Review: George Dickel Bottled in Bond Distilling Season 2007
George Dickel Bottled in Bond Distilling Season 2007 is the third release in their “bottled in bond” series of whisky. George Dickel entered the “bottled in bond” category in 2019 with the release of their fall 2005 whiskey. It was named whiskey of the year by Whiskey Advocate. It was also Wine Enthusiast top rated American Whiskey for 2019. Some reviewers liked last years 11 year old expression even more. The Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 states to be considered “bonded” the whiskey must be from a single distillation season and distillery. It must be aged for at least 4 years and it must be unaltered from its original character except from the addition of pure water to reduce to 100 proof. George Dickel opened Cascade Hollow Distillery in 1878 in Coffee County Tennessee, and he preferred the “whisky” spelling, in case you were wondering. Prohibition arrived in Tennessee in 1910, nine years before it became Federal law in 1919. This closed the distillery, but a new Cascade Hollow Distillery opened in 1958. George Dickel Bottled in Bond Distilling Season 2007 is made from a mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. Once mature the whisky is chill charcoal mellowed and reduced to proof before bottling at 100 proof. Read more 
Review: Jim Beam Orange
Jim Beam Orange is one of seven flavored whiskies produced under the Jim Beam label. My initial thought was this must be the first orange flavored whiskey on the market, but after some research I found, Springfield Distillery in Halifax Virginia also produces an orange flavored whiskey. The other flavors in Jim Beams stable include Peach, Apple, Vanilla, Honey, Red Stag (Cherry), and Kentucky Fire (cinnamon). Beam Suntory also makes SQRLL Peanut Butter Whiskey. The Jim Beam bourbon base is made from a secret mix of corn, rye, and barley malt. The spirit is aged in brand new charred oak barrels. Orange liqueur is infused with the Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey before bottling at 65 proof. Read more
Review: Dubliner Whiskey & Honeycomb
Dubliner Whiskey & Honeycomb is crafted from a blend of whiskey, honeycomb and caramel at Dublin Liberties Distillery in the heart of the historic Liberties Distilling District. At its peak the five biggest distilleries in Dublin produced 10 million gallons of Irish Whiskey per year. By the mid 1970’s only two whiskey distilleries operated in all of Ireland. Today Irish whiskey is experiencing a renaissance with dozens of new whiskey distilleries opening. The new bottle design of Dubliner Whiskey & Honeycomb reflects the vibrant modern Dublin. Dublin Quintessential Brands spent $11 million to renovate a 400 year old building that was once a tannery and mill into the state of the art distillery and visitor center it is today. Dubliner and The Dublin Liberties brands are produced here from sourced Irish Whiskey while their own crafted triple distilled malt whiskey is barrel aged. Master Distiller Darryl McNally a former Master Distiller at Bushmills Distillery overseas distilling, aging and sourcing of their whiskey. Read more
Review: Dubliner Irish Whiskey
Dubliner Irish Whiskey has recently undergone a facelift with a new modern looking bottle design. Quintessential Brands acquired The Dublin Whiskey Company and the Dubliner Irish Whiskey brand March 2016. The original blend of 20% single malt and 80% grain whiskey, bourbon cask aged for 3 years has not changed. Master Distiller Darryl McNally overseas distilling, aging, and sourcing of all of their whiskey. Darryl was Operations Manager, and Master Distiller at Bushmills Distillery where he worked for 17 years prior to joining The Dublin Liberties Distillery. The Dublin Liberties distillery opened March 2019 in a 400 year old building that was once a mill and tannery. Built at a cost of $11 million they will only produce triple distilled malt whiskey. Master Distiller Darryl McNally is blending sourced Irish Whiskey while his own crafted whiskey matures in barrels. Read more
Review: The Busker Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
