The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday

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 ...

Updated January 6, 2018 By Father John Rayls Average Rating: B Smooth Ambler Contradiction Straight Bourbon Whiskey was a real surprise! I wasn’t expecting much from a blend of a somewhat young 2 year old “wheater” bourbon, made in-house by Smooth Ambler in West Virginia, and a 9 year bourbon rye from MGP in Indiana.  The Smooth Ambler wheated bourbon ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ New Zealand Whisky Company is presently engaged in bottling the stock from what had been the country’s sole whisky distillery, Willowbank. This rather aged example is a blend drawing on a most unusual cask profile. 70% malt and 30% grain whisky, it was aged in ex-bourbon barrels for six years before being transferred to French ...

By Randall H. Borkus Formal education is becoming a larger part of being whiskey enthusiast, and this past October I attended the Executive Bourbon Steward Training Program presented by the Stave & Thief Society in Chicago and hosted by the Chicago Distilling Company.  It was a fun filled day of hands-on participation and whiskey education. Stave & Thief Society was ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Before the World Whiskey Boom, Slane Castle was one of several independent and sourced whiskey brands, in this case associated with the namesake estate that hosts one of Europe’s best known annual music festivals. However, after Beam Global (now Beam Suntory) bought Cooley Distillery in 2011, the sourcing for these independently bottled brands dried up. ...