Updated June 23, 2024 By Richard Thomas Rating: B Whenever I am asked about how to organize a trip on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, my first question is always “Where are you staying, Lexington or Louisville?” This is because these two cities, the largest in Kentucky, either embrace or sit on either side of most …
By Richard Thomas Rating: A Once one gets past their regular release line-up and into its limited expressions, Michter’s Distillery is not in the habit of doing annual batches. As I will discuss in detail in two weeks with a feature rounding-up the best of Michter’s Barrel Proof Rye, these things could come out the …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Continuing with the recent practice of using the Basil Hayden brand to produce many, many iterations of Beam-made whiskeys, the latest such twist has yielded Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke. The journey that led the brand, which started out as a light, dry and 8 year old, 80 proof version of …
By Randall H. Borkus Rating: A- After a 2022 hiatus that surprised everyone, Michter’s returned its 10-year-old single barrel bourbon last year in imposing style with one of the best 10-year-old bourbon whiskeys that they have ever offered, and arguably the best since 2010. Michter’s 10 Years Old Single Barrel Straight Bourbon is always aged …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ When Shane Baker and Pat Heist set out to get into the business of making whiskey (as the owners of Ferm Solutions consultantcy, they already had a foothold in the whiskey business generally), they had two wants. Both men are self-confessed whiskey nerds at a time when whiskey nerds in …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ The 13th installment of Old Fitz Bonded is now out, and this time it’s a mature, but relatively young bourbon. The current offering of Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald brand is a bottled in bond version of its wheated bourbon, but always far older than minimum four years required by the …
By Richard Thomas Rating: A- Japan has its own idiosyncratic varietals of oak used by their whisky industry. Mizunara has become familiar with erudite enthusiasts, as the wood’s characteristic sandalwood notes have found a fan following and it sees more use outside of Japan. The odd thing is that even among those of us who …
By Richard Thomas Rating: A- One of the things to come out of the Japanese whisky explosion a decade ago was the introduction of many whisky enthusiasts to Japan’s Mizunara oak. Whiskies finished in this wood have been appearing in a steady trickle ever since, often as limited editions. Mizunara is a scarce wood (the …
By Randall H. Borkus Rating: B+ On my recent visit to Leiper’s Fork Distillery, I had the good fortune to meet Sir Paul Bisset, Director of Tour Guides and Brand Ambassador, and pick up a bottle of their 7-year-old Bottled-in-Bond Rye Whiskey. Paul Bisset was gracious host, as well as an entertaining guy that had us …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Waterford Distillery’s Singe Farm Origin series of single malt whiskeys solves a particular problem facing any new whiskey distillery, but especially one in Ireland and Scotland: how to get spirits on the market without waiting several years or even more than a decade. The distillery began when Mark Reynier, the …