With today being St Patrick’s Day I thought it would be a good time to review The Busker Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. Irish Whiskey can be distilled as a Single Grain, Single Malt, and Single Pot Still. A quick coarse in Irish Whiskey 101 tells you a Single Grain Irish whiskey is made from unmalted grain from a single distillery. A Single Malt Irish Whiskey comes from malted barley distilled from a single distillery. A Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey is made from a blend of malted and unmalted barley at a single distillery. A fourth type of Irish whiskey is Blended which is made from a blend of malted whiskey from the same or different distilleries. The Busker crafts all four styles. Of my 43 Irish Whiskey reviews my top 2 rated have been Green Spot and Redbreast 12 Year old Single Pot Still, so I guess you can conclude Single Pot Still is my favorite expression. The Busker SPS is made from malted and unmalted barley and pure water sourced from a 70 meter deep aquifer. It is finished in ex-bourbon and sherry casks and non-chill filtered before bottling at 88.6 proof. Read more
Review: PB Chocolati
PB Chocolati is a chocolate and peanut butter flavored whiskey that was released November 2020. It is produced and bottled in Spring Valley California by SARP LLC. It is made with American Whiskey, dark chocolate, allergen free peanuts, and pure cane sugar. It is currently available in the San Diego area or through several online retailers. This is the only spirit they currently produce. The success of another California flavored whiskey, Skrewball, has led dozens of others to produce their own peanut butter whiskey. A handful of these companies have also added chocolate to their peanut butter flavored whiskey. Read more
Review: Copper Still Chocolate Peanut Butter Whiskey
Copper Still Chocolate Peanut Butter Whiskey is made from hand selected barrels of Indiana Bourbon blended with chocolate and natural peanut butter flavoring. It is produced by Copper Mountain Beverages and bottled by Best Vineyards in Elizabeth New Jersey. Copper Mountain Beverages was formed in 2004 when they decided to start producing a line of beer. Four O was the first brand. They now produce 12 beer brands, Suavecito Tequila, Country Fair Lemon Shake Up, Firebreather Cinnamon whiskey, Mallet Straight Bourbon, Doc Whiskey, several wine brands and Mad Hard Seltzer. The Copper Still Brand also includes a Peach, Caramel, and a 90 proof single barrel straight bourbon. Read more
Review: Coastal Creek Peanut Butter Whiskey
Coastal Creek Peanut Butter Whiskey was just released. It is a private label brand sold exclusively at Total Wine & More. CEO Steve Jackson sampled half a dozen formulas before selecting his favorite blend. It is made from a six month barrel aged Kentucky whiskey blended with a natural peanut extract sourced from London. While Coastal Creek is currently produced in Wisconsin the blending and bottling will soon move to a new distillery in Baltimore Maryland along with several other brands they produce including Ernie Els Iced Coffee, and IC Iced Coffee. Read more
Review: The Busker Triple Cask Irish Whiskey
The Busker Triple Cask Irish Whiskey is one of four new expression in The Busker product line that includes all four types of Irish Whiskey. Those are Single Grain, Single Pot Still, Single Malt, and Blend. The Busker Triple Cask is made from a high quality single grain and a very high percentage of single malt and single pot still whiskey. It is triple barrel aged in Marsala casks from Cantine Florio 1833, Spanish Oloroso cask, and American Bourbon casks. The Busker is crafted at Royal Oak Distillery. This distillery originally opened June 2016 as the Walsh Distillery. It was a 50-50 partnership between Bernard Walsh maker of Writers Tears and The Irishman, and Illva Saronna, the Italian Spirit maker of DiSaronno, and Tia Maria. January 2019 Illva Saronna acquired 100% ownership and renamed the distillery. Read more
Review: Whiskeysmith Banana Whiskey
Whiskeysmith Banana Whiskey was launched October 2020, along with Whiskeysmith Pineapple, and Whiskeysmith Chocolate. They join a flavored whiskey lineup that includes the previously reviewed PB&W Peanut Butter Whiskey. The Whiskeysmith brand appears to be associated with Old Elk Distillery, but they go out of their way to separate the Old Elk Whiskey and Whiskeysmith brands. It is unclear where Whiskeysmith is actually distilled and flavored. One possibility is the Old Elk Distillery in Fort Collins but there are some bread crumbs that hint at a possible Minnesota connection. Also unclear are the ingredients used to create this whiskey as none are included on their website, Facebook, or the bottles label. Read more