Banter

A collection of 475 posts

Banter

Why I Will Never Buy Kentucky Owl (Again)

So The Whiskey Wash reported yesterday the acquisition of Kentucky Owl by Stoli Group USA, parent company S.P.I. Group.

Banter

Sometimes the Bourbon Hunt Comes to You

YES, THERE ARE BOURBON GODS. I am a big fan of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, but as I grow in my bourbon journey, I will admit I have limited my hunt for the BTAC more towards pours at bars then scouring the secondary market. My favorite is William LaRue Weller.

Banter

Happy New Year, Thank You & A Few Thoughts

In less than 24 hours until we say goodbye to 2016 and welcome in a brand new shiny year. Many folks online are going to write about how terrible a year 2016 was due to the election, wars, celebrity deaths, and soaring bourbon prices but I’m not going down that rabbit hole.

Banter

Reflections In Bourbon Lead To Reflections In Life

The holiday lights twinkled in the Glencairn, home to three fingers of my favorite pour of bourbon. With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, the shopping, wrapping, decorating, traveling, and just plain running around, it’s nice to sit back, relax, and enjoy a sip or two in quiet.

Banter

Monks BBQ & The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection

“Oh Lordy, look what Monk has his hands on now! A bottle of George T. Stagg and a bottle of William Larue Weller. If you’ve never had the opportunity to try them, now is your chance.” So read the Facebook post from Monks BBQ. William LaRue Weller is my favorite bourbon.

Banter

I Talked to my Doctor and He Prescribed Whiskey

January 16, 1919 was a dark day for America. The 18th Amendment passed, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States. The Volstead Act was then passed to lay out the guidelines for enforcing the 18th Amendment.

Banter

More Than Just A Great Pour, Whiskey Has Always Held A Place In Our History And In Our Lives

A fire was sparked and a whiskey romance was rekindled. But let’s face it, the attraction has always been there, from as long ago as the 1700’s.

Banter

What’s in the Decanter?

About two years ago, I was given a beautiful, hand-blown glass decanter from a family member as a gift. I placed the decanter on top of the whiskey cabinet, and for a while, it sat there empty. I wasn’t exactly sure what to put in it.

Banter

What Do You Look For In A Whiskey Review?

In four months, Bourbon & Banter will celebrate our 5th anniversary. Since launching in February 2011, we’ve drunk a lot of bourbon, made a ton of new friends and learned more than a few things about what makes a blog something people want to read day-after-day.

Banter

Blind Tasting: Non-Kentucky Brown Water

Recently five good buddies and I made our annual pilgrimage from Louisville, KY to the mountains of western North Carolina for our Fall weekend of The Man Trip Trinity: unabated football watching, bourbon drinking, and consumption of grilled dead animals.

Banter

Airtable – A Useful Way to Manage Your Burgeoning Liquor Collection

You’ve got neat glasses (even a NEAT glass), ice molds, boxes, bottle tags, maybe some tickets from your favorite distillery tours and pictures to go with them. A corner of the house is filled with whiskey bottles and all the accouterment that go with them.

Banter

Some Bottles Go To Heaven. Others Don’t.

You’ve poured yourself that last little bit of whiskey from the bottle. Now that you’ve savored that final drop, the empty bottle is standing on the table next to you. What do you do with it? Most people might look at the empty bottle and toss it in the trash.

Banter

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.

Banter

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.”

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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.

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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.

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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).

Banter

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.

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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!

Banter

So Much More

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

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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.

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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.

Banter

The Great Bourbon Hunt of 2016

It’s Bourbon Heritage Month and my favorite time of the year with fall releases right around the corner. Hunting is a little less enjoyable these days since most of the good stuff never reaches the store shelves. But I am pretty stubborn and enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

Banter

Starting a Career in Whiskey: 5 Things I’ve Learned So Far

Back in 2012 I began taking my general love of bourbon, cocktails, and spirits from a private hobby to a public one. I started a podcast with the guy who is now my husband.

Banter

Welcome to Bourbon Heritage Month 2016

Welcome to Bourbon Heritage Month – the best month of the year. We’re glad you’re here to help us celebrate with 30 days of bourbon, banter, and giveaways. That’s right friends – giveaways.