The Last Call

 West Fork Whsky Co. Honey Barrel Finished High Rye Bourbon Whiskey Review.      West Fork Whiskey Company, based in Westfield, Indiana, where they have two sides of distilling. Side one is their in house made West Fork Whisky Co. and Old Hamer/Hugh Hamer being the second side sourced from MGP.  Overall West Fork is transparent on what they are doing, aging times, disclosure on sourcing, and even finishing. This release is a partnership with a local Bee farm and Orchard, Mumbee's.      Essentially, West Fork gives a barrel to Mumbee's to fill with honey. Then after some time, they empty out the honey and return the barrel to West Fork to fill with bourbon. Personally, honey finishing can be hit or miss for me. Sometimes it can give just enough sweetness and "honey" notes, other times it can bring the "funk" and drown out the bourbon and go south. Prior to this honey release, I have reviewed West Fork's Hot Honey finished bourbons that were crazy u...

Whiskey Acres Blue Popcorn Bourbon Whiskey Review.      There’s something about Whiskey Acres that’s really grabbed me in 2024. Maybe it’s their dedication to true grain-to-glass craft, or maybe it’s that they keep dropping bottles like this—bold, unusual, and somehow still grounded. Based in DeKalb, Illinois, Whiskey Acres isn’t just distilling and aging their own spirits, they’re growing the grain themselves. That kind of vertical integration is rare, and it shows in the spirits. This particular release, their Blue Popcorn Bourbon, is one of their annual limited runs. And yes, it’s made with actual blue popcorn, just because it’s bourbon doesn’t mean the corn has to be conventional.         I've had just one other release using "popcorn grade corn" from Journeyman distillery, and it ended up taking the top bourbon of 2022 for me with how amazing it was. Now, for them it was just using standard popcorn...well corn. So I am really interested to se...

 World Whiskey Society Doc Holliday 15 Year Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey Review.      I received this spirit as a review sample from the World Whiskey Society,  linked here . It is important to clarify this did not impact the ratings of this review.      World Whiskey Society is making quite a name for themselves for seeking out barrels from across the U.S. and beyond. Their approach often includes cask-strength releases, unique barrel finishes, and thoughtful proofing point. For this bourbon, they’ve wisely left it uncut. This is part of their Doc Holliday collection. In homage to Doc Holliday from the old west. Now, I've enjoyed a the 6 and 8 year versions and love the profiles they bring.      Now this release is quite unique and eye catching, specifically its mash bill. While its exact distillery of origin remains undisclosed, some may do a bit of research on that mash bill and connect those dots. Even with that left undisclose...

 World Whiskey Society Wyatt Earp 13 Year Hazmat American Whiskey Review.      I received this spirit as a review sample from the World Whiskey Society, linked here . It is important to clarify this did not impact the ratings of this review.      World Whiskey Society is making quite a name for themselves for seeking out barrels from across the U.S. and beyond. Their approach often includes cask-strength releases, unique barrel finishes, and thoughtful proofing point. For this bourbon, they’ve wisely left it uncut. This is part of their Doc Holliday collection. In homage to Wyatt Earp from the old west. Up to this point, I've had a sample of their Wyatt Single Malt and their cask strength offerings and both are right up there in some of my favorite releases from World Whiskey Society.     This sample is a first for me on a few different fronts. First, the mash bill uses all malted elements! I cannot for the life of me think of a spirit using ...

 World Whiskey Society Awamori Cask Finished 12 Year Straight Rye Whiskey Review. I received this spirit as a review sample from the World Whiskey Society,  linked here . It is important to clarify this did not impact the ratings of this review.      World Whiskey Society is making quite a name for themselves for seeking out barrels from across the U.S. and beyond. Their approach often includes cask-strength releases, unique barrel finishes, and thoughtful proofing point. For this bourbon, they’ve wisely left it uncut. This bottling is part of the "Reserve Collection."     Now, I am a person that loves unique finishes. You just never know what will work until you try!  Essentially what the World Whiskey Society is doing with this Single Barrel 12 year old rye is finishing it in a Awamori cask. Now a sparks notes version on Awamori; it is a spirit distilled from long grain rice and made in Okinawa, Japan. This spirit is in a similar classification ...

 Good Times Caramel Banana Bourbon Whiskey Review. `I received this spirit as a review sample from Good Times, linked here . It is important to clarify this did not impact the ratings of this review.     Now, when it comes to finishings with whiskey, I tend to be on board. Finishing can really make a spirit your own and stand out in the world of spirits. Something as simple as a few extra months in a barrel can be great. And I've been on the record of finding those " unique" finishings and always open to try something different. From smoked barrels, to brandy, to amburana, I am 100% open to the ride. Now, when it comes to caramel banana...this truly caught my eye.     Good Times themselves are based out of Kentucky. Where they are taking whiskey, much of it coming from MGP, and typically keeping single barrel and barrel proof. Now, sometimes they release whiskey as just that, however they are more  known for their finishing. Sometimes finishing two and thre...

 The Beautiful and the Damned The Diplomat Cask Strength Straight Rye Whiskey Review.        The Beautiful and the Damned is a newer name out of Illinois, but they’ve already caught my attention with their transparency and eye for barrel selection. Their standard rye release made my top five ryes of 2023, so this cask strength version, named The Diplomat, has some big shoes to fill. With striking artwork and a promise of bold flavors, this bottle sets high expectations before the cork is even pulled.           One huge prop I always give The Beautiful and the Damned is how transparent they are. Below they tell us all the great information for this release, from the mash bill to where they are sourcing. They even disclose that char level 4 for the staves and char level 2 for the heads for the casks. This commitment to detail and transparency is refreshing in today’s market, and it shows they’re carefully curating their selections rat...