Must Try

High West Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

High West Cask Strength
A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys
Batch No: 25K14

58.5% ABV
$70
Website
High West Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey
We would like to thank High West Whiskey and lippe taylor for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

High West Distillery is toasting to the start of the New Year (2026) with the release of Cask Strength, a new limited-edition blend of straight bourbon whiskeys. Bold yet approachable, this release welcomes both seasoned whiskey enthusiasts and curious newcomers, and joins High West’s portfolio of fan-favorite core expressions. Available nationwide in limited quantities, Cask Strength can also be purchased at the High West Saloon and via the High West website beginning January 12th, 2026.

The release arrives at a milestone moment for High West, following Distilling Director Isaac Winter’s Master Distiller Certification – a highly respected distinction earned through a rigorous process and reflective of decades-old traditions in American whiskey-making. On Cask Strength, Isaac shares:

“This was a really fun blend to put together. Building on our high-rye blending philosophy, this Cask Strength expression uses our Bourye blending approach to precisely balance rye-driven spice with malted barley richness, resulting in layered complexity and a bold, lasting presence that keeps you coming back.”

This small-batch bourbon is composed of straight bourbons aged between 6 and 20 years, finished in new, charred American white oak barrels to deliver remarkable balance, complexity, and depth. Some details about the liquid are below:

Mash Bills:
60% Corn, 40% Malted Barley – Kentucky
60% Corn, 40% Rye – Kentucky
75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley – Indiana
78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley – Kentucky
84% Corn, 8% Rye, 8% Malted Barley – Tennessee

On the Nose: Butter-poached green apples, candied Meyer lemons, cornbread drizzled with honey, brioche toast points, crushed walnuts, allspice, sarsaparilla, fresh hay, new wooden porch swing
Tasting Notes: Sweet plantains with cinnamon, dried apricots, peach crumble, homemade toffee, Earl Grey Crème tea, nutmeg, rose, hickory, seasoned oak.
Finish: Kumquat, white chocolate, velvety spice.

Availability: National Limited Release
Filtration: Non-Chill Filtered

What Gary Says

Nose: Salted caramel, toffee, oak, cinnamon, cocoa, cloves, honey and lemon zest.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel with vanilla, fudge, cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, pepper, mixed nuts and oak.
Finish: Moderately long with caramel, baking spices and pepper.
Comments: This is a really lovely offering from the fine folks at High West. While non-age stated, appreciate sharing the details of the mash bills (and states of distillation). While I’m curious about the age, what matters most to me is what’s in the glass – and this is a delightful dram. Each time I sat down with it, I found something new I enjoyed about it.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Delord Armagnac 25 Years

/ / Other Spirits, Review / ,

Delord Armagnac 25 Years

40% ABV
$80-$100
Website
Delord Bas Armagnac 25 Years

What the Distillery Says

Armagnac 25 years
Elegant on the nose, with its peppery and spicy notes, it is on the palate that it reveals all its complexity.

What Gary Says

Nose: Coffee, cocoa butter, caramel, vanilla, allspice, clove, bit of ginger and grapefruit.
Palate: Dried fruit with grapes, raisins, prunes, apricots, grapefruit and sultanas, citrus zest, honey and a hint of caramel.
Finish: Moderately long, drying with tobacco, oak, walnuts and fading fruit notes.
Comments:  Similar to brandy – not super familiar with Armagnac. But as a whisk(e)y drinker, I found this to have a lot of complexity for 40% ABV, and a solid flavor intensity. 25 years I’m sure brings that kind of complexity to the party, and doesn’t break the bank either. Just nosing and sipping this neatly in my Glencairn left me quite content.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Jacoulot Petit Brandy

/ / Other Spirits, Review /

Jacoulot Petit Brandy
Brandy de Bourgogne

45% ABV
$35
Website
Jacoulot le Petit Brandy

What the Distillery Says

Jacoulot, located in Romanèche-Thorins, a village in the heart of France’s Burgundy region, is a haute couture distillery that has been transforming the region’s signature pinot noir grapes into rich, complex brandies since 1891. The Jacoulot trademark is a distinctive and unique combination of aromatic complexity, finesse, and elegance achieved by distilling and aging hyper-local fruit spirits in their historic cellar, notable for its consistently cool and humid temperature. Jacoulot rose to fame in the bouchons of Lyon for producing the region’s finest grape-based eau de vie – their iconic L’Authentique Marc de Bourgogne.

Philippe Vançon and Anne Pascal, the current owners and team behind Jacoulot, have taken this historic house to new heights with an intense focus on quality, utilizing the bounty of local ingredients native to the Burgundy and Rhône regions. They are true craftspeople, meticulous in their production methods and thoughtful innovations, consistently delivering exquisite, handcrafted brandies from one of the great viticultural and gastronomic regions of the world.

Production – Petit Brandy is a completely fresh and innovative take on Jacoulot’s classic French grape spirits, distilled exclusively from Burgundian pinot noir. Petit Brandy, a blend of equal parts three-year-old Marc and three-year-old Fine, is one of the first brandies to merge both pomace and wine distillates, highlighting the best attributes and subtleties of both styles. The base eaux de vie are single-distilled in Jacoulot’s mobile alembic still, then aged in 228L, 600L, and 700L French oak barrels in their cool, humid cellar. The Marc and Fine are then married into old 10,000L French barrels before being bottled at 45% ABV, ideal for both sipping and mixing. Jacoulot Petit Brandy captures the full spectrum of the Pinot Noir grape, creating a completely new, deliciously complex brandy profile.

Tasting Notes – Aromatic, integrated notes of milk chocolate, coffee, red plums, golden raisins, and cinnamon. The palate is lush and chewy, with a long, elegant finish.

