By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ The first installment of Booker’s this year honors Kathleen DiBenedetto, a protege of Booker Noe who is still with Beam today, after a tenure of more than a quarter-century. Shortly after starting work with Jim Beam, she became part of the team marketing the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection, of which Booker’s was a part. ...

By Richard Thomas Sixty bucks is a pretty useful price divisor for Americans, because for a couple of decades it was been the standard “Fast Cash” amount used by most ATMs. When applied to bourbon, $60 seems to be a widely agreed upon ceiling for what most enthusiasts are willing to pay for a “go-to” bottle. If it’s more expensive ...

By Kurt Maitland With this year marking the 4th Anniversary of the Water of Life Charity Event, it’s time to revisit that event and its founder, Dr. Matthew Lurin. I had a chat with Dr. Lurin about what we can expect at what has become one of the premiere events in the NYC whisk(e)y calendar. KM: Tell us a bit ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: A- Another batch of Barrell Bourbon has arrived. Batch 015 is officially a 9 1/2 year old, that being the youngest whiskey used, but some 10 year and 11 year old whiskey is in there too. The stock involved comes from at least two different distilleries, since it was distilled in Tennessee and Kentucky. This batch ...

By Richard Thomas Canadian Whisky occupies an odd place with world drinkers. The whisky from the Great White North is one of the five classic national whisky styles, along with Irish, Scottish, Japanese and American. Canadians have their own unique methods and big Canadian brands have an international presence. Yet at the same time, Canadian Whisky is perhaps the least ...