Knob Creek Single Barrel, and particularly store pics, have really grown on me as a great go to evening whiskey. That includes both the bourbon and the rye. The Knob Creek Quarter Oak is the standard Knob Creek 100 proof bourbon of which a part was aged in quarter casks, which are smaller. I happened … Continue reading Knob Creek Quarter Oak Bourbon: The Latest Limited Release

The folks who make the various Michter's bourbons, ryes, Sour Mash, and American whiskies has another limited edition whiskey on the market, Shenk's Homestead. I luckily snagged a bottle at the Hokus Pokus auction. This is a 91.2 proof non-aged stated whiskey. It is sour mash, but not bourbon and not rye. My theory is … Continue reading Shenk’s Homestead Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey

I have reviewed 1792 Bottled in Bond, 1792 Full Proof, and Maker's Mark Private Select before, so I am not going to delve into the histories of these whiskies. Short descriptions are 1792 is the flagship bourbon of Sazerac's Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown and Maker's Mark is Jim Beam's flagship wheated bourbon made in … Continue reading Hokus Pokus’ First 2020 Barrel Picks: 1792 Bottled in Bond, 1792 Full Proof, and Maker’s Mark Private Select I and II

I pretty much buy and review every Booker's release. Sometimes you can find real gems of cask strength bourbon; other times they have a lot of what I call peanut funk that comes from the wild yeast the Beam family uses to ferment their mash. This release is six and a half years old at … Continue reading Tasting Notes on Booker’s 2019-4 release: Beaten Biscuits

During my recent weekend trip to New Orleans, I was able to complete my personal trifecta of fall limited release cask strength bourbons from Buffalo Trace, with the purchase of the Col E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof 2019 release. I snagged a William LaRue Weller and a George T. Stagg in December. While these releases are … Continue reading The Fall 2019 Buffalo Trace Limited Edition Cask Strength Bourbons: William LaRue Weller, George T. Stagg, and Col. E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof

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!