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Single Malt Savvy, Litchfield County, CT (2026)

08/21/2026

Review: Jefferson’s 20 Year Old⁣
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Jefferson’s recently released its Founder’s Reserve 20-Year-Old bourbon, finished in a French Bordeaux wine cask. The limited edition bottle celebrates America’s 250th anniversary.⁣
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Last month, I was among the first to try this new release in NYC aboard the Oosterschelde Tall Ship at Pier 17. After a live barrel pull from Jefferson’s Founder Trey Zoeler and some fabulous light bites, we got to try the new 20 Year.⁣
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Bottled at a cask strength of 47% ABV, only 250 bottles of this expression were made.⁣
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⚫️ Appearance: Burnished gold⁣
⚫️ Nose: Cranberry and sour cherry pave the way for popcorn, brioche, clove, ginger snaps, spicy oak, red apple, and a bit of orange blossom. Water brings the bakery notes forward, including crusty bread and cherry scone, along with cigar box, anise, and dried apricot.⁣
⚫️ Palate: Surprisingly fresh, ripe strawberry, corn flakes, pepper, walnut, raisin, and toffee. The oak doesn’t dominate, and the French oak is carefully layered into the flavor profile. With water, the winey-ness I expected finally shows up, along with notes of brown sugar, blackberry jam, more nuttiness, a hint of rose water, and general mixed-berry juiciness.⁣
⚫️ Finish: Starts herbal and slightly medicinal, then shifts to mulling spice, coffee grounds, clotted cream, more raisin, wood char, chocolate, and candied citrus peel. With water, red table grapes, coriander, dry oak, dustiness, and a hint of menthol.⁣
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The Jeffersons team let the whiskey do the talking with Founder’s Reserve 20 Year. I appreciate the short French oak finish, which subtly shaped the final flavor profile. I revisited this whiskey a few times after the launch event, and it consistently told the same story every time. It’s a really fun bourbon worth trying if you can get your hands on it!⁣
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Jefferson's Bourbon

08/12/2026

I Can’t Seem To Get Over This Bottle⁣
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Very Olde St. Nick Immaculata 2026 is one of those whiskies that made an impression on me when I first tried it back in May. I wanted to write about it back then, but life got in the way. Before I knew it, weeks had passed, eventually turning into months.⁣
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Yet every time I revisited Immaculata, I was pleasantly surprised. The combination of 8-year-old wheated pot still bourbon, 10-year-old high-rye bourbon and 19-year-old sourced Kentucky bourbon offered unique flavors that always evolved each time I tried it.⁣
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Preservation’s secret stash of vintage whiskey is unique in today’s bourbon world, and the distillery’s judicious use of those old stocks over the years sets it apart from most other producers in Kentucky. I’m not sure how much old stuff is left, but the fact that they have any at all in 2026 is astounding to me.⁣
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My tasting notes of this whiskey are as eclectic as it gets. Here are a few:⁣
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⚫️ Nose: Caramel hard candy, cara cara orange, peanut shells, unfinished basement, sweet cinnamon stick, plum.⁣
⚫️ Palate: Peanut butter frosting, dried apple chips, understeeped Darjeeling, ripe kiwi, vanilla ice cream.⁣
⚫️ Finish: Deep oak, cherry pits, cinnamon raisin bread, dried fig, wood smoke.⁣
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Check out the story and my full tasting notes at Forbes.com. The link, as always, is in my bio and in my stories.⁣ Cheers!⁣
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Preservation Distillery + Farm

08/11/2026

The Mysterious Black Art Returns ⬛️🎨

One of Bruichladdich’s mainstays over the last 20 years has been the Black Art series. The brainchild of legendary former Head Distiller Jim McEwan, Black Art launched in 2009 as a 1989 vintage, 19 year old whisky.

Over the years, the lore behind the series grew with each new edition. What kind of whisky goes into Black Art? Only the head distiller knows the details of the whisky’s provenance, barley varietals, and cask maturation.

Bruichladdich has never been shy about its eclectic cask use, and the distillery isn’t afraid to layer several cask types into a single release. That’s what makes the Black Art series so appealing. Almost ANYTHING can be in it.

Black Art was discontinued after 11 editions, but the series was reborn earlier this year for Global Travel Retail. The first edition of the new duty free exclusive range is called Black Art Sapero. It has a 19-year age statement, though I’m sure there are plenty of older stocks in it. As always, only Head Distiller Adam Hannett knows exactly what’s in it.

I picked this up in Edinburgh at an extremely reasonable price, and I look forward to uncovering the mystery behind this bottle.

Bruichladdich Distillery

08/03/2026

New distilleries are where BIG innovation happens.⁣
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I love the comfort and familiarity of legacy single malt producers. As of 2024, many distilleries are now legally over 200 years old, with long, storied histories.⁣
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These stalwart brands built their reputations on decades (sometimes centuries) of tradition, but that tradition can limit the production changes a distillery can reasonably make without noticeably affecting flavor.⁣
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Newer distilleries don’t have to stick to the same old yeast, barley, or production methods that legacy producers use to maintain long-term consistency. In fact, many newer producers (including most American Single Malt distilleries) pride themselves on their variability. It makes for some really unique flavors too.⁣
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It’s like comparing a speedboat and a cruise ship as they change course. The larger vessel needs to do more things at a slower pace to adapt, while the speedboat can adjust quickly and easily, albeit with much less capacity and total power.⁣
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Whether you enjoy a brand that has been around for centuries or one that has only been around for a few years, the countless options available to us is yet another indicator that we are living in a new golden age of whisk(e)y.⁣
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The full conversation with Nate from Wilder Heart is available on YouTube (link in bio) or wherever you get your podcasts.

