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Experiments in Whisky (Episode 1001: April 23, 2023)

Dr. Bill Lumsden has been experimenting at both Ardbeg and Glenmorangie distilleries. His latest Ardbeg release, Heavy Vapours, involved taking part of the distilling system out of the picture just because he wanted to see what would happen if he did. At Glenmorangie, he has a whole year’s worth of projects for his experimental Lighthouse distillery. We’ll catch up with whisky’s mad scientist on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Scotland’s controversial alcohol marketing restrictions have been sent back to the drawing board, while the equally controversial deposit return scheme for bottles has been pushed back to next March. Read More »

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Distillers Left Out of UK Energy Relief Program

February 17, 2023 – Wine, cider, and beer qualify for relief under the UK Government’s new energy relief program, but whisky distillers have been left out, despite the fact that distilleries use more energy than their competitors in the drinks industry. The government’s Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme is designed to provide financial support for industries hit hard by the rise in electricity and natural gas prices, with eligible companies receiving a discount based on the difference between wholesale prices and a set price threshold. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, 53 percent of distillers have seen their energy Read More »

February 17, 2023 – Wine, cider, and beer qualify for relief under the UK Government’s new energy relief program, but whisky distillers have been left out, despite the fact that distilleries use more energy than their competitors in the drinks industry. The government’s Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme is designed to provide financial support for industries hit hard by the rise in electricity and natural gas prices, with eligible companies receiving a discount based on the difference between wholesale prices and a set price threshold.

According to the Scotch Whisky Association, 53 percent of distillers have seen their energy costs increase in the past year, while 72 percent expect those costs to rise this year. Chief executive Mark Kent said in a statement that distillers have been left out in the cold at a time when the government is considering lifting the current freeze on excise duties in next month’s budget address. Most distilleries rely on natural gas to fuel their boilers and heat their stills, with others relying on fuel oil.

“Scotch Whisky has consistently delivered for the UK economy when given stability and certainty through duty freezes, enabling the industry to reinvest in the economy. Our message to the Chancellor is clear – increasing duty would be the wrong decision and the wrong time. By freezing duty the government can support Scotch and avoid unnecessarily fuelling inflation at a time when there are already significant pressures on businesses and households, and consumers,” Kent said.

Most of the industries eligible for the scheme are manufacturing-based, but the list also included wineries as well as brewers and cider makers. Those industries were selected based on a combination of their energy usage and trade intensity. More details on the program are to be published next month.

Jefferson’s Bourbon To Get New Facility In Kentucky

Jefferson’s Bourbon will be the recipient of a brand spanking new $250 million ‘state-of-the-art’ carbon neutral distillery to be located in Marion County, Kentucky. The new facility comes courtesy of new owner, France-based spirits giant, Pernod Ricard, which purchased Castle Brands [the parent company of Jefferson’s Bourbon] in 2019. Jefferson’s Bourbon will be a part […]

Jefferson’s Bourbon will be the recipient of a brand spanking new $250 million ‘state-of-the-art’ carbon neutral distillery to be located in Marion County, Kentucky.

The new facility comes courtesy of new owner, France-based spirits giant, Pernod Ricard, which purchased Castle Brands [the parent company of Jefferson’s Bourbon] in 2019.

Jefferson’s Bourbon will be a part of the new company Pernod Ricard has created called The American Whiskey Collective and that Jefferson’s Bourbon would continue to partner with local farmers and suppliers to source local ingredients and casks.

Uncle Nearest Introduces Trio Of Whiskies

Nearest Green Distillery has released a trio of whiskies to add to their popular Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey portfolio – Uncle Nearest Straight Rye, Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Black Label Whiskey, and Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Rye. Uncle Nearest Straight Rye is bottled at 50% alcohol by volume [100 proof] and is said to contain […]

Uncle Nearest Straight Rye is bottled at 50% alcohol by volume [100 proof] and is said to contain notes of caramelized sugar, rye and vanilla.

Nearest Green sourced their Uncle Nearest Straight Rye from Canada, aged it in New York for four years before transferring it to Tennessee to rest and finish in its used barrels.

