By Father John Rayls Rating: B+ The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 was instituted to insure the public’s safety (and consolidate the position of big distillers vis-a-vis rectifiers, as bottlers were known then). Having the designation “bottled in bond” (BiB) on a whiskey label stood for quality, because it met the government guaranteed: The whiskey must have been produced at a ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Charbay is an odd duck, even in the world of whiskey-making micro-distillers, and it’s not easy to do something truly unusual in the innovative world of craft distilling. Charbay is one of the outfits making whiskey from beer, which in and of itself is not unique. Shared equipment and the fact that at one early ...

By Father John Rayls Rating: B As some hardcore golf devotees are aware, the Silver Cross played an important part in the history of the British Open, first as an award and later as an icon representing the game’s ideal. It eventually evolved into a symbol of friendship, tradition, camaraderie and spirited competition. It seems very appropriate for Silver Cross ...

By Emma Briones Rating: B In its Wine Geese series, Green Spot has been exploring the characteristics that using special wine casks can bring to its single pot still whiskey. The second expression in this range is Green Spot Chateau Montelena. This whisky brings together the stories of two different Irish entrepreneurs. On one side are the Mitchel brothers, who ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Moonshine has a reputation for being rocket fuel. In truth, illicit moonshine often is fairly high octane stuff and for sound economic reasons. Although stories of white lightning being distilled so high as to be able to run a car off it are usually just that, stories, the proof often is high because it’s easier ...