David Tao
South Carolina’s High Wire Distilling is known for various brandies and Revival Rye, but its biggest claim to fame is undoubtedly Jimmy Red Bourbon. The house style whiskey is distilled from 100% Jimmy Red corn, an heirloom grain with kernels the shade of ripe pomegranate seeds. Over the years, High Wire has expanded the Jimmy…
Bourbon, but make it cologne. No, really. That’s the impetus behind a new fragrance fashioned after one of the world’s most popular whiskey brands. Will it actually make you smell like Elijah Craig? Elijah Craig Char No. 3 Cologne is a custom scent developed and produced by multinational fragrance company Crafting Beauty, in partnership with…
Buckle up, Bowmore fans. Islay’s oldest licensed distillery is introducing four new expressions to the U.S. market, each from its Sherry Oak Cask Collection. These include 12, 15, 18, and 21 year-old single malts, all matured across a variety of both ex-bourbon and sherry seasoned casks. The 12 and 15 year old expressions hit stateside…
Founded in 2021, Kentucky-based Rare Character has become something of a fan darling among non-distilling producers. In addition to their branded releases — which include both single barrels and batched products — the company has revived and relaunched a number of historic labels, including Fortuna, Brook Hill, and Old Cassidy. The company’s latest offering is…
While 30 year bourbon isn’t exactly a novel concept, it’s exceedingly rare. In the past few decades, only a handful of brands have bottled bourbon that’s hit or eclipsed the three-decade mark, among them Final Reserve (45 and 42 Years), Redemption Whiskey (36 Years), I.W. Harper (34 Years), and Jefferson’s Bourbon (30 Years). So while…
For most whiskey fans, December marks the end of release season. For devotees of Colorado-based Stranahan’s (self-proclaimed “Strana-fans”), it’s time for Snowflake, the distillery’s most anticipated and acclaimed whiskey. Bottles go on sale following a week of branded festivities, with nearly all going to those who camped out to reserve spots in line. Whiskey, it…
Hotaling & Co. is a San Francisco-based distillery that officially split from Anchor Brewing around 2017, an especially fortuitous turn given the latter company’s closing in 2023. (The brewery has since been purchased, though there’s no immediate sign it will restart operations.) But Hotaling’s history predates that legal separation by decades, and the distillery has…
Brooklyn-based (and Heaven Hill-owned) Widow Jane is back with its seventh iteration of The Vaults, a 15 year blend of straight bourbon whiskeys finished in a changing lineup of secondary casks. As usual, the base liquid is a mix of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana-distilled bourbons. No surprise there, but when it comes to secondary maturation,…
Smokeye Hill is a Colorado-based producer that made a semi-viral splash in 2024 with their barrel proof bourbon with blue corn in the mashbill. I was personally and pleasantly surprised at that release’s quality, and it holds up as one of the more captivating new bourbons I tasted last year. (We also thought their 93…
The Glenlivet is kicking off a new, annual series of releases dubbed Beyond Speyside. As the name suggests, the line will focus on whiskies “inspired by destinations from around the world.” A first stop on that promised global tour is Jamaica. At least, it’s a taste of Jamaica, in this case represented by rum cask-finished…