Bardstown’s, Willett Distillery has announced the release of its newest expression, the Willett Family Estate Small Batch Bourbon, a handcrafted whiskey that reflects the distillery’s dedication to quality and innovation by fifth-generation Master Distiller Drew Kulsveen. The small batch release is a marriage of two distinct bourbon mashbills: 70%: 72% Corn, 13% Rye, 15% Barley …
Four Roses Distillery has announced its highly anticipated 2025 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon. The new batch is releasing September 3rd. This marks the 18th edition in the annual series, featuring a unique blend of three bourbon recipes and four different batches, bottled at barrel strength. Non-chill filtered and bottled at 109 proof, the 2025 …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Last month, newcomer whiskey company 15 Stars announced a line extension, meaning they added a new line to the brand: First West. Briefly, 15 Stars was started by the Columbus, Ohio-based, father and son team of Rick and Ricky Johnson. A negociant/non-distiller producer (NDP), 15 Stars released their first bottlings just …
By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ For longer than The Whiskey Reviewer has been in existence, whiskey nerds have scoffed at the term “small batch.” If anyone was complaining about it in the actual small batch era of the 1990s, I was happy enough to not meet them; in those days, the bourbon fans I knew were …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ I first became acquainted with Cedar Ridge Malted Rye back in 2017, following a visit to the Iowa winery and distillery. That expression was the basis for what is their current Straight Rye. This is a 51% malted rye, 34% normal rye mash, with 12% corn and 3% malted barley …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B My first acquaintance with Iowa’s Cedar Ridge Distillery was 7 1/2 years ago, one of those things that serves to remind me just how long I have been writing about whiskey. I had traveled to Iowa to visit a different distillery, invited for the bottling and launch of a different …
Lebanon, Kentucky-based brand Yellowstone Bourbon has made a permanent brand extension in adding Yellowstone Small Batch 107 Bourbon. Small Batch is aged six years and the only variety in the Yellowstone portfolio to feature an age statement on packaging. Bottled at 107 proof, the expression is one of the highest proof everyday offerings from Yellowstone. …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Louisville’s Rabbit Hole Distillery is both one of the newcomers to Bluegrass whiskey and at the same time part of its new class of medium-sized distillers (distinct from both the legacy and new “Kentucky Majors” and the small producers typically associated with craft whiskey). Considering the company went from foundation …
The Baltimore distillery Sagamore Spirit has two new expressions coming out soon, including their oldest yet. Sagamore 9-Year-Old Straight Rye Whiskey, and the Sagamore Bottled in Bond Straight Rye Whiskey, both part of the brand’s Reserve Series. Sagamore 9-Year-Old Straight Rye Whiskey exemplifies the craft of long-term aging, proudly representing Sagamore’s oldest age statement to …
For its third expression in its single rickhouse concept line, Wild Turkey has released Russell’s Reserve Camp Nelson B. This follows the 2022 release of Camp Nelson C and 2023’s Camp Nelson F, and is the highest proof release of the entire brand to date. Each release in this series is crafted from a small …
