Despite reviewing plenty of affordable bourbons, there is still a few popular brands I’ve never tried before. And I thought the new year was a perfect time to try out a Four Roses product with Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon. The history of the Four Roses brand begins around 1888, when the name was trademarked by whiskey producer Paul Jones Jr. The whiskey’s production continued in Louisville, Kentucky until its purchase by the Seagram company in 1943. The Four Roses brand was then discontinued in the US in the 1950’s, but its sale continued in Europe and Asia. It was made available in the United States again in 2002 when Kirin Brewery […]
I’ve been on a big gin kick for past few months, so I’ve been keeping an eye out for some new and interesting bottles, especially ones from smaller distilleries. And, when I came across Jewell Gin, I was immediately intrigued by the elegant label and high proof. The family-owned Jewell Distillery is located in Blue Lake, California, a small city in Humboldt county in northern California. The owners, Michael and Barbara Jewell, use their vintage still from the prohibition era to make small batch gins. Their flagship, Jewell Gin, begins with a spirit made from organic Italian wheat that’s vapor infused with 13 different botanicals. These […]
I’ve tried many different gins at this point, but there’s still plenty of styles I still want to try. And, I was really happy to come across a deal on this bottle of Probably Shouldn’t Old Tom Gin, so I can experience this style of gin for the first time. Old Tom was a popular type of gin throughout the 1800’s, but essentially disappeared after prohibition in the early 1990’s when London dry gin took over the market. But, the market for sprits is much bigger nowadays, so there was room for Old Tom, even though the current products may not be historically accurate. The rules for its production were very loose, so everyone had their own […]
I can tell the popularity of gin is increasing rapidly, because I keep seeing bottles from unexpected places in the United States. In fact, I think this bottle of Silo Gin is the first spirit I’ve ever seen from a Vermont distillery. Owners of Silo Distillery Peter Jillson and Ann Marie Delaney, first established the distillery in 2013. Inspired by Vermont’s natural beauty, the pair had a mission to make spirits using local ingredients. They started with a corn based vodka, but have since expand their offerings to include gin, whiskey and cider. The recipe for Silo Gin is fairly simple. Local corn and apples are mixed with juniper […]
With spirit prices aways on the rise, I’ve been keeping an eye out for more affordable bottles. And, Cutty Sark Blended Scotch has been top of my list after my grandfather mentioned it as a popular whisky from back in his college days, when he would bartend to make some extra money. Cutty Sark, named after the fastest ship in the early 1900’s, was first created in 1923 by legendary spirit and wine merchants Francis Berry and Hugh Rudd (from Berry Bros. & Rudd) and Scottish Artist James McBey. Their ultimate goal was to create a lighter style of blended whiskey to ultimately sell internationally. It took a while to establish the brand in […]