Tag: cask strength

  • Booker’s (2019-03, “Country Ham”) Scoresheet & Review

    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…

  • Stellum Rye Serpens Pick Scoresheet & Review

    Stellum Rye Serpens Pick Scoresheet & Review

    Ask a more casual or budget-minded drinker for their thoughts on Barrell Craft Spirits and the issue of pricing is all but guaranteed to come up. Even those in the more enthusiast-level crowd will utter similar comments. It’s the classic “weak value” versus “paying for quality” dilemma which only becomes…

  • Penelope Bourbon Barrel Strength (Batch 10) Scoresheet & Review

    Penelope Bourbon Barrel Strength (Batch 10) Scoresheet & Review

    The folks at Penelope Bourbon have one of the more down-to-earth backstories as far as whiskey producers go. Rather than naming the brand after yet another famous figure in spirits history, founders Michael and Kerry Paladini chose a different source: the impending birth of their daughter in 2018. The idea…

  • Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Rye r/bourbon Pick Scoresheet & Review

    Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Rye r/bourbon Pick Scoresheet & Review

    Wilderness Trail is just one of many new faces to the American whiskey scene. At first glance, their operation might not seem terribly distinct, other than the fact the distillery is a bit of a detour on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Yet this 10-year-old establishment in Danville has been generating…

  • Chattanooga Whiskey 111 Scoresheet & Review

    Chattanooga Whiskey 111 Scoresheet & Review

    I’ve already talked at length about Chattanooga Whiskey in my review of their 91-proof “Tennessee High Malt,” a 4-grain bourbon with a 2-year age statement that makes use of a 4000-gallon charred oak Solera barrel for finishing. Then there’s their other core bourbon offering: the 111 Cask. Both expressions see…

  • Maker’s Mark Cask Strength (Batch 20-03) Scoresheet & Review

    Maker’s Mark Cask Strength (Batch 20-03) Scoresheet & Review

    Maker’s Mark isn’t a brand I normally associate with high-value products. Many of my peers even consider the entry-level bourbon to be a more premium offering than other, similarly priced expressions. Branding certainly plays a part, which only goes even further if you visit the distillery in Loretto. Maker’s Mark…

  • Little Book Chapter 4: “Lessons Honored” Scoresheet & Review

    Little Book Chapter 4: “Lessons Honored” Scoresheet & Review

    My reviews of the 2020 Booker’s batches do a sufficient job articulating how I feel about the brand as a whole: Absolutely enjoyable whiskey for a perhaps unreasonable price. Despite their batched nature, there are certain expectations with Booker’s, be it the 6-7 year age statement, rickhouse details, 120+ proof…

  • Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel Scoresheet & Review

    Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel Scoresheet & Review

    Blanton’s might just be the most polarizing whiskey these days. It was instrumental in getting bourbon out of its slump years thanks in no small part to the single barrel nature, decorative bottle design, and collectible bottle tops. This popularity has skyrocketed to the point that people are willing to…

  • Redbreast 12 Cask Strength (B2/19) Scoresheet & Review

    Redbreast 12 Cask Strength (B2/19) Scoresheet & Review

    I already gushed about Redbreast 12 earlier this month, but since today is Saint Patrick’s Day, I needed another quality Irish whiskey to examine. My first impressions of the standard expression were already positive, so a couple months later I combined that with my brief “high proof or bust” period…

  • Stagg Jr. Batch 14 Scoresheet & Review

    Stagg Jr. Batch 14 Scoresheet & Review

    Around this time last year, I tried Stagg Jr. for the first time. It was a procured sample of batch 13 that I split into two separate pours, mostly to double-check my thoughts. By the time I finished my second pour, I frustratedly declared it my favorite whiskey. Fast-forward a…

  • Wild Turkey Rare Breed Scoresheet & Review

    Wild Turkey Rare Breed Scoresheet & Review

    Today is Thanksgiving, the obligatory Wild Turkey day, which means now is as good a time as any to talk about one of my favorite bourbons when I began my whiskey journey in earnest two years ago: Rare Breed. If you’re like me, you grew up regarding Wild Turkey with…