The Chronicle
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20 results across all types
- news
Russell’s Reserve 13 Year Old Bourbon Review (2026)
By Richard Thomas Rating: A A quarter century ago, Wild Turkey introduced the Russell’s Reserve brand, celebrating their already famed Master Distiller, Jimmy Russell. At the time, Russell had just celebrated his 45th anniversary working at the Lawrenceburg, Kentucky distillery. The original version was a 10 year old, 101 proof take on Wild Turkey’s bourbon …
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Redwood Empire Pipe Dream Bourbon Review
By Randall H. Borkus Rating: C- There is a distinctly Californian quality to Redwood Empire Whiskey Pipe Dream Bourbon, a quality not limited to its branding, rooted in the towering redwoods. Where many craft bourbons attempt to impress with sheer oak extraction, elevated proof, or complex finishing methods, Pipe Dream takes a more restrained approach. It …
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Jackson Purchase Releases New Bonded Bourbon
Jackson Purchase Distillery, named for the far Western Kentucky region that hosts it, released its flagship expression in Jackson Purchase Select Batch Bourbon last September. Now the company started by Craig Beam, seventh generation Beam family distiller and former Heaven Hill Master Distiller, and Terry Ballard has a new expression out in the form of …
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Buffalo Trace Releases Third Installment of Its Prohibition Collection
Buffalo Trace Distillery is now releasing the third edition of its Prohibition Collection, an annual limited-edition set of five bottles commemorating the whiskeys legally produced and sold at the Distillery while the 18th Amendment was in effect. This year’s collection honors five historic brands bottled under President Albert B. Blanton’s leadership at George T. Stagg …
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Four Roses Starts New Experimental Bourbon Line
As experimental releases proliferated among the American whiskey industries legacy distillers and newcomers, Four Roses has largely left the concept alone. Whenever I asked about this or other possible expansions, the answer that came back centered on the difficulty the distillery had keeping up with the demand for their existing products. But in mid-2026, Four …
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Bulleit Comes Out With Ultra-Aged Rye
More than fifteen years ago, the rising trend for classic and pre-Prohibition style cocktails drove a larger mixology boom, and with it came a craze and then supply crunch for rye whiskey. After decades of languishing in obscurity, this brought rye whiskey back into popular focus. One of the brands most sought after at the …
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Michter’s 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey Review (2026)
By Richard Thomas Rating: A- I put Michter’s 10 year Old Single Barrel Rye in the same class as expressions like W.L. Weller 12 Year Old, the famed “Baby Pappy,” in terms of being an annualized limited edition of a certain high, consistent quality, scarce availability and general price point. The market value for W.L. …
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Unbridled Spirit Bourbon Review
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Although it defies the expectations of many denizens of internet’s whiskeydom, those of us with long memories or knowledge of history realize that just because the Bourbon Boom is over does not mean new companies and brands will not be forthcoming. Some of the most popular and well-established brands today …
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Willett’s New Springfield Distillery Goes Operational
Willett Distillery has announced a major company milestone, declaring its new Springfield, Kentucky facility operational and filling the first barrel there. The first barrel was filled on Thursday, June 18, a date that also marks the late Ms. Martha Kulsveen’s birthday, adding an extra layer of meaning to the occasion for what is a family-owned …
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English Distillery Experimenting With Peated Whisky
England’s Lancaster Spirits Co. is has announced the launch of a limited experimental peated single malt whisky program. Lancaster is still basically a start-up distillery and does not expect its inaugural release of an in-house single malt until next year at the very earliest, but the company is still proceeding to lay further groundwork for …
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Blade & Bow Unveils Solera-Finished, Middle-Aged Bourbon
Blade and Bow, the Diageo-owned brand based in Louisville’s famed Stitzel-Weller Distillery, has revealed a new expression: Blade & Bow 12 Year Old Solera Reserve The new limited annual expression has been developed by Nicole Austin, the Director of American Whiskey Liquid Development and Capabilities at Diageo. Beginning with a 12 year old take on …
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Ireland’s Boann Has A New Single Pot Still
Boann Distillery has announced a new addition to its core Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey range, which was highlighted as the centerpiece of its Summer Solstice Festival late last week. Boann Legacy Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey is crafted from a complex mash bill of malted and unmalted barley, with oats and rye. The whiskey …
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Uncle Nearest Receiver Wants To Sell Company Plus Other News
By Richard Thomas Although it was my intention to not do another round-up of the whiskey industry’s closure, bankruptcy, business and lawsuit news until early summer, recent events have compelled me to follow mid-May’s update with a mid-June update. Double Blow To The Weavers In Uncle Nearest Case Sometimes small town newspapers are an excellent …
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Philadelphia Sees Major Bourbon Robbery
By Richard Thomas Since the founding of The Whiskey Reviewer, news on the loss of whiskey valued in the six digits has come in one of two forms: robberies or thefts of a relatively small amount of very valuable bottles or trucking accidents resulting in the loss of a large quantity of mass market products. The …
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Old Granddad 114 7 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon Review
By Richard Thomas Rating: B For those who don’t know the brand histories, Jim Beam had a reason for using Old Granddad’s distillate in creating the Basil Hayden brand back in the 1990s. Raymond Hayden created the Old Granddad brand in the 1880s, naming it for his grandfather, Meredith Basil Hayden. The two names have …
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Compass Box Orchard House Scotch Review
By Genevieve Jacot-Guillarmod Rating: B+ Compass Box is an independent Scotch whisky maker and blending company rather than a distillery. They do not own stills and, historically at least, have not distilled their own spirit. Instead, they purchase whisky from various Scottish distilleries and combine it to create their own products. They describe themselves as: …
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Brown-Forman And Pernod Ricard End Merger Talks
By Richard Thomas Late Tuesday it was announced by the parties concerned that the merger negotiations between French drinks goliath Pernod-Ricard and Kentucky and Tennessee whiskey magnate Brown-Forman proved unable to reach mutually agreeable terms and were terminated. Roughly a month has passed since the two companies confirmed rumors that they were in talks over …
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Arran Machrie Moor Scotch Review
By Genevieve Jacot-Guillarmod Rating: B+ Lochranza Distillery is located on the Isle of Arran, and produces the Arran range of whisky. The distillery was only established in the 1990s, marking the return of legal whisky production to the island after a long absence. Machrie Moor is a no-age-statement single malt intended to showcase a peated …
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Blue Run Unveils New Flagship Series, Blueprint
Blue Run Spirits has announced that going forward its new standard bearer will be the Blue Run Blueprint Series. The inaugural release, blended by the brand’s Head of Whiskey and Innovation, Shaylyn Gammon, the 105 proof Blue Run Blueprint Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a combination of two unique mashbills: one wheated, and the …
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Indiana’s Starlight Distillery Releases Bonded Bourbon
Starlight Distillery in Indiana has proudly announced the release of its newest Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon, a deeply personal and meticulously crafted expression curated by Dana Huber. This limited small-batch release represents seven years of dedication, learning, and thoughtful selection—culminating in a bourbon that reflects both family tradition and individual vision. For years, Dana Huber has worked …