🥃Whiskey Frankenstein - The Dreaded Sticky Maple Knob

In the continuing war on the bottle of Knob Creek Smoked Maple that has been taking up space on my shelf since 2023, this 50/50 blend serves to kill the last bit of Dread River remaining after the creation of a rather excellent 75% Rebel Cask Strength Blend (the Cask ran out before the Dread). On their own, the Dread River suffers from extreme youth and lack of oak while it is charmingly sweet, and the Knob Creek is artificial candy sugar, a lot of maple and not much smoke. The hope is that the edges on the Dread River help balance out some of the sugar from the Knob Creek, though the result is still going to be very sweet. Not sure how optimistic I am going into this one.

Vámonos!

For the uninitiated, Whiskey Frankenstein is the practice of whiskey blending at home to create improved or interesting combos.

🧪Preparation

I mixed the two half and half until all the Dread was gone. No art or science this time. They mingled for five days and I shook the mix roughly before pouring. Sat out for a few minutes but didn't track the total. Rocks glass on deck tonight because I don't want as much of the nose.

👅The Tasting

Nose is very boozy even though these are both 90 proof but in a very much liqueur theme, almost like a buttery nipple. On the palate, I get the Dread River first with its sweet, wheated vodka-like profile which does meaningfully shift into the smoked maple for the back half and then the finish. The rough edges and extra heat from the Dread are definitely felt throughout. Finish is short and mostly the artificial maple flavor.

🏆Verdict

3 - Neutral - I wasn't much a fan of either of these to begin with. The blend is definitely not worse than either of the inputs. It is still overly sweet but the youthful astringency of the Dread River did succeed in distracting my tongue from the smothering saccharine of the Knob Smoked Maple.

Now that the hard work is over, time for a real quality PHD (pretty huge drink). Thanks for reading!

💀Scoring Reference

1 - Abysmal - Maybe I'm the monster? This is a war crime.

2 - Inferior - So preoccupied with the knowledge that we could, we didn't stop to think if we should.

3 - Neutral - A simple average of its parts. At least we did no real harm.

4 - Superior - "Jinkies Gang", we might be on to something here. Target whiskey is improved.

5 - Genius - Mad Science does have it's perks; this is a breakthrough. Better than all inputs.

🎮 Call of Duty Warzone - The Drinking Game

Fairly self explanatory per the graphic below. What could be more fun than tossing back a few cold ones with your closest buds while rampaging through one of your favorite video games? Call of Duty Warzone might not have as much nostalgia as it did in the Verdansk days, but it still has some charm. The best part: you'll already be at home when you're done so there's no need to worry about a designated driver! Obligatory plug to know your limits, be legal, and drink responsibly, we don't respawn IRL (yes I know that's a cringe statement - that's the joke). Call of Duty Warzone Drinking Game Prep To play the game, you'll need the following in addition to an internet connection, gaming device, and Call of Duty: A Party Sipper of your Choice - I recommend something relatively low ABV. We balanced the rules for a player of moderate ability and a sipper of 4-8% alcohol. Light beer is my go-to here since it has enough lovely hydrating water to soak up any shots. ...

🍺🍷🥃 Beer, Wine, and Spirits Rebate Website Master List

If there is anything I love more than a good drink, it's saving money buying that good drink! The rules for providing discounts on alcohol differ substantially between states with some allowing outright discounts or coupons and others entirely disallowing any sort of purchase incentive. Thankfully though, in my native Georgia as well as most states, a simple reimbursement approach is permissible. Last Updated & Validated 2/4/2026 . Alcohol Rebate Site Master List The following sites are relatively stable for each manufacturer. New offers usually come out every few months. None of these are affiliate links and I provide no assurance as to the process. I have saved so much money using rebates and hope you have similar success. Best practices and general process advice will be presented at the bottom. New sites will be added as I uncover them. Beer Rebates Boston Beer Company Brands - Angry Orchard, Dogfish head, Hard Mountain Dew, Samuel Adams, Sun Crusher, Truly, and Twis...

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Trends come and go: Craft Beer, Hard Seltzer, Canned Cocktails, and more. In the world of beverage, the currents are constantly shifting, but one drink has an irrevocable grip on America: Light Beer. Good old beer flavored beer may take a hit from new competition, but brands like Miller Lite and Michelob Ultra constantly sit at the top of sales volume lists, even with the fall of Bud Light and rise of Modelo's Flagship. But which light beer is best? Let's find out. Methodology - Light Beer Ranking Taste preferences vary significantly between consumers, but across a large sample we should be able to get a somewhat representative picture of the populations preferences. For this ranking, we will combine data sourced from multiple beer rating sites with an internal Castle & Cairn house ranking to create an overall beer quality score. The starting population of beer brands will be those that are explicitly branded as "flagship light" or beers with less than 100 calor...

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Founded by University of Georgia graduates Jim Chasteen and Charlie Thompson, American Spirit Whiskey Distillery ("ASW") is a craft producer out of Atlanta, GA with the plant registry DSP-GA-20014. As Southern Pot-Still Pioneers, they are one of the few producers to distill in the ancient Scottish Tradition of small, grain-in batches (where grain solids are left in for the remainder of the distillation process) though they also partner with Midwest Grain Products to source distillate for further aging, finishing and blending before bottling as is the case here. This bottle is from the June 2023 batch which is a blend of two principal spirits. ASW's master distiller, Justin Maglitz, is accomplished old-time string music fiddler and he often experiments with various factors between batches. As such, the "Fiddler" brand name fits perfectly. No two batches are truly the same, but all of the ones I've had so far have been to my liking. This bottle shares the same...

🥃 Review #40: Kirkland Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2024)

Like Costco's other Scotches, the Kirkland Signature Islay Single Malt is bottled for Alexander Murray and imported by MISA Imports after being distilled and aged in Scotland (TTB.gov plant registry TX-I-1277). The isle of Islay is one of the southern most islands in Scotland and is one of the five whisky regions ensconced in law. There are only nine active distilleries on the island, and the Islay style is typified by strong peat or smoky flavors. As a single malt, we know that the juice in this bottle comes entirely from one of those nine! All of the distilleries are significantly smaller than Glenlivet and many of the mainland producers. Taste testing has people split between Caol Illa, Bruichladdich (Port Charlotte), and Bunnahabhain as being the source. Caol Illa and Laphroig both have done deals for private brand scotch without rights to name the source distillery, but Laphroig does not match the flavor profile for this bottle. Realistically, Caol Illa is the most likely cand...

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