By Randall H. Borkus Rating: B- Arguably, Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American whiskey, as evidenced by what happened after The Whiskey Rebellion of 1791, which led to the migration of distillers to Kentucky to avoid Federal taxes. The boomtimes for American Whiskey has led to a revival of the Pennsylvania whiskey style, which disappeared completely some three decades ago. ...
Read More »Tag Archives: Rye Whiskey
Pittsburgh’s Wigle Suffers Small Explosion, One Injured
Last Thursday, January 4th, saw an explosion at the Wigle Distillery in Pittsburgh, which injured an employee. According to news reports, a still explosion was reported at approximately 11 a.m. The blast dismounted the still from its anchors and moved it 5 feet while injuring a worker who was standing nearby. The worker was conscious and responsive in the ambulance ...
Read More »Distilling Returns to Lexington’s James E. Pepper Distillery
By Richard Thomas Lexington’s old Pepper Distillery is a fixture of some of my earliest childhood memories. When I was in kindergarten, the family farm was just down the road from this historic, long forgotten bourbon factory that was shuttered in 1958. My Dad would frequently drive up Old Frankfort Pike and onto Manchester Street, going past the big, abandoned ...
Read More »Top Picks From 2017
By Richard Thomas Richard Thomas, Owner-Editor Best New Whiskey, Michter’s 25 Year Old Single Barrel: Amid the slate of greatly anticipated limited edition bourbons that come out every Fall, this one was the standout. The last time Michter’s released a 25 Year Old was 2008, and this time around it eclipsed all the other ultra aged, hot button bourbons of ...
Read More »Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye Whiskey Review
By Debbie Shocair Rating: B- Basil Hayden, with its reputation as the lightest of Beam Suntory’s Small Batch Collection (also including Knob Creek, Booker’s and Baker’s), is named after Meredith Basil Hayden, Sr. Her recipe for a high-rye whiskey in the late 1700s is said to have inspired the current Basil Hayden mashbill, although Basil Hayden originated as an 8 ...
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