Castle & Cairn

Weller Special Reserve or "Weller Green Label" is the entry point to the often hyped and hunted Weller wheated lineup, produced by Buffalo Trace. It bears the name of William Larue Weller (incidentally the title for the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection edition Weller bottle) who was credited as being the first to produce bourbon with wheat as the secondary grain instead of rye in 1940. The brand was stable for around 80 years before rising to prominence under the Stitzel-Weller Distilling Company in 1935, sharing a mash bill with the coveted Pappy Wan Winkle line which to this day leads it to be often called "Poor Man's Pappy". Sazerac has owned the brand and produced it at Buffalo Trace since 1999, rebranding it from "Old Weller" to just "Weller" in 2016 with a label refresh. At one point, Weller Green was packaged with metal screw tops but this bottle is one of the recent returns to a traditional stopper. 🛒 Sourced:  $29.99 at Tower Beer ...

A purple explosion from triple threat partnership Phorm Energy, Grape Smash was one of the initial flavors in the company's drink portfolio. Phorm is the progeny of 1st Phorm nutrition, UFC's Dana white, and beer giant Anheuser-Busch. The brand focuses on a patriotic and blue-collar vibe with slogans like "We do the work" and flavors like " Screamin' Freedom ". 1st Phorm performs extensive product testing and all Phorm products are produced only in facilities that are FDA inspected, SQF Level-3 certified, & cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) compliant. 🛒 Price: $1 at Kroger, typically $2-3 per can in most formats. Available in 12 oz can 4-packs and 16oz. singles or 12 packs.  ✨Calories: 15 , 16oz. can 🍵 Caffeine: 200mg, on par with Celsius (little less per volume), sourced from green tea extract. The 12oz. format has 150g of caffeine. 👅 Flavor: This is the classic natural flavors grape that you're probably used to from Fanta or othe...

An officially licensed product in partnership with America250, the non-partisan commission established by Congress to plan the nation's 250th anniversary, this commemorative bottling from Heaven Hill showcases the strengths of their huge production capacity and excellent unit economics. Only a fitting 250 barrels were selected which puts my estimate for total yield around 40-45K bottles. All barrels were personally selected by Master Distiller Conor O'Driscoll. As part of the promotion of this offering, Heaven Hill donated $75K to Folds of Honor which provides educational scholarships to the family of fallen or disabled US Service members and first responders.  🛒 Sourced: $39.99 for 750ml from Smyrna World of Beverage, April 2026. This is my first time seeing it on the shelf in market, though Georgia tends to be a bit late to new releases. With the lower proof Vintage appearing in the $30-$32 range, this bottle is also likely one of the stronger values on the market. Pricing...

After a decade plus of extreme brewing, consumer palates seem to have began to fatigue even as the desire for lifestyle alignment and elevated experience have remained strong. While total beer sales in the US saw a 3% drop in the last year, the "Domestic Super Premium" segment is one of the few categories seeing consistent growth. Consumers seem to be returning to "beer flavored beer" while still wanting to feel connected to the brand, setting the stage for a new wave of storytellers and celebrity marketers to move brews in huge quantities. Not to be left behind, the heritage brewers are crafting new offerings or updating marketing on premium favorites like Michelob Ultra, Heineken Silver, and Corona Premier which set the blueprint for the category. In general these beers have similar characteristics: Calories : 90-110, traditionally within the light beer segment. This seems to be the consumer's mental best fit range, comfortably below that of sodas and RTDs, a...