrived in a good spot, cause that’s what we’re going to do today. Buckle up, buttercup. Today’s review is for Ardbeg’s Dark Cove bottling... Continue Reading →
Call me Mr. Old Fashioned, I just subscribed to my local newspaper. I now have a bundle of paper news sitting on my front porch every morning. I simply grew tired of consuming news in the digital realm we find ourselves in. I noticed that I increasingly read more headlines than actual story content. After... Continue Reading →
GlenDronach Distillery possesses a long past. This fact is not in and of itself special. Lots of distilleries go back a ways. But there is something special about a malt that stands on tradition's shoulders. Founded in 1826, it wasn’t until 1968 that the distillery released a single malt under its own name. In recent... Continue Reading →
While discontinuing several popular bottles in 2017, Highland Park has recast their image in Viking lore. The previously named Highland Park 12 Yr Old has been reborn as Viking Honour. The bottle has received a makeover, but this expression remains a core bottling for the company as it always was. With the effort to improve... Continue Reading →
We have discussed as a club the now dwindling Irish options on the shelf as we approach our 6th year together. Our plan initially was to rotate three themes, each theme getting its own meeting and every now and then we throw in a Canadian or world whiskey. Every third meeting was devoted to Irish... Continue Reading →
The following statement might come across as shocking to some of you, but peated whiskey doesn't have to claw your very face off as you force it down your ravaged gullet. For the rest of you, it might also come off as shocking that there exists out there in the world people that prefer their... Continue Reading →
In my experience, nearly every liquor joint I sashay into displays all the available Irish whiskey bottles into a single, four to five foot wide section. A big store might have two of these sections at most. Because of this, it is easy for a schmuck like me to visualize the entirety of available options... Continue Reading →
We have introduced High West and their wares already when we reviewed the exceptional "Rendezvous Rye," so there is no real particular need to rehash their quaint ways, except to say that while they are technically a distillery, they are instead known for their artisan blends of sourced whiskies. They don't just take one whiskey... Continue Reading →
One of the precious few bourbons I have ignored thus far in my whiskey odyssey is Bulleit Bourbon. No offense to Tom Bulleit, "The Proprietor," but having known for some time that every bottle of Bulleit bourbon is distilled at Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY, I figured I would just drink Four Roses and... Continue Reading →
Gather round, my friends, and give unto me your ears, for I shall tell you about the time-honored art of "dusty hunting." Before we go any further let me say that this whisky hobby phenomenon is less about art and more about science. Allow me to define terms: dusty hunting is the pursuit of rare... Continue Reading →
I have cried only 3 times in my life. Dad's funeral, the day the music died, and the day I found out that Balvenie Single Barrel 15 was discontinued. I have a special love affair with a decent Scotch whisky with no sherry finishing. There is something pure about that kind of stripped down composition... Continue Reading →
You know what I like? Cocktails. And just between you and me, I sometimes enjoy a Vodka Cranberry. Yeah, you heard me right. But do you know what I don't like? Alchoholic Syncretism. If we are not talking about cocktails, generally speaking, this is expressed when you merge two standalone styles into a new creation.... Continue Reading →
