We’ve reviewed endless bottles of bourbon around here, so it was only a matter of time before came up with our own personal list of some of the best bourbons to drink in 2022.  Bottoms up. As Brostrick’s official bourbon taste-tester, I’ve purchased, tested, researched, and personally reviewed over 80 different bottles of some of […]

A hands-on review of Michter’s US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon.  The good, the bad, and the delicious. Michter’s took the US*1 Bourbon and added it to a second barrel assembled from 18 month air dried wood that is toasted but not charred.   The second barrel process is what creates the unique flavor in the US*1 Toasted Barrel […]

Finding a really delicious and high-quality bourbon doesn’t have to break the bank.  Check out our picks for some of the best “cheap” bourbons – most of which are $50 and under – so far this year. You shouldn’t have to drive all across Kentucky to find good, affordable bourbon.  Production of bourbon is at […]

A hands-on review of Willett Family Estate 2-Year.  The good, the bad, and the delicious. Although Willett Distilling Company is in fact not a distiller at all, it has masterfully bottled some of the best bourbon and rye though its parent company, Kentucky Bourbon Distillers.  The company creates lots of amazing products under the Willett […]

A hands-on review of Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Strength.  The good, the bad, and the delicious. Bulleit makes a solid bourbon so I was intrigued when I ran across their new barrel strength product.  This bottle is from Batch No. 2 and is bottled at 119 proof.  It packs some hot heat with that high alcohol level […]

A hands-on review of Parker’s Heritage Wheat Whiskey 13 Year.  The good, the bad, and the delicious. The Parker’s Heritage Collection Original Batch 2014 is made from a 51% wheat mash and aged in new, charred, oak barrels thus this is not bourbon at all but it is a wheat whiskey.  It is cask strength so […]

There are a lot of bourbon brands out there and many of these unique brands are distilled by the same folks.  Check out my official list of the best bourbon brands so far in 2022! As you know, I’ve been reviewing major bourbon brands around here since 2014 and consider myself an aficionado on all […]

A hands-on review of Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon.  The good, the bad, and the delicious. Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon Whiskey is distilled by the folks at Buffalo Trace.  No longer considered a single barrel bourbon because an automated assembly line replaced a manual bottling process which means certain bottles could contain two barrels […]

A hands-on review of Old Bardstown Estate Bottled.  The good, the bad, and the delicious. Old Bardstown Estate Bottled is a another solid label created by the folks at Willett.  Much like Johnny Drum it also comes with a reasonable price tag, if you can pick up a bottle. It is a well decorated product that […]

A hands-on review of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.  The good, the bad, and the delicious. The Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is aged for 12 years and bottled without chill filtering, straight from the barrel. That unique bottling processes leads to the strong 140.2 proof and ultimately defines it as a Barrel Proof bourbon.  The tasting notes […]

A hands-on review of Noah’s Mill Bourbon.  The good, the bad, and the delicious. A Small Batch Bourbon distilled by the folks at Willet.  It is a surprising smooth pour for a bourbon bottled at 114.3 proof. The nose is smokey and woody with some spicy rye notes showing through.  The taste is filled with […]

Maybe it seems as easy as buying a bottle of bourbon, opening the bottle, pouring a glass and drinking; but there are some products that can be helpful in pouring that perfect glass of bourbon. 1.  Whiskey Stones – $9.95   The perfect product to cool down your bourbon without watering down the taste. 2. […]

George T. Stagg is a part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.  The bourbon is aged in new charred oak barrels for at least 15 years.  It is a powerful product that is packs a real punch because it is uncut and unfiltered, thus it is 138.1 proof.  You can open it up with a a little […]

The 2 Year Rye from Willett, reviewed here, is the perfect everyday rye.  The longer aged 8 Year Rye is cask strength and bottled at an 58.3% ABV.  This particular tasting is from the barrel labeled 01A, note that each barrel will have different flavor profiles. The nose is full of spicy rye with some underlying sweet […]

This is the 14th year that Old Forester released a Birthday Bourbon for their creator, George Garvin Brown.  The bourbon is selected from a single day of production, barreled in 2003 and bottled at 50% abv.  The 2015 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is one of the better years that I have tasted. The nose has a […]

This is not a bourbon review at all, but is a review of a beer finished much like a bourbon.  James E. Pepper brewed an American Brown Ale and aged it in oak barrels.  The Ale was aged in the same oak barrels in which James E. Pepper recently aged their 1776 Straight Rye Whiskey.  The Ale is […]

Another excellent product from the house of Willett; a product that Robert Parker, the wine aficionado, claimed to be as close to Pappy as anything else he has tasted.

