The Spirited Grain

Writing about the whiskeys and bourbons we love!

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Rough Rider Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Does the @LIspirits Rough Rider Straight Bourbon Whiskey gain a depth of flavor from the its double cask aging? We take a pour to find out.

Rough Rider Straight Bourbon Whiskey I recently noticed something new on the shelves of my local spirits purveyor.  The Rough Rider Straight Bourbon Whiskey from Long Island Spirits comes in a smartly designed bottle and the bourbon has a beautiful chestnut color.  With all of these appealing characteristics, how could I go wrong?  I knew nothing of the Long Island Spirits distillery, but I was…

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Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey

Does the Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey represent a centuries old Irish Whiskey or was it a wise purchase from cunning business deal?

Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey The Teeling family has a long history of whiskey making in Dublin, Ireland dating back as far as 1782. But the current distillery has only had its doors open to the public since sometime in 2015. They currently hold the claim to be the first new distillery in Dublin in 125 years. But like most big label whiskies these days, the story come mostly as a result of…

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High West Campfire Whiskey - Bottle's End

The High West Campfire Whiskey is a craft blend that brings together bourbon, rye, & scotch. Our impressions as we come to the bottle's end.

Hight West Campfire – Bottle’s End I have quite a few bottles that come to their end far too quickly.  They disappear quicker than I can snap a good photo of the bottle and sooner than I can make some detailed tasting notes.  I won’t go into the reasons why they disappear so quickly, but let’s just leave it at the fact that I can’t always get the time to write about them before I’ve enjoyed them.…

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Orphan Barrel Forged Oak

Diageo has created a brand that claims to be the barn find of bourbon barrels, but does this Forged Oak belong on the collector's self?

Orphan Barrel Forged Oak 15 Year Bourbon The Diageo empire isn’t a distillery or bourbon maker, but instead a large multi-national alcoholic beverage monopoly formed by the merger between beverage giants Guinness and Grand Metropolitan.  I always find it a bit interesting that a large multinational beverage company based in the UK comes across barrels of outstanding whiskey that everyone has…

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Russell's Reserve 10 Year Bourbon

Can @RussellsReserve 10 Year Bourbon live up to the master distiller's namesake? Our review breaks it down...

Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Bourbon The Russell’s Reserve brand is distilled under the Wild Turkey brand of whiskeys.  Like most distillers and bottlers today, the organization has changed hands several times.  The location of the Wild Turkey Distilleries date back to 1869 in Tyrone, Kentucky where the Ripy brothers acquired the facility. The Ripy family was kind of a big deal since the town of…

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Michter's American Whiskey

American whiskeys today attempt to claim a history dating back to Revolutionary War times. Can this American Whiskey live up to this legacy?

Michter’s American Whiskey Like most American whiskeys on the market today, each one seems to claim a storied history with origins that date back to a time before the civil war.  Frontier times, you know.  Birth of a nation type stuff.  The text on Michter’s American Whiskey bottle goes back even further than that, claiming pre-Revolutionary War quality standards dating back to 1753.  Now, I…

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Powers John's Lane 12 Year Old

Can the @Powers_Whiskey John's Lane 12 Year hold up to a 200 year #IrishWhiskey Legacy? Read on...

The Powers John’s Lane 12 Year The Powers name has a long, storied history in Irish whiskey.  The distillery was established by innkeeper James Power in 1791as the John’s Lane Distillery at St. Thomas, Dublin.  The distillery remained under family control until 1966 when they joined the Cork Distilleries and John Jameson & Co. to form the Irish Distillers Group. In 1972 Irish Distillers acquired…

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Benromach 35 Years Old Scotch Currently on Release

@Benromach Announces 35 Years Old Scotch Currently on Release

Benromach 35 Years Old Scotch The Benromach Distillery is a small Speyside distillery founded by Duncan McCallum and F.W. Brickman in 1898 and was taken over in 1993 by Gordon and Macphail of Elgin. It is situated near Forres in Morayshire and is fed with spring water from the Chapelton Springs in the Romach Hills beside Forres. The distillery announced that the Benromach 35 Years Old Scotch is…

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Wigle Straight Wheat Whiskey

Our review of the @WigleWhiskey Straight Wheat Whiskey puts this firmly in our favorites.

Wigle Straight Wheat Whiskey Wigle is a small, family owned craft distiller located in Pittsburgh, PA.  The care and love they put into their spirits shows in their selection of organic grains from local farms and their experimental bottles bring a bit of excitement to modern whiskey production.  I was introduced to Wigle by a friend and fellow whiskey lover.  So, I picked up a bottle of the…

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Japanese Whiskey Flights at Kome

Our review of Japanese Whiskey Flights @KomeRestaurant with #hibiki12 #nikkapuremalt #yamazaki12

This weekend we decided to to sample some fine Japanese Whiskey Flights at Kome, one of our favorite local Japanese restaurants.  Kome is a modern Asian restaurant with outstanding Japanese cuisine and lively hibachi service. Situated in the Lehigh Valley at the upscale Shops at the Promenade, the waitstaff and bartenders always offer an enjoyable dining experience. The bar is nicely appointed…

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First New Wigle Whiskey for 2016: Yellow Corn PA Bourbon

We can't wait to try the first new @WigleWhiskey for 2016! #pabourbon #organic

We love Wigle Whiskey and tend to get pretty excited whenever there’s something new coming out of this Pittsburgh distillery. Yesterday saw the announcement of the first new Wigle Whiskey for 2016 and it promises to be tasty bourbon. Wigle is a craft distillery based in Pittsburgh PA and they have been producing excellent whiskeys and bourbons along with barrel aged rum and gin.  They tend to…

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Rowan's Creek Kentucky Bourbon

Rowan’s Creek Kentucky Bourbon

Rowan’s Creek Straight Kentucky Bourbon Rowan’s Creek is a small batch bourbon distilled and bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky. With a rich amber color and woodsy aroma, I anticipated this bottle would be a pleasure to sample. With a nice pour on hand, I settled in to watch Matt Damon McGyver himself off the red planet. Rowan’s Creek is produced by the larger Willett Distillery, also known as…

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The Social Still Rye Whiskey is distilled and bottled by a relatively young distillery in Bethlehem, PA. Their efforts, while ambitious, tend to fall short of mature, well balanced Rye Whiskey.  Social Still lists the grain mix as 70% rye and 30% malted barley and the bottle I picked up is labeled as batch 01, bottle 115, and states that it has been aged 196 days. That’s just a little more than 6 months, folks.  I get the impression that someone might be rushing things a bit here, because this spirit doesn’t seem quite done yet.

Complete review here...

[thespiritedgrain]

This Christmas I was gifted a bottle of Knob Creek’s Small Batch 9 year bourbon by my trusted mechanic and dear friend. It came along with a Corkcicle Whiskey Wedge, but that’s a story for another day.

This is a traditional Kentucky bourbon made in limited quantities and aged 9 years in American Oak. Bottled at 100 proof, it is bold and full of aroma and flavor.  Continue reading...

[thespiritedgrain]

We love whiskey and we love to write about the whiskeys we love. That’s why we created this site. And we hope that your visit here will help you discover something new or help you to learn a little more about enjoying the whiskeys you love. Initially, we will focus on sharing our thoughts on whiskeys and bourbons that we can acquire. We try to keep the reviews as honest as individual tastes allow, so there is always a chance that you experience may differ from ours. If you are a distillery that has an interesting whiskey or bourbon that you would like us to review, or your are just a regular reader and have a suggestion for a spirit or product for us to check out, please feel free to message us here, or visit the website. There’s a contact form on the About Us page. Thank you and enjoy!