By Richard Thomas Louisville has long contested Bardstown’s claim as “The Bourbon Capital of the World,” but it hasn’t always had much of a case to press in that department. There was a stretch of a few years back in the 1990s where just one big distiller was operating in the Louisville suburb of Shively, and neither of those distilleries ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B American Fifth Spirits was reportedly ready to go in Lansing, Michigan in 2009, which would have placed them among the early group of craft distilleries that followed the trailblazers like Stranahan’s and Tuthilltown. However, the Great Recession dried up their access to financing, and the project languished until 2013, with the distillery opening in 2015. ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Although Heaven Hill’s revamp of Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond meant the death of one of those brands that is a favorite among bourbon nerds while remaining largely unknown to drinkers at large, it had the benefit of bringing a premium brand based on Heaven Hill’s wheated bourbon stock that has been older than the ...

Buffalo Trace Distillery has announced a new bourbon offering in the W.L. Weller line, Weller Full Proof.  This new bourbon will be 114 proof and non-chill filtered. Buffalo Trace Distillery fills their wheated bourbon barrels at 114 proof, hence the name Full Proof (as opposed to cask strength). This bourbon forgoes chill filtration to preserve all the naturally occurring residual ...

By Randall H. Borkus Rating: B+ Woodford Reserve Distillery, a staple on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, has released a Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey as part of their Distillery Only Series. Spoiler: Woodford Reserve really hit the mark here with a delightful whiskey, one that I am sure will continue to be sought out by many of us! The Bottled-in-Bond Act passed ...