Reviews

Nose: Honey, oak, light peach Palate: slight sweet wet oak, banna Finish: Short, some tannic and green notes

Nose: Fragrant, snickerdoodle, brown sugar, and stone fruit Palate: Caramel, light butterscotch that transitions to baking spices Finish: Short-medium, tobacco, leather, light tannins Named after the first distiller in the Knob Creek region, this version of Wattie Boone is a Small Batch of casks at least six years old. Other versions featured older stocks from Preservation's iconic supply. Preservation Distillery is known for micro-batching. Wattie Boone Small Batch is a three-barrel blend. Not much else is known, the distillery discloses that it is pot distilled, has a low barrel entry proof, and is unfilitered (assuming it means non-chilled filtered). The pour is light and delicate, the nose is sweet and which transfers to the top of the palate but you quickly get into baking spices and oak for the finish. For 100 proof, it feels a bit light, but it's still a serviceable sipper.

Nose: Creamy vanilla, banana bread, light honey, citrus, oak Palate: Cinnamon that gives way to vanilla for a minute, before introducing more baking spices Finish: Short as the baking spices linger on Heaven Hill's flagship wheated bourbon comes in with a 68% Corn / 20% Wheat / 12% Malted Barley mashbill. The nose is enjoyable with sweetness, but that doesn't really translate to the palate as baking spices come in and dominate. It's a fine value sipper, however, when it comes to wheaters I still prefer good ol' Maker's Mark.

Nose: Honey, corn, floral Palate: a touch of honey and vanilla with lots of baking spice Finish: Short, baking spices linger on Like other releases from The Ingram Distillery, Uncharted takes sourced barrels (these were made from barrels from Green River) and ages them on a floating rickhouse barge on the Mississippi River. This wheated bourbon sports a 70% Corn/ 21% Wheat/ 9% Malted Barley mashbill and has a very velvety body throughout. For those who like a sweet and spicy experience, this affordable sipper is for you.

Nose: Stewed fruits, brown sugar and that classic "maple syrup and waffles" note Palate: Mint, vanilla, more stewed fruits that lead into a hit of rye and baking spices Finish: Short, with the rye spices lingering on For their 2026 Rye Cask Strength, Angel's Envy aged their rye whiskey base for up to 4 years in Carrobema rim casks. The rye whiskey is 12-10 years old, including the finishing time. On this first taste, the profile that I know their flagship rye for is there but while there are some darker notes that come with the higher age, I nosed this pour next to a pour of their flagship and the core offering had a stronger nose. I may need a repeat visit on this one but after the first crack, this is a very solid finish rye but I expected a little bit more from this pour when compared to their everyday rye offering.

Nose: Toffee, dark caramel, sweet oak, graham cracker pie crust Palate: Cherry, cinnamon, hint of vanilla, that transitions to Finish: Short to medium with some oak tannins and baking spices This year's release of their cask strength takes some of their oldest Kentucky bourbon (12-7 years) and ages it through a solera-inspired process that involves blending/mingling with past releases. In addition, the blend goes through a final 3.5-year finishing in Ruby Port barrels. Compared to their core release, everything is amped up: the influences of the Port finishing has more influence, the base is darker in sweetness, and the proof gives everything a kick. It's a very good pour- is it worth $250 MSRP? I don't think so.

Nose: Vanilla frosting, berries, light oak Palate: Vanilla, leather, oak Finish: Short, leading into some light spice and sweetness I remember the first dinner party where I first discovered Angel's Envy. I was drawn into the bottle, and I absolutely loved every pour I had that night. At the time, I didn't know it was a port finished bourbon, and revisiting it today I'm surprised how light the influence is. Light is a good word for this bourbon because it is also pretty light in body as well. However, this is such a classic bourbon that has enough fruity notes from the finishing. It's such a solid pour, and at 86.6% proof, it's very sessionable.

Nose: Fragrant, oak with red fruit, mint, herbal, tea Palate: Sweet oak, rye, menthol, hint of baking spices Finish: Short, drying, with rye spice A combination of Jack's Rye (60%), Tennessee Whiskey (20%), and Single Malt (20%) whiskies; the derived mashbill is 44.4% Rye, 28.8% Malted Barley, and 26.8% Corn. Knowing this is key in understanding the profile, which is a rye and malt-forward dram. It's a nice medium body and a fine sipper, but it leans more into earthy, rye notes with just a hint of sweetness. It's not a bourbon, it's not a rye, it's not a single malt- it's just whiskey similar to Michter's Sour Mash where one grain doesn't exceed 51%.

Nose: Honey, tobacco, tea Palate: Herbal, mint, vanilla sweetness towards the back Finish: Short-Medium Wendy Peveich, formally of Penelope Bourbon, has ventured off and collaborated with Middle West Spirits to create her own brand: Archer Eland. Her blending skills are on full display with four inaugural expressions of rye whiskey including Suede. You will find big, bold flavors that are best enjoyed relaxing and sipping.

Nose: Rye bread, peach and other stone fruits Palate: Vanilla at the front that waves into baking spices Finish: Short-Medium as the sweetness comes back in I would be hard press to believe this was a rye whiskey. There's a lot of sweet and toasted notes that would convert any bourbon drinker. A nice medium body that waves over the tongue with big bold flavors. Hats off to Wendy Peveich and Archer Eland.