Drink the Bottles

  Do you ever have one of those incredibly unique bottles that comes your way that is so exciting you don't even know where to begin?  We are going to be completely transparent when we say that we were skeptical about this brand at first, only to be proven wrong on so many levels.  Founder Raj Peter Bhakta is just creating a footprint in the spirits world.  He is planting a flag - a BIG one - and is generating excitement for what most consider a completely new category that we call Vintage Rare Blended Whskey. If Bhakta's name sounds familiar, it is because he is the founder of WhistlePig Whiskey, a top tier luxury rye whiskey brand that helped lay the foundation of this venture.  In 2019, he sold his stake in WhistlePig and he eventually landed in Condom, France, discovering and purchasing an ancient cellar of Armagnac dating back to 1868.  The rest?  Well, that's history. In order to truly appreciate what Bhakta is doing with this brand, you have to ...

We are suckers for age-stated whiskeys so when we received a sample of this Barrell Craft Spirits 12 Year Bourbon French Oak Finish we leapt at the opportunity!  It's no secret that we have been fans of BCS for several years, way back when we dubbed Seagrass Rye in our top 5 favorite rye expressions - ever.  The concensus was that we suspsected this bottle would be nothing short of incredible, and we were not disappointed.  This whiskey was distilled and sourced from Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Wyoming and then finished in French Oak barrels with varying toast levels. Aged copper penny in appearance, this bourbon immediately oozes ageworthy aromas of well-weathered saddle leather, antique butter churn, dried herbs, cinnamon stick and fresh baked bread.   There is so much going on here, and between both of us tasting this bottle, we probably came up with close to twenty separate aromas, but had to settle on the aforementioned as we felt they were most d...

Attention all hazmat enthusiasts - check this out!   This is the brand new release from Barrell Craft Spirits - the Triple Rum Cask Finished Whiskey - and it is an absolute banger!  When we were offered a sample of this new release, we couldn't wait to get our hands (lips?) on this one.  For those who may not be familiar, any spirits with a proof of 140-plus is commonly referrred to lovingly as a "hazmat" bottle.  Some of these can burn your face off, but this one?  Well, this one doesn't drink like a 70%-plus ABV bottle and it is just stunning!  The picture above is for reference only. The 100mL sample bottle is what we tasted this from - neat from a Glencairn, of course.  A little back story on this uniquely-blended whiskey tells us that it was distilled and sourced from Indiana, Tennessee and Canada.  The Canadian blend likely provides the lighter color than what you would see if this was a straight USA sourced product.  Some of the ...

The easiest way to explain what founders James Estrada and Chad Civetti do at Two Souls Spirits is they take already very tasty bourbon, sprinkle some magic on it, and make it better.  Ok, we know it's not that easy, but that's the Cliff's notes version of what this Florida whiskey house is doing with distinct and some of the finest whiskey barrels from distilleries across the US. What we have today is the Two Souls Spirits Double Barrel Bourbon Whiskey , coming in a a whopping 128.58 proof!  The base of this palate pleaser is a bourbon from Watershed Distillery out of Columbus, Ohio.  We were already fans of Watershed and this double barrel bourbon shares the same mash bill as their 4 year offering:  72% corn, 21% rye and 7% malted barley.  A #4 heavy char barrel was used for this offering and this bourbon (tasted neat and from a sample bottle) immediately grabs your attention. Medium hazelnut color, we were surprised that this was as light as it was.  But...

We could not be more excited for an opportunity to sample and share with you the Dovetail finished whiskey from Barrell Craft Spirits .  We have been a BCS fan for sometime, polishing off a few bottles of their Seagrass Rye and other offerings over the last year.  Tasted from sample, this offering of Dovetail comes in at 124.7 proof but does not drink hot at all.  The fact that it was finished in rum, port wine and Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from Dunn Vineyards really adds some incredible finesse and flavors to this lovely and aromatic whiskey. On the nose is a soul-searching saddle leather aroma, followed by slight pepper, campfire smoke and sweet yellow fruits.  There are hints of that lovely limestone or wet rock aromas that peak through as well.  It's a medium chestnut color and we think if we had added a couple drops of water, the dark cholocate flavors would have made an entrance.  We tasted this neat and there was sweet ripe mango, tobacco smoke, her...