Castle & Cairn

Joining a packed lineup of flavored, finished, and extra aged expressions, Jim Beam Single Barrel  packs some extra proof and is had selected by the Beam team from stocks of the namesake spirit. Jim Beam brings its different brands off the still at different proofs, so there is no chance of this being a rejected Knob, Bakers, or Booker's Barrel; it'll be the crème de la crème of Beam itself. This is the most premium Jim Beam offering in the regular lineup and has been in production since 2013. Weak consumer sentiment resulted in them revamping the offering in 2019, upping the proof from 95 to the current 108 and changing the bottle design (cork was switched to twist top for cost reasons, a trade I'm perfectly willing to make).  🛒 Sourced:  $39.99 - Total Wine, GA 750ml - Priced to compete with Evan Williams Single Barrel , though that bottle is at a lower proof. In my experience, not a whole lot of retailers stock this bottle, so your best bet is likely one of the big ch...

Suntory has been on a bit of a roll recently with it's Jim Beam family of products. Black Label got a proof bump and its seven year age statement back while they seem to have enough extra juice lying around to put out this limited edition toasted bourbon as well. Jim Beam winter reserve is a sipping quality concept designed to emphasize lovely toasted oak flavors such as vanilla, cinnamon spice, and cloves. It is not a flavored whiskey! Instead it is double aged in toasted barrels following its initial stint in charred oak.  Toasting involves heating the wood at a lower temperature for a longer period without reaching the char point. This process preserves more of the wood's natural flavor compounds, like vanillin and brings out more nuanced flavors from the wood, including spices, nuts, and maybe even a slight smokiness. This is our first low cost, mass market release from Jim Beam since the Repeal Batch in 2018 which gives us a good indication that Beam stocks must be catchi...

Like Costco's other Scotches, the Kirkland Signature Islay Single Malt is bottled for Alexander Murray and imported by MISA Imports after being distilled and aged in Scotland (TTB.gov plant registry TX-I-1277). The isle of Islay is one of the southern most islands in Scotland and is one of the five whisky regions ensconced in law. There are only nine active distilleries on the island, and the Islay style is typified by strong peat or smoky flavors. As a single malt, we know that the juice in this bottle comes entirely from one of those nine! All of the distilleries are significantly smaller than Glenlivet and many of the mainland producers. Taste testing has people split between Caol Illa, Bruichladdich (Port Charlotte), and Bunnahabhain as being the source. Caol Illa and Laphroig both have done deals for private brand scotch without rights to name the source distillery, but Laphroig does not match the flavor profile for this bottle. Realistically, Caol Illa is the most likely cand...

Created in 1899 by A.J. Cameron, Dewar's White Label is a staple of cocktails the world over. The brand was popularized in the US when Andrew Carnegie sent a small keg of  Dewar's Scotch to the White House for President James Garfield's inauguration, later congratulating President Benjamin Harrison in the same manner. John Dewar & Sons, now owned by Bacardi, is known for their double aging process by which component whiskies are aged, blended, and then returned to oak casks to "marry". White Label is the top-selling Dewar's iteration and joins a lineup of 12, 15,18,19 and super aged releases. There are also finished variations such as the Caribbean Smooth Rum  cask edition, but the main claim to fame is that " it never varies ." Dewar's is such a master of blending, that they are able to reliably create the exact same flavor profile year over year, batch to batch, for more than a century. The younger Dewar's expressions, including White ...

You may hear people referring to the concept of "PPM" as it relates to Scotch. Though there is a large amount of variety in whisky, scotch is often caricatured as being smoke flavored by international audiences. Phenol is the main molecule that humans perceive as having a peated or smoky taste and many familiar with the industry may ask what the "PPM" of a given bottle of scotch is. In chemistry and in this case, "PPM" stands for parts per million and is a measure of concentration. If a whisky is 1 part per million phenol, then one milligram of a liter of that whisky is phenol. What are Phenols? If you've glanced at our guide to chemicals that flavor whisky , you know that there are a huge number of molecules that can impact final taste. The main phenols are the namesake Phenol - iodine like or medicinal flavor, Guaiacol - burnt/smoke notes, Syringol - aroma only smoke, and Cresol - earthy tar/coal/moss.  Where does Phenol in Scotch come from? Most phe...

Highland Park , part of the Islands subset of the official Highlands region, is located on the isle of Orkney just off the North Sea and was founded in 1798 by Magnus "Mansie" Eunson, a local church beadle (Usher or Church Constable) and part time whiskey smuggler. Eunson often blending the two pursuits by stashing whisky in the church and it was almost 30 years before he gained an official distiller's license. From his name, you may surmise that he was descended from some of the Vikings who once raided and settled the northern Scottish islands, and that heritage formed the inspiration for much of the branding until a simplification of the bottle designs in October of 2024 removed the intricate designs introduced in 2017. This bottle is from that seven-year period and therefore features the "Viking Honor" moniker. Some are very happy to see a more standard and refined bottle design, but I mourn the individuality and distinctiveness of the old pattern. Their line...

