By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ Back when premium vodka was all the rage, I never quite got into it. Rooted as I was in the mother’s milk of Kentucky bourbon, my interest in “clear stuff” quickly shifted from trendy vodka to decidedly untrendy moonshine and corn whiskey. Given that this was years before the hipsters discovered moonshine, I really do ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: C Billed as a sinister, stronger choice in bourbon, Jim Beam’s Devil’s Cut was indeed a cutting edge whiskey, albeit not for the reasons advertised. Instead, Devil’s Cut was the first mass market bourbon release to base itself firmly on the process of barrel rinsing. When a whiskey barrel is emptied, some of the liquid remains ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: C Just like vodka before it, whiskey is experiencing a boomtime-driven expansion into the area of flavored liquor. These days it seems every big distillery is either getting into secondary maturation, or barrel finishing, or producing flavored whiskey. Honey whiskey has been getting much of the attention lately, both in the U.S. and the U.K., but ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ When I picked up my Jack Daniels chocolate bar, I also acquired the Famous Grouse bar by the same company: Goldkenn of Switzerland. Naturally, this Scotch bar follows the same logic as the Tennessee whiskey bar: a whiskey-syrup locked up in chocolate capsules, with a crunchy chocolate candy on the inside to lock up the ...

Updated January 14, 2015 By S.D. Peters Rating: C+ If you’re an old timey, back in the day Rye drinker, you probably know all about Jim Beam Straight Rye already. The Straight Rye with the yellow label is one of two whiskeys that were what you meant when you said “I’ll have a Rye.” “Beam or Overholt?” You preferred one ...