The Last Call

     Dark Arts Whiskey House  has built a strong reputation in the blending and finishing world, often sourcing well-aged stock and applying creative secondary maturation. This particular release is a straight rye whiskey, aged between 7 and 8½ years, then finished with toasted Amberana oak staves. It’s a bold move, because Amburana is one of the more divisive finishing woods in modern whiskey.      As someone who genuinely enjoys Amburana finishing, I went into this pour excited. I’ve had stunning examples of this wood treatment and others that felt overwhelming. After maturation, the whiskey is finished with toasted Amburana staves. Amburana is a dense South American hardwood known for delivering an explosive cinnamon-sugar character. The toasting process can mellow some of its sharper edges, but if left too long, it can easily dominate a whiskey. For the full video review visit the link here:  https://youtu.be/H3upewT3Eok . Age S...

     Hard Truth has long been one of my favorite craft distilleries to keep an eye on. Based in southern Indiana, they’ve built a strong reputation in rye whiskey but have been steadily carving out space in the bourbon world. This bottle represents a first for them, not only a single barrel bourbon, but one finished in toasted Amburana oak. Picked by Handy Spot Liquors here in Indiana, It’s a bold experiment, and one I was excited to open up with my wife before sitting down to share it here.      The foundation is a five-year-old straight bourbon, finished for six weeks in toasted Amburana oak. That finishing choice can be polarizing, Amburana is known for strong, cinnamon-sugar, sometimes overpowering notes.  For the full video review visit the link here:  https://youtu.be/AtECT_YT7XI . Age Statement: 5 years. (Single barrel). ABV: 56.65%. (Cask strength). Mash bill:  73% corn 19% rye 8% malted barley. Area of Distillation: Nashville, Ind...

     There’s something undeniably exciting about cracking open a new bottle from Dark Arts Whiskey House. Based out of Kentucky, they’ve carved out a loyal following in the craft space by sourcing solid whiskey, often from MGP, and giving it bold, thoughtful finishing treatments. Tonight’s pour is their “Ripple Rye,” a straight rye finished in maple syrup casks and with toasted amburana staves. It’s been getting plenty of love online, and as someone who’s gone on a personal rampage buying nearly every release I can find, I’m eager to dive into this one. Dark Arts tends to walk the line between bold and refined, and when amburana’s involved, that line can get blurry fast. Let’s see if Ripple Rye can strike the balance.     T his is a 95/5 Indiana rye (MGP, of course), aged for at least 7 years before undergoing a dual-finishing process. First, it’s placed into maple syrup casks, and then it’s treated with toasted amburana staves, a South American hardwood known f...