Taste More, Listen Less

Bybrettatlas November 10, 2017 0 Comments
In a Louisville hotel room overlooking the Haymarket whiskey bar, my friend Brian had arranged something special. As I entered the room, I instantly spotted three rows of semi-filled glasses, each row dead-ending at an amber bottle marked with the letters ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’. “Oh, hell yes!” I giddily exclaimed. Nothing brings a room of whiskey ‘experts’ back down to earth like...

Review of Kentucky Owl Rye Batch #1

Bybrettatlas September 29, 2017 0 Comments
From the press release: “This unique offering is produced from a collection of barrels blended and brought to proof to accentuate both the delicate profile and the full-flavored body of the whiskey. Master Blender, Dixon Dedman, crafted the small batch rye with the same passion and high quality that goes into his family's award-winning bourbon. On the heels of a seven-market release of...

You Need to Meet… Ed Bley from Cork ‘N Bottle

Bybrettatlas August 25, 2017 0 Comments
He’s been called “The Nicest Guy In Whiskey,” and my very first experience with Ed Bley, Spirits and Beer Manager for Kentucky’s Cork ‘N Bottle (CNB), certainly supports that title. Last year, Ed reached out to send a few samples of CNB’s barrel picks for me to try. Not only did I receive several large sample bottles, but he also tossed in a full bottle of his latest Four Roses pick!...

Book Review of ‘Barrel Strength Bourbon’ by Carla Harris Carlton

Bybrettatlas August 9, 2017 0 Comments
Like Bourbon itself, new books on the topic continue to be released all the time. Some people try and read everything they can (guilty), some people want just an overview, and some people just want a book for their coffee table or bar. Then comes a book like Barrel Strength Bourbon that works for everyone. You may know her as “The Bourbon Babe” on the Internet, but Carla is an...

The Big Blind Bourbon Tasting

Bybrettatlas May 2, 2017 0 Comments
Last year, we gathered 22 whiskey fans in the tasting room at Omaha’s Spirit World for the Ultimate Blind Rye Tasting and learned that a sub-$30 shelf rye can hold its own against a seldom-seen $100 bottle. For that tasting, we strategically grouped those ryes into specific pairings for purposes of direct comparisons. This year, Andy and I presented Laurie and Alzuri with a new idea: We wanted...

You Need to Meet… Michael Myers at Distillery 291

Bybrettatlas April 17, 2017 0 Comments
“Everything happens for a reason.”  It’s hard to draw any other conclusion after hearing Michael Myers’ incredible journey from New York photographer to founder of one of the most decorated craft distillers in the world, Colorado Springs’ Distillery 291. All along the way, the signs guided him toward his calling- not merely as a producer of whiskey, but as a true artist of flavor....

Book Review of ‘The Big Man of Jim Beam’ by Jim Kokoris

Bybrettatlas January 26, 2017 0 Comments
My deep dive into bourbon began in earnest with Knob Creek and Basil Hayden’s. They were the first premium small batch bourbons released and their mastermind was Booker Noe. At the time of their release, Booker’s legendary career was pretty much over, and I had no idea who he was. Today, the Bourbon Trail is like Disneyland for adults, whiskey festivals draw crowds of thousands, and they all...

This One Is Different

Bybrettatlas December 13, 2016 0 Comments
Beam Suntory has completed its trilogy of controversial 2016 announcements, as it confirmed late last week it would be raising the price of Booker’s from $59.99 to $99.99, and also reducing output from six batches to four. Earlier this year, Beam released 3 batches of Knob Creek 2001, a 14-year version of its 100 proof bourbon at a suggested price of $129.99, as well as a one-time-only (we are...

So Much More

Bybrettatlas September 9, 2016 2 Comments
My dad never drank alcohol, yet strangely it became something that bound us together in the last years of his life.  Today, on what would have been his 72nd birthday (and the second since he’s been gone), I am struck by how much more this whiskey thing is than just liquid in a glass or some bubble ready to burst. In 2003, I left my family business and my life in Chicago behind...

You Need to Meet… Ryan Geller at Basecamp Wine and Spirits

Bybrettatlas August 15, 2016 0 Comments
“In the mountains (of Colorado), things tend to run a little behind the times,” said Ryan Geller, co-owner of Frisco’s Basecamp Wine & Spirits, which opened its doors on Christmas Eve 2014. He says this without a trace of irony, though it’s stunningly ironic to me, given that his liquor store is as progressive and incredible as any in the state (and perhaps in the country). “I...