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Continue reading →: NEW BOTTLE HIGHLIGHT SERIES: Fortaleza Reposado Tequila (lote 127-R)At the end of May, I traveled with some of my now former AY26 graduate students on an optional 2-day staff ride trip to Gettysburg. On the evening of the first day after a full schedule traveling across the battlefield and listening to one of my faculty colleagues, a subject…
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Continue reading →: NEW BOTTLE HIGHLIGHT SERIES: New Riff Sour Mash Kentucky Single Malt (2026 Batch)New Riff Distillery started its “Single Malt Project” in 2023 to experiment and explore different methods of producing and aging American single malt whisky, which it refers to instead as “Kentucky single malt whiskey,” using its characteristic sour mash. Each of the four batches have utilized different types of malted…
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Continue reading →: REVISITED SERIES: Lost Lore Blanco (Lote 2)This post is part of an ongoing series where I’ll revisit spirits bottles that I haven’t poured for many, many months to see how my tasting notes now match with those in my initial short reviews in order to see how aeration time may or may not affect specific bottles…
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Continue reading →: NEW BOTTLE HIGHLIGHT SERIES: Stagg Bourbon (Batch 26A)Produced by Buffalo Trace Distillery using an undisclosed mash bill rumored to be 75% corn, 17% rye, and 8% malted rye, Stagg is a barrel proof, non-chill filtered bourbon that is released in batches, four in 2024 and 2025 though the number of batches is not set in stone. Stagg…
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Continue reading →: SHORT REVIEW: Old Fitzgerald 7 Year Bottled in Bond Straight Bourbon (Spring 2025 Release)Produced as a shelf stable release from Heaven Hill’s Old Forester line, whose decanter series is one of the foremost “FOMO” releases, the Old Forester 7 Year Bottled in Bond is released in two batches per year beginning in Spring 2025 – Spring (January-June) and Fall (July-December). It is made…
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Continue reading →: NEW BOTTLE HIGHLIGHT SERIES: Fortaleza Añejo Tequila (lote 76-A)At the end of May, I traveled with some of my now former AY26 graduate students on an optional 2-day staff ride trip to Gettysburg. On the evening of the first day after a full schedule traveling across the battlefield and listening to one of my faculty colleagues, a subject…
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Continue reading →: NEW BOTTLE HIGHLIGHT SERIES: Insólito Reposado TequilaProduced at distillery Premium de Jalisco (NOM 1558) in Mazamitla, the highest distillery in Jalisco at 7,200 feet above sea level, by master distiller Alberto Herrera, Insólito is, unlike most tequila brands, made from a blend of Blue Weber agaves sources from both the Highlands (80%) and Valley (20%). The…
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Continue reading →: NEW BOTTLE HIGHLIGHT SERIES: ElVelo Reposado TequilaThis is a relatively newly stocked item in Virginia and I’ve been curious about it for a while since seeing it by chance on the shelf of one of my local stores. Initially, I was undecided about picking up a bottle since the reviews on it online are mixed –…
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Continue reading →: Barrels, Color, & Tequila: One Reposado, Two BatchesI’ve written previously about the centrality of the specifics of the barrel or cask or wooden vessel used to age tequila (and also many malt whiskies that are permitted to use used barrels/casks) to the aromas, flavors, and color imparted during the wood aging process. Recently, I saw two recently…
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Continue reading →: REVISITED SERIES: The Bourbon That Got Me Into Bourbon – 1792 Bottled in Bond (Virginia ABC Single Barrel #1085)This is the bottle that convinced me to explore bourbons after not liking the first couple of other bourbons that I had tried before. As I wrote previously, this is one of my “Milestone Whiskies” – bottles that profoundly changed how I think about whisky as a spirits category. I…
Documenting my journey into agave spirits along with a smattering of other spirits after many, many years away – This blog is meant to take note of this journey including tasting notes, bottle photography, and other related topics.
