This past weekend, my Mardi Gras Krewe had its annual dinner in New Orleans, which is always fun. My daughter Caroline is at Tulane so we got to spend some time with her and her boyfriend Cam. And, we took the opportunity to visit distilleries. Yes, there are distilleries in and around New Orleans. Our … Continue reading Brad & Cat’s Weekend Distillery Crawl

Well, it is Mardi Gras time again in Louisiana. Which, for me and Catherine, means Mardi Gras balls. We get dressed up for these black tie affairs only to find subpar bars with Jack Daniel's Black Label and Dewar's Blended Scotch. So, typically, Cat and I sneak in a good bottle of scotch and bourbon. … Continue reading The Bottle I didn’t need to sneak into the Twelfth Night Mardi Gras Ball: 1792 Full Proof

I have quite a few bottles to review acquired by various means in December. But I decided to put this one at the top of the list because Hokus Pokus still has some of these left, and I wanted the blog's readers to know to pick one up before it is gone: Hokus Pokus' "Rye … Continue reading Knob Creek Single Barrel Select: “Rye not?” From Hokus Pokus

Editors note: after some dialogue with those that picked this barrel, Diageo claims this bourbon was not distilled at Four Roses and that Diageo has its own five special yeasts that are different from the Four Roses yeasts. But they won't say who distilled it. Diageo also claims they are using two mashbills that are … Continue reading Bulleit Single Barrel Hokus Pokus Store Pick: A New Way To Try Different Four Roses Single Barrels

Last night at the Hokus Pokus tasting, my wife's name was pulled third and she graciously picked the bourbon I wanted since there was no scotch in the auction. I have previously enjoyed three different releases of this wonderful bourbon. Last spring's 13 year old was amazing. Let's see how this stacks up. Barreled in … Continue reading Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Fall Release: 15 Years Old-The Oldest Release Yet!

This is Part IV of the Whiskey Jar’s Series, The Bourbon Future. In Part I, I made a bunch of grandiose predictions about the future of Bourbon. In Part II, I discussed the grain to glass movement and the increase in disclosure about what goes into bourbon, which is bringing increased competition into the bourbon marketplace. In … Continue reading The Bourbon Future, Part V: A Barrel Amongst Friends

My readers may recall my Pappy post last year, wherein I disclosed I bought a Pappy 15 because I couldn't get an Eagle Rare 17, which is now 101 proof. Well, this year, Hokus Pokus got one bottle, and yes, I snatched it up. When I emailed my same friend at Buffalo Trace as I … Continue reading Yes, I snubbed Pappy: Eagle Rare 17 2019

  This is Part IV of the Whiskey Jar’s Series, The Bourbon Future. In Part I, I made a bunch of grandiose predictions about the future of Bourbon. In Part II, I discussed the grain to glass movement and the increase in disclosure about what goes into bourbon, which is bringing increased competition into the bourbon marketplace. … Continue reading The Bourbon Future, Part IV: Online Bourbon Buying and a review of David Nicholson Reserve

This fall's limited release bourbons so far have been amazing. The Old Forester Birthday Bourbon and the Yellowstone Limited Release were both outstanding. Before Thanksgiving I snagged a bottle of the Four Roses Small Batch 2019 Limited Edition. Really excited about this one. This limited edition has a 21 year old high rye delicate fruit … Continue reading The fall limited release hits just keep on coming: Four Roses Small Batch 2019 Limited Edition

Regular readers of my blog know that I love Barrell Bourbon, and that Hokus has been getting great single Barrel picks of Barrell's 14 year old Cascade Hollow bourbon this year. But this latest one is something special, and not because of the label. In a play on the Pope accidentally tagging the NFL's New … Continue reading Barrell Bourbon Single Barrel Hokus Pokus Pick: God Bless The Saints Edition