The Collaboration of Blade & Bow and Garden & Gun Has Given Bourbon Fans Ways to Raise Their Bluegrass Experience A Notch By Richard Thomas When Blade & Bow Bourbon first started their collaboration with Garden & Gun magazine, that authoritative guide to all things tasteful, upscale and Southern, it was in a standard exercise …
By Richard Thomas Some ideas die slow, hard deaths, and as recently as last year I found myself reading yet another magazine article warning consumers that their bottle of supposedly craft whiskey really came from the big distillery in Indiana, MGP. Moreover, I continue to hear this notion virtually every time I engage with enthusiasts, …
By Richard Thomas One of the idealized features of an artisanal movement–whether it be craft beer, craft whiskey or craft gin–is the spirit of independence. That ideal has existed more often in the imaginations of the imbibers than at the company making the booze, but it’s easy to understand how it got there: the little …
By Richard Thomas John Lunn could be fairly described as the giant of Tennessee Whiskey that the average enthusiast has never heard of, and he passed away on March 30, 2023. He was 53 years old. In an era when veteran master distillers are revered by a large and growing fan base as rock stars, …
By Richard Thomas High end bourbon has been rocked by twin scandals in 2023, and while they are taking place on opposite sides of the country, all of it lies in the realm of bottles that are either truly finite (i.e. no more are coming) or those commanding demand that far outstrips supply. Collectables, in …
By Richard Thomas For those of us who live in the Bluegrass and regularly make the trip between Lexington and Louisville, the billboards telling travelers to stop in at either the Lexington or Louisville location of Justins’ House of Bourbon is a familiar sight. Billed as Kentucky’s premier bourbon shop, these stores have become a …
Here at The Whiskey Reviewer, we have never convened an annual rewards panel. Instead of handing out medals or drawing up a conglomerated list, every member of the team keeps her or his own voice, naming their personal choice in three categories. Best New Whiskey Best Whiskey To Pass My Lips (the absolute best, new …
By Richard Thomas Although some magazines and websites revisit the subject of best whiskeys annually, I prefer to wait at least five years before tackling the subject again, at least under my own banner. It’s been almost five years for this particular round-up, so I am jumping the gun a little bit, but I have …
By Richard Thomas Wild Turkey’s most important contribution to the realm of annual limited edition whiskeys has been Master’s Keep, which has put several noteworthy spins on Wild Turkey’s bourbon, plus one rye installment in the form of Master’s Keep Cornerstone. This year, Master Distiller Eddie Russell decided to look back to something he created …
By Richard Thomas As American enthusiasts are left scratching their heads over exactly why even Sazerac Rye is so scarce that it’s now kept in locked cabinets at the liquor store, retail prices for limited edition whiskeys that should be scarce continue to spiral. Leaving inflation out of it, the kind of bourbon one would …
