The Last Call

 West Fork Whsky Co. High Corn Rum Finished Bourbon Whiskey Review.      The moment West Fork Whiskey Company announced they were finishing their high-corn bourbon in a rum cask, I was mentally in the car, halfway to Westfield. I’ve been following West Fork for years, they’ve got their sourced Old Hammer series, sure, but their in-house line is where they really get to show off. And a 99% corn bourbon? That’s already a curveball. Finish it in rum for a year and a half? That’s a “clear the shelf space, this is coming home” kind of situation. I didn’t even taste it at the distillery, wanted my first sip to be a clean, fresh hit at home.      This bourbon starts life almost entirely as a 99% corn 1% malted barley, spending four years soaking up flavor in new oak. They moved it into a rum cask for an  eighteen-month  finish, long enough that the rum doesn’t just whisper over the top, it moves in and starts redecorating. That kind of extended fini...

 Peerless Distilling Rum Finished Bourbon Whiskey Review.      Every now and then, a bottle sneaks into Indiana that makes you stop mid–liquor store lap. This was one of those moments. Peerless is already a distillery I have a soft spot for, their Double Oak Bourbon and Rye are mainstays for me, but the Rum Barrel Finished Bourbon? That’s a rare sighting here. This is batch 02 of the release and while the label keeps its secrets on age and finishing time, curiosity got the better of me. I cracked it open with my wife the other night, and the experience was… not exactly what I’d pictured from Peerless.      Peerless keeps things true to their style here: barrel proof, sweet mash, and crafted with their signature approach to balance and body. This batch began life as their straight bourbon before moving into rum barrels for finishing. It’s a bold concept — in theory, a marriage of deep Kentucky bourbon richness with tropical rum complexity. Peerless does...