By Richard Thomas Rating: B At my book launch late last year, I was asked what brand was overdue for a cask strength version. Without even a moment’s pause, I said “Bernheim.” Heaven Hill released the cask strength version of its seminal Elijah Craig Small Batch a decade ago, in 2013. Back then, both the …
By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: B+ Based in Buena Vista, Colorado, Deerhammer Distillery was founded in 2010 by the couple of Lenny and Amy Eckstein. Lenny had been working at Colorado craft whiskey trailblazer Stranhan’s, and decided to try his hand at making his own whiskey. Inspired by the bootstrap ambition of the early Western settlers …
Updated March 12, 2023 By Richard Thomas Average Rating: B+ When Barry Crockett retired as Master Distiller for Irish Distillers in 2013 after 47 years with the company, his principal legacy was preserving the distinctly Irish style of pot still whiskey. Yet it was not until relatively modern times, albeit still under Crockett’s tenure, that …
By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: B Inspired by the bootstrap ambitions of Western frontier settlers, Deerhammer strives to put it’s own mark on the whiskey world, having started with a single malt when most of their peers were making bourbon. They have since moved on to make other whiskeys, including a rye, a four-grain bourbon and …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B What to write about Elijah Craig Barrel Proof that I either haven’t written before or merits restatement? It’s worth looking back and recalling that 2023 kicks off the 11th year for the expression, and this is the second strongest bourbon in the entire series at 125.6 proof. Also, Heaven Hill …
By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: B Situated at the base of Mt. Fuji, 7.5 miles from it’s peak, the Fuji Distillery has been making whisky in the shadow of Japan’s most famous mountain since 1973. Despite that, their first US release came only in 2021. The location was most likely chosen for a few different reasons. …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Uncle Nearest almost instantly became a well-known whiskey brand thanks to two points. First, it’s named for and honors the legacy of Nathan “Nearest” Green, the slave who is known to have worked as distiller and taught Jack Daniels the whiskey-making trade in the 1850s. Second and related, it’s a …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Following their branding and custom, California’s Redwood Empire named their blend of whiskeys after a very old, very tall redwood tree. The tallest coastal redwood, Lost Monarch the tree is 157 feet high and found in Jedediah Smith State Park. Lost Monarch the whiskey is a blend of (presumably MGP-sourced) …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Down in Cascade Hollow, Tennessee, George Dickel has emerged from a period that could be described as uncertain, to say the least. Master Distiller John Lunn left in 2015, and although the reasons for his departure are still unknown insofar as the realm of public fact are concerned, it created …
By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: B Since their founding in 2015, Still Austin has strived to capture what life in Austin, Texas is like with each release of their whiskeys. With their base known as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” Still Austin captured the spirit of their music world in their first release and …
