Author: Xenoraiser
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Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered (Batch 45) Scoresheet & Review
The spirits industry (bourbon in particular) has been seeing a lot of firsts recently. For example, it was only a decade ago that a Las Vegas distillery was first established. Enter Nevada H&C Distilling Company, founded by Aaron Chepenik and Jonathan Hensleigh. Their backstory comes from trying a host of…
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Buffalo Trace Scoresheet & Review
These days it’s nearly impossible to discuss bourbon at large without mentioning Buffalo Trace. If not the brand name itself, then certainly any of their multiple bottlings. The Frankfort distillery’s more coveted expressions (Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, Van Winkle) might be what some enthusiasts go nuts for, but even their…
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Willett Family Estate Rye Scoresheet & Review
Willett has always been a tricky distillery for me to pin down. A host of people hold the brand in particularly high regards, largely thanks to their purple-top (Family Estate Bottled) bourbon. These coveted bottles can occasionally push the 30-year mark, but tend to land between 4 and 12 years…
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Heaven’s Door Decade Series 10-Year Scoresheet & Review
Of all the celebrity-sponsored whiskey brands out there, Heaven’s Door might be one of the more respected. Initial responses to the core lineup may have amounted to a resounding shrug, but the brand has gone on to offer a slew of other releases, including barrel picks and at least one…
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Maker’s Mark 2021 Wood Finishing Series (FAE-02) Scoresheet & Review
Maker’s Mark is one of my favorite distilleries. That’s not exactly an unpopular opinion, given the brand’s iconic look and penchant for consistency. However, my appreciation for Maker’s Mark largely comes from their uniquely finished products, namely the Private Selections and Wood Finishing Series. Rather than taking their whisky and…
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Milam & Greene Triple Cask Scoresheet & Review
If you’ve seen the popular Epicurious video Whiskey Expert Guesses Cheap vs Expensive Whiskey, then you might be familiar with Milam & Greene. The second name comes from Heather Greene, the brand’s CEO. Greene was the first American woman to serve on the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society in Edinburgh and,…
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Teeling Single Grain Scoresheet & Review
Grain whiskey is a style that often flies under the radar. Part of this is due to the relative dearth of available options, further confounded by a likely confusion about what separates grain whiskey from other categories. Yet the simplicity of it is right in the name: grain whiskey can…
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Knob Creek Single Barrel Norman’s Liquors Pick Scoresheet & Review
Nostalgia and hindsight make for one hell of a combination. It wasn’t long ago that folks were singing praise for Knob Creek Single Barrel picks sitting on shelves, some of them as old as 16 years. Yet bourbon continues to boom, and it was only a matter of time before…
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Old Forester 100 Scoresheet & Review
Divisive opinions are nothing new to the overarching whisky community. It’s just one of many factors that makes sharing and discussing whisky both interesting and enjoyable. Yet if I had to identify one distillery that splits thoughts more than any other, Old Forester would certainly be a frontrunner. This primarily…
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Courage & Conviction Scoresheet & Review
Newer distilleries have their work cut out for them. We might often hear about the collaborative nature of whiskey production, but at the end of the day, several bottles will compete for customer and consumer attention. To that end, established names like Buffalo Trace, Old Forester, and Wild Turkey are…
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Wilderness Trail Yellow Label Scoresheet & Review
Out of all the distilleries I visited in Kentucky last year, Wilderness Trail had the most je ne sais quoi to it. Their grounds are a bit out of the way on the Bourbon Trail, with the most immediately eye-catching part being just how much land they occupy. Yet the…
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Driftless Glen Single Barrel Rye Scoresheet & Review
Craft and otherwise newer whiskey producers are going through something of a transformation. Where these fresh faces were previously dismissed by most, oftentimes for being minimally aged while commanding high prices, they’re now being accepted and even sought-after in some cases. Among the more recent examples are producers outside of…
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