By Richard Thomas Rating: A- Autumn is a happening season for American Whiskey, being the time of year when most of the eagerly awaited annual limited editions come out. Pappy Van Winkle headlines the season, with Buffalo Trace Antique Collection and Four Roses serving as co-features. Behind these are a slate of well-known, if not as dearly sought after whiskey ...

By April Manning Rating: B- Booker’s Bourbon has released the second creation for 2017, and this particular installment honors a group that named legendary Beam Master Distiller Booker Noe an honorary member: the Blue Knights Motorcycle Club. This MC is a group of active and retired law enforcement officers that enjoy taking to the open road. Their bond began when ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ I knew Barrell Bourbon had a hardcore fan following, but even I was surprised by how enthusiastic they were in the wake of publishing last week’s “The Top Ten Single Barrel Bourbon.” Through social media, email and comments, I was asked several times why Barrell Bourbon wasn’t on the list? Swept away by enthusiasm, they seem ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Bowmore is the oldest distillery on the famed Scottish island of Islay and the second oldest in Scotland, founded in 1779. Islay distilleries form a crowd of big, charismatic personalities, so it’s no easy task to stand out. That Bowmore has managed to do just this, and has a large and devoted enough fan following ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B Balblair is one of a very select group of Scottish distilleries that releases their single malts as vintages rather than age statement or no age statement (NAS) expressions. It’s an odd way of going about doing things for a whisky, for while wine is very much influenced by how good the grape crop of a ...