Tag Archives: flavor

The Bourbon Cheapskate, Vol. 19: Old Grand-Dad Showdown — Bonded vs. 7-Year vs. 114

Posted on December 11, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Today’s Bourbon Cheapskate pits three Old Grand-Dad expressions against each other — the classic Bottled-in-Bond, the resurrected 7-Year Bonded, and the crowd-favorite 114. I broke the blind tasting down category by category, and the results surprised me. I thought the 114 was the runaway favorite… until the 7-year started quietly flexing its muscles. Continue reading →

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The Bourbon Cheapskate, Vol. 18: Walmart vs. Weller (and Friends)

Posted on December 4, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Walmart has a new $19 bourbon on the shelf, so I threw it into a blind taste test with three other 90-proof bottles from the Buffalo Trace universe: Weller Special Reserve, Benchmark Small Batch, and Members Mark. Only one came out “good,” but all four proved something important about budget bourbon. Here’s how they ranked—and why the results weren’t surprising. Continue reading →

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More Than Meat: Why It’s Still Just Tuesday to Me

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

I’ve loved meat for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a home where dinner wasn’t a philosophical debate — it was just Tuesday, and Tuesday came with roast beef. As an adult, I’m a little more thoughtful about what’s on my plate, but I still love a good steak or smoked turkey probably more than I should. Meat isn’t just food to me; it’s memory, tradition, and connection. Continue reading →

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The Bourbon Cheapskate, Vol. 17: Thanksgiving Surprises on the Shelf

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

I walked into BJ’s looking for a turkey. I walked out with two bourbons I didn’t know I needed. Thanksgiving miracles come in all forms—and sometimes they’re 116 proof. Continue reading →

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The Sunday Pour: The Devil’s Cut—The Parts of Us That Stay in the Barrel

Posted on October 19, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Some bourbon never makes it to the glass. The “Devil’s Cut” stays locked in the barrel, hidden but not gone — a quiet influence that shapes everything that follows. We’re the same way. The parts of us we never pour out still define the flavor of who we are. Continue reading →

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Dear Dr Pepper: Please Make Creamy Coconut Permanent

Posted on October 13, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Dear Dr Pepper, Let me start by saying: I love you. You’ve been with me through college exams, late-night grading sessions, and more road trips than I can count. You’ve got 23 flavors of magic in that can, and I’m … Continue reading →

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Tasting Tuesday: Upsets Brewing in the 95-and-Under Whiskey Challenge

Posted on September 30, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

The 95-and-Under Whiskey Challenge is heating up. After two weeks of competition, we already saw Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch (25 seed) pull off a Cinderella run into the Sweet Sixteen, proving that low seeds can still pack a punch. … Continue reading →

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The Bourbon Cheapskate, Vol. 7: Barmen 1873—Coors Steps Into Bourbon, and It’s a Winner

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

On the way home from North Carolina, I made a stop at Sandy Cross Liquor and Tobacco in Royston, Georgia. The manager took some time to walk me through a few bargains, and one of the bottles that caught my … Continue reading →

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The Bourbon Cheapskate, Vol. 5: Legent’s Global Blend of Value and Class

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

  What Is Legent? Legent (pronounced “LEE-jent”) is a unique bourbon born from a rare East-meets-West collaboration between two titans of whiskey: Fred Noe, seventh-generation master distiller at Jim Beam, and Shinji Fukuyo, chief blender at Japan’s Suntory. Both companies … Continue reading →

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Why Sodastream is starting to suck (updated)

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Douglas Blaine

Note (January 8, 2020): This was published five years ago, and Sodastream has changed a lot since then … kind of. They’ve improved their bottles, come out with a few different cool products and become much more focused on just … Continue reading →

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