Tag Archives: Bourbon

Tasting Tuesday: Brown-Forman’s 100-Proof Family Battle

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

Eight bottles. One whiskey house. Two blind rounds. Brown-Forman’s 100-proof lineup delivered exactly what you’d expect from a great whiskey family: consistency, value, and one clear winner. Continue reading →

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The Sunday Pour: The Empty Glass

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

A shared bourbon glass eventually empties, but the empty glass is not always asking for another pour. Sometimes it is simply reminding us that enough can be enough. Continue reading →

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Five Ordinary Things That Quietly Make Life Better

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

Some of the best parts of life are small enough to miss: a quiet classroom, an easy conversation, a settled dog, a good sentence, and the first sign that the day is finally exhaling. Continue reading →

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Open Letter to Heaven Hill Distilleries: Don’t Promise What the Shelf Can’t Deliver

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

Two recent Evan Williams releases — one patriotic, one collegiate — have bourbon drinkers asking a simple question: if the bottle is announced nationally, why can’t anyone actually find it? Continue reading →

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The Bourbon Cheapskate, Vol. 32: Four Budget Bourbons, One Pecan Experiment

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

What happens when four sub-$30 bourbons spend nine hours with toasted pecan wood? A simple experiment produced four very different results — and proved once again that affordable bottles can be surprisingly flexible. Continue reading →

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Tasting Tuesday: Nine Bourbons, Extra Oak, and One Familiar Winner

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

Nine bourbons with extra wood influence—double oak, triple oak, quad oak, cask finishing, and one personal experiment—went head to head in a blind tasting. A few surprises emerged, one bottle overperformed, and one familiar favorite proved again why it remains one of the best finished bourbons on my shelf. Continue reading →

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The Sunday Pour: The Distiller’s Hand

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

A great bottle carries intention from mashbill to bottle. So does life. Even when we cannot see where things are headed, God has never been guessing. Continue reading →

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The Sunday Pour: Spring Pour—Rediscovering What Was Already There

Posted on March 29, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

Spring does not always bring something entirely new. Sometimes it simply helps us rediscover something good that had slipped out of sight—much like an overlooked bottle on the back shelf that suddenly reminds us why it belonged there all along. Continue reading →

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Tasting Monday: Best Bottle of Spring Break—An 11-Bottle Blind from the Road

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

A spring break trip to see family, finish the Tennessee Whiskey Trail, and come home with enough bottles for a serious blind tasting. Eleven pours later, one bottle rose above the rest. Continue reading →

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The Sunday Pour: The Long Rickhouse Aisle

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Douglas Blaine

Walking through a rickhouse feels like walking through time itself — rows of barrels holding different years, different histories, and different stages of becoming. In a place where nothing can be rushed, the slow work of aging becomes a reminder that some things only deepen because they stay in the season long enough. Continue reading →

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