Infectious Charm. Devastating Wit. Below Average Looks.
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 →
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 →
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 →
Wild Turkey's Russell's Reserve has a special place in SWC's heart, as both the Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Rye versions offer a decent pour for a decent price. Say no more. Well, I will say a bit more. I should really stop using that line. Today's selection is a new expression in Big Russ's signature... Continue Reading →
Stagg Jr. was a joy to see launched. Anytime an uncut, unfiltered, barrel proof bourbon aged nearly a decade by Buffalo Trace goes to market, any bourbon fan should be grateful. But of course, when you appropriate the mighty, beloved brand name of George T. Stagg and attach “Jr,” as sure as God made green... Continue Reading →
Baker’s 7 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon is a whiskey that took me years to figure out. Liking a dram your first time seems almost too easy, too…lazy, maybe? The idea that multiple tastings with patience and contemplation, which are eventually rewarded with enlightenment, is much more fun. Some whiskies just take time to get,... Continue Reading →
Some time ago another club member and I were prepping work on a “Best Bourbons under $20” project that would surely sweep the interwebs by storm and propel us into the stratosphere of whiskey blogging. While I am sterling certain that our popularity will be irresistible, the project probably stays in the hopper for the... Continue Reading →
While the Knob Creek brand under Beam started in 1992 as part of the Small Batch Collection, the timeline of the brand can actually be traced back to the 30’s. The significance of the name can be loosely attributed to Abraham Lincoln having lived near an actual “Knob Creek,” and his father working seasonally at... Continue Reading →
To say that Woodinville’s newest bourbon is great for Washington state's whiskey industry merely starts the conversation. In this author’s opinion, Woodinville Straight Bourbon is a major step forward for the entire American craft whiskey industry, if I may be so bold. I should also stress that this opinion is not expressed flippantly or out... Continue Reading →
Not that it has ever stopped me in the past, but to use a tired yet accurate phrase, “success story” seems to be a nice tight fit for the Four Roses brand. Its history, however, is a rather strange one when you start at the beginning. The distillery was founded in 1888, and eventually the Four... Continue Reading →
Batch Variation. You see this cryptic phrase all over the whisky blogosphere. It is generally used to point out apparent differences from one batch to the next in whiskey production. Of course, whiskey is produced in batches, some small, some enormous, and for NDP’s, they have the perhaps the least amount of control from batch to... Continue Reading →
While we rage, rage against the dying of authenticity, or, the common business practice of companies purchasing already aged whiskey, bottling it under their label, and sometimes lying about it, you can’t fault a business group for being upfront about it. At least I don’t. Not too much, anyway. There is a perceived gap in... Continue Reading →
**This review was conducted by Ian Fallon, a founding member of SWC, and does not reflect the opinions of the entire club** Angel's Envy is a bourbon I have been wanting to experience for a while now. It's about time, pretty much every other blog on the planet wrote their review years ago. And what's... Continue Reading →
I suspect our frequent caterwauling on paying more for less and why that is, you know, bad, is falling on deaf ears. And maybe that’s okay. The whiskey category, especially American whiskey, is growing mainly because people are willing to shell out obscene amounts of money for whiskey that was cheaper five years ago, and... Continue Reading →
A good whiskey connoisseur is able to relate his/her hobby to most people. And this skill has little to do with writing a well phrased review, but rather it has more to do with telling good stories about a special pour you had in the past or sharing some unique memory closely associated with a... Continue Reading →
Kentucky’s weather has a particularly unrelenting way about it when it comes to aging distillate. With the temperature extremes in that searing, hot, humid, hell like state, a multi story rackhouse does not need much time to perfect a fine bourbon. When temperature goes up, whiskey expands, forcing itself in the oak to those wonderful... Continue Reading →
Bill Samuels Jr., president of Maker’s Mark, suddenly realizing that his distillery has only ever produced one product since the fifties, laughed uncontrollably that they managed to get away with it for so long. When finished, he called in his Master Distiller to his vast office and declared that they must make something new for... Continue Reading →
Bourbon brands do a great job, probably the best job, at tracing their lineage all the way back to the farmer-distillers of the late 18th/early 19th century. Way back then, farmers preferred to distill the grain they harvested and sell it for profit rather than travel the many miles to market hauling a few hundred... Continue Reading →
