bourbon
Happy Women’s History Month! Putting together an extensive list of women-owned whiskey brands would have been challenging only 10 years ago. But things have changed, to the point where I could now write for hours about the women leading American whiskey alone, much less other spirits categories. That said, women still make up a small…
Stonestreet Founder’s Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon is the creation of Christopher Stonestreet Jackson, the son of renowned wine producer Jess Stonestreet Jackson. The Jackson family, founders of well-known brands such as Kendall Jackson and Stonestreet Winery, are celebrated for their contributions to American wine. They have also achieved remarkable success in thoroughbred racing, with Stonestreet…
Per the producer of Edmond’s Honor: “Off the coast of Madagascar, on a small island of Bourbon (known today as Reunion) began the extraordinary tale of Edmond Albius, an untrained prodigy, who centuries ago, unlocked the secret to manually pollinating vanilla. At only twelve years old his natural curiosity transformed vanilla into a coveted world…
After 113 years, the rumors of Bourbon de Luxe’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Indeed, the storied brand is back under new ownership, with a label that harkens back to its early to mid-century glory days. First, a quick history lesson, thanks in large part to bourbon historian and attorney Brian Haara. Bourbon de Luxe…
Nostalgia is part of the allure of bourbon. Amidst the current boom, new brands are faced with the choice to craft fresh branding or revive bygone vintage brands. Andrew English and Troy LeBlanc chose the path of reviving history with the formation of Old Commonwealth Distillery. Their second release pays homage to Mellwood Distillery’s Kentucky…
The Pacific Northwest is ripe with American single malt whisky, but Seattle’s 2bar Spirits sets its sights on executing quality bourbon. Nathan Kaiser established the modest Seattle distillery in 2010 and formally opened in 2012. Drinkhacker first checked in with 2bar’s bourbon in 2014 with a bottling aged for 9 months in 15-gallon barrels. Given…
Beam’s Booker’s brand is getting its first new innovation since 2019 with the launch of The Reserves, the first of a new, annually released series that elevate the Booker’s experience even further. The twist? These aren’t the result of a single day’s production but rather a blend of barrels pulled from the “center cut” of…
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…
Casey Jones Distillery in Hopkinsville, Kentucky is a relatively new distillery on the scene, but they put the whiskey community on notice when taking home Best in Show from the 2023 American Craft Spirits Association. The history of Casey Jones is that of illicit distilling near Golden Pond, but now very licit. Casey Jones refers…
Since they began procuring whiskey from other producers in 2011, Smooth Ambler hasn’t been shy about labeling the resulting products as sourced. Today, the distillery categorizes its offerings across three labels: Old Scout, a brand for their sourced offerings Founders’ Series, which denotes bottlings with 100 percent in-house distillate Contradiction, with bottlings containing a blend…