The Last Call

     Bourbon De Luxe is a name that once belonged to the pre-Prohibition era, a brand that built a respectable following before eventually fading out after the market shifted. That legacy was dormant until Rolling Fork, working in collaboration with Starlight Distillery, revived the trademark and began releasing small, highly limited batches under the original Bourbon De Luxe banner. I never expected to see one of these bottles in Indiana, and certainly not at nearly SRP. The moment I saw a Jamaican rum cask finish, the decision made itself. I’m a complete sucker for rum influence, especially when paired with a bold bourbon.     T he base whiskey here is at least seven years old and after blending, the whiskey spent nine months in a Jamaican rum barrel selected by Rolling Fork. If you're not familiar with that name, you should be. Rolling Fork is going out to all parts of the rum world, selecting barrels, and brining back to Indiana. Sometimes blending, finishin...

     I received this spirit as a review sample from Ole Smoky, linked here . It is important to clarify this did not impact the ratings of this review.      Popcorn Sutton is one of those names that carries some serious Appalachian weight. Whether you know him from documentaries, his infamous moonshining past, or just the legend that surrounds his name, there's a kind of gritty charm baked into anything tied to him. This bourbon, bottled under the Ole Smoky label, is meant to be a tribute, and honestly, it wears that well.      Now, they don’t give us the full play-by-play on how this blend came together, no barrel breakdowns or exact sources, but we do know it pulls from both Tennessee and North Carolina bourbons. That regional blend alone is interesting, and it keeps things grounded in the very area Popcorn himself called home. Bottled at 100 proof, it doesn’t try to dazzle you with finishes or experimental grain bills. Instead, this feels ...