The craft spirits market is absolutely booming in the US, with small shops opening up all over metro areas. Just to be clear, I’m not complaining — variety is the spice of life, and having more people involved in the process means more unique and interesting takes on the spirit. Here in Austin, Texas, one of those new (and definitely unique) distilleries is Still Austin Whiskey Co., and their “hot take” on whiskey is their Mother Pepper product.
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A friend of mine is in the process of doing a routine purge of his liquor cabinet, and I was lucky enough to be around when he was trying to find a new home for some of his bottles. Among the collection was a bottle of Old Forester Statesman, a label that I knew less from its renowned history as a good spirit and more for its prominence in a certain movie franchise.
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I’m continuing my journey along the bottom of the whiskey shelf. Today’s choice spirit: Kentucky Deluxe. The woman behind the counter at the liquor store tried to warn me and get me to pick something else, but this is my chosen profession: ruining my taste buds for the education and entertainment of others.
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Today I continue my trudge through the bottom of the whiskey shelf. But today’s offering isn’t usually found on the bottom shelf, although it probably deserves a permanent place there. Today we discuss the most popular whiskey in over 25% of U.S. states: Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.
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Ever since they were introduced in 1932, Zippo lighters have been the most iconic style of pocket lighter on the planet. Not only are their dimensions just right to fit comfortably in your hand, but there’s something strangely satisfying about the click that it makes when you open the lighter. And of course, the nearly infinite styles and designs that exist to suit every taste. There’s just one problem: they suck for cigars. Top-Z wants to fix that.
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I love bourbon. I love Scotch whiskey. I don’t love them for the same reasons.
But when I saw a bottle on the store shelves of my local liquor store that claimed to blend these two together I was intrigued. Could it be the best of both worlds? Or will it be the Thunderdome of flavor profiles? I needed to find out.
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A friend of mine is in the process of doing a routine purge of his liquor cabinet, and I was lucky enough to be around when he was trying to find a new home for some of his bottles. Among the ones I didn’t recognize was an older looking bottle labeled as a Belle Meade Bourbon. I was intrigued, and more than happy to find it a new home.
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I’ve been in my fair share of cigar lounges of all shapes and sizes. Brand new or centuries old, only seating a handful of people or catering to a massive crowd, each has their benefits and drawbacks. As someone who has helped design a cigar smoking lounge before I’ve spent a good bit of time trying to figure out what key features make for that “perfect” cigar space, and I think I’ve got it narrowed down to a handful of things that you need to hit to be successful. Or, at least, to keep me coming back. Read More
Wine. Whiskey. Cigars. Three areas where there are so many different varieties and brands on the market that it’s nearly impossible to find something you’ll like. And what if you walk into a store and they don’t have your brand, how do you find something similar? Thankfully with cigars there are only a couple things you need to remember and look for to understand what you’re getting and find something that you might like.
I’m making my way through the Texas whiskies, and one I keep seeing again and again is the Firestone & Robertson TX Blended Whiskey. It’s on just about every shelf, shouting it’s “TX” branding as hard as it can, so I decided to give it a try and see whether the contents can live up to the packaging.
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