By Richard Thomas Rating: B Yellowstone Bourbon was revived at the Lebanon, Kentucky’s Limestone Branch Distillery, which is now part of the MGP drinks empire, First Luxco acquired the Yellowstone brand, then they bought half of Limestone Branch and gave Yellowstone to them, and then MGP buying Luxco in turn. In August, Limestone/Luxco/MGP announced they …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Sazerac Rye is the entry level rye whiskey from Buffalo Trace, named for the parent company and cocktail whose histories are so intertwined. Introduced in 2000, the rye stock behind it is the core rye whiskey for Buffalo Trace exceptions, but not the only one. Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- The Benchmark line was seemingly remade to check-mark all the boxes for how one can take the same basic stock of bourbon and bottle it, so naturally there is a single barrel version. The line starts with Benchmark Old No. 8, goes all the way to this single barrel expression, …
Updated July 26, 2025 By Debbie Shocair Average Rating: B Given what I do, most whiskey fans presume I am opposed to flavored whiskey. On the contrary, I appreciate the flavored stuff as “gateway whiskey,” bringing into the fold those who still harbor reservations. Founded by the late and esteemed Robert Cooper, Cooper Spirits has …
Updated July 26, 2025 By Debbie Shocair Average Rating: B Given what I do, most whiskey fans presume I am opposed to flavored whiskey. On the contrary, I appreciate the flavored stuff as “gateway whiskey,” bringing into the fold those who still harbor reservations. Founded by the late and esteemed Robert Cooper, Cooper Spirits has …
By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ For longer than The Whiskey Reviewer has been in existence, whiskey nerds have scoffed at the term “small batch.” If anyone was complaining about it in the actual small batch era of the 1990s, I was happy enough to not meet them; in those days, the bourbon fans I knew were …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- The twist for this particular installment of Benchmark Bourbon, a Buffalo Trace whiskey made from the #1 bourbon mash bill and intended as a mass market, bargain shelf product, it draws from barrels aged on the top floors of their rickhouses. In describing Benchmark Top Floor Bourbon, Buffalo Trace Distillery …
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- When I sampled Gentleman Jack and took my notes some days ago with an eye on making it my last review work of 2024, I did so expecting to revise and update a review from more than ten years ago. I took it completely for granted that either I or …
By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ Whiskey barrel aged wines are now very much a thing, so much like beer, the absence of a whiskey barrel aged wine poses the question of why they have not delved into the practice. You know a thing is a fixture when its not being there is sometimes more interesting, …
