By Richard Thomas Richard Thomas, Owner-Editor Best To Pass My Lips, Booker’s 30th Anniversary Bourbon: Whereas the standard batches of Booker’s Bourbon and even some of the special releases of the brand are selected by committee, this Booker’s 30th Anniversary was a project of Fred Noe from start to finish. He brought in his son and apprentice Freddie as as ...

By Randall H. Borkus Rating: B The historic James E. Pepper Distillery was making bourbon in Lexington, Kentucky until 1958, when production ceased and the brand was abandoned for over 50 years. In December 2017, the new James E. Pepper Distillery (DSP-KY-5) began distilling whiskey again in part of the old building, basing its mash bill on historic recipes and ...

By Emma Briones Rating: A- Each year, Douglas Laing launches for Christmas a special edition of one of their most known whiskies: Big Peat. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the Big Peat brand, so its limited-edition Big Peat Christmas 2019 had to be something really special. As for each edition, the recipe quantities change, but not the ...

By Andrew Graham Rating: B I tend to start with a distiller’s most basic, down-market whiskey. I figure if I don’t like a distiller’s entry-level dram, then I’m probably not going to love its more scarce bottlings. So Forager’s Keep, the first single malt Scotch expression from Diageo’s Orphan Barrel series, isn’t something I would typically sit down and drink, ...

The moment the first drop of whisky came off the still at Miyagikyo Distillery was an intense one. Founder Masataka Taketsuru, considered by most as the Father of Japanese Whisky, tasted the first drop. He is said to have whispered under his breath, “no…,” frightening everyone around him! But what he meant was, “No, it’s completely different from Yoichi.” And ...