Barrell Rye Batch 3 Review from Barrell Craft Spirits

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Barrell Rye Batch 3 Review from Barrell Craft Spirits

The source of this rye makes for an interesting story, but in the case of Barrel Rye Batch Three, it’s a footnote rather than a defining characteristic. One might hear that this batch is a blend of ryes from Tennessee, Indiana, Poland, and Canada and think it’ll taste otherworldly or weird or funky. It does none of those things. It tastes like a terrific American cask strength rye, with a floral (almost Lot 40 rye-like) nose to it. It’s a beautiful blend.

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Widow Jane The Vaults 14 Year Old Review

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Widow Jane The Vaults 14 Year Old Review

Lisa Wicker is taking Widow Jane Distillery in an interesting direction with the Vaults series. Like with other Widow Jane Bourbons, its a blend of multiple producers, but this series is finished in staves that have been seasoned for eight years. From the perspective of flavouring, there’s a lot going on, and it all fits in nicely.

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Darkness Sherry Casks 8 Year Old - High-proof sherry goodness

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Darkness Sherry Casks 8 Year Old - High-proof sherry goodness

Sam Simmons, the head of Atom Brands (and former global ambassador to The Balvenie), ran a tasting at The Caledonian last month. He was, as per his usual style, forthcoming. He made clear that he doesn’t want bloggers to write about Darkness Sherry Cask 8 Year Old. “It’s not about that. It’s about enjoying a terrific scotch with friends,” he said.

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Burke Single Cask 14 Year Old 59% ABV - A taste of an older Irish Whiskey at Cask Strength

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Burke Single Cask 14 Year Old 59% ABV - A taste of an older Irish Whiskey at Cask Strength

Great Northern Distilling is a new Irish distillery that primarily sells vodkas and gins, as most young distilleries do. However, they were able to get their hands on older barrels of whisky, and Burkes Single Cask 14 Year Old is a product of one of those barrels. Bottled at 59% ABV, I was really excited to taste a rare high-proof Irish whiskey.

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The Irishman Founder’s Reserve Caribbean Cask Finish

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The Irishman Founder’s Reserve Caribbean Cask Finish

The Irishman is produced by Walsh Whiskey, the same group that’s behind Writers’ Tears. The Founder’s Reserve Caribbean Cask Finish is a terrific addition to the line-up. From their website:

The Irishman Founder’s Reserve – Caribbean Cask Finish is the second expression in The Irishman Founder’s Reserve Cask Series. It is a limited edition finished in rum casks from the tiny tropical Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. A super-premium whiskey, it is a rare vatting of Single Pot Still and Single Malt whiskeys finished for 6 months in Chairman’s Reserve Rum casks. The release is limited to just 12 casks with 380 bottles per cask. Each bottle is individually numbered and signed by Bernard Walsh.

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Writers’ Tears Red Head - Familiar, but Different

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Writers’ Tears Red Head - Familiar, but Different

The brand of Writers’ Tears is affectionally enjoyed by writers, partially because of the name, and also partially because the whisky is just gentle enough to sip without distracting the writer from the task-at-hand. When writing The Whisky Cabinet I went through a few bottles of Writers’ Tears. Back then there was only one type of whisky, but today the brand has expanded, and this is a look at their sherry barrel matured whisky, Red Head.

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Barrell Bourbon 15 Year Old Cask Strength Bottle #138 - Best American Whisky?

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Barrell Bourbon 15 Year Old Cask Strength Bottle #138 - Best American Whisky?

Barrell Bourbon isn’t a distillery. They’re a bottler that purchases barrels from distilleries selling barrels. Because Barrell Bourbon gets to sample the barrels they purchase, and distilleries often sell barrels that don’t meet with their standard taste profile (which doesn’t make them bad, just not right for that distillery), this gives Barrell Bourbon the freedom to release interesting flavor profiles.

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Widow Jane Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Old - Familiar, but Different.

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Widow Jane Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Old - Familiar, but Different.

Widow Jane Distillery is the trending distillery out of Red Book, Brooklyn. The label is owned by Cacao Prieto, the maker of "beans-to-bar" fresh chocolates. Their list spirit products sold is extensive, and largely not distilled at their facility, but rather they purchase barrels of whisky from other distilleries and bottle them themselves. 

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