By Michael Cervin Rating: B+ If the idea of winemakers producing their own craft spirits appeals to you, then the Splinter Group and their launch in spring of 2018 should have gotten your attention. This is an ambitious project, less in line with vanity projects, and more akin to a reputable effort to create new styles of American whiskies. California ...

By Emma Briones Rating: B- Tomatin has recently launched a new limited edition range, inspired by nature elements that have been key to human evolution (wood, fire, earth, metal and water). These elements integral to whisky production as well, and that is why this Highlands distillery has decided to honor them. Tomatin’s new range is called Five Virtues and has ...

By Debbie Shocair Rating: B+ “Fred, Make sure they don’t mess with my Booker’s.” That was Booker Noe’s one request of his son, Fred, who would take over after his father, a sixth-generation master distiller, retired. Since taking over as the now seventh generation of master distillers at Jim Beam, Fred has faithfully released a few special batches of Booker’s ...

By Father John Rayls Rating: B Little is known about the provenance of this whisky. It’s labeled as a single malt, so it must have been sourced from a single distillery. Also, it’s known to have been “aged in American oak” and then given a “first-fill bourbon cask finish.” Who bottles it and what distillery it comes from are shadowy ...

By Debbie Shocair Rating: B Down there in Bardstown, Kentucky, one of the newest associates of the Bourbon Trail is Lux Row Distillers, also the new home to the Rebel Yell family of Bourbons. The Rebel Yell brand was registered in 1936 and has, fairly recently, expanded to include an array flavored whiskies. At their core, thought, they are still ...