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

My readers know I am a big fan of Barrell whiskies, particularly the bourbons. I strolled in to Hokus Pokus today to find out they did a barrel pick of the bourbon. This made my week, which was a very long one in court out of town. They even put a cool gold and silver … Continue reading Barrell Bourbon 14 Year Old Single Barrel Hokus Pokus Store Pick

While the Pappy and BTAC bottles have not yet made it to Alexandria, Louisiana yet, I did get lucky enough to pick up the fall release of Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond. The fall releases come with a black label, the spring with a green label, and distillery releases with a red label. I really … Continue reading Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond – Fall 2018 9 year old Black Label Release

I have been out in San Francisco for my brother's wedding, so of course the first place I hit was a liquor store when I arrived Thursday afternoon. I went to the Whisky Shop, a very serious importer of Scotch to the United States. I picked up a bottle of Single Cask Nation Glenrothes 8 … Continue reading My Vacation Bottle: Barrell Bourbon Batch 16: The triumphant return of a little MGP Bourbon to the mix for outstanding results

I have heard and read about Kentucky Owl Bourbon, but never seen a bottle. I have seen and had turned down the opportunity to purchase Kentucky Owl Rye, as that is not the same thing and has a reputation for being overpriced. Dixon Dedman is their master blender and a descendant of the owners of … Continue reading Kentucky Owl Bourbon Batch 8

Nothing wrong with free whiskey. A buddy of mine recently did a rye flight at the Bourbon House in New Orleans, and Wild Turkey 101 Rye won out over things like Whistlepig. I did this friend a favor a while back, and he got our mutual buddy Hudson Funk to find a bottle to give … Continue reading I did a friend a solid and he did me one back: Wild Turkey 101 Rye

Catherine and I are in New Orleans on a long weekend getaway, arriving here Thursday night to meet up with dear friends of mine from college. In any event, we ended up howling at the moon after a lovely dinner at Bayona Thursday night, and Catherine and I were up to an earlier start than … Continue reading Take A Deep Dive Into Fine Irish Whiskey in New Orleans and Support a Great Cause