Uncle Nearest Straight Rye Whiskey is being made available for $60 per bottle online and at Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Black Label will be made available on November 25, 2022, for $80 per bottle, joined by Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Rye on December 15, 2022, for $90 per bottle.

The Reserve By Old Elk (Video)

The Reserve By Od Elk Distillery is Old Elk’s boutique cocktail bar in downtown Fort Collins. It’s a great place to sample Old Elk whiskeys, as well as enjoy cocktails and food. Check out our short video and also our full review to learn more!

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The Reserve By Old Elk Distillery is Old Elk Distillery’s Boutique Cocktail Bar in Old Town Fort Collins

We hope you enjoy our short The Reserve By Old Elk Video! Then, check out our full The Reserve By Old Elk Distillery Review & Tour.

What happens when you put together the Founder and Developer of OtterBox and the long time master distiller at MGP? Well, you get Old Elk Distillery, of course! Old Elk is based in Fort Collins, CO. But don’t go trying to find the distillery – you can’t – it’s not on the map! However, you can find The Reserve By Old Elk, their boutique cocktail bar, right there in downtown Fort Collins! It’s a great place to visit if you are looking to sample some of Old Elk’s whiskeys. In addition, they have great food and cocktails, too!

Old Elk Distillery uses a unique “Slow Cut Proofing” process in making their whiskeys. After aging, the whiskey, be it bourbon, rye or wheat whiskey, comes out of the barrel at, well, barrel proof. That is pure undiluted whiskey. However, to get to bottling proof, fresh Colorado mountain water is added. Instead of adding the water over a short period of time, the folks at Old Elk Distillery take their time. Lots of time. Weeks, in fact. The idea is that the slow proofing process will preserve more of the bourbon’s flavor.

At The Reserve By Old Elk Distillery there is the opportunity to try all of Old Elk’s offerings, include their bourbons and other whiskeys, the Whiskeysmith line of flavored whiskeys and Dry Town vodka and gin. We did our best to try all of those things, as you can see in the video!

Check out our short The Reserve By Old Elk video from the @Bourbon_Obsessed Instagram page by clicking below! Don’t forget to give us a follow!

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The Reserve By Old Elk Video – A post shared by Ed (@bourbon_obsessed)

We hope you enjoyed our short The Reserve By Old Elk Video. Next, check out our full write up in our The Reserve By Old Elk Review & Tour! If you would like to learn about some of their whiskeys, then check out our Old Elk Wheated Bourbon Review and Old Elk Blended Straight Bourbon Review! Cheers!

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!

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Boone County Distilling Co Review

The post Boone County Distilling Co Review appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .

Boone County Distilling Co

Boone County Distilling Co has a unique niche in the continuously expanding Kentucky bourbon market; its products are “Made By Ghosts.” This ominous sounding tag line in reality is the company’s homage to those now little known nineteenth century characters in Boone County, Kentucky, who forged an enormous distilling pathway. So much so, that by the later part of the century, the distillery was the largest producer of whiskey in the entire state. The 21st century Boone County Distilling Co was resurrected in 2015 and although its location is not the same as the original, Boone County remains home to Boone County Distilling. The distillery’s current location can be found in northern Kentucky, just inside of the Boone County line in the small town of Independence about a mile east of I-75.

Boone County Distilling Co Whiskeys

Boone County Distilling produces an ever expanding line of spirits, but I’ll focus on the whiskey. Their original bourbon was sourced from MGP, which is just a few short miles away, as the crow flies. It was released as 10-12 year old small batches and 12-13 year old barrel strength single barrels, if memory serves me. Unfortunately, the one pictured is the only one of those single barrels that I have left. They were fantastic! There have been occasional releases of this older bourbon since, but the “Eighteen 33” line of bourbons is essentially extinct.

The current Boone County line up is also largely sourced from MGP and now includes the Small Batch Bourbon, which I believe is a blend of older and younger bourbons; a single barrel wheated bourbon, which is 6-8 years old, and a rye which comes in small batch and cask strength single barrel varieties. There is also an Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished Bourbon, which has been released as first through third fill batches over the past 3 years. In Fall 2021 they released their 5 year old Boone County Pot Still Bourbon which was distilled in house!

