Review: Barrell Bourbon Batch 33
Barrell is back with yet another bourbon batch. It’s number 33, for those counting the rings on this dependable old tree. Once again, this is a blend of bourbons sourced from Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee, with the slight distinction that it’s a younger batch than previous releases. You have to go all the way back…
Review: Bardstown Bourbon Discovery Series #8 and #9
Bardstown Bourbon Co. traditionally releases new editions of its Fusion and Discovery Series together. This summer, things have been switched up a bit. Instead of one of each, we’re getting two Discovery Series bottlings — editions #8 and #9. These blends are quite different, including a stave-finished offering and a whiskey whose biggest component hails…
Review: Barrell Gray Label Dovetail
For those thinking the launch of the Stellum whiskey line in 2021 would mark a more wallet-friendly turn for Barrell Craft Spirits, the company put that idea to bed with a coinciding move way up-market in the form of new Gold Label and Gray Label releases. While we’ve only yet seen a Gold Label Bourbon,…
Review: Chicken Cock Island Rooster Rye
The latest Chicken Cock release has arrived: Island Rooster, a Kentucky straight rye (95% rye, 5% barley) finished in Caribbean rum casks for six months. No age info on the base spirit, however. The results are decidedly strange — and they distinctly lean toward the rum side of the fence. The nose is very floral,…
Book Review: Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails
Camper English’s Doctors and Distillers can be construed as a history book. However, the problem with that designation is that it invokes imagery of starched-shirt history teachers hell-bent on the recitation of dates, names, endless quizzes, essays, and obscure characters on the peripherals of history. English does an excellent job diving deep into the symbiotic…
Review: Procera Red Dot Gin and Green Dot Gin 2022
We reviewed Procera Blue Dot Gin in January and liked it so much that it found its way onto our list of top 10 gins of the year. Now, half a year later, Procera has released two new, very different follow-ups. One is made exclusively from botanicals drawn from the juniper tree, and the other…
Review: 2017 Vina Cobos Reptil Malbec
Nestled in the Uco Valley region of the Mendoza province of Argentina, the legendary Paul Hobbs has quietly delivered one pleasing bottle after another under the Viña Cobos moniker. Much like siblings Bramare and Felino, Reptil promises to hold attention and offers some of the best the region has to offer. Let’s find out. Complex…
Review: Foursquare Mark XVIII “Indelible” Single Blended Rum
It’s getting a bit hard to keep up with these Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selections. I don’t know if they adhere to a particular schedule, but I seem to always be noticing a new one on the shelf at least a couple of times each year (and at steeper and steeper price points). In addition to…
