Tag: whisky

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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: Glenfiddich Fire & Cane

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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

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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

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

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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)

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Branch On Fire: Knob Creek Small Batch 100

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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

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Branch On Fire: Old Forester Whiskey Row

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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

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Branch On Fire: Old Forester Rye

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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

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

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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