Drink the Bottles

  Summer and citrus have always gone hand in hand, but this June, New York City is taking things a step further. From June 15-22, National Pallini Lemon Week is bringing a celebration of Italian flavor, cocktail culture, and creative culinary experiences to the city, highlighting one of Italy's most beloved exports: limoncello. For many, limoncello evokes memories of leisurely meals along the Amalfi Coast, where the bright yellow liqueur is often served chilled as a digestif after dinner. Yet in recent years, limoncello has found new life beyond the traditional after-dinner pour, becoming a versatile ingredient in refreshing cocktails, frozen treats, and modern aperitivo culture. At the center of the celebration is Pallini Limoncello, a family-owned Italian brand that has spent generations perfecting the art of capturing the essence of sun-ripened lemons in a bottle. Pallini's story dates back to 1875, when the family began producing spirits and liqueurs in Italy. Today, Pallin...

When most bourbon enthusiasts think about great whiskey, their minds immediately drift toward Kentucky. It's understandable. The Bluegrass State has earned its reputation as bourbon's spiritual home.  But every so often, a distillery outside Kentucky reminds us that exceptional whiskey can come from unexpected places.  Middle West Spirits has quietly become one of those distilleries. Located in Columbus, Ohio, Middle West has spent years building a reputation for producing grain-to-glass spirits with an emphasis on transparency, local agriculture, and meticulous craftsmanship. While many brands source whiskey from elsewhere and focus primarily on marketing, Middle West has invested heavily in making whiskey from the ground up. Their Michelone Reserve Straight Wheated Bourbon is a perfect example of what happens when a distillery takes its time and lets quality lead the conversation.  This isn't a bourbon trying to shock you with massive proof or extreme oak influence. In...

  Let's address the elephant in the room right away.   Yes, it's called Chicken Cock. The name inevitably gets a smile, a raised eyebrow, or a joke from nearly everyone who encounters the bottle for the first time. But behind the playful branding lies one of the most intriguing stories in American whiskey history—a story that stretches back 170 years and includes saloons, Prohibition-era smuggling, organized crime lore, and a remarkable modern revival. While many whiskey brands spend millions trying to create heritage, Chicken Cock actually has it.  And once you get past the name, you'll find a surprisingly well-crafted bourbon that delivers exactly what many enthusiasts are looking for: bold flavor, respectable proof, and a profile that remains approachable enough to enjoy neat. Chicken Cock Whiskey traces its roots back to 1856 in Paris, Kentucky, making it one of America's oldest whiskey brands.  Long before today's bourbon boom, Chicken Cock had already esta...

We've been Old Elk fans for several years, always interested in what was next for this brand.  There were a few fleeting moments where we were seeing fewer and fewer selections on the shelves of our local liquor stores, and we were puzzled.  After some investigating, we found that this non-distilling producer, founded in Fort Collins, Colorado, has sold to Middle West Spirits in Columbus, Ohio.  We were immediatley thrilled about the new ownership, as the Ohio distillery produces some fantastic bottles under their own labels.  Keep an eye out to see what becomes of this new marriage! In today's bourbon landscape, everuy brand seems to be searching for a way to stand out.  Some chas higher proofs.  Others lean heavily into barrel finishes and limited releases.  Old Elk, under the watchful eye of Master Distiller Greg Metze, took a different path.  Rather than focusing solely on what goes into the barrel, they spent years perfecting what happens aft...

Some bourbon brands are built around mash bills. Others are built around age statements. Burnt Tavern Bourbon is built around a story.  And it's a pretty good one. In a category crowded with heritage claims and frontier imagery, Burnt Tavern reaches back to an actual piece of Kentucky history. The bourbon takes its name from a legendary tavern in Garrard County, Kentucky, that was destroyed by fire not once, but twice, only to be rebuilt each time. That resilience became the inspiration behind a whiskey designed to embrace fire rather than avoid it.  The result is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon that doesn't simply rely on barrel char as a production necessity—it uses smoke, toasted oak, and secondary barrel finishing as part of its identity. The original Burnt Tavern dates back to the late 1700s when settlers established a travelers' stop along the historic Wilderness Road and Zane's Trace routes through Kentucky. The tavern became a gathering place for pioneers, merchant...

The American whiskey landscape has never been more crowded. Every year brings a wave of new brands, experimental finishes, and creative mash bills, all competing for attention on increasingly crowded shelves. Yet every so often a bottle arrives with a story that feels genuinely different.  Keeper's Heart American Pot Still Whiskey is one of those bottles. While the label may be familiar to whiskey enthusiasts who have followed Keeper's Heart since its launch, this release represents something entirely new for the Minneapolis-based distillery. Rather than blending sourced whiskey from multiple origins, American Pot Still Whiskey is the first expression distilled entirely in-house by O'Shaughnessy Distilling Co. More importantly, it serves as a statement of purpose from a distillery seeking to bridge the traditions of Irish and American whiskey making. At the center of that vision is Brian Nation, a name that carries considerable weight in the whiskey world.  Before joining O...