By Richard Thomas The club of diehard fans for Lawrenceburg’s Four Roses Distillery may be smaller than, say, Buffalo Trace, but a good argument can be made their fandom is more devoted and authentic. Four Roses gives its devotees much to latch onto, such as the brand’s almost romantic restoration story: two decades ago, it …
Highland Park, one of two distilleries on Scotland’s northerliest islands of the Orkneys, has come out with its oldest single malt to date: 56 years old. Highland Park 56 was created from a never-before-tasted cask, making it not just ultra-aged but also a single cask. Only 170 bottles of Highland Park 56 have been created …
Updated January 19, 2025 By Richard Thomas Average Rating: B While working up a feature on the 2025 release of a Single Barrel Collection by Four Roses, one containing four of the ten bourbon variants the distillery makes, I realized that our review for Four Roses Single Barrel was published in 2011 and last …
Jim Beam has started the Beam Private Barrel Club, a community of whiskey fans and enthusiasts who, for the first time, can buy and personalize their own single barrel directly from the distillery, creating an entirely new way to experience the iconic distiller. Knob Creek will be the featured, inaugural brand to launch the program …
One question I’ve received more than any other this year is … Is Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit dead? Despite what my 2019 article might lead you to believe, Kentucky Spirit is alive and well. So why the confusion? This year Campari introduced a new labe…
By Richard Thomas Rating: A For any brand that is revived and reintroduced during my career as a food, drinks and travel writer, I’m always amazed when the lot count reaches several or (especially) a double digit number. Inevitably I find myself thinking “Has that newcomer really been around that long? Is it actually a …
Six years ago, Barrel Craft Spirits released a 15 year old, gray-labeled bourbon, continuing its practice of skillfully sourced and blended, one-shot, cask strength whiskey releases. What we were not told at the time was that they set some of that batch aside for further aging in toasted barrels, with an eye on a prolonged …
King of Kentucky is back for its seventh year, and Brown-Forman has made the single barrel, cask strength bourbon it a 16 year old this time. Approximately 5,100 bottles will be produced with a suggested retail price of $349.99. For this year’s iteration, Master Distiller Chris Morris chose two lots of barrels to set aside …
By Alex Southgate Rating: A- It’s nice to try something new. It’s even nicer to be given the opportunity to be one of the first to try something and this is why I’m currently feeling both honored and excited in equal measure: Halcyon Spirits newest expression is a 17 year old Caol Ila. This whiskey …
Penelope Bourbon introduced its new Estate Collection of limited-availability aged whiskey and bourbon releases – Founders Reserve, Private Select and Single Barrel. The collection represents the pinnacle of Penelope’s craftsmanship, from hand-selected barrels to meticulously crafted blends. The new premium releases spotlight masterful innovations in aged wheat whiskey, exquisite blends of aged straight bourbon whiskey …
