Review: Don Julio Reposado Tequila
Don Julio tequila is named for Don Julio Gonzalez who began distilling tequila at his uncle’s distillery when he was 17. In 1942 he borrowed money from a local businessman to open his own distillery, La Primavera. Don Julio Reposado was launched in 1989. It is made from 100% Blue Weber agave grown 6500 feet above sea level in the Highland region of Atotonilco Jalisco. Instead of harvesting the entire agave field at once Jimadors harvest plant by plant selecting only those ready to harvest. The trimmed agave is split in equal pieces then slow roasted in brick and stone ovens for 72 hours. They crush the cooled agave in a mill and ferment with natural yeast in stainless tanks before double distilling. The spirit is aged for 8 months in American white oak barrels. Read more 
Review: Bully Boy Vodka
Bully Boy Vodka is made at Boston’s first craft distiller. Bully Boy Distillery opened in 2010. It was founded by brothers Will and Dave Willis. They grew up working on their 4th generation family farm and got their beverage start making cider. Next up was hard cider. Apple brandy followed. All from apples grown on the 100 apple trees grown on their farm. They currently produce amaro, bourbon, gin, vodka, and several bottled ready to drink craft cocktails. April 2017 they built a new 8000 square foot distillery in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston across the street from their original location which remains open to distill their gin and create new spirits. Bully Boy Vodka was originally made from organic winter red wheat. It is currently distilled from 100% dent corn. The corn is harvested on their Charlescote Farm. They mill the corn and once fermented it is distilled on an 18 plate custom Christian Carl Still. Each 270 gallon batch is filtered for 48 hours through 50 pounds of activated carbon. Read more
Review: Jameson Triple Triple
Jameson Triple Triple is now available in the United States. It was first released in South Africa October 2024. This is Jamesons second iteration of Triple Triple. The first was introduced in 2019 as a Travel Retail Exclusive. The barrel aging process was a little different back then. The triple distilled spirit was aged in ex-bourbon, Oloroso Sherry Casks, and Malaga Wine Casks. Jameson Triple Triple is made from malted barley, and unmalted barley grown within 100 miles of the distillery, Non-GMO maize grown in the South of France, and water sourced from the Dungourney River. Jameson is made from a blend of pot still and fine grain whiskey. Both are triple distilled at the Midleton Distillery. The spirit is barrel aged in ex-bourbon and Spanish Sherry casks for a minimum of four years. A portion is further aged in chestnut casks. Read more
Review: Mine Hill Vodka
Mine Hill Vodka is distilled at Mine Hill Distillery in a former cigar factory in Roxbury CT that was built in 1860. Their event center is built in an iconic train station built in 1872. Elliott Davis founded the distillery in 2018 on the banks of the Shepaug River. The distillery was sold to an investment group led by Zachary Karabell. In addition to vodka, they craft distill amaro, bourbon, gin, and rye. Mine Hill Vodka is made from 100% Connecticut wheat grown on the Thrall Family farm in Windsor CT. The spirit is distilled in a single pass from a 93% raw wheat and 7% wheat malt mash bill. The vodka is proofed to 41% ABV with their own spring water. The 41% is inspired by the distillery’s location at the 41st Parallel North. Read more
Review: Black Button All American Corn Vodka
Black Button All American Corn Vodka is crafted at Rochester New Yorks first grain to glass distillery. Black Button Distilling was founded in 2012 by Jason Barrett. He is also the Master Distiller. Jason grew up working at his family’s button factor which had been making buttons for some of the finest men’s suits since 1922. Jason was born color blind and because the factory needed to produce more than black buttons Jason needed to go a different direction. Black Button currently produces 11 whiskey’s, 6 gins, 3 liquers, and vodka in their new 28,000 square foot distillery. All American Corn is actually the third different vodka they have produced. They started with a 100% wheat vodka in their 5000 square foot distillery in 2013. In 2016 they changed the mash bill to an 80% wheat and 20% malted barley blend. This mash bill is still produced as a base for their gin. Black Button All American Corn vodka is made with a 90% corn 10% malted barley mash bill from grain grown at Edgewood farms in Groveland New York, 30 minutes from the distillery. It is distilled in a unique pot to 16 plate column still and back to a pot method. The spirit is proofed with pure limestone and shale filtered water from Hemlock Lake, and triple carbon filtered. Read more
