Author: Xenoraiser

  • Powers John’s Lane Scoresheet & Review

    Powers John’s Lane Scoresheet & Review

    Powers feels awkwardly positioned as a brand in today’s ever-growing whiskey market. The short version is that it pays homage to James Power, a key figure in Irish whiskey’s glory days during the 19th century. How glorious, you might ask? Try an annual productive capacity of over one million gallons…

  • Bunnahabhain 12-Year Scoresheet & Review

    Bunnahabhain 12-Year Scoresheet & Review

    Bunnahabhain is unique for a very simple reason: It’s one of the only Islay distilleries to produce unpeated malt whisky. That’s not to say no peated whisky is produced there (see: Toiteach A Dhà), but unpeated Islay single malt is more or less the spiel. That and the common bottling…

  • Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Batch 97 Scoresheet & Review

    Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Batch 97 Scoresheet & Review

    Jos. A. Magnus & Co. (aka Joseph Magnus) is a bit of an outlier in the greater, current whiskey scene. Where other brands release multiple individual bottlings or line extensions, the Joseph Magnus name is mainly home to three expressions: the triple cask finished bourbon, the Murray Hill Club blend,…

  • Hayes Parker Reserve Scoresheet & Review

    Hayes Parker Reserve Scoresheet & Review

    If there’s one thing people always want more of, it’s convenience. Discover a way to make things easier on society and perked ears will almost certainly be in your future. The minds behind TerraPURE Spirits certainly had a grasp on this. After all, people love whiskey and whiskey takes time,…

  • Rebel Distiller’s Collection Liquor Barn Pick #7 Scoresheet & Review

    Rebel Distiller’s Collection Liquor Barn Pick #7 Scoresheet & Review

    Rebel (formerly Rebel Yell) is a brand that ostensibly inspires little curiosity beyond its amusing name. Lux Row would have you believe the brand can be traced back to the 19th century, which isn’t technically wrong, but it does muddy the reality. Rebel Yell products made their first official appearance…

  • Jim Beam White Label Scoresheet & Review

    Jim Beam White Label Scoresheet & Review

    You know what I love about readily available and affordable whiskey? It’s easy to return to. That may sound silly and blatant, but when you’re more of an exploratory hobbyist, having familiar options you can readily come back to is comforting. All fans start somewhere, and when all is said…

  • Elijah Craig Rye Scoresheet & Review

    Elijah Craig Rye Scoresheet & Review

    The introduction of Elijah Craig Rye in early 2020 felt equally odd and appropriate. Odd when compared to its peers, but appropriate since other brands were catching on to rye’s growing popularity. Heaven Hill were already producing a budget-oriented rye whiskey in Rittenhouse, a bonded expression commonly used for cocktails,…

  • Castle & Key Small Batch (Batch 3) Scoresheet & Review

    Castle & Key Small Batch (Batch 3) Scoresheet & Review

    Anyone versed in bourbon history (or who watched Neat: The Story of Bourbon) likely anticipated Castle & Key’s first in-house bourbon release with bated breath. The brand’s story of resurrecting the Old Taylor Distillery is well-documented at this point, and the appeal is undeniable. Bourbon produced for the first time…

  • High West Double Rye! Scoresheet & Review

    High West Double Rye! Scoresheet & Review

    High West’s story as a whiskey producer elicits a wide spectrum of reactions. Intrigue, surprise, endearment, disappointment, confusion, the list goes on. In a 15-year span they built a reputation as a fresh face to whiskey thanks to some respectably aged (usually sourced) products, barrel selections with some curious finishes,…

  • Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Unforgotten Scoresheet & Review

    Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Unforgotten Scoresheet & Review

    Most of us are familiar with the Boss Ross quote, “we don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.” Eddie Russell would likely agree, given he OK’d the original release of Wild Turkey Forgiven in 2013, an allegedly accidental blend of bourbon and rye. Turns out Forgiven was a fondly regarded…

  • Sagamore Spirit Double Oak Scoresheet & Review

    Sagamore Spirit Double Oak Scoresheet & Review

    It’s nigh impossible to be a part of the American whiskey zeitgeist and not be exposed to double oaked bourbon. The idea is simple enough: take aged whiskey and put into another fresh cask for additional aging. A whiskey’s first years in freshly charred (and toasted) barrels are generally considered…

  • Ezra Brooks 99 Scoresheet & Review

    Ezra Brooks 99 Scoresheet & Review

    Ezra Brooks 90 proof might be the best budget bourbon sleeper I’ve tried to date. Bottles continue trekking up in price, leaving the sub-$20 bourbon market increasingly scarce as far as worthwhile contenders go. So to see a reasonable priced and proofed bourbon not only provide a competent drinking experience…