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Prelude: Courage & Conviction Single Malt Whisky Review

In American Whiskey Reviews by Jeffrey SchwartzLeave a Comment

he American Single Malt category continues to experience popularity and growth. While it isn’t meant to mimic its Scotch or Irish counterparts, they do start with the same basic ingredient: 100% malted barley. Billed as a limited edition release for early 2020, Virginia Distillery Co. presents Prelude: Courage & Conviction in a rich-looking, attention-grabbing package. Virginia Distilling Co. takes an interesting route by using three different types of barrels to age their whiskey: ex-Bourbon barrels, ex-Sherry casks and ex-Cuvee casks. The latter, in particular, is not something I’ve experienced.

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McKenzie Straight Rye Whiskey Review

In Rye Whiskey Reviews by Jeffrey Schwartz3 Comments

McKenzie Straight Rye is a unique pour. Distilled from a mash of 80% Rye and 20% Malted Barley, it is aged three years and non-chill-filtered. Finger Lakes Distilling chose to age the rye in quarter casks. Smaller barrels provide more surface area per volume of whiskey to the wood, which gives it a faster maturation cycle than a standard 53-gallon barrel. The whiskey doesn’t age faster, but it acquires qualities of longer-aged whiskeys.

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Auchentoshan “The Bartender’s Malt” Scotch Review

In Scotch Whiskey Reviews by Jeffrey SchwartzLeave a Comment

If you’re not a Scotch fan because things like peat or band-aid qualities turn you off, you really should consider a Lowland Scotch. There aren’t a lot of Lowland distilleries, and in my opinion, Auchentoshan does a consistent job of representing the region.

The Bartender’s Malt is the first of a proposed series of limited edition Scotches for the distillery. In this initial offering, twelve bartenders from around the world collaborated to create a whisky by the bartender for the bartender. The idea behind this is to give bartenders a Scotch that could be served neat or made into various cocktails. I chose to test this whisky neat.

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Alacrán Tequila Blanco Review and Tasting Notes

In Tequila Reviews by Jeffrey SchwartzLeave a Comment

I am not a tequila drinker. I’ve penned a tequila review before and it bordered on fairly useless. I’m a whiskey reviewer. That’s my jam. However, my wife, Michelle (a/k/a Mrs. Whiskeyfellow), is a tequila sommelier. While I did drink this alongside her to try and learn something about tequila, these notes are hers and I’m writing this under her guidance.

Alacrán is packaged in a beautiful, matte black bottle, giving the appearance of a luxurious spirit. It is cooked with water sourced from Alacrán’s own well and naturally fermented with Alacrán’s own yeast. It is distilled through an “exclusive and multiple distillation” process.

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Stranger & Stranger Blended Whisky Review and Tasting Notes

In Blended Whiskey, Blended Whiskey Reviews by Jeffrey Schwartz2 Comments

Some may call it sacrilege, but we thought the addition of one year old ‘sacrificial spirit’ would be the perfect component to use in our limited edition blend to celebrate ten years of collaboration with our good friends at the package design company Stranger & Stranger.Compass Box WhiskyClick to explore our complete library of reviews to help you choose your next perfect bottle.COMPASS BOX STRANGER & STRANGER DISTILLER: Compass Box Whisky MASH BILL:  A blend of Scotch Malted Whisky with Wheat & Barley Spirit AGE:   NAS – No Age Statement YEAR: 2019 PROOF: 46% ABV (92-Proof) MSRP: $200.00 BUY ONLINE: Wine-Searcher.com JEFF’S …