By Richard Thomas Rating: C Some craft distilleries follow a path of focusing on one thing, such as Garrison Brothers and their Texas Bourbon or Westland and their Washington Malt. Others make many styles of whiskey and follow a course of variety. Iowa’s Cedar Ridge Distillery is one of these, and in pursuing that route they have an entry in ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: C A few years ago, Will Kehler and Ian Smiley, the author of Making Pure Corn Whiskey and co-author of The Distiller’s Guide to Rum, teamed up to create and release Manhattan Moonshine. A few years is typically seen as a minimum aging period (two is the standard for the American “straight” designation; three is the ...

By Debbie Shocair Rating: B- Basil Hayden, with its reputation as the lightest of Beam Suntory’s Small Batch Collection (also including Knob Creek, Booker’s and Baker’s), is named after Meredith Basil Hayden, Sr. Her recipe for a high-rye whiskey in the late 1700s is said to have inspired the current Basil Hayden mashbill, although Basil Hayden originated as an 8 ...

By Father John Rayls Imagine it’s 1927 and we’re walking the grounds of the Glen Garden Country Club, the second oldest golf course in Fort Worth, Texas. The distant city skyline is visible to the northeast, and a pair of teen-aged caddies, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, jockey for the lead in the annual Caddies Championship. They tie. This is ...

By Emma Briones Rating: C+ The first Italian whisky distillery, Puni, has launched their second edition of their limited edition expression, Puni Nero. This new version has a lower alcohol content and less cask maturation. Puni Nero Limited Edition 2017 has been matured for four years in Pinot Nero casks from Italian wineries in the South Tyrol. This region is ...