Michael R. Veach - BourbonSphere

From My Archive – 1936 Cocktails

I was filing my backlog of papers and I found an interesting article from a 1936 Spirits magazine on the popularity of cocktails served in hotel bars. The Manhattan cocktail replaced the Martini as America’s most popular cocktail in that… Continue Re…

Mike And Matt Taste Dueling Grounds Distillery Whiskeys

I recently visited the Dueling Grounds Distillery in Franklin, Kentucky and brought back three bottles of their products to taste with Matt. Matt had never done a tasting that included a new make spirit, and two other aged Bourbons before,… Continue …

Paducah, Kentucky – Restoring Its Bourbon Heritage

Before Prohibition, Paducah, Kentucky was an important Bourbon town. Isaac Wolfe Bernheim and his brother Bernard started their business in Paducah. Dreyfuss and Weil had a distillery in Paducah. Early Times was being distributed by Friedman, Keller &#…

Green River Distillery

The Green River Distillery considers itself the “Western Gateway to Bourbon Country”. They have some legitimate reasons for saying this: They are the first large distillery to visit when traveling from the west by car and with air travel being… Conti…

Mike And Matt Taste Chocorua Rye Whiskey

Chocorua Rye Whiskey is made at Tamworth Distilling in Tamworth, New Hampshire. The distillery has a 250 gallon, copper still, made at Vendome. They use 100% organic rye, grown in Maine and they use water from the Ossipee Stratified Aquifer… Continue…

The Golden Age Of American Whiskey

I am often asked as to when I think was the “Golden Age” for American whiskey. My general thought is that there is no such thing as a “Golden Age”. Every era has made both excellent whiskeys, as well as… Continue Reading →

Whiskey Of The Month August 2022: Wilderness Trail 8-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon

Matt Kohorst picked the “Whiskey of the Month” for this month. I support his decision. He picked an excellent whiskey. Matt has a fondness for Wilderness Trail whiskey that dates back to the first time he tasted their rye whiskey…. Continue Rea…

Mike And Matt Taste Daviess County Bourbon Finished In French Oak

This whiskey is produced by the Lux Row Distillery. It is a marriage of wheat recipe Bourbon with a traditional Bourbon, then finished in a French oak barrel. I saw this bottle at Westport Whiskey & Wine and it sounded… Continue Reading &#8…

Prohibition Speakeasies

There is a romanticized image of Prohibition era speakeasies in the modern world. There are many bars that call themselves “speakeasies” in most every major city in the United States and even overseas, where speakeasies were not found in the… Continu…

Mike And Matt Taste Southern Star Paragon Bourbon

The Southern Star Distillery is located in Statesville, North Carolina. In November of 2019, I visited the distillery with Ken Bernardo. The owners, Pete and Vienna Barger, gave us a personal tour and tasting. I had a chance to taste… Continue Readin…