Bourbon & Whiskey Reviews

Last week I poured Smokeye Hill Barrel Proof Blue Corn neat the day my sample arrived from Colorado. The blue corn pushes through 132 proof with a fruit-and-cocoa signature you won't find in Kentucky's standard yellow-corn flagships. Here's why this 5-year MGP-to-Colorado bourbon won the ASCOT awards and earned its $120 secondary price.

Named for an era when bourbon went underground, Old Forester 1920 has emerged as one of the best kept non-allocated secrets in Kentucky. Rich, bold, and revelatory.

Formerly known as Stagg Jr., this barrel-proof brute has been renamed but not tamed. At 130 proof, it's Kentucky in its most concentrated, uncompromising form.

While the masses chase horse toppers, the cognoscenti quietly stock their shelves with E.H. Taylor. Here's why this Bottled-in-Bond beauty is the real prize.

In a world of allocated unicorns and limited editions, Wild Turkey 101 remains the most honest pour in Kentucky. Here's why the wise keep coming back.

Jim Beam's barrel-proof flagship doesn't do subtlety. Each quarterly batch is a knuckle-cracking, chest-thumping celebration of uncut Kentucky power.

From one barrel per day to a $600M acquisition, Wilderness Trail has arrived. Their cask strength singles are a glimpse at bourbon's next golden era.

100 proof. 9-year age statement. Under $40. Available everywhere. Knob Creek's numbers don't lie—this is the best set of specs in bourbon for the money.

With 10 unique recipes from 2 mashbills and 5 yeast strains, Four Roses is the bourbon equivalent of a master perfumer's workshop. Each barrel is its own creation.

Crafted by the Russell dynasty—father and son, 100+ years of combined experience—this is the shelf bourbon that Eagle Rare fans need to discover.

Heaven Hill's workhorse bourbon proves that under $30, there's still a world of genuine quality. Steady, reliable, and criminally underrated.

Ten years of patience, 90 proof of polish. Eagle Rare is the allocated bourbon that actually deserves the attention—if you can find it at retail.

Vintage-dated. Single barrel. From one of Kentucky's most storied distilleries. Under $30. Evan Williams Single Barrel is bourbon's best-kept secret—period.

That iconic horse-topped bottle started the single barrel revolution. But three decades later, is Blanton's still worth the chase—or just the shelf decor?

Buffalo Trace built an empire on approachability. But in the age of allocation, this gentle bourbon has become a surprisingly divisive pour.

As the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby, Woodford Reserve has the pedigree. But does the liquid in the glass match the prestige of the name?

Same distillery, same mashbill as Pappy Van Winkle. But is Weller Special Reserve actually good bourbon, or just famous by association?

Few bourbons provoke more passionate disagreement than Maker's Mark. Reliable classic or forgettable also-ran? We wade into America's oldest bourbon argument.

Three experienced Scotch drinkers ranked Ardbeg 10 above a 21-year-old Speyside in one of my blind sessions — the Speyside cost four times as much. Here's why this $55 Islay punches so far above its weight, and what 46% ABV plus non-chill filtering actually delivers.

The Laphroaig Cairdeas 2017 edition represents a polarizing release finished in quarter casks with pronounced oakiness and bitter spice characteristics.

Talisker's signature pepper finish is one of Scotch whisky's great party tricks — a sensation so distinctive that experienced tasters identify it blind with eerie consistency. Here's why I use Talisker 10 in tasting sessions and what makes the Isle of Skye's only malt impossible to forget.

Bunnahabhain 12 is the bottle I keep specifically for friends who say they want to try Scotch but hate smoke. It's the unpeated Islay malt that breaks every expectation — and at 46.3% NCF for $50, it tastes like a bottle that costs considerably more.

While the world chases Scotch and bourbon, Redbreast 12 has been quietly producing one of the most rewarding sipping whiskies on the planet. The secret is out.

At 51.4% ABV in a bottle that fits in your pocket, Nikka From The Barrel punches harder than whiskies twice its size and three times its price.

David Stewart's genius idea: finish 14-year Scotch in West Indian rum casks. The result is the sweetest, most approachable single malt you'll ever sip.

I served Laphroaig 10 to over a dozen first-time Scotch drinkers as a deliberate provocation. The reactions split perfectly into thirds. Here's exactly what happened, why this $45 bottle is the most polarizing whisky on Earth, and what your reaction reveals about you.

I blind-tasted GlenDronach 12 against Macallan 12 Sherry Oak and a 15-year-old sherried malt at $95. The GlenDronach held its own convincingly against both. Here's why this $45 PX-and-Oloroso bomb is borderline criminal value.

A 100-proof, 10-year rye whiskey from a farm in Vermont. WhistlePig challenged everything we knew about American rye—and the revolution succeeded.

Highland Park 12 is the bottle I hand to people who say they want 'something smoky but not too smoky.' In blind tastings, drinkers who claim to dislike peated Scotch frequently rate it highly without realizing it contains peat at all. Here's the Orkney magic.

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Named after colored spots on aging barrels, Green Spot is the entry to Ireland's most distinguished whiskey family. Creamy, fruity, and entirely irresistible.

Macallan has built an empire on sherry-seasoned oak. But in an era of soaring prices and diminishing age statements, does the 12-year flagship still deliver?

Knob Creek's 12-year, 100-proof bourbon turned a quick comparison sip into a forty-minute pour. Full tasting notes, side-by-side with Knob Creek 9 and the rest of the lineup, and why $60 makes this the value play in age-stated bourbon.

Bottled-in-Bond at 100 proof and priced for everyday drinking, Rittenhouse Rye is the bartender's secret weapon and the Manhattanist's best friend.

I use Glenfiddich 12 as the zero-point on my Scotch scale — the calibration whisky every blind tasting is measured against. Here's why the world's best-selling single malt is the most useful bottle in my cabinet, even though it's never the most exciting.

I poured Monkey Shoulder neat for a friend who insists he doesn't drink blends. He guessed Glenfiddich 12. Here's why this $30 Speyside blend fools single-malt drinkers — and the three cocktails I reach for it for.

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Marketed as premium Japanese whisky, priced like a budget blend, and debated endlessly. We pour through the confusion to find out what Toki actually is.