Background and a Word About the Name Before we get to the glass, it's worth explaining why "Cigar Cut" appears on this — and other — Old Elk bottles. The name is a nod to the cigar world, where a cigar cut is the deliberate, precise slice that opens up a premium cigar for an optimal draw. … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Old Elk Cigar Cut Island Blend — 2023 Release

Bardstown Bourbon Company has always played the long game. When the distillery opened, they bridged the gap between new-make and age by blending their own distillate with older sourced whiskey; a transparent, forward-thinking approach that allowed their in-house spirit to mature while they kept the lights on. Now fully of age, their estate-distilled Origin Series … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series High Wheat Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Catherine and I had been talking about a true vacation for a while — not a work trip masquerading as leisure, but actual downtime. After my experience in Broken Bow, OK, last summer, I put my Ai, Perplexity, to work finding an interesting destination that was drivable but that had a dstillery. What it found … Continue reading Missouri Whiskey Country: Four Distilleries, Four Bottles, One Excellent Trip

A Blend of Castle & Key Distillery (Frankfort, Kentucky) and Still Austin Whiskey Co. (Austin, Texas) The Bottle DistilleriesCastle & Key, Frankfort, Kentucky & Still Austin Whiskey Co., Austin, TexasSeriesPinhook True Small Batch — "Castle & Still"TypeKentucky Straight Bourbon WhiskeyAge6 Years (both barrels)Proof119.8 (Cask Strength)ABV59.9%FiltrationNon-Chill Filtered (Unfiltered)Retail Price$95 Background My journey with Pinhook has been … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Pinhook True Small Batch Bourbon Blended By Castle and Still (2025 Release)

The Bottle DistilleryCastle & Key, Frankfort, KentuckySeriesPinhook True Small BatchSelectionTriple Double Single Barrel Pick — 2025 ReleaseTypeKentucky Straight Bourbon WhiskeyAge6 YearsProof117.2 (Cask Strength)ABV58.6%FiltrationNon-Chill Filtered (Labelled unfiltered)Retail Price$80 Background Regular readers may know I have a complicated relationship with Pinhook. I was decidedly unimpressed with their early releases — in fact, I wrote about what I … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Pinhook True Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Triple Double Single Barrel Six Year Old

Regular readers know I have been following Dixon Dedman’s 2XO project with interest, from my review of 2XO French Oak Bourbon to my recent Tasting Notes on 2XO The Sneakerhead Blend. In both cases, I found his double‑barreling approach could make relatively modestly aged Kentucky bourbon drink older than the label might suggest, a lesson … Continue reading

Tasting Notes: 2XO Gem of Kentucky – Barrel #161 (108 Proof)

A couple of years ago, I reviewed Nashville Barrel Company's single barrel straight bourbons picked from Midwest Grain Products (MGP) in Indiana after visiting their tasting room while on vacation — and I was genuinely impressed. You can read that review here. Nashville Barrel Company is a non-distiller producer that has built its entire identity … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Nashville Barrel Company Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey — Single Barrel #9527

100 Proof · NAS (Est. 4+ Years) · Sourced & Bottled by Bardstown Bourbon Company(?) · ~$70–$75 Introduction Frank August is a brand that arrived with a lot of style and a story that reads more like a fashion house launch than a bourbon release. The brand was co-founded by Johnathan Crocker, a former fashion … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Frank August Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon

It has been a minute since I picked up a bottle of Penelope Estate Collection whiskey, though they have been a recurring feature on the blog lately. I previously reviewed the Penelope Estate Collection Private Reserve 9 Year Old Bourbon back in February, and more recently, I shared my thoughts on the Penelope Omega 11 Year Old Straight … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Penelope Estate Collection 10 Year Old Single Barrel (2025 Release)

There's a bit of history worth unpacking before we get to the glass. Wild Turkey 101 carried an 8-year age statement for decades, then lost it in the early 1990s when the domestic version went to a no-age-statement expression. The age-stated version lived on in Asian export markets in 700ml bottles, becoming something of a … Continue reading Tasting Notes: Wild Turkey 101 8-Year Old Bourbon