Tag: bourbon

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Book Nook: 101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die, by Ian Buxton

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Blurb: 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die is a whisky guide with a difference. It is not an awards list. It is not a list of the 101 ‘best’ whiskies in the world in the opinion of a self-appointed whisky guru. It is simply a guide to the 101 whiskies that enthusiasts must seek out and try in order to complete their whisky education. Avoiding the deliberately obscure, the ridiculously limited and the absurdly expensive, whisky expert Ian Buxton recommends an eclectic selection of old favourites, stellar newcomers and mystifyingly unknown drams that simply have to be drunk. The book … Continue reading Book Nook: 101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die, by Ian Buxton

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Branch on Fire: Peerless Double Oak Bourbon

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Peerless has only been a distillery in its current iteration since 2015, located in downtown Louisville. But they quickly made a name for themselves when their Rye started winning awards in 2017. The rye has been the flagship since, by and large. Enter Peerless Double Oak. Double Oak means exactly what you would think it means, it gets taken from one fresh oak cask, after aging, and put into another fresh oak cask for more aging. The idea being that new wood provides more flavor. It is a concept that is getting more and more popular, although I will admit … Continue reading Branch on Fire: Peerless Double Oak Bourbon

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Branch on Fire: Indiana Whiskey Just Whiskey Cask Strength

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The Indiana Bourbon Club did the March Madness thing for whiskey recently. You know, pit a bunch of local places against each other and have fans vote on champions. It is as unscientific as it gets, but generally fun. I have only had a few of these: Hotel Tango, Starlight and Indiana Whiskey. I have heard good things about Hard Truth and have been looking for that one. Seeing this reminded me I still have a couple of bottles I picked up at Indiana Whiskey in South Bend, so it is time for a proper write-up. Indiana Whiskey was started … Continue reading Branch on Fire: Indiana Whiskey Just Whiskey Cask Strength

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Book Nook: Pappyland, by Wright Thompson

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I’m just old enough to remember finding Pappy Van Winkle on the liquor store shelfs. I can still remember the last bottle I found in the wild. I was in Effingham, right when the Van Winkle boom was kicking up, and there was a bottle of Pappy 12 for $80. I snagged it. I drank it, not realizing at the time what was about to happen to the whiskey industry. The last time I drank Pappy 23 was the day I started my new job nearly three years ago. We were in Chicago for my training and we found a … Continue reading Book Nook: Pappyland, by Wright Thompson

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Branch on Fire: Knob Creek Single Barrel Brown Butter (A1 Store Pick)

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I haven’t written up any whiskey reviews lately, but wanted to throw this one up since, as you can see in the picture below, I’m about to polish this one off. A1 Liquors and the Rusty Water Society did this single barrel selection a while back and I was lucky enough to get a bottle of the Brown Butter, as they call it. Brown Butter is a 9 1/2 year old, 120-proof bomb from Knob Creek. Nirav Patel, the godfather of Rusty Water, tends to lean toward the higher proof whiskeys for their selections. Not a damn thing wrong with … Continue reading Branch on Fire: Knob Creek Single Barrel Brown Butter (A1 Store Pick)

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Branch On Fire: George Remus Single Barrel: A1 Store Pick

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George Remus and his role in bootlegging whiskey is not as well known at the likes of Al Capone, Arnold Rothstein, or Bugsy Siegel, but he probably should be. His story is worthy of a big budget movie the likes the previously mentioned have received. Even more surprising, it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that a bourbon was named after him. But that may have been fortuitous to juice giant MGP. If you are not familiar with MGP, you probably are but don’t know it. Located in Indiana, the produce much of the whiskey “juice” that gets sold … Continue reading Branch On Fire: George Remus Single Barrel: A1 Store Pick