Drew Beard
When we first sampled Keeper’s Heart Irish + American Whiskey last fall, it felt a little like that whiskey was holding back on us. It appears from a quick survey of the interwebs that we weren’t the only ones that were just a bit underwhelmed. But with industry heavyweights like Brian Nation and David Perkins…
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We’ve been keeping tabs on Ireland’s Dingle Distillery since 2019. While we haven’t been privy to the entire progression of their house-distilled single malt whisky, Chris had the opportunity to explore both Batch 3 and Batch 4 a few years back. Those batched expressions, which each relied on a different mix of cask types, appear…
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For those who want to throw a whiskey-themed dinner party, there are few books available to guide the way. Several bourbon-focused cookbooks have hit the shelves in recent years, but no cooking guide, to my knowledge at least, has attempted the kind of wide-ranging approach that Richard Thomas’s recent The Whiskey Cookbook admirably undertakes. Over…
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Last fall, newly resurrected Irish whisky brand McConnell’s took its first step toward broadening their portfolio with the release of this bottle, McConnell’s Sherry Cask Finish Irish Whisky. As the name implies, this is classic McConnell’s – presumably still a five-year-old blend of malt and grain whiskies distilled at Great Northern Distillery – finished for…
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Earlier this year, we reviewed Brunnur Distillery’s Himbrimi Winterbird Gin, a delicate but enjoyable expression of classic London Dry distilled with a unique mix of Icelandic botanicals. According to the folks at Himbrimi, their founder Oscar Ericsson was inspired to get into gin-making so that he could have something to take with him on his…
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Gin hasn’t been spared from the growing terroir trend, which is fine by me since I have an easier time grasping a “sense of place” in a spirit that can essentially be flavored with local botanicals. A few coastal distilleries have even gone so far as to incorporate unique aquatic elements – things like kelp…
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First St. Patrick’s Day and now Mardi Gras. What holiday will Kentucky Owl celebrate next? (Arbor Day! -Ed.) Kentucky Owl Mardi Gras XO Cask debuted late last fall, alongside another pricey bottling, Batch 12 Bourbon, and well in advance of the Big Easy’s famous Carnival season. It’s been several years since Stoli offered a Kentucky Owl…
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No, not that A Midwinter Nights Dram. This is a single malt from the beloved Highland Scotch producer Glenmorangie. You’ve probably never even seen this bottle on a shelf since it was a limited edition released only in the United Kingdom way back in the fall of 2015, when the world was a simpler, less…
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The GlenAllachie continues to periodically add to its single cask collection with distillery exclusive bottlings as well as limited releases selected and bottled just for the states by ImpEx. We received a small sample of a 2021 U.S.-only release and picked up a more recent example on a trip to Scotland last year. Thoughts follow.…
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We took our first look at Oxley Gin back in 2011 when it was subtitled Classic English Dry Gin. More than a decade later, the overall packaging has been tweaked quite a bit with the most obvious label change being a new focus on Cold Distilled, this gin’s unique method of production, instead of the…
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