By Richard Thomas Rating: B- James E. Pepper has now come home to its roots, with brand owner Amir Peay having opened a new distillery in part of what used to be the Pepper distillery in Lexington, Kentucky. Production only began this past January, however, so it will be at least a few years (more likely several) before any in-house ...

By Michael Cervin Rating: B When you think of Norway, you think Vikings, conquest, and perhaps their national drink aquavit. The Vikings didn’t drink whisky, which traces its origins to the late 1500’s, long after the last longship filled with Norsemen looking to trade or pillage set sail out of fjord. Yet whiskey and aquavit are both distilled from grain, ...

By Father John Rayls Rating: B+ The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 was instituted to insure the public’s safety (and consolidate the position of big distillers vis-a-vis rectifiers, as bottlers were known then). Having the designation “bottled in bond” (BiB) on a whiskey label stood for quality, because it met the government guaranteed: The whiskey must have been produced at a ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Charbay is an odd duck, even in the world of whiskey-making micro-distillers, and it’s not easy to do something truly unusual in the innovative world of craft distilling. Charbay is one of the outfits making whiskey from beer, which in and of itself is not unique. Shared equipment and the fact that at one early ...

By Father John Rayls Rating: B As some hardcore golf devotees are aware, the Silver Cross played an important part in the history of the British Open, first as an award and later as an icon representing the game’s ideal. It eventually evolved into a symbol of friendship, tradition, camaraderie and spirited competition. It seems very appropriate for Silver Cross ...