The Last Call

     Craft bourbon can be hit or miss, especially when age statements are young and prices creep upward. This single barrel from 18th Street Distilling out of Hammond, Indiana came with hesitation attached. At just three years old and originally priced around $80, it was a bottle that sat on shelves until a significant price drop finally made it too tempting to ignore.       18th Street is one of those distilleries doing everything themselves. They distill, age, and bottle their own whiskey while also maintaining a strong presence in the beer world. That hands-on approach has shown promise in the past, but this bottle felt like a real moment of arrival.      This is a single barrel cask strength straight bourbon, bottled at a hefty 62.8% ABV and aged a minimum of three years. Unfortunately, transparency beyond that stops there. No mash bill details, no barrel size information, and no specifics on warehouse conditions. What is known is th...

     There are certain distilleries that instantly grab your attention, and for me  Lagavulin  has always been one of them. The bold smoke, the maritime edge, that unmistakable Islay character. When I saw the 11 Year Old Sweet Peat hit shelves, I didn’t hesitate. The 11-year line has delivered some memorable bottles over the years, and I was curious to see how this bourbon cask-focused release would stack up.      Unlike several previous 11-year editions, this one leans into first-fill bourbon casks and carries a slightly lower proof at 43% ABV. That combination alone suggested a softer, sweeter take on the distillery’s typically muscular profile. This release is matured exclusively in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels. That detail matters. Many Scotch producers reuse bourbon casks multiple times, which gradually reduces their influence. First-fill casks, on the other hand, should bring more pronounced vanilla, honey, and wood sugars to the spirit. Fo...

     West Fork Whiskey Company out of Westfield, Indiana continues to prove they are serious about the craft side of bourbon. This particular release is a high corn bourbon, distilled, aged, and bottled in-house, then finished in cherry brandy barrels. What really caught my attention was the mash bill: 100% corn. Yes, that qualifies as bourbon. After four years in new American oak, it spent another year and a half in cherry brandy barrels, bringing the total age to five and a half years. On paper, that is a fascinating experiment.      A 100% corn mash bill is naturally going to lean sweeter and softer, without the spice from rye or the added structure from malted barley or wheat. That means the finishing barrel has a huge role in shaping the final product. In this case, the cherry brandy cask is not a background note. It is the lead singer. For the full video review visit the link here:  https://youtu.be/3vL3C8_7mts . Age Statement: 4 years. (Single ...

     Backbone Bourbon Company has built a strong reputation out of Indianapolis by embracing transparency and leaning into creative sourcing. While many know them for their MGP-driven releases, they’ve never been shy about exploring whiskey from across North America and beyond. This particular bottle immediately stops you in your tracks because it challenges expectations before the cork even comes out.      This is an Irish whiskey, but the color tells a completely different story. Deep, dark, and bordering on mahogany, it looks far closer to a heavily aged double-oaked bourbon than anything traditionally associated with Ireland. That alone made this release impossible to pass up, especially knowing it came from a small, almost accidental single barrel that found its way to Holly’s Package Store.      The whiskey began its life in Ireland, aged as an Irish whiskey before being shipped to the United States. Once stateside, Backbone finished it...

     Big Game Canadian Whiskey wasn’t something I went hunting for, but sometimes the shelf finds you instead. While poking around Big Red Liquor in the Indianapolis area, this bottle caught my eye sitting in a box at a dirt-cheap price. I’m a sucker for unique finishes and interesting artwork, and seeing a Canadian whiskey finished in Belgian style double ale casks was enough to pull the trigger.      Canadian whiskey gets a mixed reputation, but there are some genuinely solid examples out there. Add in a local Indiana connection with the finishing barrels coming from Taxman Brewing Company, and I went into this one with an open mind and cautious optimism. This release is bottled by The Whiskey Ring, an independent bottler closely tied to Big Red Liquor and responsible for several interesting store picks and finishes.       The whiskey itself started as a three-year-old Canadian whiskey aged in Canada, then brought to the United States ...

     Still Austin has been one of those Texas distilleries that quietly keeps earning my trust bottle after bottle. Based out of Austin, Texas, they’ve been doing some genuinely impressive work in the craft space, and once their standard rye finally started showing up here in Indiana, it didn’t take long for me to become a fan. When I saw the cask strength version hit shelves, it was an instant buy, no hesitation.      Texas whiskey can be polarizing, and I get why. But I’ve personally had great experiences with Still Austin, Balcones, Garrison Brothers, and others, so I was genuinely excited to see how they’d handle a barrel-proof rye. It’s distilled, aged, and bottled in Texas, which matters because the climate plays a massive role in how these whiskeys mature. The heat accelerates interaction with the barrel, and Still Austin leans into that rather than trying to mask it. Kept at cask strength, this whiskey doesn’t hide behind filtration or dilution....

     High West is one of those brands that pulled me in early on, and I’ve stuck around ever since. From Campfire being one of my first love-at-first-sip bottles to always keeping Double Rye picks on hand, they’ve earned a lot of goodwill with me over the years. That said, I’ve also been vocal about their pricing creeping up while some releases haven’t quite hit the same highs as earlier versions. So when I saw a bottled-in-bond rye made entirely from High West’s own distillate, I was curious… and cautiously optimistic.      This release feels like a statement bottle. No sourcing, no blending gymnastics — just 100% High West rye, bottled in bond, and ready to stand on its own. This Straight Rye Whiskey is bottled in bond at 50% ABV and aged a minimum of four years, meeting all the classic Bottled-in-Bond requirements. While four years isn’t a headline-grabbing age, this whiskey makes it clear that age statements don’t tell the whole story. For the full vide...