By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ The full name for this bottle is 15 Stars Fine Aged Rye Founder’s Reserve, but most 15 Stars concoctions come with a tile of “Fine Aged” something. Another rye from 15 Stars is called First West. To simplify description and avoid confusion, I’ve dropped that part and zeroed in on …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B The most approachable of the latest Lock, Stock and Barrel releases (I wrote up their 21 year old rye earlier this month) is their new Vatted Rye. Frankly, I adore the name. It is borrowed from the now outmoded Scotch whisky terminology of referring to a blend of malt whiskies …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- When I first wrote about the latest bourbon brand to come to Kentucky, Avalon Spirits’ Whiskey Row, I made a brief, opening observation: given the lead time that goes into starting a venture like a whiskey brand, one rarely gets to choose the circumstances under which one gets started. For …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- When Sazerac chose to build up the Benchmark line, it really put its back in and did it in one big push, releasing a five-expression brand extension all at once in 2020. Benchmark Bonded was part of that major expansion. The Benchmarks are all Buffalo Trace bourbon mash bill #1 …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ It all started in 2010 with inserting some French Oak staves into existing barrels of maturing bourbon to create Maker’s 46, but since then Maker’s Mark has taken the stave insert concept to its limits. The Loretto distillery erected the world’s only bourbon-aging cellar to further the production process for …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B At this juncture, I think its necessary to underline the expansion of the Old Fitzgerald brand. When Heaven Hill reintroduced the brand to enthusiasts several years ago, it was revamped as a bi-annual, bottled in bond expression of their wheated bourbon stock. Moreover, Old Fitz Bonded routinely clocked in at …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B The final member of Kanosuke’s current trio of whiskies is their Hioki Pot Still Whisky. The Hioki distillery was previously covered in our review of Kanosuke Double Distillery Whisky. Hioki used primarily to make shochu, a Japanese spirit that is similar to vodka in that it can be made with …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Next Century Spirits was founded by Scott Bolin and Joel Pawlak, and the company opened their distillery in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2018. Their website makes it clear that they have positioned themselves as a contract distiller, but the company also has its in-house brands relying on a mix of …
By Douglas Fraser Rating: B+ Old Elk Distillery, located in Fort Collins, Colorado, has been adding some interesting blends to its lineup of bourbon. Old Elk Slow Cut is the latest release from the distillery, highlighting their lengthy proofing technique. Old Elk has a longer proofing process than most bourbon distilleries, a step undertaken to …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Six years ago, Old Forester introduced its first rye whiskey. Keeping that in mind, it is about the time the company should do something to build further on its rye. The brand was introduced at 100 proof, so it was already in tandem with Old Forester Signature (the 100 proof …
