Support Us

If you enjoy reading on Castle & Cairn and want to support the site, the best thing you can do is keep reading and share our content with your network! In addition to getting more eyes on the content, linking to the site helps us rank higher in search results and keep the goodness coming. This is a hobby blog, and it means the world that you're here. Thank you!

Buy Me a Coffee

You can give money to the site directly and securely through "Buy Me a Coffee". If you donate, we will list the handle of your choice on the "Supporters" list section below, just include it in the comments! I also have a page on Paypal.me.

Affiliate Links

Our overhead is minimal, but if you do want to help support the site financially, consider some of the following affiliate offers. We will get a small referral fee if you do. These are all services that we personally use and find valuable, not just random junk that has affiliate codes. All proceeds will be invested back into the blog.

Amazon Prime Card - No annual fee, 5% back at Amazon & Whole Foods with Prime, 2% back on Gas, Restaurant, and Commuting, and no foreign transaction fees. A Solid Visa card. Typically, you'll also get a $100 Amazon gift card for signing up. Since pretty much everyone shops on Amazon, it's a no brainer. We've been getting as much as 7% back on some Amazon purchases by choosing their delayed shipping option at checkout. Big win at Christmas.

Rakuten Cash Back - Rakuten is a website or browser plugin that will automatically pop up when it thinks it can save you money. We get hundreds of dollars per year back in rewards for shopping that we were already planning on doing. Around the holidays, some of the cash back offers get above 10% on physical products and upwards of 80% on software and subscriptions. If you don't already use another service for automated promo code sniffing, Rakuten is a great option.

Condor Outdoor Products - If you need any tactical gear or duty ready bags and apparel. Condor does a great job and you can get some extra cash off with my promo code. Use discount code JOSHUACONDOR15 for 15% off at Condor Outdoor Products.

Supporters List

Added from "buy me a wee dram".

M. Wilson from Missouri
B. Edwards from Georgia

🥃Review #15 Costco's Kirkland Small Batch Bourbon

Costco's liquor store is a thing of beauty. While not every Kirkland edition is a hit, there are enough standouts on a fun per dollar ratio to always merit a look. Almost all of the house brands are less than $30, and I'm always excited to take a long shot when the new seasonal releases come around. 📚 Background: Distilled by Barton 1792 in Bardstown Kentucky, Kirkland Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey hits the shelves a few times a year. Mine was from batch 1124. The bottle presentation is supposed to evoke the same feel as other small batch whiskeys and there is a decorative purity seal that is reminiscent of the ever reliable bottled in bond green filigree, albeit in a meaningless red. Unlike its bonded brethren, this edition comes in under 100 proof and does not have any age statement. There's not a whole lot of additional information provided by Costco or the distiller, but we can reasonably assume that it shares a similar pedigree as the entry level 1792...

🥃Review #53: Costco's Kirkland 15YR Highland Single Malt Scotch - 2025

The 2025 release of Costco's Kirkland 15-year Highland Scotch hit shelves in late January and is a recurring installment on an annual cadence. The first pallet to hit my local store sold out almost immediately. Thankfully, we got two more shipments at one pallet each that hung around a bit longer and I was able to snag a bottle. Like in previous years, this Highland Scotch is finished in sherry casks. Alexander Murray & Co. is the bottler with MISA imports out of Texas bringing it to the States for consumption (Costco's standard sourcing pattern for Scotch). The bottle has a nice heft to it and there is an ensconced Alexander Murray Lion adding some nice texture to the front of the bottle. Steve Lipp, CEO of Alexander Murray, calls it "Perfect for after dinner drinking." All-in-all, this shows an attempt to elevate the product and presentation from the ubiquitous blends and non-age stated iterations you'll sometimes find under the Kirkland label. Neither Alex...

🍺 Definitive Light Beer Tier List: Meta-Analysis & Ranking

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...

🍺🍷🥃 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 4/17/2026 . Added a number off options for beer and multi-bev. 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 Moun...

🥃 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...

Castle & Cairn

Search This Blog