By Richard Thomas Part of the Bourbon Boom is the way in which the rise of Kentucky’s Native Spirit has tugged the other major categories of American whiskey on its coattails. Once upon a time, rye whiskey was a sleepy thing, known to most because of Don McLean’s song “American Pie.” Wheat whiskey and American malt whiskey had all but ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B One of the great traditions in Southern style moonshine is the apple pie flavor, a classic recipe for making white lightning more palatable. Most purveyors of legal moonshine have a version. So, it only follows that one of the biggest legal moonshine distilleries would too, and especially so considering it is located outside Great Smoky ...

There Is Much More To Whiskey-Making In Iowa Than Just Rye By Richard Thomas One of the peculiar features of the craft whiskey picture in the Hawkeye State is just how big a presence rye has in it. This is because of Templeton Rye, the notorious bottler that preceded the emergence of Iowa’s first micro-distilleries by several years. Templeton sourced ...

By Richard Thomas LBL Moonshine, once the premier legal moonshine brand in Western Kentucky due to its appearance in The Discovery Channel’s Moonshiners, is reportedly up for auction. Spencer Balentine opened Silver Trail Distillery and an accompanying museum in the Kentucky’s Land Between The Lakes region several years ago, blazing a trail that many legal moonshine outfits from Hopkinsville to ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ Western Kentucky is about to become a focus of national attention, especially among stargazers. A total solar eclipse is coming on August 22, and it just so happens that little Hopkinsville is the best place in the world to see it. Located outside of Hopkinsville is arguably a spot that combines a nice vantage point ...