Usage Notes – Use in brandy-based classics such as a French 75, Sazerac, or Champs-Élysees for dynamic, world-class cocktails with a notably Burgundian character.

  • Distilled pinot noir pomace and wine from Côte de Beaune
  • Single-distilled in a mobile alembic still
  • Blend of brandies aged 3-4 years in 228L barriques and 600-700L demi-muids
  • Notes of milk chocolate, coffee, red plums, golden raisins, and cinnamon
  • Use in classic brandy-based cocktails for an unmistakable pinot noir elegance

What Gary Says

Nose: Rich, milk chocolate, raisins, honey, citrus, bit of a funk I can’t quite put my finger on.
Palate: Honey with candied orange, lemon, raisins, grapefruit.
Finish:  Moderate in length with honey and vanilla.
Comments:  Wow, not being that familiar with brandy I wasn’t sure what to expect – but this surprised me! The honey is pretty heavy, in fact this reminds me a bit of a honey liqueur (not QUITE that honey intensive, but close). Fruit forward which I expected, but the richness of the nose surprised me as well. A bit of water brings out some floral and pineapple notes on the nose. This really shines as an aperitif; think summer orchard stroll in a glass. Nicely balanced and nuanced, at least to me. Again, someone with a lot of brandy experience, but I really enjoyed just sipping this one neat.

Rating: Must Try

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Foursquare Master Series Edition No. 1 Rum

/ / Other Spirits, Review / ,

Foursquare Master Series Edition No. 1 Rum
Single Blended Rum

62% ABV
$150-$400 (auction only)
Website
Foursquare Master Series Edition No. 1

What the Bottle Says

Foursquare Rum Distillery
Master Series Edition No 1
Single Blended Rum | Fine Barbados Rum
Private Cask Selection | Concierge Total Wine
Aged 12 Years, MMXX Release
Maturation: Ex-Bourbon & Ex-Sherry
62% Alc./Vol.
Distilled, matured and bottled at Foursquare Rum Distillery, Barbados

What Gary Says

Nose:  Banana, charred oak, coconut, tobacco, vanilla and tahini.
Palate:  Thick mouthfeel with dark chocolate, chili oil, caramelized banana, tobacco, vanilla, cinnamon and citrus zest.
Finish:  Long, warm, syrupy, spicy with chocolate, honey and banana.
Comments:  Absolutely not a rum expert, or even afficionado (but am blessed to have friends who gift me samples of lovely things like this, so want to share my thoughts for any who might give a damn). This is a really nice rum! A tad hot on the nose, but intense flavor. A bit of water doesn’t hurt it, and brings out more coconut on the nose while tamping the heat on the palate and bringing some caramel to the party (and while it’s hard to imagine, made the mouthfeel even thicker than it already was). Not sure what this sold for initially, but have seen auction prices ranging from just over $150 (not including shipping/hammer fees) to closer to $400.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Glenfarclas 25 Year Old London Edition Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

Glenfarclas 25 Year Old London Edition Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

50.5% ABV
$400
Website
Glenfarclas 25 Yr Old London Edition The Whiskey Exchange Exclusive

What the Retailer Says

Made at Glenfarclas distillery and matured in oloroso sherry casks for a quarter of a century before being bottled to celebrate The Whisky Exchange’s 20th Anniversary. Aromas of meadow flowers, baked apples, barley sugar and buttery brioche fill the nose, developing into earthy coffee and sweet raisins. The palate opens with notes of fruit cake, salted caramel and rich oak, developing buttery pastry, raisins and fruity espresso flavours and dry waxiness.

This bottle features a specially-created label, designed by our creative director Raj Chavda to pay tribute to London’s vibrant hospitality industry.

Tasting Notes (courtesy of Billy Abbott, The Whisky Exchange)
Nose: Meadow flowers and barley sugar sit on top of a pile of sultanas and baked apples. Fragrant wax-polished oak follows, with freshly scraped vanilla pods and a touch of pine sap. Buttered brioche and fruit loaf notes develop along with mixed peel and a hint of cream. Hiding underneath is a bed of Eccles-cake raisins and earthy ground coffee.
Palate: Rich and oily, with well-fruited sponge cake leading to salted caramel and old oak tables. Singed, buttered toast and buttery pastry are wrapped around fruity espresso and raisins. Dried apple rings liberally spread with blackcurrant jam and sprinkled with brown sugar sit in the middle. Behind everything is an elegant waxiness and freshly polished pine boards.
Finish: Lingering sweet spice, light char, sultanas and a touch of hay and honeysuckle.
Comment: An elegant Glenfarclas. The sherry punch of the regular 25 year old is dialled back to reveal orchard fruit as well as a layer of rich dried vine fruit and peel. Espresso notes run through the middle, making sure things don’t get too sweet and reminding us that this came from an oloroso cask.

What Gary Says

Nose: Raisins, plums, leather, figs, orange peel, floral notes with a hint of sulfur in the back.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel with fruit cake, caramel, raisins, bits of dark chocolate, honey, and a hint of gingerbread.
Finish: Long and syrupy with dates, sherry and chocolate.
Comments: I had the pleasure of doing a side-by-side tasting of this with the retail Glenfarclas 25 Year (43% ABV), and this was hands down a better whisky. Much darker in the glass, with a note that was deeper and richer. That 7.5% ABV does quite a lot! There was a resemblence, but this was taking the Glenfarclas 25 Year and turning the volume to 11. Just absolutely delicious! The fine folks at the Whiskey Exchange are good at this, as this is my favorite Glenfarclas to date, followed by their exclusive 15 year offering that’s not longer available.

Rating: Must Try

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