We toured the distillery back in mid 2020, and we stop by occasionally to see what’s been happening. Check out our full Boone County Distilling Company Tour Review and our Boone County Pot Still Bourbon Review to learn more! Cheers!

Check out our review of the Boone County Single Barrel Wheated Bourbon!

Originally published December 20, 2020. Post updated May 16, 2022.

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Thieves Strike Glenfarclas Visitors Centre

May 15, 2022 – Police Scotland is investigating an overnight break-in at the Glenfarclas Distillery visitors centre. According to the distillery, the burglars smashed display cases and stole a bottle of 60-year-old single malt along with a number of Family Casks releases valued at more than £100,000. In an Instagram post, the distillery asked anyone who may be offered these bottles in a private sale to contact them. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Glenfarclas Distillery (@glenfarclasdistillery) Police have not disclosed whether any cameras were operating at the distillery that might have captured images of the Read More »

May 15, 2022 – Police Scotland is investigating an overnight break-in at the Glenfarclas Distillery visitors centre. According to the distillery, the burglars smashed display cases and stole a bottle of 60-year-old single malt along with a number of Family Casks releases valued at more than £100,000.

In an Instagram post, the distillery asked anyone who may be offered these bottles in a private sale to contact them.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Glenfarclas Distillery (@glenfarclasdistillery)

Police have not disclosed whether any cameras were operating at the distillery that might have captured images of the break-in.

This story will be updated with more information as available.

Links: Glenfarclas

Cotswolds Delivers Rum Cask-Matured Whisky

UK-based Cotswolds Distillery has released a limited edition single malt whisky matured in rum-seasoned ex-red wine casks as part of their Hearts & Crafts series. Cotswolds Distillery’s Rum Cask Single Malt Whisky has been aged in rejuvenated French oak ex-red wine casks seasoned with Caribbean rum, bottled at 55.6% alcohol by volume [111.2 proof] and […]

UK-based Cotswolds Distillery has released a limited edition single malt whisky matured in rum-seasoned ex-red wine casks as part of their Hearts & Crafts series.

Cotswolds Distillery’s Rum Cask Single Malt Whisky has been aged in rejuvenated French oak ex-red wine casks seasoned with Caribbean rum, bottled at 55.6% alcohol by volume [111.2 proof] and is said to contain notes of apple, brown sugar, orange peel, pears and vanilla.

Cotswolds Distillery’s Rum Cask Single Malt Whisky is being made available $95 per 700ml bottle from Cotswolds Distillery.

Happy Hour Live with Lance Winters and Dave Smith of St. George Spirits (Episode 928: February 23, 2022)

St. George Spirits in Alameda, California is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and is one of the pioneers of the U.S. craft distilling movement. In addition, it was one of the first distilleries to make an American single malt whiskey 20 years ago this year – a whiskey that came out of a job interview. We got the story behind that job interview from Master Distiller Lance Winters and Head Distiller/Blender Dave Smith on the latest #HappyHourLive webcast the other night. You can watch our live shows each Friday night on the WhiskyCast YouTube channel, our Facebook page, Twitter, Read More »

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Links: St. George Spirits

John Crabbie Reveals Chain Pier Single Malt

Halewood Artisanal Spirits-owned, Edinburgh-based John Crabbie & Co has released their limited edition Chain Pier single malt – the first to be released from their Chain Pier Distillery. John Crabbie Chain Pier Single Malt was matured in heavily charred virgin American oak casks, bottled at 57% alcohol by volume [114 proof] and is said to […]

Halewood Artisanal Spirits-owned, Edinburgh-based John Crabbie & Co has released their limited edition Chain Pier single malt – the first to be released from their Chain Pier Distillery.

John Crabbie Chain Pier Single Malt was matured in heavily charred virgin American oak casks, bottled at 57% alcohol by volume [114 proof] and is said to contain notes of berries, caramel ginger and green apples.

Only 234 bottles of John Crabbie Chain Pier Single Malt are being made available for $90 per bottle.