Tag: whiskey

DrinkLeave a comment

Branch On Fire: Glenfiddich Fire & Cane

weezel32

Glenfiddich is one of the most established makers of Scotch out there. They have been doing single malts for a long, long time and are the biggest seller of single malts out there. They are known for the sweeter side of scotch, from the Speyside. Fire & Cane, however, is one of their new offerings, an experimental whiskey. Fire & Cane takes their rare peated single malt and combines the fruit-forward Speyside, making it “half-peated”. Peated Glenfiddich was previously hard to find, mostly in duty-free stores. Both are aged in ex bourbon barrels. The “Cane” comes from the cask finishing … Continue reading Branch On Fire: Glenfiddich Fire & Cane

DrinkLeave a comment

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

weezel32

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

DrinkLeave a comment

Branch On Fire: Oban–The Night’s Watch Oban Bay Reserve (Game of Thrones)

weezel32

Listen, we all know I’m a sucker for nerd culture. Just look at my Funko obsession. That predilection carries over to my alcohol consumption as well. You slap some nerd or pop culture theme on something and I’m more likely to buy it. Case in point: Oban’s The Night’s Watch Oban Bay Reserve, which is part of the Game of Thrones series of whiskeys they have done. It’s not the only one I have purchased from that series. More on that at a later day. HBO teamed up with liquor super giant Diageo to create eight scotches, each paired with … Continue reading Branch On Fire: Oban–The Night’s Watch Oban Bay Reserve (Game of Thrones)

DrinkLeave a comment

Branch On Fire: Knob Creek Small Batch 100

weezel32

Knob Creek is owned by the parent company of Jim Beam (now Beam Suntory, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings in Japan), and this is one of the Clermont, Kentucky’s easier to find whiskeys. It is the cheaper sibling of their small batch brands, alongside Booker’s, Baker’s and Basil Hayden. Introduced in 1992, Knob Creek Small Batch is the original of the brand line, with a few variants follwoing over the last 30 years. And while it is not a whale by any means, it is still a solid bourbon well worth the price tag of $35-40 or so it typically … Continue reading Branch On Fire: Knob Creek Small Batch 100

DrinkLeave a comment

Branch On Fire: Old Forester Whiskey Row

weezel32

The last Branch on Fire I did was for Old Forester Rye. Well, we are back with more Old Forester. Several more, in fact. Last month, I was able to participate in an online Whiskey Row tasting, featuring Jackie Zykan from Old Forester. In the tasting was five different whiskeys from Old Forester, with each representing a different era for the distillery. Whiskey Row, as they call it, includes whiskey based on their recipes from 1870, 1897, 1910, 1920 and then we had a bonus whiskey: The Statesman. I was able to secure a sampling kit for the event. We … Continue reading Branch On Fire: Old Forester Whiskey Row

DrinkLeave a comment

Branch On Fire: Old Forester Rye

weezel32

This is the first rye whiskey I have reviewed for this site. Of the three whiskeys, I drink more bourbon and scotch, but I still enjoy a good rye. I like the spicy kick. Old Forester has been around a long time. More than 145 years actually. In fact, they claim to be the first bourbon available exclusively in sealed glass bottles. But they did not take their first crack at a rye until 2019. Rye can be tricky to ferment, so most distillers use additives to help stabilize it. Old Forester goes a little different, using a mash bill … Continue reading Branch On Fire: Old Forester Rye

DrinkLeave a comment

Branch On Fire (Burns Night): Lagavulin, Offerman Edition

weezel32

January 25 is the birthday of famed Scot poet Robert Burns. And well, they celebrate. Food, poetry…and scotch whisky. I’m not Scottish, as far as I know, but hey, that just happens to be three things I can absolutely get behind celebrating. Flaviar, the whiskey club I joined late last year, even had a virtual event built around it. Ultimately, it was an attempt to sale some a well known peated whiskey, but it was also suppose to feature a poetry reading and tasting notes an a couple of scotches. I say suppose to because the audio wound up being … Continue reading Branch On Fire (Burns Night): Lagavulin, Offerman Edition

DrinkLeave a comment

Drinking Whiskey With Friends…Virtually

weezel32

One of the lasting things of 2020 may wind up being we finally figured out how to properly hang out virtually as a group. Whether it be Zoom, Facetime groups, Google Classroom, we have all been forced figure out ways to see each other without seeing each other. Companies now have virtual happy hours. Vendors do the same for clients. For example, tonight I was able to log into Facebook and watch a podcast with guys I went to high school with…and a couple whiskey experts. I wasn’t even part of the recording, just the chat. But still, it is … Continue reading Drinking Whiskey With Friends…Virtually

DrinkLeave a comment

Branch on Fire: Flaviar Welcome Box

weezel32

The college football national championship game seems like a good time to hit my first sampler box from Flaviar, a whiskey club I signed up for for Christmas. I chose the Welcome Box for my first sampler. They have a variety of boxes to choose from, from whiskey, rye, scotch, rum, vodka, etc. This one has one each of bourbon, rye and scotch. Figured it would be a decent starting point. The three whiskeys included are Breckenridge bourbon, Few Rye and Wolfburn Aurora scotch. They include three sampler vials of 50ml each. I’m going to taste them without seeing which … Continue reading Branch on Fire: Flaviar Welcome Box

DrinkLeave a comment

Branch on Fire: Jefferson’s Reserve Very Old

weezel32

This was my free bottle I got for signing up for Flaviar through a friend. And well… Who? Jefferson’s whiskey’s are made by father and son Chet and Trey Zoeller, only they don’t make whiskey. They source and blend it. They made their name with the Oceans whiskey, which is literally aged on the ocean in barrels, increasing agitation. Jefferson’s Reserve is one of their more readily available and affordable flagship whiskeys. It features multiple blends, but all aged at least eight years and up to 18, while also still considered small batch as well (8-1 barrels of 4 different … Continue reading Branch on Fire: Jefferson’s Reserve Very Old