If there is anything I love more than a good drink, it's saving money buying that good drink! The rules for providing discounts on alcohol differ substantially between states with some allowing outright discounts or coupons and others entirely disallowing any sort of purchase incentive. Thankfully though, in my native Georgia as well as most states, a simple reimbursement approach is permissible.  Alcohol Rebate Site Master List The following sites are relatively stable for each manufacturer. New offers usually come out every few months. None of these are affiliate links and I provide no assurance as to the process. I have saved so much money using rebates and hope you have similar success. Best practices and general process advice will be presented at the bottom. New sites will be added as I uncover them. Beer Rebates Boston Beer Company Brands  - Angry Orchard, Dogfish head, Hard Mountain Dew, Samuel Adams, Sun Crusher, Truly, and Twisted Tea. Some brands may not have active...

Trends come and go: Craft Beer, Hard Seltzer, Canned Cocktails, and more. In the world of beverage, the currents are constantly shifting, but one drink has an irrevocable grip on America: Light Beer. Good old beer flavored beer may take a hit from new competition, but brands like Miller Lite and Michelob Ultra constantly sit at the top of sales volume lists, even with the fall of Bud Light and rise of Modelo's Flagship.   But which light beer is best? Let's find out. Methodology - Light Beer Ranking Taste preferences vary significantly between consumers, but across a large sample we should be able to get a somewhat representative picture of the populations preferences. For this ranking, we will combine data sourced from multiple beer rating sites with an internal Castle & Cairn house ranking to create an overall beer quality score. The starting population of beer brands will be those that are explicitly branded as "flagship light" or beers with less than 100 calor...

Produced by Suntory's Jim Beam distillery, the Knob Creek brand was created in 1993 by Master Distiller Booker Noe as the organization's first small batch offering (today joined by Booker's, Baker's, and Basil Hayden's). Noe's design was to meet or exceed the quality standards defined by the Bottled-in-Bond act and create a fully flavored, pre-prohibition-style whiskey. The flagship Knob Creek 9 is bottled at 100 proof and barreled a minimum of nine years excepting a brief stint from 2016 to 2020 when Beam had to drop the age statement. The flagship is joined by a series of rye whiskies at various age statements, Single Barrel Select/Reserve, 12 and 18 year bourbon, and a flavored maple whiskey. Our bottle today, Knob Creek Single Barrel Select  is a distiller pick selected for Costco. The Single Barrel series bourbons get a bump up to 120 proof and have extended barrel information mentioned on the bottle. The Knob Creek Single Barrel Program gets wide particip...

As a habitual caffeine abuser, I have a soft spot for Monster, both for their expansive lineup of flavors as well as their support for Sports and E-sports. Coffee is my standard caffeination vector, so the Java Monster suite of products is the perfect mix of bean flavor and energy boost. In this post, I'll provide my personal rankings and rationale for what is a very strong lineup.  Note that I have not been compensated in any way for this write-up... I just like them. Currently,  Monster Energy 's Java Monster lineup has five currently available flavors: Mean Bean - Vanilla Irish Crème Loca Mocha - Chocolate Salted Caramel Café Late There are two "triple shot" versions of the Vanilla and Mocha which contain 300mg of caffeine though their flavors are very similar to the base versions above. At this point, we should also take a moment of silence for the two cold brew flavors, sweet black and nitro latte. The nitro latte was a personal favorite and I quite liked the swe...

  An oddity in Suntory's Knob Creek lineup, Knob Creek Smoked Maple is the brand's only flavored bourbon liqueur. Fred Noe created it to pay homage to his father, the legendary distiller Booker Noe, who loved to smoke meat on the weekends and bottled his own maple syrup from trees on the family farm. It is produced at the same Jim Beam distillery as Booker's, Barker's, and Basil Hayden's. This flavored whiskey stands in contrast to the age stated and higher proof rye and bourbon offerings. Knob Creek recommends drinking it neat or as a cocktail component.  🛒 Sourced:  $39.99 - Local Vine, Smyrna, GA 750ml 🧪 Proof:  90 Proof, 45% Alcohol by Volume 🎨 Color:  R3  - a light syrup color with some copper. Thicker on the glass than I expected. 🥔 Mash Bill:   75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Barley - Distilled to 130 Proof and barreled at 125 proof. No Age Statement though we know the whiskey is at least four years old as straight whiskey wi...