Bourbon
Bourbon is the unquestioned king of American whiskey, its production dating back to the 1700s. While bourbon is invariably associated with Kentucky, where 95 percent of all bourbon is produced today, in reality it can be produced anywhere in the U.S. (though only Kentucky Bourbon can include the name of the state on the label). By U.S. law, bourbon must be made from a mash of at least 51% corn; be aged in new, charred oak containers; distilled to no more than 160 proof, entered into barrel at no more than 125 proof, and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof. Contrary to popular opinion, there’s no minimum aging requirement for bourbon, although straight bourbon must be aged for at least two years and cannot have added coloring. One of the most popular spirits in today’s drinking world, bourbon prices have been on the rise as stocks have dwindled — although massive investments in the industry promise to ease those supply pressures in coming years.
Top Bourbon Posts:
Tips, Tricks, and Advice on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Top 10 Bourbons Under $20
Buffalo Trace’s Single Oak Project
The spread of the concept of finishing bourbon in various types of casks is largely a result of the work of Woodford Reserve and Angel’s Envy. Today, the American whiskey industry is in a perpetual arms race to see who can come up with the next unique finishing cask to grab consumer intrigue. Despite their…
Read More
Elijah Craig isn’t sleeping this summer, with two new expressions hitting the market in quick succession. The first is the expected May edition of its Barrel Proof lineup, the other a second golf-inspired limited release that follows up on its recent Ryder Cup edition. Full details and tasting notes follow. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch…
Read More
Lux Row’s 10th edition of Blood Oath is here, this one double finished in two different wine casks. Details! Blood Oath Pact 10 combines some of the finest rare bourbons Lux Row Master Distiller and Master Blender John Rempe could find, including two well-bred ryed bourbons and one finished bourbon each complementing the others. In…
Read More
Pinhook is a non-distilling producer of ryes and bourbons and has been on a steady clip of releases since 2014, albeit somewhat an uneven and quizzical one. After a run of limited releases, Pinhook only then began building a stable of core expressions. (Spoiler alert: Horse racing analogies abound, both in their marketing and from…
Read More
Maverick Distilling has graced these pages three times prior to today, with its Private Reserve Bourbon and Barrel Proof offerings classic examples of the Texas whiskeymaking style. Now we’re back with another spin on the bourbon formula: a bottled-in-bond offering of the Private Reserve expression. Private Reserve has a mashbill of 72% Texas-grown corn, 18%…
Read More
Diageo’s Orphan Barrel Project rolls right along with a return to familiar grounds: namely, three bourbon-making regions of the United States. Specifically, the whiskey in this bottle starts as a mash of 68% corn, 28% rye, and 4% malted barley. Distilled in Indiana, it aged 18 years in Kentucky, and was ultimately bottled by Cascade…
Read More
Time to round out our Keeper’s Heart coverage with the final two offerings in their core portfolio. Last year, we had the chance to chat about the young Irish and American whiskey mashup brand with industry icon David Perkins, who serves as Liquid Collaborator and Advisor. Perkins had high praise in our interview for a…
Read More
Well, would ya look at that? Our pals at Milam & Greene have released their first bonded whiskey, a permanent addition to the portfolio that is distilled in Bardstown, Kentucky (this one in Autumn 2019), aged in #4 char barrels in Kentucky, then bottled in Blanco, Texas (just a few months ago for this first…
Read More
We first encountered Wyoming-based High N’ Wicked with one of its one-off releases back in 2021 — and there have been plenty more where that came from. Today we’re taking a step back and looking at the brand’s two flagship whiskeys — a bourbon and a rye, both sourced (but from different locales). We’ve got…
Read More
Last summer, we reviewed country music singer Eric Church’s first foray into whiskey, Whiskey Jypsi Legacy Batch 001. It was an unusual blend of bourbon, single malt, and Canadian whiskey that ended up being one of the better star-backed bottlings we’ve come across, albeit priced a bit steeply (like so many celebrity offerings). To our…
Read More