Banter Jeff Arnett To Innovate with Finished Whiskeys at Company Distilling Contrary to what some have suspected, Jeff Arnett didn’t leave because he disliked the master distiller’s post at Jack Daniel’s. Even after 12 years in the high-stress role as the person in charge of whiskey making at the world’s most prodigious whiskey plant.
Banter BBC’s Nally ponders slowing down after 50 years in distilling Seeing Steve Nally in a suit and tie is unusual. Six-foot-four and broad-shouldered, the master distiller at Bardstown Bourbon Co. (BBC) has as good a frame for fine couture as any 71 year old.
Bourbon News HEAVEN HILL TO BUILD $135 MILLION DISTILLERY IN BARDSTOWN Bardstown, Ky.-based Heaven Hill Distilleries announced it will spend $135 million to begin construction on a new distillery there this spring. According to a news release, construction of the plant is expected to conclude in late 2024.
Food Stuff Reviews Does SOBAR really help slow alcohol absorption? Does SOBAR really help slow alcohol absorption? After writing a commentary about drinking less in 2022, I received an email from a representative of SOBAR, a producer of what the company calls, “The snack designed for drinking.”
On The Road Whiskey Tourism To Make A Profitable Footprint In Townsend, Tenn Townsend, Tenn., markets itself as “the peaceful side of the Smokies,” and indeed, it’s quieter than the fabricated expanse of Pigeon Forge and the din of crowded Gatlinburg. Townsend has the feel of a village scattered in plots over a several-mile stretch of Hwy. 321.
Bourbon Whiskey Reviews American Highway Reserve Bourbon Review When it comes to American Highway Reserve, despite some older whiskey in this blend, it all smells young: new wood, green apple, cooked corn, dried rye and ethanol. Initially, the aroma is faint, but a few vigorous swirls moves it from non-existent to hot in the nostrils; from “Is anybody home?” to
Bourbon News CASTLE & KEY PREPARES FOR LARGE CROWD ON BOURBON RELEASE DAY On Saturday, March 26, Castle & Key Distillery will release Batch 1 of its first bourbon, a much-anticipated 4-year-old sweet-mash spirit. As head blender for the distillery, Connors is concerned about the crowd expected at the historic Old Taylor site in Millville, Ky.
Banter OH, BROTHER! TALES OF THE COCKTAIL ADDS NEW SPIRITS COMPETITION Drinkers need another spirits competition to tell them what to buy about as much as spirits makers need these medal-fests to tell them their products are great. Yet despite having several of these competitions annually, we’re getting another.
Heads & Tails HEADS & TAILS: ST. PADDY’S DAY ’22 EDITION Drink up, lads and lasses! It’s St. Patrick’s Day! (Well, it’s a workday, too, so perhaps you should obey that directive after 5 p.m.) If you’re compelled to drink some Irish whiskey today, why not have it in the most classic of all Irish drinks.
Heads & Tails HEADS & TAILS: “SMOKE AND BARRELS” EDITION According to a news release, the world’s largest cooperage saw the increased popularity for spirits with “smokey” character and decided to develop a barrel offering smoke characteristics not achievable by traditional toasting or charring methods.
Bourbon Whiskey Reviews Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 17-Year-Old Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Review This is a delicious mature whiskey, far from overly oaked, and full of complexity and nuance. The nose is loaded with cooked dark cherries, warm dark chocolate, macaron, green apple and Juicy Fruit gum. On the palate it’s rich and mouth coating, not drying at all.
Banter Rigorous testing is the norm for every Maker’s Wood Finishing Series Referring to a pair of upcoming Wood Finishing Series fall 2022 releases, Jane Bowie, the brand’s director of innovation says, “These whiskeys will be further away from our normal taste profile than before. … With what we’ve done in the past, I believe we’ve earned the trust of consumers..."
Heads & Tails Heads & Tails: The Bulked Up Edition The old saying, “Flaunt it if you got it,” applies well here. Even better, “Auction it if you’ve got it, and help others in the process” is even cooler. Distilleries prove time and again that they’re generous businesses.
Heads & Tails Heads & Tails: The Stray Cats Edition Early sips of the HHHC release bode well for an upcoming review. No sample yet for the OFBIB, but I’ll be interested in tasting this very, very Old Fitz. In recent years I’ve tended to like younger Fitz releases better. But who knows? Maybe this geezer bottle will impress.
Bourbon News Buyout of Bardstown Bourbon Co. leaves some concerned, others hopeful As of March 7, Bardstown Bourbon Company is the property of Pritzker Private Capital (PPC), a Chicago-based private equity owner of several manufacturing companies.
Heads & Tails Heads & Tails: Barrels and Blending Edition Oy, have we got a marketing story here! This one reaches all the way back to J. Frederick Hillerich, a German woodworker who immigrated to Louisville in 1842. Hillerich’s core business was barrel making.
Heads & Tails Heads & Tails: “THE ONE MORE DREADED ‘CELEBOTTLE’” EDITION File this under “We wish could have made this up, but it’s fo’ real.” Top-ranked UFC fighter and Lafayette, La., native Dustin Poirier has launched a new bourbon named Rare Stash.
Irish Whiskey Reviews Egan’s Conviction Irish Whiskey Review This is an elegant and well-mannered whiskey; balanced, velvet soft, delicately honeyed while delivering a bit of spice across the palate. Easy, easy sipping that deserves some classy nibbles (think caviar and smoked salmon).
Banter Maybe it’s time to ditch the term ‘craft distillery’ If you’re a whiskey drinker who likes variety and isn’t hidebound to a single notion of what “bourbon should taste like,” then I’d love to pour you some whiskeys you probably haven’t had. Ryes and bourbons from distilleries making a 2,000 to 3,000 barrels a year—or less.
Banter Heads & Tails: “Back in the Grave” Edition In Chuck Cowdery’s early 2022 edition of his quarterly print piece, “The Bourbon Country Reader,” he says MGP should kill off the George Remus brand and find another name for the otherwise good bourbon created for that SKU.
Heads & Tails Heads & Tails: I Wouldn’t Wish For It Edition Ever played this whiskey dork game? You go to a bar or restaurant and rapid-survey the bottles while thinking, “Had it. Haven’t. Have it. Hate it.” When I looked at this list of 20 top-selling whiskeys in the U.S., I added a new response. “Who drinks that?”
Bourbon Whiskey Reviews Kentucky Owl St. Patrick’s Limited Edition Bourbon Review This bourbon is truly delightful to drink. Too many multi-whiskey blends lack the synergy and symmetry that this bottle presents in spades. Its sibling, Kentucky Owl: The Wiseman Bourbon, released last September, was one of those.
Bourbon News Owensboro has ‘no regrets’ about Green River Distilling Co. Roughly six years after Terressentia Corp. began making respectable whiskey at the O.Z. Tyler Distillery here, the properly renamed Green River Distilling Co. staged a blowout release party for its namesake 5-year-old bourbon.
Banter Heads & Tails: Are Single Barrels Illegal Edition That’s the growing concern at Kentucky distilleries, where thousands of whiskey fans sample whiskeys from thousands of barrels every year.
Banter 13 Must Haves for the Perfect Bourbon Bar When the Urban Bourbon Trail was created in Louisville, Ky., in 2008, member bars were required to list at least 50 bourbons. Is 2021, does 50 sound like too few to have at a dedicated bourbon bar? I don’t think so. Then what is the ideal number?