Review: Four Roses Single Barrel Collection
Early 2025 and each year that follows Four Roses Bourbon will release 3 different single barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey’s in addition to their flagship single barrel whiskey. This year all four weigh in at 100 proof. In previous years we have seen higher octane releases. These three new releases will be selected from 9 unique recipes from two different mash bills and 5 proprietary yeast strains. The 10th unique strain is used to create the original Four Roses Single Barrel OBSW which is celebrating it’s 20 year anniversary. I was honored to receive a sample kit of the 2025 selection in return for a fair and honest review. Four Roses Bourbon was founded in 1888 by Paul Jones Jr. He named the bourbon for the four rose corsage his future wife wore to accept his marriage proposal. Four Roses Bourbons are identified by four letters. The first letter “O” signifies Four Roses Distillery. The third letter “S” is for straight whiskey. The second letter represents the mash bill. “B is made from 60% corn, 35% Rye, and 5% Barley. “E” is made from 75% Corn, 20% Rye, and 5% Barley. The fourth letter corresponds to the yeast strain. “V” Delicate Fruit, “K” Slight Spice, “O” Rich Fruit, “Q” Floral Essence, “F” Herbal Notes. Each Bourbon starts with mashing high quality locally sourced corn and limestone rich water. After a set time, the temperature is lowered in steps to add the rye and malted barley. The mash is cooled and fermented for at least 3 days. The spirit is first distilled in a column still. A second distillation in a pot shaped still follows. Water is blended to reduce the proof before it goes in charred new American Oak Barrels in a single story rack warehouse for 7-9 years. Our thoughts follow. Read more
Review: Rodeo De Las Aguas Tequila Blanco
Rodeo De Las Aguas Tequila was founded by Jefrey Levy and Tony Garcia. They became friends as members of wine tasting groups. Rodeo De Las Aguas is named for a 4539 acre cattle ranch that would later become Beverley Hills and Rodeo Drive. It is made from 100% agave grown 6700 feet above sea level in Southern Los Altos and distilled at Tequila Galindo, a family-owned distillery with over 100 years of experience producing tequila. The trimmed agave is cut in half and dry steamed for at least 16 hours in an autoclave. The agave is milled to extract the juice and fermented for 5-8 days in a stainless steel vat. The spirit is double distilled and aerated before bottling. Read more
Review: Eagle Park Vodka
Eagle Park Vodka is made at Eagle Park Distilling Company in Muskego Wisconsin. Eagle Park Brewery was founded by brothers Max and Jack Borgardt. They founded their band Eagle Trace in 2011 and loved drinking beer together. Years later they founded Eagle Park Brewery in the old Lincoln Warehouse in Milwaukee. Eagle Park is named for the two streets they grew up on. They soon outgrew the brewery and relocated to a 1920 former Gallun Tannery Garage. In 2020 they opened a second location, a $3 million 20,500 square foot brewery and distillery in Muskego Wisconsin. They hired former Breckenridge Distillery Head Distiller Jordan Stielow to craft their spirits. They currently produce vodka, gin, bourbon, and several cream liqueurs. Eagle Park Vodka was their first spirit. It launched June 2020. It is made from 100 percent corn that arrives as a pre-distilled neutral spirit. They carbon filter and proof the spirit with their own well water. Read more
Review: Severo Tequila Anejo Cristalino
Severo Tequila Anejo Cristalino is one of four tequila expressions Severo launched in the US May 2021. It is made from a carefully guarded family recipe dating back 100 years. Severo is distilled from 100% estate grown agave at Casa Don Roberto, a distillery that was established in 1924. The agave is cooked in auto clave ovens, fermented in open air stainless steel tanks, and double distilled. The tequila is aged in white oak barrels for 18 months and it is carbon filtered before bottling. Read more
Review: Por Osos Vodka
Por Osos Vodka was launched March 2024 by Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura, hosts of The 2 Bears 1 Cave Podcast. Por Osos translates to “for the bears”. They partnered with Persedo Spirits in Alvin Texas. Por Osos is distilled from Non-GMO wheat. The spirit then undergoes a patented polishing technology. Their C.R.A.F.T technology removes targeted inferior alcohols and creates desired esters without the loss of volume. As a final step before bottling the vodka is filtered through layers of charcoal. Read more