Tag: straight bourbon whiskey

  • Knob Creek Small Batch 9-Year Scoresheet & Review

    Knob Creek Small Batch 9-Year Scoresheet & Review

    Many casual drinkers probably don’t realize just how prolific brands like Jim Beam actually are. Bottles bearing the Clermont distillery’s name are easy enough to discern, but Jim Beam plays host to many others as well. Consider their parent company, Beam Suntory, and Jim Beam’s prominence becomes that much more…

  • Four Roses Small Batch Select Scoresheet & Review

    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…

  • Maker’s Mark 101 Scoresheet & Review

    Maker’s Mark 101 Scoresheet & Review

    When Maker’s Mark refer to their Loretto distillery as “little,” it honestly feels disingenuous.  Sure, they’re not the biggest bourbon brand out there, but they aren’t far off as far as cases sold. And that level of volume practically necessitates a sizeable facility to meet demand. Not to mention the…

  • Maker’s Mark 2021 Wood Finishing Series (FAE-01) Scoresheet & Review

    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…

  • Russell’s Reserve 10-Year Scoresheet & Review

    Russell’s Reserve 10-Year Scoresheet & Review

    Stop me if you’ve heard this one: I’ve always wanted to try [insert bottle name], but just never got around to it. Bourbon’s ongoing popularity continues to grant an overwhelming amount of selection to shoppers, both at the liquor store and online. All these options make likelihood of exploring as…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Weller Full Proof (Total Wine Pick) Scoresheet & Review

    Weller Full Proof (Total Wine Pick) Scoresheet & Review

    Like it or not, much of the ongoing interest in bourbon is thanks to Buffalo Trace. They’re a distillery that’s bigger than most casual drinkers might realize. All one needs to do is visit the “Our Brands” part of Buffalo Trace’s website to see just how many names and bottles…

  • Willett Pot Still Reserve Scoresheet & Review

    Willett Pot Still Reserve Scoresheet & Review

    Some of you may know that I took my first trip to Kentucky this past summer to do a little distillery trek (by little I mean 12, 13 if we include Chattanooga Whiskey). I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, mostly that I wanted to find out what bourbon country…

  • Thomas S. Moore Cabernet Sauvignon Finish Scoresheet & Review

    Thomas S. Moore Cabernet Sauvignon Finish Scoresheet & Review

    Barton 1792 gets around more than one might think. On top of the in-house 1792 line, their whiskey is used for the likes of Very Old Barton, Sam Houston, Calumet Farm, Goodwood, and perhaps most recently, Thomas S. Moore. The name is taken from a pioneer who, in 1889, built…

  • Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve Scoresheet & Review

    Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve Scoresheet & Review

    Keeping track of what brands belong to what distillery and what distilleries belong to what parent company is no simple task. I’d argue that it’s one of the biggest barriers to entry for those looking to become more invested in whiskey. For example, the publicly traded Brown-Forman manufactures the likes…

  • Zackariah Harris Scoresheet & Review

    Zackariah Harris Scoresheet & Review

    When it comes to bottom-shelf spirits, few sayings spring to mind faster than “you get what you pay for.” There are commonly two consumers of these products: those who just want a fix, and those who are short on cash—the two tend to go hand-in-hand. Then we have the morbidly…