A wee while ago I was contacted by a company called Arizona High Spirits. While it was the first time I heard of them, I gather that they are best known for their prickly pear (cactus) vodka and liqueur (which I shall search high and low for – sounds delicious!), though they also make a chilli flavoured vodka, spiced rum, gin and, of course, whiskey! Now, the whiskey is a rather new addition to their range – in fact, they’ve only made 1 batch and so far as I am aware it has not been released for general sale yet, as they wanted some expert opinions first (yikes!).
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I’m really enjoying rye whiskey at the moment – much like pretty much everyone else, it would seem – and so was pleased when I was able to pick up a bottle of Sazerac Rye (though unfortunately it was merely the standard expression, and not the 25 year old 18 year old that scored a hefty 97.5 and taking the place as the world’s best whisk(e)y in Jim Murray’s 2009 Whisky Bible) at one of my local whisky shops. Regular readers may expect a bit of history before I start the review, but unfortunately I couldn’t really find anything interesting to write about Sazerac. You may think that would mean that the review will be nice and short – but I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I’ve chosen instead to give you my pick of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival (as I did last year).
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Knob Creek 9 Year Old is a bourbon that I had heard a lot about leading up to its winning of the Whisky Bible 2011 award on the various bourbon sites that I frequent. It has been lauded as one of the best bourbons in its price range and has received critical acclaim since it was first released. I was blessed enough to get a chance to try it at a friend’s house during a recent weekend and I have to say, Knob Creek 9 Year Old certainly lives up to all of the hype.
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Nah ya’ll best be lihstnin’ right’n proper, ‘cuh I ain’t ‘bout tuh be sayin’ dis nahn tahms over. Okay so I’m no Stephen King when it comes to transferring American accents into written form, but who gives a darn. Anyway, what I won’t be saying nine over is this (which just happens to be the perfect way to drink Old Crow): buy a copy of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower (the whole series), grab yourself a glass – ‘n ya’ll better not make it too fancy, either – and a bottle of Old Crow, pour the latter into the former and proceed to slap a Kris Kristofferson CD in your player, then sit yourself down in the most comfortable seat you have. Let Kris do his thing, take a deep sip from your glass then throw it into the wall and start swiggin’ straight from the bottle, you’ll never be more ready to immerse yourself into the fantastic story telling of Mr. King.
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When I first read about Buffalo Trace, I knew that I had to try this Kentucky straight bourbon at some point because it comes from a distillery that has made some of my favorite products over the years. I finally got my first taste of Buffalo Trace on a late winter night after work when I spotted it in my local liquor store. I hadn’t seen it there before, so I remember how excited I was to have accidentally run across it without having to do much searching.
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One of our readers, Ryan, gladly offered his help to review some of his favourite bourbons; here goes his first review. Enjoy the read!
As a bourbon lover, I feel it is my duty to spread the word about new bourbons that I have tried whenever possible. As an avid reader of this site, I’ve noticed that most of the reviews concern drinks made in the UK, and I thought I would review one of my favorite bourbons since I have a wide array of different choices here in the United States.
One Friday night, I was bored and decided that I hadn’t tried a new bourbon in quite some time. It had been a long day and I was looking for something mid-range in price to tie over my taste buds, so I hopped in my Honda Civic that my wife made me buy (so long as I could still enjoy the occasional bourbon on the rocks), and headed to the liquor store just down the street from my house. I don’t drink as often as I’d like to, so when I get the chance I always try to find someone new.
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