The latest batch of Jim Beam’s seminal uncut, unfiltered expression, Booker’s, is on it’s way to store shelves now, and it has been dubbed “Booker’s Bardstown.” The basics of the connection between the legendary Booker Noe and Bardstown, the industrial center of bourbon, should be obvious, but there is more to it than the basics. According to the press release: ...

By Richard Thomas The brand of Old Fitzgerald dates back to the post-Civil War era of the bourbon business, introduced in 1870 and marketed to passenger railways, steamboats and private clubs.Who exactly John E. Fitzgerald was–insofar as historians and not marketeers are concerned–is a murky question, and the brand was originated by a rectifier based in Milwaukee named Herbst. Old ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ The big Autumn American Whiskey season is now in full swing, with all the most anticipated annual, limited editions making their way to store shelves. Well, almost all: the news has dropped as I type this that George T. Stagg won’t be coming in 2021, the first time in recent memory that Buffalo Trace has ...

Lost Lantern, the new independent bottler of American whiskey that launched in late 2020, is pleased to announce their Fall 2021 collection featuring five limited edition single casks. Single casks are an essential piece of the Lost Lantern model, inspired by the long tradition of independent bottlers in Scotland. These highly limited, one-of-a-kind single casks consist of unique and deeply ...

By Richard Thomas One of the topics I sometimes hear discussed by the whiskey fandom in America is how variable the flavor profile of a cask strength brand can be. Note that this is a peculiarly American subject, not because there aren’t so many cask strength Scotch whiskies in regular release, but because Americans seem to be much more in ...