BOURBON & BANTER (Page 47)

Bourbon Rye 2016 Header

Bourbon & Rye 2016

We’re not very political here at Bourbon & Banter. But sometimes you have to say enough, is enough. This year’s elections have gotten out of control, and we’re pretty darn sure there’s only one way we’re going to survive the elections. Yep. We’re going to drink ourselves through them.

Bourbon and Ginger Cocktail Header

Bourbon & Ginger Cocktail Recipe

According to John Vickers-Smith, the Maker’s Mark “Distillery Diplomat” for the DC area, the Bourbon and Ginger was, in recent years, the most popular bourbon cocktail in DC. With an established and ever-expanding cocktail scene, this is unsurprising.

Tommyrotter Bourbon Barrel Gin Review Header

Through the Looking Glass: Tommyrotter Bourbon Barrel Gin Review

It should not be a surprise that I am primarily a bourbon guy, while I do enjoy gin on occasion. In fact, I was drinking gin before I started on bourbon. So began my tale of heading down the rabbit hole of craft gin.

Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon Header

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon Review

At the stroke of midnight on January 17, 1920, it became a federal crime to manufacture, transport, and sell intoxicating liquors in the United States. The passage of the 18th Amendment and the subsequent Volstead Act shuttered many distilleries and put them out of business; many permanently.

High West Distillery Header

Constellation Brands Acquires High West Distillery for $160 Million

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), a leading beverage alcohol company, today announced an agreement to purchase Utah-based High West Distillery.

Whiskey in the Winter 2016 Header

Whiskey In The Winter 2016 – Win Free VIP Tickets

National Bourbon Heritage Month has come and gone. It’s time to give your liver a quick rest and get ready to head into our second favorite month of the year – November. Why November? Because November is when our favorite whiskey festival is held each year – Whiskey In The Winter.

What I've Learned About Bourbon Header

What I’ve Learned About Bourbon

I do not fancy myself a bourbon expert, but I realize I have accumulated a fair amount of experience buying, drinking, selling and trading them. I once heard that “intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom is knowing that you don’t put it in a fruit salad.”

Time Is Running Out Header

Time Is Running Out

Time is running out. Tomorrow is the final day of National Bourbon Heritage Month (“BHM”). The end of BHM means that our “30 Days of Bourbon, Banter & Giveaways” is also coming to a close.

Photo of Bourbon and Coke

Bourbon and Coke (Shakespeare Forgive Me)

Bourbon and coke. My Dad drank bourbon and coke. Every night when he came home from work. In a small juice glass. Ancient Age with coke. I remember as a kid when Dad would take me up town to the liquor store and he would get his bottle of Ancient Age.

Barbies to Bourbon Photo

Barbies to Bourbon

As a child, I grew up on a 90-acre farm in Anderson County, Kentucky (you all likely know it as the home of Four Roses and Wild Turkey).

Simple, Simple Syrups Photo

Simple, Simple Syrups & Cocktail Recipes

We all feel it; those last few sad moments when you are about to finish that bottle of bourbon or whiskey. It’s always so hard to say goodbye to that delicious water of life! Especially when it could be a bottle that you really enjoy and may not be able to get your hands on for a while.

Battle of the Blanton's Lineup

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Battle of the Blanton’s (Buyer Beware)

As it has continued to earn international awards since its inception, The original 93 proof Blanton’s has been released in different iterations outside the United States, including Blanton’s Special Reserve (“Green”) and Blanton’s Black, both at a lower 80 proof.

New Brand Releases

Buffalo Trace Distillery Introduces O.F.C. Range of Very Rare and Collectible Vintage-Dated Bourbons

FRANKFORT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, KY (September 21, 2016) – This fall, Buffalo Trace Distillery will release three unique vintage-dated bourbons honoring the National Historic Landmark’s original name – the O.F.C. Distillery.

The Manhattan Book Review Header

The Manhattan: The Story of the First Modern Cocktail Book Review

The Manhattan: The Story of the First Modern Cocktail by Philip Greene offers a richly detailed history of the ingredients and the evolution of the cocktail itself.

Pinckney Bend Distilling Header

Talkin’ Whiskey, History, And Life At Pinckney Bend Distillery

A trip to a small, unassuming river town on the Lewis and Clark trail, about an hour outside of St Louis MO, in between the popular destinations of Washington and Hermann, led us to an equally unassuming storefront that is home to Pinckney Bend Distilling.

Lux Row Distillers Header

Lux Row Distillers: Luxco’s New Whiskey Distillery

This past week, Luxco announced the name of its distillery currently being built in Bardstown, Kentucky: Lux Row Distillers. The new distillery is located in Nelson County on a 70-acre site off state highway KY-245, in the heart of Bardstown.

Kentucky Bourbon Affair Revisited Header

The Kentucky Bourbon Affair Revisited

Remember that feeling of going to summer camp as a kid? Whether you were away a week, two weeks or a month, sleep away camp or daily camp, summer camp was a time for you to meet new friends and have fun.

Defiance Whiskey Review Header

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Defiance Whiskey High-Rye Bourbon Review

While visiting with Bourbon and Banter’s Chief Drinking Officer (CDO) he handed me a small bottle of an unknown product and asked me to sample it without knowing what it was. I had never been given the opportunity to try something completely blind, but I found the experience to be very enjoyable.

Screw Cap vs Cork Header

Screw Caps vs Corks: Which Do You Prefer?

Whiskey evaporates. That’s the natural course of the whole whiskey aging process. The industry term is angel’s share. Distillers have a love/hate relationship with the angels. That evaporation is a beautiful thing – at one end, it increases proof and helps create that deliciousness we all crave.

Bourbon Bubble Header

Shhhh…There Might Just Be A Bourbon Bubble

Shhhh, don’t speak of this loudly. Nobody will admit it anyway so it’s probably not worth mentioning. There might just be a bourbon bubble. What?!?! No way. This is just getting started. We haven’t even reached the distilling levels of the 70’s!

So Much More

My Dad never drank alcohol, yet strangely it became something that bound us together in the last years of his life.

Matthew McConaughey Wild Turkey Commercial Launch Header

Matthew McConaughey Unveils Wild Turkey Campaign

By now everyone has heard the news that Matthew McConaughey has taken on a new role as the Creative Director for one of the bastions of the bourbon industry: Wild Turkey.

Angel's Envy Review Photo

Bourbon Whiskey Reviews

Angel’s Envy #Bourbonjourney Review #3: Ice Ice Baby

Welcome back, everyone. With two stops checked off the itinerary so far, we’ve all had the opportunity to get a good feel for this whiskey and at least form an initial opinion of Angels Envy.

Nashville Whiskey Festival Header

Nashville Whiskey Festival

While Bardstown may be the epicenter of bourbon, Nashville is quickly emerging as a destination for good whiskey. Jack Daniels and George Dickel distilleries are a short drive south and some established and brand new craft distilleries popping up around the corner from the Broadway honky tonks.

Whiskey Is The Answer Photo

The Answer Is Whiskey, No Matter The Question

I really couldn’t tell you when the first time was, and by first time I’m talking about getting that first taste of whiskey. I know I was young, a “little shaver” as they say. It could’ve been around the age of eight, maybe nine, maybe older, and would’ve been at my grandparent’s house.