Industry News

Now Distilling: First barrel filled at Heaven Hill Springs plant in Bardstown

“It's more than the state-of-the-art facility, more than a place to make whiskey,” O’Driscoll said. “It is a symbol of bold thinking and believing, inspired by our legacy, driven by sustainability, and it's designed for the future. It reflects not only where we've come from, but where we are going.”

Proof of Life

Proof of Life: Fourteen Years of Pour Decisions

Welcome to another edition of Proof of Life—brought to you this week by bourbon, honey, lemon, and whatever miracle is hiding in a hot toddy. I’ve been a bit under the weather, but I still managed to pull this one together with more punch than your Aunt Edna’

Larceny Barrel Proof Batch A125 Review: The Hits Keep Coming

While the new copper-accented packaging is still growing on me, the liquid inside the bottle has become something I genuinely look forward to every few months. And this one delivers like others before it with a big aroma of RedHots and candy apple.

Rye Whiskey Reviews

Pinhook 9-Year Vertical Rye Review: Aged Elegance Unveiled

Tingling with spices like white pepper and coriander, it practically vibrates on the palate. Darkly toasted bread, French roast coffee, charred lemon, dried cherry, spearmint and some campfire mingle nicely alongside cocoa nibs. The finish is simple: long and warming.

Tennessee Whiskey Reviews

Jack Daniel’s 14-, 12- and 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Review: Age Matters

It's big on the palate without being a brute; as in none of the Coy Hill muscle or heat. I like those, too, but they have their place, and there's no place for that in this mature, balanced and well-mannered Tennessee whiskey.

Proof of Life

Proof of Life: Clickbait Sucks

Irregular Dispatches for the Drinking Class from Your Chief Drinking Officer

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Bomberger's Precision Fine Grain Bourbon Review: Layered Complexity & Elegance

To me, those whiskies exhibit a greater intensity of aromas gathered while resting in the first barrel, like extra coffee, extra cocoa and extra oak and all the tannin you'd expect that the bear. But this has dustiness all over it.

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Bulleit Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon Review: Hits and Misses

I'm a Bulleit fan. I love its barrel strength releases, I've done single barrel picks there and I love its 10-year products. But all of those came from elsewhere, and I was ready to see what the home team could do this time.

Wheat Whiskey Reviews

Middle West Spirits Cask Strength Wheat Whiskey: Wheat Done Right

This whiskey is all about toasted aromas and flavors being superbly integrated. I'll take this whiskey over any purposely "toasted" release I can think of because those notes aren't all barrel and new lumber.

Proof of Life

Proof of Life: Hold My Barrels

Irregular Dispatches for the Drinking Class from Your Chief Drinking Officer

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Green River Wheated Single Barrel Bourbon Review: A $60 Cask Strength Gem

This high-proof release is in my sweet spot for wheated bourbon. Below 100 proof, wheated bourbon is unassertive and short on spice for my palate. As Maker's Mark Cask Strength proved years ago, magic happens in wheated bourbon proofed well past the century mark.

New Brand Releases

Yellowstone Bourbon introduces Small Batch 107

“The higher proof brings out more flavors, and by non-chill filtering Small Batch we created a much more full-bodied product than a lower-proof chill filtered bourbon...

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

WhistlePig Snout-to-Tail 10-Year Bourbon Review: Unique Barrel Aging Unveiled

The nose is laden with honey, caramel, spring flowers and a little ripe banana. Hints of white pepper and cinnamon come next with a whiff of mint thrown in. Those same aromas become flavors that form the backbone of this this middleweight spirit.

Tequila Reviews

Trulussó Tequila Review: A pricey and beautifully packaged tequila worth the pour?

While all three are solid tequilas, the price-to-value equation doesn't work out compared to so many other excellent bottles available for much less. The gorgeous packaging and the premium, celebrity-backed market positioning surely pushes prices northward.

New Brand Releases

Whiskey JYPSI introduces Tribute Double Barreled Bourbon

This is a whiskey with a price point and a flavor profile everybody can enjoy, but with the same high-quality approach we’ve taken with our other whiskeys. And that’s what we were looking for with Tribute.

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Remus Gatsby Reserve 2024 Review: A 15-Year Bourbon to Chase?

I personally enjoyed the 2022 and 2023 Gatsby releases a little more than this one. It's still a very solid bourbon that drinks well above its age statement (more on that below), but it's also quite different from previous releases.

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Woodford Reserve Double Double Oaked Review: Worth the Hype?

What surprises me is the finish, which doesn't linger, is not all that warm and is neither immediately tannic nor drying–attributes I expected from such lengthy oak interaction.

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Booker's 'Jimmy's Batch' Review: A Tribute to A Bourbon Legend

I've tasted better Booker's releases for my palate, but there isn't much to nitpick with this one, especially if you're a fan of Beam's drier and more peppery barrel-proof bourbons. And let's be honest, who doesn't love Jimmy Russell?

Wheat Whiskey Reviews

Heaven Hill 19-Year Wheat Whiskey Review: Aged to Perfection

Tasting this for the first time is like meeting your grandfather before you ever met your father, and by virtue of his age, his stature is immediately more meaningful.

Industry News

The Secret Stash: What's Under the Table at Whiskey Festivals?

It’s a well-known secret at whiskey festivals—some brands stash away something special for those who are in the know. Maybe it’s a rare single barrel, a high-proof experimental batch, or even a unicorn bottle that never sees a retail shelf. But you won’t find it on display—you have to ask.

New Brand Releases

Blue Note Bourbon Unveils Limited-Edition Special Reserve

Crafted in Memphis, the limited-release is a blend of 10 casks from Kentucky and Tennessee – cognac, madeira, sherry, port, triple sec, madeira, apricot brandy, amontillado, vanilla cognac and vino de Naranja – ranging in age from four to 19 years with varying mashbills.

Rye Whiskey Reviews

New Riff Balboa Rye 2025 Review: A Bold Take on Heirloom Rye

This liquid is its own animal, a whiskey that, tasted blind, might fool a few folks into thinking it's a low-rye bourbon. Get a bottle and let the fun begin.

New Brand Releases

Discover Kentucky Peerless's New Toasted Rye Whiskey Release

Peerless Toasted Rye is aged in two separate oak barrels. The small batch rye is initially aged in the distillery's standard, char level 3 barrel. This process develops the desired flavor profiles of caramel, brown sugar, and toffee.

Paid-members only

BITB Club

Replay: BITB Live Tasting #12

Our twelfth Bourbon in the Blind (BITB) Live Tasting of the Year was held this past Monday. This month's lineup included five samples that provided a fantastic range of expressions, including several from a single distillery.

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Old Forester 1924 Bourbon Review: A Decade of Depth and Flavor

If someone can find flaws in this, you're either a freak of nature who's going to teach us all something we didn't know or you're nuts and making things up.