Castle and Cairn

In what is in my mind one of the great collaborations in the history of whiskey, Atlanta's ASW distillery has teamed up the legendary Big Green Egg to put out a series of individual barrels, riffs on ASW's Georgia Heartwood bourbon plus hand harvested staves toasted or charred on a BGE ceramic cooker. Master Distiller Justin Manglitz selected these staves from timber in Habersham County, GA before toasting (indirect heat) or charring (direct heat) on the egg using hickory charcoal. So far, they have done a number of single barrels and eggspanded to the current small batch product, each varying slightly in design, intent, and taste. This is bottle #743 from the "Short Toast Release" (barrel picks with ASW usually yield around 190 bottles). To my knowledge, there have been at least three single barrels and the same number of batched editions, so I imagine they'll keep the series going. 🛒 Sourced:  $79.99 Tower Beer, Wine & Spirits, GA 750ml - a third Atlanta ...

This French-Roast style pod from Peet's is one of the more intense flavors available. Nerissimo is designed to remind you of the full-throated punch of a French-Roast or traditional Italian. It produces a relatively thick creme or a Nespresso pod and is supposed to be indulgent.  🌍 Origin:  Latin America, 100% Arabica 🔥 Roast Level: 11 out of 12 on the Nespresso Scale 🧪 Brew Method:  Nespresso Original Line Espresso 40ml 👃 Nose:  Not much on the nose, a small bit of smoke or vegetable char.  👅 Palate:  Bittersweet with a semi-viscous mouthfeel, not overly potent. I would say it is certainly over-roasted and was surprised by the flavor intensity which was not particularly strong. Profile is largely one-dimensional and exclusively roast. 💦 Finish : There is a nice bitter melon in a brief flash as you swallow, the best part of this experience in my opinion. 🏆  Score:  2.25/10 - Fine - As an economy buy on deep discount, these are probabl...

This Nespresso Original Line pod  is an at-home attempt to copy the success of Starbuck's Blonde Espresso, developed over five decades of sourcing and blending to create a "boldly mellow" second option for those who find the standard Starbucks Espresso too roasty or "burnt".  🌍 Origin:  Blend of Latin America and East Africa, primarily the former. 100% Arabica. 🔥 Roast Level:  Light - 6/12 intensity on the Nespresso Scale. 🧪 Brew Method:  Nespresso Original Line Espresso 40ml. Does not hold up well as a Lungo. 👃 Nose:  Slightly bitter with notes of biscuit, underripe berry. 👅 Tasting Notes:  Smooth with some sweetness, crisp tea cookie, minimal berry fruit but some citrus.  🏆  Score:  3/5- Good, Serviceable -  It's not particularly remarkable and does fall short of the in-store Starbucks Blonde experience but not unreasonably so. You do get some solid fruit flavors without the overly roasty, malty, or cereal bit...

Hailing from Missouri, the Holladay distillery is the oldest west of the Mississippi still operating on its original site, having been founded by Ben Holladay himself in 1856. Then called the "Blue Springs Distillery", the burgeoning company stored its barrels in a nearby cave to age, a favorite spot for visitors to this day. The distillery only changed hands four times, residing with the current ownership group since 1993. Ben Holladay has become a darling of enthusiasts and those "in-the-know" due to both their quality and transparency, providing both highly detailed labeling on the side of the bottle as well as a distiller's journal  with notes from the production team. This bottle of Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat is from the March/April 2024 batch  (bottled across month end - one single batch), pulled entirely from floor 3 of Rickhouse C. They created this batch with the intent of allowing it to be compared to the August 2023 batch, also from a single floor of...