By Richard Thomas Rating: C- Although the company was notionally started earlier, it’s been more than a decade since WhistlePig 10 Year Old Rye was first released. The product was very much a creation of opportunity and moment. Raj Bhakta, a former investment banker, Apprentice contestant and Congressional candidate, wanted to start a whiskey company. …
By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ Looking for something novel to ring in St. Patty’s 2023? Beyond my round-up of new Irish Whiskeys, I’m also taking a look at Lost Irish. This is a sourced brand created by Neil Sands and Tim Herlihy. Keen whiskey observers will probably recognize Herlihy’s name, because he was Tullamore DEW’s …
By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ New for St. Patrick’s Day 2023 is Natterjack Irish Whiskey. This new entry comes from Gortinore Distillers & Co., which is following a path familiar to most American enthusiasts: build a brand based on sourced whiskey while simultaneously building a distillery, starting operations and laying in stock for maturation. Gortinore …
By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: C In Fuji Distillery’s 50 year history, the whisky-maker has only employed two master blenders, with Jota Tanaka currently filling the position. Jota has the distinction of recently been admitted into the World Whisky Awards Hall of Fame for his contributions to helping the image and transparency of Japanese Whisky as …
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: 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 Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: C Released at the same time as Batch 44, this whiskey is distilled from Fritz barley, which was grown in Skagit Valley, WA. It was then aged a minimum of 36 months in charred, new American Oak barrels, with a small percentage of the finished product being aged exclusively in used …
By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: C+ Established in 2013, Copperworks was founded by 2 men, Jason Parker and Micah Nutt. Both possessing a background in craft brewing, they decided to try their hand at distilling once it became legal in Washington state. They chose to start with a craft beer wash instead of a normal distillers …