07/16/2026

Kanosuke’s house style is on full display with this single cask⁣
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Sometime in late 2025, I picked up this Kanosuke single barrel from Astor Wine & Spirits. As sometimes happens, this bottle got lost in the mix of both the holidays and the end-of-year onslaught of whisk(e)y samples that always seem to grace my doorstep in November and December. I know, rough life…⁣
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Over the weekend, though, I finally popped the cork on this bottle. At just shy of 5 years in an ex-bourbon barrel, this was a great opportunity for me to revisit the house style of Kanosuke’s distillate. As expected, this was right on point with the other single barrels I’ve tried from them.⁣
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I think the distillery’s warmer aging climate in Kagoshima does wonders for Kanosuke’s flavor profile. It drinks older than its age statement, but doesn’t feel “tropic-aged” the way Indian whisky does. There’s some nice coastal/maritime influence, intensely sweet tropical fruits, lots of green melon, and rich spice. The viscosity also feels very different than most other Japanese whiskies on the market.⁣
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There’s plenty to be excited about with this new generation of Japanese whisky, and Kanosuke is a big part of the reason why.⁣
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KANOSUKE⁣
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07/07/2026

The 1792 whiskey portfolio just got bigger 👀⁣
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Barton 1792 Distillery has released two new expressions: 1792 Straight Rye Whiskey and 1792 XV, a 15-year-old uncut, unfiltered bourbon. This product line expansion pushes the 1792 brand’s boundaries in two very different directions.⁣
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Although Barton has made plenty of rye whiskey in the past, 1792 Straight Rye Whiskey is the first official rye for the brand. Made with 1792’s signature bourbon yeast and with rye grain sourced from Europe, the northern U.S., and Canada, this whiskey is bottled at 100 proof.⁣
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1792 XV is a 15-year-old uncut, unfiltered bourbon. It’s the oldest whiskey in the 1792 portfolio and, like the rye, will be an annual release. The first edition is bottled at 124.2 proof.⁣
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Check out all the details, along with my full tasting notes at Forbes.com. The link, as always, is in my bio and in my stories.⁣⁣⁣
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Photos courtesy of 1792 Bourbon⁣
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#1792

07/04/2026

Writing professionally makes me bring my A-game ✍️🥃⁣⁣
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Having a professional media outlet and a broad audience has inspired me to push the boundaries of my writing. Whether it’s a review, an analysis piece, or a historical deep dive, I always take pride in using my own unique voice to tell a story.⁣⁣
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My articles are often (very) long, in-depth, and not necessarily for a novice audience. I don’t do round-ups, gift guides, or top 10 lists, and I know that my choices limit my reader engagement and page views. Oh well…⁣⁣
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As I continue to tell the stories that others won’t, I hope to become the go-to resource for brands when they need a true expert voice to properly articulate their message.⁣⁣
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So far, so good.⁣
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Thanks again to Wilder Heart for a wonderful experience. Check out the full conversation on YouTube (link in bio).

07/03/2026

The First Bourbon Made With Whiskey From All 50 States 🇺🇸🥃⁣
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Lost Lantern recently released the United States of Bourbon, featuring the very first bourbon blend from all fifty states in the union. The project took five years to complete, including visits to all 50 participating distilleries, inventory transfer to the Lost Lantern warehouse in Vermont, and careful, iterative blending to make the final products. ⁣
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I caught up with Lost Lantern co-founders Adam Polonski and Nora Ganley-Roper to learn more about this bold initiative, the challenges of sourcing whiskey nationwide and the complex, iterative blending process that resulted in the final product.⁣
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Some of my tasting notes for the Cask Strength blend include:⁣⁣
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Nose: Caramel, sweet corn, torched cedar, dried cherry⁣
Palate: Buttered cornbread, toffee, raspberry tart, tobacco⁣
Finish: Drying oak, toasted coconut, black tea leaves, butterscotch⁣
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Check out the full, IN-DEPTH story and full tasting notes at Forbes.com. The link, as always, is in my bio and in my stories.⁣⁣
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Photos courtesy of Lost Lantern Whiskey⁣
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06/30/2026

It ain’t the first b**g hole I’ve popped open, and it won’t be the last.⁣
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06/26/2026

Virginia Distillery Co’s is doing cigar blends right⁣
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I’ve been wanting to talk about Virginia Distillery Co’s Cigar Blend “First Cut” for a while now, and there’s no better time than the present.⁣
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Cigar blends have been a part of the spirits world for decades. The concept is simple: make a product that’s specifically designed to pair with a cigar. In practice, though, that’s not as easy as it sounds.⁣
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Like whisky, ci**rs vary wildly in flavor and intensity. How can a single product handle both ends of the spectrum?⁣
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In the case of VDC Cigar Blend, casks are king. This seven year old ASM spent time in Spanish oak, Sherry, Port, STR, Chateau Palmer Cabernet, Armangac, Cognac, Fino, and just a touch of Islay casks. That should cover all the bases, right?⁣
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Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “How could that many cask types come together to form a cohesive product?”⁣
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Many American Single Malt producers have gained a reputation for remarkable blending skills, and VDC is no exception. Blending is a combination of art and science, and when done right, even the most complex blends can create a product greater than the sum of its parts.⁣
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Best of all, this whisky is just 60 bucks, which is an absolute steal compared to other cigar blends on the market. Hopefully, the “First Cut” designation is a hint that future editions are coming. I can’t wait to see where they take it from here.⁣
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Virginia Distillery Co.⁣
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Single Malt Savvy

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