By Father John Rayls Rating: B+ This tasting experience was a pleasant surprise, because make no mistake, Diamond State Rye Whiskey is young. In fact, it’s very young. I sampled batch/bottle 3-591 from January 18, 2017, which had spent 11 months in new oak casks. Typically, age is a very good thing when applied to whiskey production, but it’s not ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B Ardbeg is known for its heavily peated whiskies, standing out even among the already peaty Islay style, and Ardbeg Ten is their flagship. One of the interesting thing about the Ten is that, as a mere 1o year old, it is the oldest expression in current release from the distillery. The croakers of the Scotch ...

By Father John Rayls Rating: B+ The Buffalo Trace Organic 6 Grain Bourbon Whiskey from their Experimental Collection is another interesting whiskey in a line of interesting whiskeys from Buffalo Trace. They have been experimenting over at Buffalo Trace for years, and that commitment now includes over 14,000 aging barrels, at least one dedicated warehouse (a laboratory warehouse at that!) ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Breuckelen Distilling, with its spin on spelling “Brooklyn,” was started by Brad Estabrooke, a former securities trader at Deutsche Bank. Similar to the origin stories of many craft distilleries, Estabrooke left a white collar career that had nothing to do with the booze business to get into spirits making. If that sounds peculiar and predestined ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Although Colorado’s Stranahan’s Distillery was one of the trailblazers of the craft whiskey movement, not just in that state but in the U.S. as a whole, one of the ironies is that few actually followed in their path. Whereas most micro-distilleries throw themselves into a whole range of spirits—sourced and in-house; white and brown—Stranahan’s focused ...