By Richard Thomas Rating: B Of the two single barrel reserves made by Rochester’s Black Button Distilling, my impression is that their Port Barrel-finish is better known than the Apple Brandy finished bourbon I took up a few weeks ago. The pedigree is quite similar: Black Button made it with their four grain mash bill, and aged it for somewhat ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Reading the specifications behind the new Orphan Barrel release, Fable & Folly, makes it sound like the swan song of this Diageo-made series. Series Master Blender Andrew Mackay drew on “remaining stocks of Barterhouse, Forged Oak and various Rhetoric releases with aged rye and corn whiskies.” Knowing a bit about those past Orphan Barrels is ...

By Randall H. Borkus Rating: A+ The Jack Ryan Whiskey Company presents small releases of malt whiskeys, aged and finished in their own stock of select barrels.  Jack Ryan whiskey finishes range from classic ex-bourbon casks to innovative rum and Madeira casks, and include collaborations with small, quality spirit producers. Jack Ryan “The Centenary” is a limited-edition Cask Strength 15 ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B The second in the new Benriach “Season” series whiskies is Malting Season, so named because Benriach is one of just seven Scottish distilleries still engaged in on-site, in-house floor malting. Indeed, Benriach itself only resumed the practice in 2012. For this particular single malt, the wort was made using Concerto barley, specifically chosen by Master ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: A Among the Kentucky Majors, Heaven Hill has the strongest reputation for wheat whiskey, built on their 2005 introduction of Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey. That was years before anyone even spoke of a craft whiskey sector, which is where most of Heaven Hill’s competition in this department comes from. The only other wheat whiskey brand to ...