By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ When Heaven Hill finally took the 12 year age statement off Elijah Craig Barrel Proof last year, several years after taking the Elijah Craig Small Batch no age statement in 2016, it was an even noteworthy for just how little comment it attracted. Sure, some croaked, but compared to the outrage that similar transitions sparked ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ This is one of a pair of expressions released by Islay distillery Bruichladdich in early 2024 as part of a “Luxury Redefined” series. The whiskies represented two sides of a pivot point in Bruichladdich history. The distillery was mothballed for several years, covering the mid- to late 1990s, with production restarting in 2000. The post-2000 ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: A- Larceny Barrel Proof has been bucking the expectations for what wheated bourbon is supposed to be lately. Through 2023, the expression became quite spice-driven, although how much so varied from batch to batch. Although they still had a softened character, and were certainly not falling into the spicy and dry character attributed to high rye ...

By David Lavine Rating: B- Roe & Co.’s newest entry into the market is a solera-aged and blended single malt Irish Whiskey. Taking an inventive spin on the solera method, Roe & Co. intends this to be a periodic release, each version showcasing another element of the process. The solera method is most associated with Sherry, where tiers of casks ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ The first time I called on Wilderness Trail was a long time ago. I was still living in Europe, and they had only just changed their name from Wilderness Trace and moved from their original storage space-style set-up to their current farm property. That was the summer of 2016, and just about the only thing ...