Updated and corrected, June 19, 2023 By Richard Thomas Rating: B Several years ago, the Old Pepper brand was a fixture on round-ups of the best expressions of MGP’s ubiquitous 95% rye, 5% malted barley rye whiskey. It was near and dear to my heart for more than just that standing, however. When Amir Peay started Georgetown Trading Co. and ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ A few years ago, the folks in Lynchburg, Tennessee decided to do a special release of their relatively new rye whiskey (after a series of teaser releases, the flagship JD Rye came out in 2017) by taking it cask strength and single barrel. That was apparently well enough received that its now a permanent fixture: ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B- A few years ago, FEW Spirits introduced a novel spin on their bourbon by cutting it with cold brew coffee instead of water. They were followed by a Jameson cold brew whiskey and a few cold brew whiskeys introduced by small distillers around the country. Now Kings County in Brooklyn has joined the cold brew ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Jim Beam has been making it easy for me to be a contrarian these last few years, because in the midst of whiskeydom’s own Big Lie — the so-called “Bourbon Shortage — they keep slapping age statements onto things, as well as introducing new middle-aged expressions. The latest example was giving an age statement to ...

By Douglas Fraser Rating: D There are many celebrities making their way into the spirits business these days. In my experience, only one of those  celebrity whiskey brands was one that I enjoyed. It seems like these spirit brands pop up and try to make a splash in the industry, as a vanity project or relying a big name to ...