Tag: B+ grade
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Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Rye Scoresheet & Review
When news broke that Campari was acquiring Wilderness Trail for a healthy $420 million (plus another $180 million for complete ownership by 2031), it sent quite a ripple through the industry. The combination is curious, given that Campari isn’t known for its robust whiskey portfolio, and Wilderness Trail is helping…
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Maker’s Mark 2022 Wood Finishing Series (BRT-02) Scoresheet & Review
I’ve grown increasingly jaded towards finished whisky over time. In theory, it’s an interesting—even exciting—idea: Take a mature whisky and dump it into a different, secondary cask for a few weeks, granting it more flavor, dimension, and complexity. However, the sheer volume of bottles using finishing casks has exploded to…
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Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Scoresheet & Review
The Russell’s Reserve name has become a force to be reckoned with in the past couple of years. Much of this is thanks to the 13-Year and Single Rickhouse LEs being introduced, both contributing an increased degree of interest in the brand. It’s been a long time coming, too, as…
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Nashville Barrel Company 8-Year Rye (Inlet Harbour Pick) Scoresheet & Review
Chances are good that you’ve at least heard of Nashville Barrel Company. Although new brands are essentially old news these days, Nashville Barrel Company is quite young for the presence and reputation they’ve garnered. Founded in 2018 by Mike Hinds and James Davenport, they sought to create a brand rooted…
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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,…
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Willett 8-Year Wheated Bourbon Scoresheet & Review
If I did End of Year posts, then Willett 8-Year Wheated Bourbon would be a frontrunner for the most audacious release. The market for a product like this feels ripe for the taking, as wheated products have seen a slow-as-snails bump in selection. Willett isn’t known for dropping age-stated products…
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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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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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Four Roses Small Batch Select Scoresheet & Review
My previous (also first) Four Roses review practically slipped into gush territory. I remarked that, unlike most bottles I bestow with the Daily Drinker verdict, Four Roses Single Barrel could actually hold up as a sole daily and not eventually bore me. This is only aided by the variation that…
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Maker’s Mark 2021 Wood Finishing Series (FAE-01) Scoresheet & Review
Being a Maker’s Mark fan can sometimes feel like being in a romantic relationship. Most of the time it’s great; they’re there for you when you need them and every so often, they’ll spice things up for good measure. Eventually, however, it gets to a point where things start to…
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Booker’s (2019-03, “Country Ham”) Scoresheet & Review
Booker’s is just one of many brands I’d love to continue exploring. Some things improve after you reminisce, and whiskey is hardly an exception. With Booker’s, it took multiple batches and exposure to other bourbons for me to fully appreciate it. What consistently stands out, regardless of how much I…
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Lagavulin 9-Year Lannister Scoresheet & Review
Up to this point, the closest I’ve come to reviewing a peated whisky was my last review for a Game of Thrones brand Diageo single malt. It’s easy to think of Talisker Select Reserve as definitively peaty when compared to the slow-growing list of scotches I’ve reviewed. Yet if we…
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