Support us at https://buymeacoffee.com/whiskeytangent

After chasing but never tasting any version of the nearly impossible-to-find Old Fitzgerald decanter series bonded Bourbon, we'd just about given up ever being able to acquire any. But then Heaven Hill decided to create a new, reasonably priced Old Fitz expression that's basically the same juice, just with a lower age statement. So, of course we jumped at the chance to buy it and try it. But will it exceed our expectations? Or will we never want to drink any of their bottles again? Press play to find out! 

Music Credits: Freedom courtesy of Choc Mic McNeil | Link: https://soundcloud.com/chocmic/freedom • Five Card Shuffle and Fireflies by Kevin MacLeod at https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Support us at https://buymeacoffee.com/whiskeytangent

We haven’t featured any Japanese whiskies on the podcast in over three years, so when Suntory came out with a smoky version of their classic fruit-and-spice Toki mainstay, we were intrigued to say the least. And we had lots of questions: How different was this from the original? How would it compare? And what cocktails could we make with it? Well, Suntory obliged with recipes and flavor to spare. But would we (along with Gabe) actually like anything at all? Press play and find out!

Music Credits: Freedom courtesy of Choc Mic McNeil at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Vb55i9ubwPnxUnY6OG3nH • Night in Venice and Living Voyage by Kevin MacLeod at https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Support us at https://buymeacoffee.com/whiskeytangent

New News: Jim Beam Halts Production in 2026 • Brown-Forman Profits Down Nearly $60 Million • Irish Whiskey Needs to Evolve • WhistlePig Opens Whiskey Row Experience • Whisky Advocate’s Top 20 Whiskeys of 2025 • The Mint That Fights Binge Drinking • Country Star Hospitalized After Wild Trip to L.A. • Drunk Ne'er-do-well Wreaks Havoc in VA Liquor Store

New Whiskeys: Barrell Dovetail Toasted • Castle & Key Cask Strength Wheated Bourbon • Castle & Key Extra Old Haitian Rhum Cask Rye • Jack Daniel’s Tanyard Hill Rye • Lost Lantern Scotch Lover’s Collection • Penelope F**k Cancer • Sazerac Rye Full Proof  • Wilderness Trail High-Rye Bourbon • Wilderness Trail Wheated Bourbon • Wilderness Trail Rye

New Music Credits: Retro News at Nine (Stinger 1) by Steve Oxen and Just Breaking (Softer) by David Fesliyan from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com • News Sting and Beauty Flow by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.filmmusic.io

Support us at https://buymeacoffee.com/whiskeytangent

Shavonne and Sue are back again to help us taste a new whiskey that "Tastes like Christmas" (whatever the f**k that means) from a distillery we've barely covered in about seven years. So, is it the most Christmas-y whiskey ever? Or does it taste like Krampusbrechen? Tune in and find out!

Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone!

Music Credits: Greensleeves to a Ground by Paul Arden-Taylor and Carol Holt (Public Domain) • Five Card Shuffle by Kevin MacLeod at https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Support us at https://buymeacoffee.com/whiskeytangent

At long last! We’re finally getting to taste possibly the most elusive spirit we’ve ever sought out on an episode that's been a full three years in the making. And while we do that, we also end up tasting two other similar expressions to see how similar they actually are. But the real question is: Can the JD ASM live up to years of fevered anticipation and outsized expectations? Click play to find out!

Music Credits: Freedom by Choc Mic McNeil at https://soundcloud.com/chocmic/freedom • Fireflies by Kevin MacLeod at https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Support us at https://buymeacoffee.com/whiskeytangent

Whiskeys (mostly): Zwack’s Unicum • Uuahouua Pinot Noir Austrian Single Malt Whisky • Nestville Hit & Run Slovakian Blended Whisky • Carpathian Romanian Wine Cask Collection Single Malt Whisky • The Stranger Polish Rye Whisky

Tangents: Brian the Whiskey Explorer joins us once again for some whiskey, some history, and some whiskey history! • Ed regales us with the dual monarchy of Austro-Hungarian Empire • F**k the Astros • Stop trying to make Czechia a thing, Gretchen • Unicum ruined Ed’s nose (but might be good in cocktails) • #liquidpotpourri • The Austrian whisky smells like a flower shop (and the color is Heather) • Apparently “Licking the top of a pile of Skittles” is a tasting note now • Brian gives a shout-out to an injured friend • Does anyone live in Europe? • The Slovakian whiskey comes in a baseball bat • Chat, is Ed the serious one? • Scott’s meth dealer lives in Delaware • Ed gets trolled by a Transylvanian • Zwack’s Hoagie Shack Smack of the Game! • 36 million Polish people are now mad at us • Is the Polish whisky really a Polish whisky? • #phillyjokes • Is Bulleit Rye a Polish-American whisky? • Scott has enough material to put Ed in prison • HR shut off Ed’s mic • Scott has a different definition of “The Stanger” • Brian’s wife might not let him come back

Music Credits: Whiskey on the Mississippi, Tenebrous Brothers Carnival Act Two, and Waltz of Treachery by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html • Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at https://commons.wikimedia.org

