By Richard Thomas Rating: A- Old Pogue was a trailblazer in many ways. The Pogue family is one of those Kentucky clans that had been in the bourbon business before Prohibition, but not after, and returned to it in modern times. The key distinction is the Pogues got back into bourbon before the Whiskey Boom took off. They enjoy the ...
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Nikka Yoichi 10 Year Old Single Malt Review
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ For the last decade or so, I’ve looked askance at many of my colleagues for beating the yellow journalism drum of “bourbon shortage.” Yes, products made by Buffalo Trace have become unicorns, one by one, but that phenomenon is limited to just them. The moment of inconvenience, not crisis, came and went for everyone else. ...
Read More »Isle of Skye 30 Year Old Scotch Review
By Richard Thomas Rating: A- Having reached the apogee of the Isle of Skye ladder of blended whisky, I’ll not repeat the details of the brand or the maker, Ian Macleod Distillers. If you want those tales, you can go back and review the previous installments in the line. There are five of them, and I have nothing new to ...
Read More »Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2013 Scotch Review
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ From its modern revival in 2000, Bruichladdich has built an identity around a grain-driven whisky, rather than a maturation-driven whisky. That isn’t to say maturation isn’t important to Bruichladdich; it’s important to any whisky that isn’t on the market as some version of moonshine. But this brand doesn’t old and ultra-aged whiskies. Their neighbors at ...
Read More »Old Elk Rum Cask Finish Rye Whiskey Review
By Douglas Fraser Rating: B Old Elk has a distillery in Fort Collins, Colorado, but at present much of their output is contract produced or sourced through MGP in Indiana. Working with Greg Metze, the former master distiller at MGP and current master distiller at Old Elk, the company arranged to produce their own made-to-order whiskeys through MGP, rather than ...
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