Steve Coomes

Steve Coomes is a veteran journalist and book author specializing in whiskey, tequila and restaurants. When not writing, he leads virtual and in-person food and spirits pairings.

This Round's Mine

A Private Barrel Pick at Four Roses Bourbon Is One of a Kind

“Oh, we’ve had people argue about it for sure,” Mandy Vance, manager of the Private Barrel Selection process at Four Roses, told me a few years ago about a pick. They generally work it out, though, because they’re having fun.”

Tequila Reviews

La Pulga Tequila Blanco Review

The nose is rich with cooked agave and pleasant back notes of sour orange peel, tamarind, eucalyptus, wild honey, spring flowers and some minerality.

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This Round's Mine

Rye Isn't All That Spicy, Experts Say

Immediately, I thought of Heaven Hill’s bourbons, which have only 10 percent rye in the mashbill but come off as nicely spicy in the glass. Then Veach cited Old Fitzgerald, a wheated bourbon that has terrific spice notes despite having no rye.

Tennessee Whiskey Reviews

George Dickel Bottled-In-Bond Spring 2011 Tennessee Whisky Review

The nose is rich and complex, combining dried flowers, ripe raspberries and blackberries and whiskey-wetted oak.

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Angel's Envy Cask Strength Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon Review

If you're even semi-American whiskey savvy, you recognize the phrase in this bottle's name: Cask Strength Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon. Well, it's true: no water was added to achieve 100 proof; just the mingling of sub- and above-100-proof casks to attain that essential proof for BIB.

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On The Road

Smooth Ambler's Best Whiskies Are Yet To Come

Of all the lessons Little has learned, one that seems obvious is: “We’re going to do what’s right for the whiskey, not what’s right for marketing. Do everything necessary to make the whiskey delicious.”

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Old Elk Cognac Finish Bourbon Review

There are days when I think, "I'm finished with cask finishes!" and then there are days when cask finishes redeem themselves. Old Elk Cognac Cask Finish did that recently when I tasted it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

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This Round's Mine

Many National Bourbon Day Cocktails in Kentucky Aren’t Worth Celebrating

Last year at a high-level Kentucky whiskey industry event I requested a Manhattan. When the genial “bartender” merely poured me bourbon on the rocks, I asked about the vermouth and bitters. “I don’t know about that,” she said. “Can you tell me what to put in?” I settled for whiskey on the rocks.

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This Round's Mine

Sourcing Whiskey: Good or Homogenizing?

But after tasting hundreds of bourbon iterations in my career, the consistency of them many is becoming as concerning as comforting. Some days, I wonder if too many are just too similar, especially when I see so many parallels in my tasting notes (and others’) for reviews and barrel picks.

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Maker's Mark 'Heart Release' Bourbon Review

Like every wood-finished Maker's release, The Heart Series offers up a rich and complex nose featuring oak, chocolate, cinnamon and clove. Pastries, pie crust and fruit tarts made from all three doughs emerge laced with caramel and mocha.

Are Single Barrels An Endangered Species?

So, why are these “picks” gathering dust? Are there too many on the market now? It used to be that legacy distillers, especially those with old barrels ripe for store pick harvest, supplied the bulk of those options.

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

15 Stars Private Stock Bourbon Review

The palate backs up the nose with bitter chocolate, milk chocolate, honey, cooked cherries and Demerara syrup. Brown sugar and baking spices collide and reemerge independently to form a fantastic, warm finish.

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Interview

Q&A with Hall of Fame master distiller, Jerry Dalton

“Master distiller” was a new title back then, and Dalton believes he’d never have received it without Booker Noe’s blessing.

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Jack Daniel's

You don’t know, Jack! – Part 2

Countless whiskey fans—me included—are enjoying Jack Daniel’s growing lineup of higher-proof and longer-aged releases. I’m not the first to say that Jack is becoming its best self in these new releases.

Industry News

20-year Beam Bourbon Among Bardstown Collection Releases On Sale June 12-14

Lucky me, I got to try them all, including the 20-year-old bourbon released by James B. Distillery. Bottled at 109 proof, the 259-bottle batch came from six barrels aged on the first floor of a nine-story rickhouse on its Clermont, KY, campus.

Rye Whiskey Reviews

15 Stars First West Fine Aged Rye Whiskey Review

Its aromas begin with bright citrus, ripe fruit, a whiff of mint and some a solid serving of baking spice. Unexpectedly, toffee joins the party alongside maple syrup and caramelized brown sugar.

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This Round's Mine

Will Beverage Alcohol Be Persecuted and Litigated Like Tobacco?

Alcohol, by comparison is just that: beverage grade alcohol with which no one monkeys around. It’s highly regulated and its strength is clearly described on its packaging. Other than marketing claims, it’s gimmick free.

Rye Whiskey Reviews

High West Bottled-In-Bond Rye Review

I opened it immediately upon receipt and found it coiled up like a snake and needing to unwind before showing much of the character that would come with a bit of some space in the bottle. Several weeks later, it delivered.

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Milam & Green Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon Whiskey Review

On the nose of this BIB release is spring in a glass–a mixed bouquet of peonies, roses and lilac–backed by cinnamon stick and lavender. I'd be hard pressed to recall nosing such a floral spirit.

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Jack Daniel's

You don’t know, Jack! – Part 1

Asked often about which bottle in the Jack Daniel’s line would be closest to the original whiskey he distilled, Eddy points to the Bottled-in-Bond Tennessee whiskey, “because the age (4 years) would be correct for that time.” Back then, whiskey wasn’t commonly aged much longer, he added.

Rye Whiskey Reviews

A. Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey Review

This is rye whiskey that speaks beyond corn's common caramel coating with a voice that goes deeper, all the way into the soil itself, to tell its own story, a story I find utterly intriguing because it reveals itself through taking new sips to turn a new page in the tale.

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Interview

In His Words: Angel’s Envy Master Distiller, Owen Martin

What’s different between what I do now versus what I did at Stranahan’s was operating mostly as a blender and finding complementary finishing casks. I really enjoyed that, but to come here was an opportunity to do that on a bigger playground.

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This Round's Mine

Home Cocktail Trend Still Strong, and I’m Part of the Problem

Despite being part of that shift, I’m still a little bothered as a former restaurant industry employee. It’s tough to know distant peers are struggling due to a shift in the new habits adopted by me and millions of other drinkers.

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This Round's Mine

Calm Down, Bourbon’s Boom Isn’t Over

Here’s one fact to grasp: This perceived sales slump is exemplary of the rollercoaster ride that affects every large industry. Good days see profits rise, bad days see them plummet.

Blended Whiskey Reviews

Bardstown Bourbon Co. Collaborative Series Amrut Barrel Finished Review

Now, go to a quiet room, add earplugs if necessary, and place a large napkin over your head to capture all the crazy aromas you'll get from this—things like over-baked chocolate brownies, figs, prunes, bonfire embers, ganache, chocolate cake, pastry cream and a deeply charred barrel.