Neat & Mixed from Hops & Spirits

We've Got Questions for Whiskey Jypsi's Ari Sussman on their upcoming releases, creating those blends and more.

We've Got Questions for Randy Prasse, president and COO of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. He talks about what the various ticket options at KBF, how you can get early access and more.

The new Whiskey JYPSI Explorer series will focus on finishing these spirits with combinations of distinctive woods from around the globe. The series will feature well-aged, mature whiskeys never younger than six years old and ranging between 100-107 proof. Explorer’s inaugural release is a blend of two six-year-old bourbons – a low rye distilled in Kentucky and selected for its sweetness, and an I...

We've Got Questions for Randy Prasse, president and COO of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. He talks about what KBF is, what folks can expect, new things happening in 2024 and more.

We've Got Questions for Never Say Die Bourbon co-founder Brian Luftman. He talks about how Never Say Die Bourbon got started, where the name comes from, why they send a Kentucky bourbon to England to age, what's next and more!

Ross & Squibb Distillery's newest member of the Rossville Union Straight Rye Whiskey brand family: Rossville Union Bottled in Bond Straight Rye Whiskey. Aged six years and offered at 100 proof, Rossville Union Bottled in Bond Straight Rye Whiskey features a mash bill consisting of 51% rye and 49% barley malt. This release was distilled in March of 2017. MSRP $50 per 700 ml bottle

Holladay Soft Red Wheat is crafted with the original Holladay recipe with one substitute: wheat for the rye. Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bourbon is one of the very few bottled-in-bond wheat bourbons on the market aged 6+ years. It features a mashbill of 73% corn, 15% wheat and 12% barley. It comes in at 100 proof and an MSRP of $60.

Jonathan and Brandon sit down with Andy Cobb, Butchertown Brewing Founder and Head Brewer. We enjoy their Franklin Street Pilsner, Imperial Mango sour, rum barrel finished Kill the Pain, and Horus barrel-aged collab. Andy also talks about how the brewery got started, launching during COVID, their Mellwood location, bringing barrel-aged beers to life, collaborating nationally and more.

Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. released a tales of two maples this past fall with their limited release Town Branch Maple Barrel Stout Finished Bourbon (SRP $69.99 / 750ml) and Kentucky Maple Barrel Imperial Stout (SRP $19.99 / 4pk Cans). The Town Branch Maple Barrel Stout Finished Bourbon 2023 editions spent 2-years finishing time in barrel and has a mashbill of 72% Corn, 15% Rye, 13% Mal...

Chicken Cock Red Stave Kentucky Straight Bourbon is finished in carefully selected J. Wilkes Petite Sirah barrels hailing from California. Bottled at 102.4 proof, the Petite Sirah wine barrel finish features a mash bill of 70% corn, 21% rye and 9% malted barley. MSRP is 200 dollars.

Jonathan and Brandon sit down with Mark McLaughlin to try three expressions from Old Line Spirits. We enjoy their Flagship 95 American Single Malt, Navy Strength 114 American Single Malt, and Sherry Finish American Single Malt. Mark also talks about how he and his business partner Arch launched Old Line, how a trip to Seattle set things in motion, why they went with single malts, what an American...

Released to celebrate F. Scott Fitzgerald’s legendary novel, “The Great Gatsby”, a century ago – from the events in 1922 that inspired the novel to its publication in 1925 – Remus Gatsby Reserve 2023 Edition is bottled at 98.1 proof and a MSRP of $199.99 per 750-ml bottle. This edition of the Remus Gatsby Reserve features two bourbon mash bills (75% corn, 21% rye, 4% barley malt; and 60% corn, 36%...

We've got a special review of Blanton's Gold (is it worth it?) and some info on how folks can help St. Jude's and potenitally win a Blanton's Gold Private Select Barrel experience #bourbon

We've Got Questions for CaskX founder and CEO Jeremy Kasler. Jeremy talks about how CaskX works, what he saw happening in the industry that made him launch CaskX, starting the idea with Scotch before hitting the US bourbon market, and much more.

After introducing Dickel Bourbon – a permanent offering aged 8 years – to the market, Dickel is back with a limited, small-batch bourbon - Dickel Bourbon Aged 18 Years. This comes in at 90 proof with an MSRP of $510. Cheers.

Buzzard’s Roost Cigar Rye is four-year-old Indiana rye that is finished in new American oak barrels that were cold-smoked with aged tobacco leaves grown in Kentucky. The mash bill for Buzzard’s Roost Cigar Rye remains the same at 95% rye and 5% malted barley, and the ABV is 52.5%. The SRP is $75.99.

The second blend in the Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series builds upon the legendary BCS 2018 Tale of Two Islands Rum: a Jamaican Rum matured in peated Islay single malt casks. For the 2023 Tale of Two Islands offering, BCS chose to feature a blend of straight bourbons from Indiana (5, 6, & 9-year) and Maryland (5 & 6-year). The team then used the empty casks from the 2018 offering to fini...

We've Got Questions for Brown-Forman’s Global Alcohol Responsibility Manager Leah Kelly. This is part 2 and Leah talks about the work on creating a safe drinking environment for all plus trends happening in the responsible drinking and the industry overall.

We've Got Questions for Brown-Forman’s Global Alcohol Responsibility Manager Leah Kelly. This is part 1 and Leah talks about why companies like Brown-Forman are getting behind Dry January/responsible drinking plus how a company balances selling alcohol and promoting responsibility.

After aging RD1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon for 4+ years, RD1 then inserted the Amburana staves into the barrel. Their partner cooperage uses a patented technique to honeycomb drill small holes into the Amburana staves, allowing more wood surface interaction with the bourbon.

Copper & Kings Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is made from a blend of 5-, 10- and 15 year bourbons. This is a flavor forward remix of the Kentucky tradition and is finished in American Apple Brandy barrels for 12 months. It comes in at 111 proof (55.5 ABV) and an MSRP of $65.

Barrell Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series is a limited edition series launched in the fall and will introduce two blends each year. Up first, the Amburana is a blend of Indiana (5, 6, 7, & 10-year) and Kentucky (5-year) bourbon whiskeys, which were further matured in sustainable Amburana casks. The Barrell blending team created a bourbon blend of two mashbills with different char levels finis...

Remus Highest Rye Straight Bourbon is a new, year-round release coming in at $55 MSRP. Aged six years and offered at 109 proof, Remus Highest Rye Bourbon packs as much rye into a bourbon as possible, with a mash bill consisting of 51% corn, 39% rye and 10% malted rye. Cheers!

El Mayor Extra Añejo Bourbon Barrel Aged Tequila marks El Mayor’s 25th anniversary and is distilled from Blue Weber agave then aged for 39 months in American Oak bourbon barrels. It has an MSRP of $129.99 per 750-ml. bottle and is a limited release.

We've Got Questions for As Above So Below co-founder/master distiller Caley Shoemaker. Caley talks about how she got into the alcohol business, what made her launch/be part of As Above So Below, what's in the name, what folks can expect with their spirits, why they approach things differently in distilling, what's next and more.