By Randall H. Borkus Rating: A India’s Paul John stepped up a notch again with a stellar single malt in 2021, Mithuna. I received two sample bottles (50ml) earlier this year, and I need to tell you that I enjoyed them. This is an unpeated, not-chill-filtered single whisky. It is matured in virgin American oak (the way folks following the ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ It is such a fixture of Craft Whiskey 2.0 that I get tired of saying it, only to find that saying it is necessary: whiskey made by small distillers is now properly mature more often than not. Many of the bottles coming out of Pittsburgh’s Wigle Distillery are a perfect example. When an enthusiast thinks ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ This most recent release from the skilled folks at Barrell Craft Spirits is drawn from 6, 7, 10, 15 and 16 year old barrels sourced from the (now familiar) states of Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee. The company says the 6, 7 and 10 year old bourbons were of two groups, a wheated bourbon and a ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ One of the best aspects of Lost Lantern’s model is also what makes it unique: it’s a true negociant in the European sense, but plying its business in the United States. There are two things to understand about that statement to get at why it makes them unique. First, as much as I love Barrell ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: A- California’s St. George Spirits is an example of what I call craft distilling before there was craft distilling. Founded by Jörg Rupf in 1982. After Rupf had spent more than a decade in brandy-making, ex-nuclear scientist and former brewer Lance Winters showed up on Rupf’s doorstep, looking to make whiskey and with a bottle of ...