WhiskyCritic dabbled in some of the holiday offerings recently and one of those was the appropriately named Ben Holladay Missouri Straight Bourbon Whiskey from the Holladay Distillery in Weston, Missouri. The bourbon has already won some awards and WC was eager to give it a try. The bourbon stacks up nicely against some of the other well-known brands in the category [WC will not name names here, everybody who drinks bourbon knows which brands are the most popular] but not quite at the top of the mountain. The Ben Holladay Missouri Straight Bourbon Whiskey was a bit aggressive in our tasting s ..read more

WhiskyCritic recently had the opportunity to sample 4 Spirits Bourbon from the aptly-named 4 Spirits Distillery out of Corvallis, Oregon. First, some background – begun in 2011, 4 Spirits was created by a former Iraq War veteran to honor his fallen buddies and a percentage of the proceeds from the sales of their products are donated to programs that assist veterans of that and other wars. WC sampled 4 Spirits signature Bourbon product and found it to be somewhat harsh and more single malt whisky-like in its demeanor but the price point [$28] is right and the harshness should not be immediatel ..read more

As with the whisky list, perhaps you do not want to spend hundreds of dollars on some Pappy Van Winkle but you still want to avoid appearing like a cheapskate, WC thinks these might solve that issue [again, with regard to personal preferences in the taste bud department]… 1] Burnside Bourbon [Oregon Oaked] 2] Wathen’s 3] Pendleton 4] Baker’s 5] Wild Turkey [Russell’s Reserve] 6] Old Grand-Dad 7] Bulleit 8] Buffalo Trace 9] Old Crow 10] Jim Beam The post WC Last Minute Bourbon Gift Guide [Medium] first appeared on Whisky Critic - Whisky Reviews & Articles - Style. Attitude. Whisky ..read more

WhiskyCritic had a chance to sample some of Heaven Hill’s Larceny, a wheated bourbon with an interesting back story that left some good lingering memories on our taste buds as well. Larceny is bottled at 46% alcohol by volume [92 proof] and as a wheated bourbon [using wheat as the secondary grain, rather than rye], it is smoother than your traditional rye-enhanced bourbon. In fact, Larceny went down so smoothly in WC’s tastings that it very nearly entered that “dangerous” category usually reserved for the fruity cocktails [think lemon drops and cosmos] where the alcohol tends to sneak up on y ..read more

Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Kentucky Whiskey is a small batch bourbon [47% alcohol content, 94 proof] from Heaven Hill Distillery. The whiskey is named after a religious leader from Virginia who accidentally discovered the joys of bourbon after a fire charred his barrel collection. At least that’s the story and Heaven Hill is sticking to it. The aromas and notes run the gamut from honey to vanilla to caramel. Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Kentucky Whiskey was slightly rascally coming out of the bottle. It had a mischievous gleam in its eye and was coming at us sideways – a scenario which always indic ..read more

It is the holiday season and that means it is time to have some notable bourbon and whiskies undergo a rigorous taste test to – you know, make sure they would be appropriate gifts. Somebody has to do this and Whisky Critic has volunteered themselves to undergo this arduous task. For the 2022 version of the WC Holiday Bourbon and Whisky Taste Test Extravaganza, two dollops of Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon – 10 and 15-year-old versions – were taste-tested alongside similar dollops of 12-year-old whisky from Loch Lomond, Glenglassaugh and Highland Park. First, WC’s two Pappies: it is seemingly imposs ..read more

North American-based waterfowl conservation outfit Ducks Unlimited has collaborated with Lux Row Distillers to release a new bourbon called Daviess County Double Barrel Bourbon. Lux Row Daviess County Double Barrel Bourbon was bottled at 48% alcohol by volume [96 proof], finished in Missouri white oak barrels with toasted heads and is said to contain notes of caramel dark chocolate, honey and vanilla. Lux Row Daviess County Double Barrel Bourbon is being made available for $50 per bottle. The post Ducks Unlimited Collabs With Lux Row first appeared on Whisky Critic - Whisky Reviews & Art ..read more

You may remember Neil Giraldo from such hit songs as “Love is a Battlefield”, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and “Hell is for Children”…wait a minute, you are now saying…those are Pat Benatar hit songs! And they are from the 1980s! And they do not have anything to do with bourbon! Well, to paraphrase Captain Tenneal from “MXC” – “wrong!” They have something to do with bourbon. Specifically, Giraldo is Benatar’s long-time spouse and lead guitar-playing husband – it is mainly his riffs as well as some of his words that you are hearing on those hit songs. He and Benatar married in 1982, shortly be ..read more

The Brown Sugar Bourbon from Gig Harbor [Washington] is familiar to WhiskyCritic from past tastings and was recently named as one of the best flavored whiskies in the world, so WC decided to revisit the spirit to see if still had that swagger, and we were not disappointed. First and foremost, it should be mentioned that any flavored whiskey is an acquired taste and with Heritage Distilling’s BSB, even more so – you will require a well-honed sweet tooth to sample BSB as it is, not surprisingly, given its moniker, super-sweet. If you are okay with that element, then Heritage Distilling’s BSB wi ..read more

Maybe the liquor-drinking person on your list prefers bourbon instead of Scotch whisky? No problem there either, WC has a top 10 list of 10 bourbons on the highs side to consider with regard to the person’s taste buds, naturally… 1] Pappy Van Winkle 2] Elijah Craig [18-year single barrel] 3] Woodford Reserve 4] Knob Creek 5] Booker’s 6] Maker’s Mark 7] Four Roses 8] Blanton’s 9] Evan Williams 10] Angel’s Envy The post WC Last Minute Bourbon Gift Guide [High] first appeared on Whisky Critic - Whisky Reviews & Articles - Style. Attitude. Whisky ..read more