Old Weller Antique Original 107 - On The Boozy Side of Fun

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Old Weller Antique Original 107 - On The Boozy Side of Fun

If you're a whisky enthusiast with a bourbon collection, you either have Old Weller Antique in your collection or you're waiting for the next shipment to your local liquor store. Weller bourbons have family ties with Pappy Van Winkle. Back "in the day," Weller was the bourbon sold by the family that was generally available, and Pappy was the rare stuff. Both products use the same recipe. Contrary to some beliefs, they do not taste the same.

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Blanton's Gold Edition Review - Boozier Version of the Original

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Blanton's Gold Edition Review - Boozier Version of the Original

Blanton's Original is a near-perfect daily sipper for me. It's just the right balance of sweet and boozy, with lots of complexity to keep me interested. A high-proof version of Blanton's Original needed to be made, and it comes in form of Blanton's Gold Edition bottled at 51.5% ABV (compared to 46.5% ABV of Blanton's Original).

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Glenmorangie Bacalta Review - A Rare Treat, A One-Time Release

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Glenmorangie Bacalta Review - A Rare Treat, A One-Time Release

Old-school whisky stories that tell of how a distillery was first conceived are occasionally accurate and of historic relevance. For me, though, I find the story behind a particular bottle of whisky far more engaging--why did the whisky maker decide to make this whisky in particular? Often the answer is because he or she believes it will sell well. Sometimes, though, it's because they're haunted by a whisky from the past.

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Laphroaig 10 Year Old Original Cask Strength - Batch 006 Review

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Laphroaig 10 Year Old Original Cask Strength - Batch 006 Review

Laphroaig is deserving of the scotch cult following. Some hate Laphroaig, some like Laphroaig on occasion, and others love Laphroaig whisky. For those in the latter category, this cask strength variation of Laphroaig 10 is for you. 

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Bowmore 23 Review - Peated Scotch That Rewards Patience

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Bowmore 23 Review - Peated Scotch That Rewards Patience

This whisky is ridiculous. There are few whiskies on the market aged entirely in port casks, and even fewer that spent a total of twenty-three years in port casks. Don't get me wrong, port cask finishings have become a "thing" in the last decade; that's when a whisky is primarily aged in more readily available (cheaper) American oak, and spends a few months to a few years in port casks. However, a whisky aged entirely in port casks for twenty-three years? Damn.

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J.P. Wiser's Union 52 Review - Canada Meets Scotland, They Have a Whisky

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J.P. Wiser's Union 52 Review - Canada Meets Scotland, They Have a Whisky

J.P. Wiser's Union 52 is in an odd flavor category in the same way that it's an odd blend of whisky. This is a blend of 15 year old Canadian whisky and extremely old peated single malt scotch that's been maturing in Canada since the 1964. Old smoky scotch meets Canadian whisky. The blend is ridiculous, and it works. 

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Masterson's Straight Rye 10 Year Old Review - Best Canadian Whisky 2017 (And Best Rye Anywhere)

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Masterson's Straight Rye 10 Year Old Review - Best Canadian Whisky 2017 (And Best Rye Anywhere)

I was one of ten judges scoring the Canadian Whisky Awards for 2017. Masterson's Straight Rye 10 Year Old (Batch PSA3-0035) scored as my the best Canadian whisky, and it also averaged as the best overall Canadian whisky from the judges narrowly beating Gooderham & Warts Four Grain and Lot No 40.

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Laphroaig Select Review - A Gentler Laphroaig That's Not Too Gentle

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Laphroaig Select Review - A Gentler Laphroaig That's Not Too Gentle

Laphroaig Select is a maddening combination of whisky. The core scotch is regular Laphroaig aged in previously used American bourbon barrels, that are "finished" for six months in brand new American oak barrels. The distillery then blended this whisky with other whiskies to create six different single malts. The Laphroaig fan club, Friends of Laphroaig, selected the winning blend from the six to create the Select.

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Hibiki Harmony Review

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Hibiki Harmony Review

Hibiki Harmony came into markets replacing the 12 Year Old variety. As a no-age statement whisky, it could be made available to a broader audience, but it also lives in turmoil with endless comparisons to the whisky it replaced. Removing age statements gives producers flexibility making whisky (why should 12 years be the minimum age in the bottle?), but it also creates a sense of distrust with the consumer accustomed to seeing a number on the bottle.

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Writers Tears Copper Pot - Writer Approved

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Writers Tears Copper Pot - Writer Approved

It's cliche, I know, to drink Writers Tears while writing. A cliche that I know I share with many writers in the whisky genre. A cliche that I endured while writing The Whisky Cabinet. And for that reason, it was hard to rate this whisky. When reviewing whisky, it's important to outpour ones feelings when writing about the whisky, but be void of attachment when rating the whisky. 

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Toronto Distillery Company Challenges Canadian Whisky Traditions

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Toronto Distillery Company Challenges Canadian Whisky Traditions

It would dramatic to say that there's a battle over the definition of Canadian whisky, but one small distillery is taking a stand against a Canadian regulation that has been in existence since 1887. Toronto Distillery Co, the city's first distillery since 1933, released a whisky aged under the minimum three years required for a spirit to be recognized as a whisky. 

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The Balvenie Single Barrel 12 Year Old - First Fill American Oak

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The Balvenie Single Barrel 12 Year Old - First Fill American Oak

The Single Barrel line-extension is an example of a product intended for whisky enthusiasts. It's rare that single malt scotch is released in the single barrel variety--most are a blend of tens, if not hundreds, of barrels of whisky. When one blends multiple barrels of whisky to create a single malt scotch, the complexity of the whisky comes from the blending process. When a distillery bottles an individual barrel, this demonstrates the confidence distillery owners have in their whisky. You can't blend the faults away.

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Auchentoshan American Oak Review

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Auchentoshan American Oak Review

Auchentoshan American Oak borrows on trends from the past and future. From the past, Auchentoshan boasts about being a triple-distilled. Folklore will tell you that only Irish whiskey and vodka are triple distilled (neither is true). Generally speaking, the third distillation is likely to remove heavier molecules from the spirit. Some of these heavier molecules are unpleasant, some would naturally oxidized down during barrel maturation, others are flavors that scotch drinkers might enjoy.

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