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The Regular Guy Bourbon Review: Blade and Bow

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Blade and Bow

For our third installment, we’re reviewing Blade and Bow, because honestly, is there a more manly sounding name for a bourbon than Blade and Bow? Maybe Slit the Throats of Your Enemies and Drink Their Blood from Their Dried Skulls Bourbon or Crush Your Enemies, See Them Driven Before You, and Hear the Lamentations of Their Women Bourbon, but that’s about it. And I don’t even think those are real bourbons. But if they are, we’re gonna review them. And soon. In any event, Blade and Bow is produced by the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky. The distillery was opened on Derby Day in 1935 by the legendary Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle, and continued to produce bourbon, though under different names, until 1992. The distillery reopened in 2014 with Blade and Bow as its product. The name comes not from weaponry, but from the two parts of a skeleton key: the blade and the bow. Now, that’s not quite as manly and cool as a sword and a hunting bow, but still pretty cool. Even cooler is that the name was picked to honor the history of the distillery, which is legendary in the bourbon world. In the original distillery, five keys hung on the door, each representing a different step in the creation process: grains, yeast, fermentation, distilling, and aging.  [Read more…] about The Regular Guy Bourbon Review: Blade and Bow

Regular Guy Bourbon Review: Four Roses Single Barrel

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Four Roses Single Barrel

Today we’re reviewing Four Roses Single Barrel, produced by the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Four Roses has three primary offerings: The regular (usually called the Yellow Label), the Single Barrel, and the Small Batch. Four Roses uses two different mash bills in its offerings, both of which are a combination of corn, rye, and malted barley. For you newbies, the mash bill is simply the ratio of grains used to make the product. Ratios? What? Cue Chevy Chase playing President Ford: “It was my understanding that there would be no math . . .” (you young bucks can click here for the reference). [Read more…] about Regular Guy Bourbon Review: Four Roses Single Barrel

Introducing . . . The Regular Guy Bourbon Review

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Any decent website for men originating out of Kentucky has to dedicate some space to the ultimate man’s drink: bourbon. While some think of bourbon as a fall and winter spirit, in the Bluegrass state we drink it all year long. So, we’re going to do a highlight a specific bourbon each month and give it a review. I like to think of this feature as a “regular-guy bourbon review”. Although I’ve been a bourbon drinker for several years and have been exposed to a broad range of bourbons, I’m far from an expert.

But here’s the thing: neither are most people. It does most people little good to hear experts drone on about various notes of this and that when they’re probably two years of consistent intentional tasting away from sensing any of it. Regular guys want the highlights: a description of the noticeable features, the level and timing of the burn, and the cost. So that’s what I’m going to try to give you. [Read more…] about Introducing . . . The Regular Guy Bourbon Review

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