By Richard Thomas Rating: B Like so many other well-established small whiskey companies, West Virginia’s Smooth Ambler is in the midst of transitioning from being a bottler of sourced whiskeys to a fully independent distillery. Their current line-up reflects this, with a foot in all three types of products such a company might produce. Old …
Barrell Bourbon Batch 033 Rating: B Barrell Craft Spirits, based in Louisville, Kentucky, is an independent blender of sourced whiskey and rum. They have earned recognition as whiskey design experts, that continue to produce cask strength spirits. According to their founder Joe Beatrice, “Barrell Craft Spirits was awarded Best Bourbon twice at the San Francisco …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Introducing a distillery to The Whiskey Reviewer readership is a rarity these days, so it’s refreshing to take on task for Royal Brackla. The distillery was started in 1812 by an ex-soldier, Captain William Fraser, on the estate of the Earl of Cawdor. Despite frequently clashing with local tax officials …
By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: B Mortlach is most likely not a household name to the average whiskey (or “whisky”) drinker, yet many have probably tasted at least some of what this distillery has to offer. That is because the distillery is known for it’s use in blends, particularly Johnnie Walker. It’s also known for it’s …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Started last year, the Wyoming Whiskey National Parks series embodies the distillery’s partnership with the National Parks Foundation, the official charity of the National Parks Service. Given that they are situated out in Big Sky Country, it’s only fitting that the first two installments in the series are named for …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ This morning I received word that the second 2022 batch of Booker’s was on it’s way, so it is a good thing I was already intending to write this review of the year’s first batch! This one is called “Ronnie’s Batch,” for a 40 year veteran of Jim Beam who …
By Douglas Fraser Rating: A- Barrell Craft Spirits is an independent blender and bottler of whiskeys and other spirits, based in Louisville, KY. So far, they have created 32 unique batches of their signature bourbon, all bottled at cask strength. Each release is its own different expression, as they are drawn from different distilleries, and …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Five years ago, we reviewed a Port-finished single barrel bourbon from Rochester’s Black Button Distilling. That is still listed as the staple single barrel expression from Black Button, but it has since been joined by a cask strength version finished in Apple Brandy casks instead of the Port casks. The …
By Richard Thomas Rating: A- Hybrid whiskeys were quite the thing several years ago. This category includes any blend made from two or more distinct types of whiskey, with the first major example in the United States probably being the reportedly accidental creation of Wild Turkey Forgiven, a bourbon-rye hybrid. Virginia Distilling Company’s initial line …
By Richard Thomas Rating: A- These last few years have seen Colorado-based Laws Whiskey House build on the age of their bonded whiskeys, year by year. I have enjoyed watching the progression and the results of this so much that I am thinking I need to time a 2023 visit to the Centennial State to …
