Review: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch B522 (May 2022)
The second ECBP for 2022 arrived earlier this summer, clocking in at just a hair hotter than A122‘s 120.8 proof. By now you know the drill about what’s in this seasonally released 12 year old bourbon. Let’s dive in. Toasty but not overly woody on the nose, B522 sets up to be more barrel-forward than…
Review: St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur
St. George is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, but its coffee liqueur is inspired by New Orleans, using Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee beans, Madagascar vanilla, and organic cane sugar as the basis for its rich spirit. The nose is classically bold, with a coarse grind of coffee doused with vanilla and dark chocolate evident.…
Review: Westward Single Malt Whiskey Elements: High Desert to Klamath Basin
We’ve reviewed several single malts from Oregon’s Westward Whiskey in recent years, but no one told us the distillery had its own whiskey club! Color us a little envious that we weren’t invited to join. For those interested, here are a few deets: Launched in 2019 and previously available exclusively in Oregon, the home of Westward Whiskey,…
Jefferson’s Founder Trey Zoeller Talks Bourbon Heritage and Making Kentucky “Cool”
In the age of bourbon sourcing, blending, and cask finishes, Jefferson’s Bourbon certainly stands out as a pioneer. Launched in 1997, the brand predates the 2010s “Bourbon Boom” by more than a decade, and Jefferson’s founder Trey Zoeller has witnessed most of the industry’s current trends since their inception. Indeed, Zoeller and his team were…
Review: Shortbarrel Toasted Bourbon 101 and Rye 101
Georgia-based Shortbarrel is a recent addition to the ever-growing list of independent American whiskey bottlers. It began as a barrel picking group in 2016, but by 2021, after more than 350 barrel picks, a few of the group’s members decided to graduate to brand building. In less than two years, they’ve established a modest portfolio…
Book Review: A Sense of Place: A Journey Around Scotland’s Whisky
On one of my first press jaunts as a doe-eyed, aspiring whisky scribe, I sat on a bus next to Chuck Cowdery, someone whom I regard and respect as a true statesman of the profession to this day. We were discussing Kentucky (I was fairly new to the Commonwealth at the time), and he leaned…
Review: Bearface Triple Oak Canadian Whisky 7 Years Old
Bearface is a relatively new Canadian whisky brand with a somewhat complicated backstory. First, the name, Bearface, comes from the fact that the whisky is said to be aged in “Bear Country.” More specifically, it’s aged in shipping containers located in British Columbia where they do have their fair share of bears, but more importantly,…
Review: Wines of Raeburn, 2022 Releases
Raeburn can be found in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, where it’s turning out unique, interesting, and affordable wines. Let’s look at a pair from the new 2021 vintage and a 2020 chardonnay. 2021 Raeburn Rose Russian River Valley – Extremely pale in color, you could be easily forgiven for assuming this was a standard white…
