I recently uncovered a “transparency” page on Uncle Nearest’s website, but what I found only deepened my suspicions about their marketing practices. For a brand that touts honesty, their actions seem to tell a different story.I have long felt Uncle Nearest has been deliberately vague about their product’s true nature. They oscillate between labeling themselves … Continue reading “Uncle Nearest Transparency?”
Taters in the 1st market: The moment a product drops, they scramble to buy it and flip it on the secondary market, hoping to make a whopping $25 to $50 per bottle after shipping. Big dreams, right? Taters in the 2nd market: They think they can pull off the same stunt, only to realize no … Continue reading “Tater Mentality on New Releases”
Time for another drinking for science post. This time it’s a blind tasting conducted with members in the Houston Bourbon Society, HBS, with 15 tasters of 16 high proof American whiskies. While I previously led 5 blind tastings in this group, this time I was a participant. Kevin Wyze organized this blind tasting and ran … Continue reading “Some like it Hot, a HBS Elite tasting”
This is a guest post written by a local bourbon enthusiast friend Kevin Wyss. It also draws on some earlier research done by Mike Jasinski. (If you’re just here for the results and not a history and science lesson, scroll to the bottom) The allure of “dusty” bourbon is seemingly universal in the current whiskey … Continue reading “Lead in Dusty Decanters? A study.”
Today’s post is a drinking for science twofer. First, I’ve added to my testing projects on “Do spirits change in the bottle once opened?”, but this time with rum. Second, is a blind tasting of modern era Wild Turkey with bottles from 2010, 2015 and 2020. I’ve tackled the question of “Does bourbon change once … Continue reading “Drinking for Science Twofer”
During this ongoing bourbon boom, somehow retail prices of $80 to $200 per bottle of bourbon became normalized. The masses that jumped into Bourbon over the past 3 to 4 years have bought into the fallacy that price equates to quality or rarity. This is a result of masterful manipulation by spirits companies. The chairman … Continue reading “How to stop FOMO and enjoy bourbon again”
George Dickel, which is owned by Diageo, recently cleared a new label for George Dickel and for the first time called the product Bourbon instead of TN Whisky. Both Jack Daniels and George Dickel have always met the legal requirements to be called Bourbon although they elected to designate themselves as TN Whisk(e)y. Nothing about … Continue reading “George Dickel is Bourbon”
In my local bourbon group, Houston Bourbon Society, I have run 5 group blind tastings. Each time it has included between 18 to 21 whiskies with 15 tasters. Why 15? Because a 750ml bottle breaks down neatly into 15 samples of 50ml each. Each taster paid the actual cost for the samples. Most of the … Continue reading “5 Blind Whiskey Tastings Results”
Brown Sugar Bourbon? We all know that Bourbon by code can’t have any coloring or flavorings, so how does this grotesque whiskey exist? The answer is ‘Brown Sugar Bourbon’ is not Bourbon but a Whiskey Specialty; it’s listed in this product’s COLA application as a fanciful name. When a spirit type does not fall under … Continue reading “Fanciful Name Fallacy”
I stumbled upon a word document that I saved from a 2012 road trip report to KY. My have times changed. Kentucky Bourbon Trip Last week, Randy Blank & I left Houston on Tuesday morning for our road trip to KY. We stopped Tuesday night in Memphis and we ate some above average BBQ at … Continue reading “KY Bourbon trip circa 2012”
