Part of my "problem" as a whiskey hobbyist is that I am always looking for something new and different but also good. To be honest, given the whiskey boom we are experiencing world wide, there are a whole range of new products on the market. A lot of them are crap. But not so with … Continue reading Barrell Dovetail-A Truly Great Flavor Experiment

So, among my many wonderful limited edition purchases last year was the Parker's Heritage Collection 2018 release. This one is the second Parker's Heritage release that is barrel finished. This one is a 110 proof bourbon finished in French Orange Curaçao barrels. I opened this bottle Christmas Day and found it to be a little … Continue reading The 2018 Parker’s Heritage Collection Bourbon Finished in Orange Curaçao Barrels – Too Much Of A Good Thing

There is a new "category" on the American whiskey scene, although this stuff has been around for a very long time. It has just never been "named." This spirit is essentially a bourbon recipe whiskey, with corn being the dominant grain, and it is made in the United States, and presumably the still proof and … Continue reading Review of Smooth Ambler’s Old Scout American Whiskey; and what is this American Whiskey business anyway

Well, I drank a good bit of whiskey over the holidays but had zero time to write about it. Work and family kept my extremely busy since my last post. Catherine and I hosted a New Year's bash at my house, and I went by Hokus on the off chance they might have something new. … Continue reading Happy Barrell Bourbon New Year-2019 Release

I have written a good bit about Booker's bourbon on this blog. Well, the fourth release of 2018 is out-Kitchen Table. I think it is the best Booker's release this year. 128 proof, six years and eight months old. On the nose is wonderful floral and corn notes. On the palate is corn syrup sweetness, … Continue reading Tasting Notes on Booker’s Kitchen Table

Wild Turkey, for me, tends to be a little funky on my palate. I do like Rare Breed, despite the little bit of funk. The Russell's Reserve 2002 limited edition was amazing. My opinion is that chill filtering does terrible things to Wild Turkey bourbon. But, Russell's Reserve Single Barrel is 110 proof and non-chill … Continue reading Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel; Wild Turkey Soars to New Heights

Yesterday, Pappy Van Winkle Day came to Cenla, which is a rather unpredictable day in late November or early December when Republic, an alcoholic beverage distributor, delivers the fall releases of Van Winkle and the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection to local liquor stores. These bottles do not arrive on the regular delivery trucks, but are … Continue reading Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 15 Year Old Bourbon; and what is up with the Pappy Craze anyway?

The internet has been a buzz with a new release from Luxco, the makers of Rebel Yell, Blood Oath, and other whiskies currently distilled at Heaven Hill but aged in Luxco's warehouses in Louisville and Bardstown, Kentucky. One of their line up is Ezra Brooks, a bourbon I tried a very long time ago in … Continue reading Old Ezra 7 Year Old Barrel Strength Bourbon

While I am not a big Heaven Hill fan, I do like their limited release stuff a lot, in particular Old Fitzgerald and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof releases. Of late, the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon has been winning, and not in the Charlie Sheen sense. It was voted best whiskey at the New Orleans … Continue reading Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Barrel Proof Batch C918 (September 2018 release)

Every fall, Four Roses releases a limited edition barrel strength small batch bourbon. Last year's Al Young edition got rave views from me and many others. This year's batch tends to focus on the moral floral yeast strains Four Roses uses, specifically the F and V yeasts. However, they threw in some 16 year old … Continue reading Four Roses 130th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon