By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Nevada’s Frey Ranch checks off a number of categories one often finds in the craft sector, but rarely all in the same basket. Their standard bourbon is made with a four grain mash bill, while their rye whiskey is 100% rye. They have bonded and single barrel whiskeys; in the …
By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ When you’re Sazerac, thinking about creating a whole new line of mass market bourbons and casting about for ideas, Full Proof has got to be an easy one. The idea of “full proof” or “entry proof” bourbon is to cut the end product back to the same strength used when …
In a move more reminiscent of the Scotch trade than Kentucky bourbon, international drinks giant Diageo has introduced a 34 Year Old bourbon through its ownership of the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery and sent it straight to auction. Crafted from just four legacy barrels laid down in 1989 and matured for 34 years at the iconic …
Nevada’s Frey Ranch is a serious grain-to-glass, estate distillery, and now they have unveiled their new five grain mash bill in a single barrel bourbon. This the first-ever release from Frey Ranch that Colby Frey grows on his farm. With his farming acumen, Colby plants and harvest grains that are specifically destined to become whiskey, …
What the latest batch of Booker’s will be called has become one of those things enthusiasts make light humor of, since the legendary Beam Master Distiller Booker Noe seems to have an endless supply of personality quirks, colleagues, tales and life features to use in putting a title on each of the annual four batches. …
By Richard Thomas Jim Beam has the ninth chapter of Little Book in the pipeline. This series was launched in 2017 to raise the profile of heir apparent Freddie Noe, the son of Beam Master Distiller Fred Noe. The brand name refers back to their legendary predecessor Booker Noe, and as originally conceived Little Book drew …
Wild Turkey is poised to drop another batch of Russell’s Reserve 13 Year Old Bourbon, the middle aged expression of Russell-made, Wild Turkey bourbon has a new cask strength proof point for 2025. First introduced in June 2021 and historically batched at a barrel proof of 114.8, each release of the 13 Year Old is …
British-based drink giant Diageo, owner of the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in the Louisville, Kentucky suburb of Shively, has announced the release of Stitzel Reserve 24 Year Old Bourbon. The crafting of the new brand and expression was directed by Nicole Austin, better known as the Master Distiller of Cascade Hollow/George Dickel, also owned by Diageo. The …
By Kurt Maitland Rating: A Old Forester is a well known (one could safely say iconic) brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whisky produced by the Brown–Forman Corporation. It was the first bourbon sold exclusively in sealed bottles, first bottled and marketed in 1870 by the former pharmaceutical salesman turned bourbon-merchant prince, George Garvin Brown. The …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ It all started in 2010 with inserting some French Oak staves into existing barrels of maturing bourbon to create Maker’s 46, but since then Maker’s Mark has taken the stave insert concept to its limits. The Loretto distillery erected the world’s only bourbon-aging cellar to further the production process for …
