By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Following their branding and custom, California’s Redwood Empire named their blend of whiskeys after a very old, very tall redwood tree. The tallest coastal redwood, Lost Monarch the tree is 157 feet high and found in Jedediah Smith State Park. Lost Monarch the whiskey is a blend of (presumably MGP-sourced) …
By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ The backstory behind Baltimore’s Old Line Spirits is a classic of modern craft whiskey. Founders Arch Watkins and Mark McLaughlin set out in 2015 to make bourbon and rye. In the early stages of that project, they were approached by a small American malt distiller in Washington State, who offered …
By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: B Since their founding in 2015, Still Austin has strived to capture what life in Austin, Texas is like with each release of their whiskeys. With their base known as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” Still Austin captured the spirit of their music world in their first release and …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ This one is a solid example of why the proliferation of one-off xperiments and single shot limited editions in today’s whiskey trade demand some real skill in naming. “Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series Finished In High Toasted Maple Barrel Rye Whiskey” — what a mouthful! Paring that down by just a …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B When it comes to California’s Redwood Empire, I’m most familiar with their in-house, bonded whiskeys. Before that, however, both I and past contributor Padre John took a crack at their American Whiskey. That expression followed the model of blending stocks of sourced, mature or old whiskey with youthful, in-house make. …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Picadilly Distillers traces its roots to a liquor distribution company started in 1953 in pre-Independence Punjab. From there, they expanded into the restaurant and bar trade, and operated what was the only bar in Chandigarh for three and a half decades. In the 1990s, the company acquired a sugar mill …
By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: C+ Cracking the top 10 list of best selling blended Scotches last year, Chivas Regal is likely one brand that most whisky drinkers have reliably heard of. The Chivas brand starts around 1857, but stretches back even further to 1801, when the grocery store the bothers would come to acquire, was …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B The Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series, formerly known as the Tennessee Taster’s, has become quite a deep-run thing. Only in the last several days, the tenth installment in the series was announced. With that in mind, I’m looking back on the ninth release, a rye whiskey finished in highly toasted oak …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- West Virginia’s Smooth Ambler still has a lingering reputation for its sourced whiskeys, but those are steadily receding into the horizon as the distillery moves forward with its in-house spirits. Drinkers initially became familiar with their wheated bourbon, but the distillery also laid down some bourbon made with the traditional …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Balcones made it’s reputation with their very first whiskey, Baby Blue. This was partly because although they weren’t the first operational whiskey distillery in Texas (that was Garrison Brothers), they were the first one to release a product. The other reason is their innovative approach in making that product; Baby …
