By Father John Rayls Rating: B+ As a big fan of Anchor Brewery, I had been anxious to get my hands on a few of the Anchor Distilling’s rye products, and my first experience was with their Single Malt Straight Rye Whiskey. If the “single malt” part seems odd, the whiskey was made with a mashbill of 100% malted rye. ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B Found near the Mid-Western stretch of the Mississippi River, Iowa’s Mississippi River Distilling Company (MRDC) has a knack for small, limited edition runs that put a twist on their staple whiskeys. Among their more recent releases was a foray into a new trend in whiskey: sending used barrels to a brewery for use in making ...

By Debbie Shocair Rating: B+ In all honesty, one of the things I have always loved about Templeton Rye is that it smells straight-up like bananas, and that note is a really fun way to introduce it to, well, pretty much anyone. So, imagine the intrigue when I was privileged to sample their 10-year Special Reserve Rye. As a strictly ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Perhaps it is because nearly all of the world’s bourbon (especially if you include Tennessee Whiskey as a sub-category of bourbon) is made in one region, the Mid-South, but regrettably most American whiskey enthusiasts pay no attention at all to issues of climate and how that plays out in maturation. As someone who keeps on ...

By Emma Briones Rating: C Chivas Regal Extra was announced at the end of 2014 and launched in March 2015 as a Travel Retail Exclusive. At that time, this release was the first new blend from the iconic brand since 2007. As a strict blended whisky, it still counts as their latest, since the new Chivas Regal Ultis is a ...