Double oaked and toasted barrel-finished bourbons are quite popular lately. It seems like a similar process to finishing in barrels that previously held other liquids but also different and more like a second maturation than a typical finish. New barrels are expensive so these second-barrel products seem to spend more…
Blanton's was the first commercially available single barrel offering back in 1984, it even says 'The Original Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey on the neck tag'. Others followed suit soon thereafter, like one of our favorites, Wild Turkey Kentuck Spirit. For many years, Blanton's sat on shelves at $25, ignored by…
From Old Forester 1910 to Woodford Double Oaked to expensive Wild Turkey Master's Keep One, does spending time in another new barrel make better whiskey? And it seems as if every distillery has a toasted bourbon expression these days. Some brands use toasted barrels all the time, what's the fuss?…
Every year around this time, we look back and ask ourselves what we learned about whiskey. In 2022, the big takeaway is that we should really focus on bourbon, rye, and scotch whisk(e)y that we really like. Saving $5 on a bottle on Elijah Craig Small Batch is no reason…
While we often sip a variety of whiskeys during Friday Sips Live, we don't often set up specific tastings to determine if one dram is better than the next. Thanks to regular Friday Sipper, Eric, we have two wonderful examples of Irish Single Pot Still whiskeys to pit against each…
Every year in the fall, whiskey geeks decent upon every store hunting for bottles from Buffalo Trace's Antique Collection (BTAC), Pappy van Winkle, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, and others. It's like a zombie apocalypse. Many, if not most, of those bottles will never be opened by the original purchaser. Rather,…
For the week of Thanksgiving, we are most certainly thankful for everyone who watches, comments, and shares what we're doing here at The Practical Still and that's true every other week as well. This week, we're opening up a bottle of Scotch whisky that we know little about but that's…
We have enjoyed every whiskey we've tried from Boulder Spirits. These two follow suit and are exceptionally tasty whiskeys. The Cask Strength Bourbon at 5 years old is a revelatory experience. At nearly 134 proof, it's on the hot side but nothing like I expected. And the flavors are fat…
What to drink? That's always a good question. When we asked that for ourselves today, Wild Turkey came up, and before you know it, I had a pile of Wild Turkey and Russell's Reserve bottles packed up and ready to haul to Dan's garage. Dan's dad is visiting so no…
Jess Graber started distilling in the early 1970s as a hobby. A chance encounter with a neighbor named George Stranahan opened the door to take his moonshine hobby and eventually turn it into Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey. As the co-founder of Stranahan's, Jess was at the start of what is now…
We missed you last week! We picked up some limited-release Deerhammer Progeny 3 last week and we interviewed Stranahan's and Tincup founder, Jess Graber for a yet-to-be-released podcast episode so we'll some Tincup whiskey too. Dan has a little Baker's left so we'll sip some Jim Beam whiskey that isn't…
Dan had a couple of really great bottles that needed to be put out of their misery so we decided to do that live! We also took a look at a new glass and compared it to some old favorites. We are sad to see that 2020 George T Stagg…
We started The Practical Still as a podcast and then quickly added a video component that began to monopolize our time and then we even decided to produce a weekly live stream of us drinking and discussing whiskey. That stream has turned out to be the most rewarding part of…
Dan and I have spoken at length (no surprise) about finished whiskeys and even swore off them for a long time. Done well, they are delightful and a welcome change of pace. Done poorly, as they more often are, they're like drinking boozy kool-aid. And what about second-barrel finishes that…
I mentioned last week that my last bottle of Kentucky Owl Batch 1 Rye has reached a mythic place in my mind and become the only bottle I am not willing to open. It was, when I sipped the last bit of the first bottle, the best whiskey of any…
If you're the sort of whiskey drinker who is willing to try something different and you like rye whiskey, this could be for you. It's a collaboration between Leopold Bros and George Dickel that marries a nearly forgotten, three-chamber still and more modern column-distilled rye in what is one of…
The Hidden Barn Series One Small Batch Bourbon was a release I was excited for but will end up being my most disappointing whiskey purchase of 2022. Jackie Zykan is one of my favorite people in whiskey and given her reputation and those of the other people involved in Hidden…
So many open bottles and so little time to drink them. I mentioned recently that I have two plans to reduce the number of bottles of whiskey I have in the house. The plan for unopened bottles of bourbon and rye whiskey is to try and trade multiples for a…
With fall coming quickly, let's get into some rye whiskey. We'll have some Whistle Pig 10, Prideful Goat, High West Rendezvous, Dickel/Leopold Bros, Pikesville, and whatever else we can scare up that has more rye than not in the mash bill. I bet we even talk trash about MGP! Cheers!…
Open the Bottle: Boulder Spirits The Trailhead American Single Malt Whiskey The Trailhead is a distillery-only release of an exciting combination of whiskies. Two separate distillations - one peated and one non-peated single malt - are aged in the usual Boulder Spirits new, #3 char barrels for 4 years. Then,…
A while back, we got to taste some of Dragon's Milk Origin Small Batch Bourbon and we really enjoyed it. Dragon's Milk sent us that bottle and has now sent us two other expressions and, just like that first bottle, we are under no obligation to even make a video…
We have enjoyed every Boulder Spirits whiskey that we've tried so far. So, when I saw their Global Brand Ambassador, Ryan Negley, on Instagram talking about a cask strength, 5-year-old release at nearly 134 proof, I had to get a bottle. As it turns out, they are on sale at…
Dan is traveling this week, visiting family in Pennsylvania. He and his brother-in-law/former Friday Sips guest/frequent commenter, Scott, will get into some Booker's while back in Colorado, I'll be sipping some Weller 12 and Poor Man's Pappy from my recent birthday celebration. We've never done this Friday Sips thing remotely…
I visited @Boulder Spirits this week and got into their first ever barrel proof bourbon and a soon-to-be-released, distillery-only single malt. I was anxious to see what Dan thought of the bourbon but I didn't plan to open the quite pricey single malt but you know how that goes with…
