Podcast

My Pewter Pony – Bourbon & Banter Podcast #15

The 15th episode of the Bourbon & Banter podcast – My Pewter Pony – is now available, just in time for your Memorial Day Weekend. Sit back, grab a pour, and join us for the most honest podcast in bourbon, with the one-of-a-kind reporting that you only get from Bourbon & Banter.

On The Road

Wine Plays Fine Role In Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s Tourism Strategy

I also love Maker’s Mark, arguably Kentucky’s prettiest distillery, but a handful of challengers, most notably Bardstown Bourbon Company (BBC), have entered the distillery beauty contest. In a runoff, the 6-year-old BBC property might lose only because of its campus.

Rye Whiskey Reviews

Stellum Rye Whiskey Review

When I first nosed Stellum Rye, it immediately screamed: “MGP Rye” which is no surprise since the base rye was sourced from MGP.

Distilleries

New Bourbon Trail™ Passport & Field Guide

The world-famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail® tour is celebrating its 22nd birthday with a new Bourbon Trail™ Passport & Field Guide to help visitors plan and prepare for the ultimate journey behind America’s only native spirit.

Cocktails

Kentucky Campfire Old Fashioned Cocktail

My best advice about cocktails is to view the classics not as a recipe, but as a formula. This is especially true of my favorite cocktail: the Old Fashioned.

Scotch Whisky Reviews

The GlenDronach Port Wood Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review

This is a really nice whiskey, super approachable and easy sipping, a go-to when evangelizing for Scotch. From entry to finish, it’s delicate, flavorful and fun. Do I want to spend $90 on it? Nope. It’s not that remarkable to me.

Banter

American Blend – The Future Is Here

Blends are not the future of American whiskey. There, I said it. Why? Because they’re already here. A brief history: the word “blend” has been verboten in American whiskey for over a century.

Food Stuff Reviews

Fire Dept. Coffee Vanilla Bean Bourbon Spirit Infused Coffee Review

If you read our review on the Fire Dept. Black Cherry Bourbon Infused Coffee then you know that a day without coffee doesn’t really cut it for me. In fact, I am pretty sure I would give up bourbon before coffee.

Bourbon News

New Angel’s Envy Finished In Madeira Casks

ANGEL’S ENVY®, the Louisville-based craft distiller that produces small batch, finished whiskeys, today announced that it will release ANGEL’S ENVY Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Madeira Casks in celebration of Father’s Day.

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Stellum Bourbon Whiskey Review

What can I say, I’m a sucker for that high-proof MGP bourbon nose. The moment I pour my first glass and took a whiff I was hooked. The aroma immediately took me back to a previous review I had done on the Remus Repeal Reserve Series IV.

Cocktails

Tamworth Distilling Skiklubben Aquavit Review & Cocktail

The folks at Tamworth Distilling live for turning notions of what goes into a distilled spirit upside down.

Podcast

Fireball Infiltration – Bourbon & Banter Podcast #14

The 14th episode of the Bourbon & Banter podcast – Fireball Infiltration – is now available for your listening (and drinking) pleasure. Sit back, grab a pour, and join us in celebrating a whirlwind of breaking news and one-of-a-kind reporting that you only get from Bourbon & Banter.

Bourbon News

Heaven Hill Distillery Unveils Square 6 Bourbon

Heaven Hill Distillery today announced the launch of Square 6 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the first bottled Bourbon produced at its artisanal distillery located in the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience at 528 W. Main Street in Louisville, Ky.

Food Stuff Reviews

Fire Dept. Coffee Black Cherry Bourbon Infused Coffee Review

Right up front, I am a big fan of dark roast and typically don’t drink a medium roast. In addition, I am not a huge fan of flavored coffees. At home I brew my coffee with a Techniworm, Mocca Master Drip coffee Maker and use whole beans ground in a Brim Grinder.

Banter

How To Train Your Senses For Whiskey Tasting

The legendary Parker Beam once said, “People say they taste mangoes and leather. I don’t put mangoes or leather in the whiskey. I put in corn, and I age it in oak barrels and that’s what I taste: corn and oak!”

Cocktails

Coole Swan Irish Cream Liqueur Review + Cocktail

As a kid, I would always sneak a little sip from my parent’s glass of Bailey’s whenever it made an appearance.

Tequila Reviews

Expresiones Del Corazon William Larue Weller Añejo Tequila Review

Over the past couple of years, I’ve tasted multiple iterations of Sazerac-barrel-rested Corazon tequilas, and with each, the influence of those barrels has increased. At first blush, I like that. I mean, why make a reposado or añejo unless you want to taste the oak influence?

Bourbon News

NHLC Intro’s New Thomas S. Moore Cask-Finished Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskeys

The New Hampshire Liquor Commission (NHLC), one of the nation’s most profitable and progressive control states, and the globally acclaimed Barton 1792 Distillery have launched a series of single barrel, custom-proofed, cask-finished selections of the new Thomas S. Moore Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

Bourbon News

Wyoming Whiskey Introduces New Collection

Wyoming Whiskey, a world-class American Whiskey distillery committed to the preservation of America’s wide-open spaces, today announces a new collection inspired by the beauty of our national parks. The Wide-Open Spaces Collection is an annual, small-batch production of Wyoming Whiskey.

Tequila Reviews

Drinks By The Dram 12 Day Tequila & Mezcal Review

If you’re reading this blog, that means there’s an excellent chance you follow the Bourbon & Banter team, or you are at least getting our email updates. If you’re not signed up for our email list, you should go do so now.

Rye Whiskey Reviews

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel 2020 Barrel Proof Rye Review

I’ve long been a fan of Jack’s Single Barrel, Barrel Proof Tennessee Whiskey, as I think it’s the best readily available American whiskey on the market. I said READILY AVAILABLE, calm down whiskey police.

Banter

Is Bourbon Broken? Part 4 – A Final Argument

I think that one final argument that can be made as to why bourbon is broken, is that consumers keep paying ridiculous prices at retail stores for bottles of extremely young or sourced bourbon from a myriad of new brands.

Podcast

Cease & Desist – Bourbon Podcast #13

The 13th episode of the Bourbon & Banter podcast – Cease & Desist – is now available for your listening (and drinking) pleasure. Sit back, grab a pour, and join us in celebrating a whirlwind of breaking news and one-of-a-kind reporting that you only get from Bourbon & Banter.

Banter

Is Bourbon Broken? Part 3 – The Distribution & Retail Problem

Another large reason that bourbon can be viewed as broken is the three-tier distribution system in this country. Unfortunately, we can’t do too much about the system. It is what it is. By law, the distillers have to sell to the distributors.

Podcast

Bourbon & Banter & Barrels…Oh My! – Bourbon Podcast Special Edition

Bourbon & Banter is proud to share a very special episode of the Bourbon & Banter podcast, an on-site recap of our recent Kentucky barrel picking trip. Join Pops, Erin, Brent, and Jim as they detail two magnificent days filled with bourbon and good times.