Despite trying other products from Beam-Suntory, I still haven’t experienced anything in the Jim Bean line of whiskies. So I can’t think of a better introduction to the brand than with the whiskey that started it all: Jim Beam Bourbon. The history of Jim Beam can be traced back to 1740, when the Boehm family, later changed to Beam, came to America and started farming corn. With help from government incentives, the family would eventually settle in Kentucky, and use their experience with corn to start producing bourbon. This successful whiskey business would continue for generations, until Prohibition forced James “Jim” Beam to close the business […]
As a result of the spirits industry exploding over the last decade, a variety of players have introduced new spirits into the market. I’m personally most fascinated by affordable products from grocery store brands. I’ve had mixed results with other grocery store spirits, like Trader Joe’s Small Batch Vodka and Rum of the Gods, but I was still looking forward to checking out Signature Reserve Dry Gin. One thing these grocery store brands seem to all have in common is a lack of information. Signature Reserve is the brand used by grocery chains owned by Albertson’s. I wasn’t able to find many specific details about Signature Reserve Dry Gin, but […]
After recently reviewing Glenfiddich 12 Year, I was eager to explore more Scotch whiskies as soon as possible. Luckily, there’s another relatively affordable 12 year old Scotch from the Speyside region that is easily accessible in my area. And it happens to be from the the first Scotch brand I ever tried over a decade ago, so I was particularly excited to revisit The Glenlivet 12. The history of the Glenlivet can be traced back to 1824, when the founder, George Smith, first built a distillery in the Speyside region in the highlands of Scotland. The distillery in named after the the valley where it still resides, the Valley of Glenlivet. Today […]
It’s been a long time since we first reviewed a product from Empress 1908, and they’ve released some new products in recent years. While I’m interested in all of their products after our positive experience with the indigo gin, the Empress 1908 Cucumber Lemon Gin in particular caught my eye. Hendricks is one of my personal favorite gins, so I was excited to try another gin with notes of cucumber. Empress 1908 was created in 2016 in collaboration with the iconic Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, Canada. The gin is inspired by the hotel’s renowned afternoon tea program and the “1908” in the name is the year the hotel was first established. […]
I was recently in the mood for some classic whiskey cocktails, and realized it’s been a while since I tried a new rye whiskey. And, after having a generally pleasant experience with their bourbon, I was eager to checkout Knob Creek Rye. Knob Creek Rye is bottled at 100 proof after being aged for seven years, making it the youngest in Knob Creek’s line of whiskies. Although it’s a rye whiskey, its high corn mash bill adds notes commonly associated with bourbon. BOTTLE SPECS ❖ Spirit: Rye Whiskey ❖ Distillery: James B Beam Distilling Co. ❖ ABV: 50% (100 Proof) ❖ Aged for Seven Years ❖ Moderate Price TASTING NOTES ❖ Color: Amber ❖ Nose: […]