I was spending a weekend in Denver, Colorado a couple months back and it seemed like around every corner was a bottle of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. I remembered liking it, so when it started appearing on local billboards and store shelves I decided to grab a bottle and really put some thought into that notion.

While the Austin, Texas whiskey scene is absolutely bursting with energy, that’s not to say that the rest of the state is bereft of quirky and interesting whiskey distilleries coming onto the scene. One that just hit the shelves with their very first product is Tahwahkaro, a company whose name I almost guarantee you won’t pronounce or spell correctly the first time but is definitely worth the effort to learn and remember.

I might live in Texas, but I was born and raised in New York. I appreciate all the flavors and the history of that state, and it seems I’m not alone in that – in NY, a number of distilleries have been popping up over the last decade trying to capture that local essence and bottle it. One of those producers is Widow Jane, and their Oak & Apple Wood Aged Rye Whiskey piqued my interest when it appeared on my local store shelves.

There are more craft distilleries popping up around Austin, Texas than pimples on a teenager. Some of these are amazing and some are more about being a tourist trap than a proper distillery. Which one is Iron Wolf Ranch and Distillery?

Transparency, full disclosure, and honesty. Those are the values that I brought to hunting and outdoor sporting equipment reviews for the last seven years, and I’m bringing those same values to the whiskey and spirit reviews we post on this site.

I was visiting Seattle on a work trip a couple months ago and, as usual, I was looking for a good place to grab a drink. Much to my surprise, I found that there was a fully operational distillery located within walking distance of the Pike Place Market. They didn’t have any tours that day, but pretty much the entire facility (including their stills) can be seen from the tasting room where I tried their unique take on malt whiskey.

Winter is coming! In honor of the last season of Game of Thrones, the Diageo company (who owns a good chunk of the distilleries in Scotland) has decided to put out a series of scotch whisky bottlings branded with the emblems of each of the major houses of Westeros. Today we’re drinking the House Stark edition from Dalwhinnie and mentally preparing ourselves for the Battle of Winterfell.

I’m sure when we think of whiskey regions, New York isn’t the first place that comes to mind. But when we were recently in Westchester, NY for our bar takeover, we had the opportunity to work with the folks at Good Shepherd Distillery (a family owned distillery in Mamaroneck) and taste their latest creation: a single malt whiskey that’s 100% New York. And if their product is any indication, we’ve been sleeping on the NY whiskeys.