Tag Archives: whiskey

Tasting Tuesday: The 95-and-Under Whiskey Challenge Begins

Posted on September 23, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Welcome to the opening round of my 95-and-Under Whiskey Challenge. Over the next two months, 32 whiskeys — all scoring under 95 proof — will face off in a March Madness–style bracket to see which one rises to the top. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bourbon, Tasting Tuesday | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Sunday Pour: The Neck Pour

Posted on September 21, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Whiskey fans know the term neck pour. That first ounce out of the bottle isn’t always the truest representation of what’s inside. It can taste sharp, closed-off, even disappointing. But with patience, as the bottle opens and breathes, the character … Continue reading →

Posted in Bourbon, Faith, The Sunday Pour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Bourbon, The Bourbon Cheapskate | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tasting Tuesday: The Rye Showdown — Final Four and Championship

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

After weeks of blind pours and unexpected twists, the Rye Challenge has come down to the Final Four. What started as a broad field of contenders has been whittled down to just four glasses — three of them from Jack … Continue reading →

Posted in Bourbon, Random, Tasting Tuesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tasting Tuesday: The Rye Showdown — Round Two

Posted on August 26, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Round one was full of surprises — and not always the pleasant kind. A couple of bottles showed some rough edges, and one rye in particular left me wondering if something had gone sideways in the glass. But that’s the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bourbon, Random, Tasting Tuesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Sunday Pour: Poetry in the Glass

Posted on August 24, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Sometimes my thoughts drift toward the glass. Not just what’s in it, but what it means. Bourbon, for me, has always been more than a drink. It’s memory, it’s craft, it’s connection. And the more I think about it, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bourbon, Random, The Sunday Pour | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tasting Tuesday: The Rye Showdown Begins — The Play-In Round

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

It’s bracket season on the blog — but instead of basketball, it’s rye whiskey. I’ve rounded up 11 ryes from my shelf and set them against each other in a blind-tasting tournament. Over the next three weeks, they’ll battle head-to-head … Continue reading →

Posted in Bourbon, Random, Tasting Tuesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Sunday Pour: The Angel’s Share — What Remains After Loss

Posted on August 17, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

In bourbon, the angel’s share is loss that deepens character. In life, our losses do the same—shaping what remains into something richer. Continue reading →

Posted in Bourbon, Faith, Random, The Sunday Pour | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Books, Bourbon, and a Place to Belong

Posted on August 10, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

If I were ever to open up a shop, it wouldn’t be the kind of place you just run in and out of. It’d be the kind of place you settle into. The kind of place where time slows down … Continue reading →

Posted in Bourbon, Daily Prompt, Random | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Bottled-in-Bond Finale: A Champion, A Challenger, and An Unexpected Twist!

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Douglas Blaine

Well, life sometimes gets in the way of whiskey, and our planned championship tasting was delayed by a day. But that small delay brought a moment of sudden clarity: the iconic Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond was missing from our field. To … Continue reading →

Posted in Bourbon | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment