Hops & Spirits: Neat & Mixed

Jonathan and Brandon sit down with Mark McLaughlin to try three expressions from Old Line Spirits. We enjoy their Flagship 95 American Single Malt, Navy Strength 114 American Single Malt, and Sherry Finish American Single Malt. Mark also talks about how he and his business partner Arch launched Old Line, how a trip to Seattle set things in motion, why they went with single malts, what an American Single Malt is, giving back to veterans, their other spirits, what's coming and more.

Released to celebrate F. Scott Fitzgerald’s legendary novel, “The Great Gatsby”, a century ago – from the events in 1922 that inspired the novel to its publication in 1925 – Remus Gatsby Reserve 2023 Edition is bottled at 98.1 proof and a MSRP of $199.99 per 750-ml bottle. This edition of the Remus Gatsby Reserve features two bourbon mash bills (75% corn, 21% rye, 4% barley malt; and 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% barley malt) and is offered at cask strength.

We've got a special review of Blanton's Gold (is it worth it?) and some info on how folks can help St. Jude's and potenitally win a Blanton's Gold Private Select Barrel experience #bourbon

We've Got Questions for CaskX founder and CEO Jeremy Kasler. Jeremy talks about how CaskX works, what he saw happening in the industry that made him launch CaskX, starting the idea with Scotch before hitting the US bourbon market, and much more.

After introducing Dickel Bourbon – a permanent offering aged 8 years – to the market, Dickel is back with a limited, small-batch bourbon - Dickel Bourbon Aged 18 Years. This comes in at 90 proof with an MSRP of $510. Cheers.

Buzzard’s Roost Cigar Rye is four-year-old Indiana rye that is finished in new American oak barrels that were cold-smoked with aged tobacco leaves grown in Kentucky. The mash bill for Buzzard’s Roost Cigar Rye remains the same at 95% rye and 5% malted barley, and the ABV is 52.5%. The SRP is $75.99.

The second blend in the Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series builds upon the legendary BCS 2018 Tale of Two Islands Rum: a Jamaican Rum matured in peated Islay single malt casks. For the 2023 Tale of Two Islands offering, BCS chose to feature a blend of straight bourbons from Indiana (5, 6, & 9-year) and Maryland (5 & 6-year). The team then used the empty casks from the 2018 offering to finish the blend of straight bourbons. With a derived mash bill of corn (73%), rye (23%), and malted barley (4%), the blend was bottled at cask strength (118.22 proof).

We've Got Questions for Brown-Forman’s Global Alcohol Responsibility Manager Leah Kelly. This is part 2 and Leah talks about the work on creating a safe drinking environment for all plus trends happening in the responsible drinking and the industry overall.

We've Got Questions for Brown-Forman’s Global Alcohol Responsibility Manager Leah Kelly. This is part 1 and Leah talks about why companies like Brown-Forman are getting behind Dry January/responsible drinking plus how a company balances selling alcohol and promoting responsibility.

After aging RD1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon for 4+ years, RD1 then inserted the Amburana staves into the barrel. Their partner cooperage uses a patented technique to honeycomb drill small holes into the Amburana staves, allowing more wood surface interaction with the bourbon.