Barrel Proof Notes

What a Bourbon Bottle Tells You Before You Open It — A Whiskey Nerd's Take
Why Bourbon, Rye, and Whiskey Bottles Look the Way They Do Before you ever smell the caramel — before the first sip of vanilla, oak, or spice — before the Kentucky hug shows up — you judge the bottle. Every whiskey drinker does it. Some bottles look like they belong in a dusty frontier saloon. Others look like they should sit behind velvet ropes in a luxury hotel bar. Some are square and serious. Some are tall and elegant. Some look like chemistry equipment. And some — the ones that... Read more...
Bluegrass Distillery Kentucky Straight Bourbon High Rye Blue Corn
A 7-Year Blue Corn Bourbon With Sweetness, Rye Structure, and a Smooth Kentucky Finish Some bourbons get your attention before the first pour because of the label. Others do it because of the proof, the age statement, or the distillery story. This one gets your attention because of the grain. Bluegrass Distillery Kentucky Straight Bourbon High Rye Blue Corn is built around a mash bill that immediately stands apart: 70% blue corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley. That is not a typical Kentucky bourbon recipe, and that is exactly... Read more...
Belle Meade Reserve Bourbon
A High-Rye Pour with Nashville History and Indiana Backbone Belle Meade Reserve is interesting before the cork ever comes out of the bottle. The label on this bottle says 108.3 proof and states that it was distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana for Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery. That matters because Belle Meade Reserve sits squarely in the high-rye, sourced-bourbon tradition that helped make the Belle Meade name popular with whiskey fans in the first place. Bourbon Lens also identifies Belle Meade Reserve as a 108.3 proof high-rye bourbon distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana... Read more...
Bowman Brothers Pioneer Spirit Small Batch Bourbon
Smooth Virginia Bourbon With Revolutionary Roots Bowman Brothers Pioneer Spirit is not a loud pour.   It is not a proof monster.  It is not chasing the deepest oak, the boldest spice, or the biggest finish in the room. What it offers instead is something much quieter: a smooth, mild, approachable Virginia bourbon with real historical character behind the label. And in the year we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, that matters. Bowman Brothers Pioneer Spirit comes from A. Smith Bowman Distillery in Fredericksburg, Virginia — a name with deep roots in... Read more...
Old Dominick 8 Year Reserve Bourbon
Old Dominick 8 Year Reserve Bourbon brings Memphis history and 100 proof confidence to the glass. We found a spice-forward profile — cinnamon, pepper, clove — with a long finish, but less sweetness and balance than expected from an eight-year reserve. Scored 2.75/5. Read more...
13th Colony 113 Rye Finished With Maple Wood Spirals
A High-Proof Rye That Does Not Come Out Swinging Some ryes announce themselves with a sharp elbow.  This one takes a different route. Thirteenth Colony Distilleries out of Americus, Georgia has built a strong reputation around South Georgia aging, bold proof points, and a willingness to experiment with wood finishing. Their 113 Rye Whiskey Finished With Maple Wood Spirals fits squarely into that lane. It is a 113-proof rye, aged 5 to 6 years, with a 95% rye and 5% malted barley mash bill, then refined with maple wood spirals. ... Read more...
Pendleton 1910 Bourbon
  Beautiful Bottle, Easy Pour, But We Expected More Some bottles get your attention before the cork ever comes out. Pendleton 1910 Bourbon is one of those bottles. The packaging is sharp, the Western character is strong, and the story has just enough intrigue to make you want to spend some time with it. A 10-year age statement. A 90-proof straight American bourbon. A Hood River, Oregon connection. Glacier-fed spring water from Mt. Hood. Indiana distillate. A beautiful bottle that looks great sitting on the bar. On paper, there is... Read more...
Boone’s “Homegrown” Bourbon
Big Proof, Young Whiskey, and a Pour That Needs More Time Some bourbons are young and exciting. Some are young and promising.  And some are young in a way you can smell before you even take the first sip. Boone’s “Homegrown” Bourbon falls into that last category. This is a 117-proof, cask-strength bourbon associated with American singer/songwriter Tyler Boone. The mash bill is listed as 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% barley, which puts it comfortably within bourbon territory from a grain standpoint. The label’s age statement says it has... Read more...
Broad Branch "Big Winston" Cider Finished Bourbon
Barrel Finished Series — Barrel #0148 | 105 Proof  Barrel Proof Notes Rating: 3.25 / 5 Stars Some bourbons play it safe. This is not one of them. Aged 5 years 10 months and finished for 3 months in a hard cider ex chardonnay barrel. from Botanist and Barrel, the only natural cidery in the South, Broad Branch Distillery out of Winston-Salem, North Carolina has been building a serious whiskey reputation with its Big Winston bourbon line, and this particular bottle — Single Barrel Barrel Finished Series Big Winston, finished... Read more...
Swamp Fox Distilling Co.: A Whiskey Nerd Digs Up a Georgia Legend
The Buena Vista Whiskey Story That Quietly Became a Georgia Craft-Spirits Footnote Some distilleries announce themselves with bright lights and big-city polish. Swamp Fox Distilling Co. did something different. It set up shop in Buena Vista, Georgia, in a renovated 1908 cotton warehouse on the town square, leaned hard into local history, and built a small-batch whiskey identity around grain-to-glass production, Southern storytelling, and a name tied to one of the Revolutionary War most elusive figures. Georgia Grown described Swamp Fox as a grain-to-glass distillery with a lineup that included... Read more...
Augusta Distillery Wheated Bourbon Single Barrel Cask Strength
Augusta Distillery Wheated Bourbon Single Barrel Cask Strength Batch 26-13 | 119.7 Proof This was our first pour from Augusta Distillery, and it definitely got our attention. Some bottles win you over with complexity. Some do it with balance. And some make their point before you ever take a sip. This one did exactly that. The color is deep, rich, and inviting — the kind of appearance that immediately tells you this bourbon means business. Frankly, it looks like what you want a quality bourbon to look like in the... Read more...
Sword & Sash small batch
Ironclad Distillery Co. — Newport News, Virginia Let’s start here:  This is not your typical bourbon. And that’s exactly why it works. Sword & Sash is a collaboration tied to The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina — which adds a meaningful personal connection for us. But this review isn’t about the story on the label. It’s about what’s in the glass. And what’s in the glass is… different. From the very first sip, one note stands out immediately — malted barley.  That malty character gives the bourbon a... Read more...