Castle & Cairn

Known formerly by the name "1792 Ridgemont Reserve", 1792 Small Batch Bourbon is produced by Barton 1792 and is the entry point to the 1792 brand, being a slight step up from their Very Old Barton (VOB) product line.  The namesake is the year that Kentucky became a state. The 1792 lineup is filled out by Full proof, Bottled-in-Bond, Sweet wheat, High Rye, Port Finish and "Aged 12 Years". Most of the higher proof 1792 offerings were hunted to extinction during the and after COVID, but I am seeing them with some regularity now. Barton, owned by Sazerac, is known to make the Kirkland and Wolcott series of store label whiskies which taste and feel very much like 1792. While big Sazerac has been fixated on Buffalo Trace expansion, Barton feels relatively neglected though supposedly they are aligning some of their production processes with their much awarded sister brand.  🛒 Sourced: Commonly $29.99 for 750ml A gift from my brother's Girlfriend, thanks for contribut...

A Brown-Foreman brand since 1956, Jack Daniel's flows from its historic distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee to glasses all over the world. Ironically, Moore County, home to Lynchburg, remains dry to this day other than an exception for sampling at the distillery. Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel's learned the distillers trade from local preacher and moonshiner, Dan Call. The "Old No. 7" brand was simply the number assigned to Daniel's distillery for government registration (Number 7 of District 4). Though later redistricting changed this ID number, Daniel's kept the name all the same. The brand garnered wider recognition after winning the Gold medal for finest whiskey at the 1904 St. Louis World's fair. Today, Old No. 7 joins a bustling lineup of flavored, Single Barrel, Bonded, and Barrel Proof editions. Though some will protest greatly, Jack Daniel's meets all of the legal requirements to be considered a BOURBON in addition to being classified a...

  📚 Background: A timeless classic from Campari owned Wild Turkey distillery, WT101 is a highly successful mass market offering crafted under the watchful eyes of Master Distillers Jimmy and Eddie Russell (of Russell's Reserve fame). Jimmy incidentally just clocked his 70th year of employment with the company where he started sweeping floors before working his way up to Master Distiller. The Wild Turkey product family includes an 81 proof budget edition, 101 bourbon, 101 rye, and Wild Turkey American Honey Liqueur, in addition to more premium offerings like Wild Turkey Rare Breed and Kentucky Spirit. There are also 8-year and 12-year iterations of Wild Turkey 101 produced primarily for Asian markets (read: Japan). All editions are lovingly aged from one of two mash bills, the bourbon bill discussed below and a rye recipe, likely with the same yeast being used for both. Wild Turkey products are distilled to a barrel entry proof of 115, somewhat lower than many other producers. Thi...