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 Rating: B- Underscoring the intimate connection between beer and whiskey, especially malt whiskey, is the rise of the “brewstillery,” or the folks who run a brewery and a distillery under the same roof. Some brewstilleries, especially those making corn-heavy bourbon, are mostly about sharing hardware and barrels, since there aren’t too many beers out there that are ...

By Father John Rayls Rating: B- Journeyman Distillery has been a real mystery to me, because I’ve had a hit and miss relationship with their products. I loved their Last Feather Rye, but some items have thrown me, and this Not A King Whiskey (formerly Federalist #12) is one of them. Located in Three Oaks, Michigan, Journeyman uses as much ...

By Father John Rayls Rating B+ Breuckelen Distilling has a winner in its 77 Whiskey Bonded Rye & Corn, a more aged version of their previous 77 Rye & Corn Whiskey. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this offering, but was very pleasantly surprised. 77 Rye & Corn could just be called a rye whiskey, what with its mash ...

By Kurt Maitland Rating: B- The island of Jura sits next-door to a much more famous member of the Hebrides, Islay. Like that island known for its peaty whisky, Jura is home to its own whisky distillery, and some might know it as the island where George Orwell wrote the novel, 1984. The fact that it has a larger population ...