American whiskey has never been more exciting. While legacy names like Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey dominate shelves, many craft distilleries across the United States are carving out their own space in the whiskey world. In 2025, these small-batch producers are not just experimenting with flavor, they are helping redefine what American whiskey can be. …
By Richard Thomas The Bourbon Boom is over. Although just how bad the current whiskey sales slump is unclear to outsiders, the slump is very real. Attending this slump is the bursting of the investment bubble that led so many tech\finance bros to sink their excess cash into barrels of whiskey and warehousing ventures, while …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Nevada’s Frey Ranch checks off a number of categories one often finds in the craft sector, but rarely all in the same basket. Their standard bourbon is made with a four grain mash bill, while their rye whiskey is 100% rye. They have bonded and single barrel whiskeys; in the …
North Carolina’s Southern Distilling Company, has released its newest expression: Southern Star Bottled-In-Bond Straight Rye Whiskey. Crafted in a single distilling season, aged four years, and bottled at 100 proof. Distilled and bottled in-house in Statesville, North Carolina, the whiskey has a mash bill of 51% rye, 39% corn, and 10% malted barley and honors …
Jim Beam has announced a brand extension, adding a new mass market bourbon: Jim Beam Sunshine. The Sunshine Blend consists of 65% Jim Beam’s classic 4-year bourbon and 35% brown rice bourbon. The mash bill for the brown rice bourbon is 55% corn, 35% brown rice, and 10% malted barley. The brown rice mash bill …
Yellowstone Bourbon, the revived brand restarted by Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky, has announced the launch of Yellowstone Cocktails, a new offering of premium ready-to-serve cocktails. Made with award-winning Yellowstone Kentucky Straight Bourbon and all-natural ingredients, Yellowstone Cocktails caters to the increased demand of consumers looking for convenient, high-quality and spirits-based ready-to-serve options. Yellowstone …
By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ When you’re Sazerac, thinking about creating a whole new line of mass market bourbons and casting about for ideas, Full Proof has got to be an easy one. The idea of “full proof” or “entry proof” bourbon is to cut the end product back to the same strength used when …
Heaven Hill Distillery announced today the release of the 19th edition of the Parker’s Heritage Collection®, featuring a distinctive Kentucky Straight American Whiskey. This year’s bottling is a curious blend of three mash bills. Like previous editions, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to ALS research and patient care in memory of Parker …
The A. Smith Bowman Distillery, founded in what is now the suburbs of Northern Virginia and today operating near Fredericksburg, has announced the release of Abraham Bowman Oak Series: Hungarian Oak, the third and final experimental whiskey from its Abraham Bowman Oak Series. Designed to explore cask maturation in different oak varietals from around the …
By Douglas Fraser Rating: A- Nestled at the southern point of Loch Lomond is the Loch Lomond Distillery, known for producing its own line of Single Malt Whiskies as well as whiskies made for blending by other Scotch Whisky producers. The distillery prides itself on its unique distillation process, which crafts exceptional whiskies. The roots …