Support us at https://buymeacoffee.com/whiskeytangent

Whiskeys: 1792 12 Years Aged Bourbon • 1792 Full Proof Bourbon (Benash Store Pick) • Oppidan Bottled-in-Bond Four Grain Bourbon (South Jersey Bourbon Drinkers Pick) • Bardstown Bourbon Co. Château de Laubade Aramagnac Finished Bourbon • Bardstown Bourbon Co. Foursquare Rum Finished Whiskey • Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition Single Malt Scotch • Bomberger’s Declaration Bourbon • Old Carter Bourbon Batch 11 • Blue Run High Rye Bourbon • Nashtucky Special Release 8-Year Single Barrel Whiskey • Doug’s Infinity Bottle • Nulu Single Barrel Select Wheated Bourbon (New Jersey Bourbon Barrel Club Pick) • Elijah Craig Private Toasted Single Barrel Bourbon (Benash Store Pick) • Frey Ranch Barrel Strength Single Barrel Bourbon (New Jersey Bourbon Barrel Club Pick) • King’s County Single Barrel Bourbon • Obtanium Canadian Light Whiskey • Glenlivet 12 Year Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch

Tangents: We've locked ourselves in Doug’s vault again for another night of high-proof hijinx! • The lowest proof is 96.6 • Ed’s last girlfriend was like the Barton’s 12 Year • We're already breaking the rules with the first whiskey • Doug has minions • Ed curses first • The Vietnamese hoagies will clear our palates • Wait, is this a department store whiskey? • Doug’s wine-drinking wife, Sue, joins us! • Clean up, aisle Ed • Somehow Doug always wins the lottery for expensive bottles • You have to divide all prices by six in front of Sue • Apparently, “Kentucky Fried Chicken” is a tasting note now • Doug did an Infinity Bottle (that Sue wants to sell on eBay) • Doug punishes Scott (and Scott likes it) • Three minutes of giving Benash their flowers • Maybe Doug can convince Freddie Noe to send us the whiskeys he owes us • The Frey Ranch smells like weed • Apparently “Carving a pumpkin and pouring vodka in it” is a tasting note now • Here, feel that cork • Doug trolls us on a blind tasting • The hoagies were a lifeline • Most people have friends, Ed

Music Credits: Sleek Panther by Fesliyan Studios at https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Welp, we're back again tasting the latest update to Pinhook's Vertical Series Bourbon, our 6th tasting across the years. And each time we keep waiting (fearing?) for the fairly excellent expressions to fall off a cliff of overoakedness. (Shut up, that's totally a word.) So, will this be the year it finally does? Tune in and find out!

Also, please consider supporting us at https://buymeacoffee.com/whiskeytangent

Music Credits: Freedom courtesy of Choc Mic McNeil at  https://soundcloud.com/chocmic/freedom • Fireflies by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Support us at https://buymeacoffee.com/whiskeytangent

Whiskeys: The Dead Rabbit Blended Irish Whiskey • Natterjack Batch 1 Single Grain Irish Whiskey • Bushmills 12 Year Single Malt Irish Whiskey • Knappogue Castle 12 Year Single Malt Irish Whiskey • Clonakilty Private Barrel Select Rivesaltes Cask Finished Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Tangents: Marty and Rachel join us on our first trip back to Ireland in over 3 years! • The 4 types of Irish Whiskey • Our rain- and Mezcal-soaked trip to The Dead Rabbit in NYC • Apparently “wax and pesticide” is a tasting note now • Don’t pith me off! • New from 7-11, the Irish Whiskey Big Gulp • WTF is a Natterjack? • Apparently, “bottom of the pecan pie” is a tasting note now • #minteresting • The frog is so metal, bro • The history of Bushmills (finally!) • Apparently, “sad mushy grape” is a tasting note now • Our non-Mezcal-soaked trip to Molly’s Shebeen in NYC • Go 'Nilla! • WTF is treacle? • Her name is Dickensheets! • WTF is Lemon Piff? • Gas v. soda prices • Marty’s a terrible driver in Ireland • Irish people do a lot of hurling • The Gentile Cut • WTF is Rivesaltes? • The grape must do what • Ed likes to expose his “barrel” to the salt air

Music Credits: Whiskey on the Mississippi, Teller of the Tales, Fiddles McGinty, Folk Round, Midnight Tale, Heroes of a Thousand Battles, and The Pyre by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Support us at https://buymeacoffee.com/whiskeytangent

New News: Diageo Halts Production at Two Iconic American Distilleries • Willett Distillery Patriarch Evan Kulsveen Has Died • Global Whiskey Challenge Names Top Winners! • Rabbit Hole Named Best Distillery Tour • How Much Alcohol Is Too Much? • Is 50-Year-Old Bourbon Possible? • $1M in Whiskey Stolen from Seattle Distillery • College Football Fan Arrested with an Astonishing Blood Alcohol Level

New Whiskeys: 2025 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection • 1792 Cognac Cask Finish Bourbon • Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Rye A925 • Hirsch Cask Strength Hine Cognac Cask Finished Bourbon • Garrison Brothers Sonora Straight Bourbon • Old Overholt Extra Aged Cask Strength 12 Year Rye • Penelope Apple Cinnamon Old Fashioned Cocktail • Sagamore Reserve Series 10 Year Rye • Stranahan’s Diamond Peak Local Brewer’s Cask • Toki Black Japanese Blend • Westland Garryana 10-Year American Single Malt

New Music Credits: Retro News at Nine (Stinger 1) by Steve Oxen and Just Breaking (Softer) by David Fesliyan from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com • News Sting and Beauty Flow by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.filmmusic.io