The Last Call

     There’s something oddly charming about Old Hammer. It’s like the quiet cousin of West Fork Whiskey Company—same bloodline, just a little more rough around the edges, and a lot more likely to knock your socks off with cask strength heat. This particular bottle is a single barrel pick selected by the in-house whiskey club over at West Fork, and while I wasn’t lucky enough to be on the tasting panel for the pick, I  was  there on release day. One pour in, and I knew it deserved a closer look.      Here’s the deal: Old Hammer leans hard into the MGP pipeline, and this bottle is built on the classic 99% corn, 1% malted barley mash bill. That’s the sort of recipe that usually doesn't see much love, so to see it dressed up in an 8-year-old cask strength expression is great. Due to the mash bill you highly rely on the barrel, age, and proof to do the lifting scene there's really no other grains BUT corn to bring complexity. It felt like someone hande...

     Every now and then, a craft distillery does something just weird enough to make me stop and say, “Okay… tell me more.” That was the case with this honey barrel-finished bourbon from Detroit City Distillery. I’d heard rumblings of this project back in 2024 and knew I had to track it down, not just for myself, but because we’ve got a honey barrel blind flight coming up, and this one felt like it deserved a seat at the table.      Now, Detroit City Distillery is one of those smaller outfits doing a bit of everything—bourbon, gin, rum, vodka, you name it. I’ve reviewed a few of their whiskeys before and always found them pretty solid for the craft category. The only downside is I can’t get their stuff here in Indiana, but anytime I make a run up to Michigan, I try to keep my eyes peeled for something new and interesting. And this? A whiskey finished in honey barrels from an urban rooftop beekeeping project? Yeah, that’ll do.      Official de...

       Bondstone is one of those brands you’ll most often spot at Total Wine, living in the Spirit Direct section and sparking plenty of debate among bourbon fans. Some folks write those bottles off immediately, but the reality is a bit more nuanced. Spirit Direct can mean in-house bottlings, sourced projects, or partnerships with smaller distilleries, and Bondstone sits firmly in that sourced-project lane. This Triple Oak release had been on my radar for a while, and when Batch 2 landed in mid-2025 with a discount attached, curiosity finally won.      Details are limited, as expected with a sourced product. Bondstone does not disclose the distillery or mash bill, though industry speculation points toward Wilderness Trail, a distillery known for contract distillation. What we do know is that this starts as a four-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon that undergoes a double oak process, followed by additional aging with toasted oak staves, hence the “Trip...

          Three Floyds Distilling, based in Munster, Indiana, has long been a powerhouse in the craft beer world with legendary brews like Zombie Dust and Gumball Head. Over the last several years, they’ve been steadily building their spirits portfolio, distilling, aging, and bottling everything in-house, often experimenting with unique grains like oats and beer malt. Their label art is as wild and unapologetic as their recipes, and when I stopped by in May 2025 to pick up their Dark Lord Straight Malt, something else caught my eye: their first rye whiskey release.      While the distillery offered a 7-year version at the time, I stumbled upon this 4-year bottling on store shelves. At first, I thought I had the 7-year in my hands, only to later learn this was the younger sibling. Adding another twist, the liquid inside was sourced from MGP, nothing wrong with that, as they make fantastic whiskey, but not distilled by Three Floyds themselves. ...

     West Fork Whiskey Company has been steadily growing its reputation out of Westfield, Indiana, distilling and aging whiskey that speaks to both craft authenticity and bold flavor. Their double oaked bourbons have always had my attention, and when the r/bourbon community announced a barrel pick near the end of 2024, I knew it was going to be something special. Not only did they select a single barrel cask strength expression, but they chose to showcase it in double oak form, a profile I’m already partial to.           West Fork continues to handle all their own distilling, aging, and bottling under their primary label, while sourcing some whiskey under their Old Hammer line. This selection is all West Fork, presented at barrel proof and untouched beyond the double oaking. While there is no listed mash bill, if memory serves me correctly, I believe this was their High Rye mash bill.  For the full video review visit the link here: ...

          Ardbeg is no stranger to ambitious special releases, and Eureka immediately stood out once I dug into the story behind it. Created as a tribute to the Ardbeg Committee itself, this bottling represents a thoughtful, almost celebratory approach to experimentation rather than a gimmick-driven release. Ardbeg puts out multiple special bottles every year, and while they do not always land perfectly, I am always intrigued by their willingness to push boundaries, especially when peat and sherry are involved.           What finally pulled me in was the concept. Instead of a straightforward finish, Eureka blends two distinct components: whisky matured in PX sherry casks and a roasted malt whisky, which are then brought together and allowed to marry in ex-bourbon casks. On paper, it sounded like something that could either be chaotic or brilliant. For the full video review visit the link here:  https://youtu.be/Iwt5c8Jaum4...

     Indiana isn’t exactly the first place people think of when it comes to American single malt, but the folks over at Indiana Whiskey Company are on a mission to change that perception. Based in South Bend, they’re quietly doing some compelling work in the craft scene, and tonight we’re diving into their Flyover Malts American Single Malt, a name born out of a chip on the shoulder, thanks to some coastal comments about the “flyover states.”            As someone who’s a fan of single malts and always rooting for Indiana rye, I figured it was time to finally see what this distillery had to offer. This is a true grain-to-glass operation, distilled, aged, and bottled entirely onsite in South Bend. It’s bottled at 48% ABV, but beyond that, the transparency stops. No age statement, no barrel size info, no details about the barley varietal. It leaves us flying blind, especially for a category like American single malt where those nuances can...