By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Although we only do things whiskey at The Whiskey Reviewer, that bailiwick is widened somewhat by doing all things whiskey. That includes beer and wine aged in old whiskey barrels, such as Josh Cellars bourbon barrel aged cabernet sauvignon. For this expression, Josh takes their standard “cab sav” and gives …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B When you stop and think about the logistics, the double new oak treatment should not be as commonplace as it has become. Although secondary maturation offers a way to give a new twist to an already existing whiskey in stock, it usually relies upon used barrels to achieve that effect, …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ The providence for Bruichladdich’s Octomore 15.2 is (as follows the pattern for the Octomore series broadly) is similar to that of Octomore 15.1. It too is a distillate from a wash of 100% mainland Scotland-grown Concerto barley, which was also peated to 108.2 ppm. Where it diverges is in the …
Updated September 20, 2024 By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ The single barrel whiskey concept, in America at least, began with the introduction of Blanton’s in 1984 by the legendary Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee. Back then, however, that Frankfort, Kentucky distillery was known as the George T. Stagg Distillery. It wouldn’t be renamed Buffalo Trace …
By Randall H. Borkus Rating: B+ Liberty Pole Spirits is a family-owned and -operated craft distillery started in 2016 by Jim, Ellen, Rob and Kevin Hough. The Houghs are longtime residents of Washington County, Pennsylvania. They caught the distilling bug in the early 2000’s when Jim bought a 10-gallon still and learned the ropes of …
By David Levine Rating: B+ It’s hard to believe that Stauning Danish Whisky is almost 20 years old. Founded in 2005 by a group of nine friends, it came online at roughly the same time as the first wave of the new craft movement in the US. In many ways, Stauning represents the entire Nordic/Scandinavian …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ In June, Uncle Nearest co-founder Fawn Weaver launched her long awaited book about the slave who taught a teenaged Jack Daniel’s how to make whiskey, and whose descendants have worked at making Jack Daniel’s whiskey ever since: Nathan Green. That book, Love and Whiskey, instantly became a best-seller. Uncle Nearest …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Although Whiskey del Bac (aka Hamilton Distillers, although they don’t seem to use that name so much anymore) has had their Arizona-style American malt whiskey on the market for almost a decade now, they only just released their first bottled in bond this year. My guess is that this was …
By David Levine Rating: B Mizunara – just the word makes whisky lovers’ ears perk up and their wallets empty. This Japanese oak species is native to Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, belying its scientific name of Quercus mongolica (though some sources label it as crispula, a variant of mongolica). An average new, 53 gallon American …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Hybrids remain one of the great sleeper categories in American Whiskey. Defined as a blend of two or more major types of whiskey, the granddaddy was Wild Turkey Forgiven. That defunct expression is now more than a decade in the past, predating Eddie Russell succeeding his father as Master Distiller …