Old Forester is the very first bottled bourbon in America, and has been bottled and sold here for more that 140 years.  George Garvin Brown started the product so, for the last 13 years, on the anniversary of his September 2 birthday, they release the Birthday Bourbon.  This bourbon is selected from a single day of […]

Michter’s off the shelf, Rye, Bourbon, Sour Mash and Whiskey are all excellent but add 10 years of age and you get a superior product.  The 10 Year Bourbon comes in limited quantities from a single barrel that is fire charred new American white oak. The nose has a pleasant vanilla quality to it.  The […]

It seems like an easy enough question but there are material differences between Bourbon, Tennessee Whiskey, Rye and Whiskey; there are requirements that must be fulfilled before a distiller can label a product as Bourbon.  In 1964 Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson administration declared bourbon the America’s Native Spirit. In order to declare a product […]

Four Roses has 10 traditional recipes that they blend to create each of their bourbons.  This year’s 2014 Limited Edition Small Batch is derived from the 13-year-old Bourbon from Four Roses’ OBSV recipe, 12-year-old OESV, 11-year-old OBSF and 9-year-old OBSK. It has a wonderful sweet nose to it coupled with an orange, citrus note.  The sweet […]

    Michter’s released their Barrel Strength Rye in limited quantities.  You can tell the year of the release by the barrel number tag on the neck, 2015 bottles start with ’15’.  This particular barrel is bottled at 54.7% ABV. Michter’s takes the US*1 Rye straight from the barrel and enable us to sample it […]

Clyde May’s is technically an Alabama style Whiskey, not a bourbon, distilled in Kentucky and bottled in Florida.  A little bit of research reveals the use of dried apples or apple flavorings is what keeps it from being labeled a bourbon. The nose is fragrant with sweet apples.  The taste is surprisingly spicy with a […]

  You might recognize William Larue Weller from some favorites like the W. L. Weller 12 Year.  The William Larue Weller is a wheated bourbon and is one of five bottles that make up the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, arguably the strongest asset within the collection.  Unfiltered and bottled at barrel proof the 2015 version […]

  In 2012 the Reservoir Rye Whiskey won Double Gold in San Francisco at the World Spirit’s competition.  The product was intriguing and unique because it is a 100% rye mash bill. The nose is full of sweet honey and vanilla.  The taste is full of rye and the finish mellows with some of the wood […]

As you might have guessed from the name, the Willett 11 Year Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Bourbon is not blended.  Each bottle is from a unique barrel and, since each barrel can have different tasting notes, a review is less helpful unless you can track down a bottle from the particular barrel that is the […]

George T. Stagg, part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC), has become one of the more sought after bottles released every year.  We reviewed it here and loved it.  The folks at Buffalo Trace decided to release a ‘little brother’ version in the Stagg Jr.  The bottle here is from the second release of […]

The good people at Jefferson’s have created a barrel aged Manhattan with the help of the Editors of Esquire Magazine.  Normally I would recommend mixing your own Manhattan but this cocktail is barrel aged in bourbon barrels from the Jefferson’s distillery; therefore it is understandable that you may not have room for a bourbon barrel […]

  After aging their bourbon in new American oak barrels, the folks at Jefferson’s Reserve finish this bourbon for nine months in French oak barrels; these barrels once held Groth Cabernet Sauvignon.  You can pick up any number of cask finished bourbons but usually they are finished in barrels from a sweeter wine or even a […]

Tasting the W.L. Weller 12 Year product, there is a tangible relationship with Pappy Van Winkle. The folks at Pappy distilled the original Weller recipe and the rumor is that Weller shares the same juice as Pappy.  The flavor profile of this wheated bourbon has a lot of the same DNA markers as Pappy.  With 12 years on […]

Old Weller Antique is another bourbon label distilled by the good folks at Buffalo Trace but most of the chatter you hear about Old Weller is its connection to Pappy.

  I pulled out a bottle of Four Roses from last year, that is still a big winner.  Not to be confused with the Four Roses 2014 Limited Edition.  This particular bottle is from a single barrel, 47-3D; and bottled at barrel proof, 118 proof. The nose is spicy with a nice amount of orange […]

  The Four Roses 2015 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon, as always, is a tough find but an exceptional product.  This will be the last release under Jim Rutledge who is retiring as the Master Distiller at Four Roses for the last 49 years.  There were 12,672 bottles distributed this year at a barrel proof ABV […]