By Paer Johansson Rating: B+ Does Sweden make whisky? Yes indeed, very much so. It all started with Mackmyra, founded back in 1998. Since then, many more distilleries have started and right now there are 13 active whisky distilleries in this small country. One of the oldest is Smögen distillery located on the west coast one and a half hour ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B For 2019, the tagline attached to Old Forester Birthday Bourbon was that it had the highest proof yet. This annual limited edition expression has never been noted for being a ballsy, high octane whiskey, and last year’s clocked in at just above the bonded line at 101 proof. This year is slightly higher, 105 proof, ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Maturing whiskey is a complicated picture, and the easiest way to identify a nincompoop out of his depth is to listen for someone saying “older is always better.” This is especially not the case for American Whiskey, where climate and new oak combine to produce whiskeys that are over-oaked as a matter of routine after ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ In my mind, the first proper in-house expression to come from Bardstown Bourbon Company, under their own brand name, was this wine barrel-finished bourbon. It marked a rather early transition (just a couple of years into operations) from being a contract producer and collaborator to having their own products, even if this initial example is ...

By Paer Johansson Rating: C+ “Blended by Angels, to be Shared with Friends” is the tagline of this new blended (vatted) malt from Grantown-on-Spey in Scotland. The whisky is a blended malt from independent bottlers Highfern (founded by Robert Ransom, formerly of Glenfarclas), crafted from Speyside and Highland malts. The creation is said to have been inspired by the legend ...