Kentucky, Day 1: Cincinnati

Firstly, you will be shocked, shocked to discover that drinking of alcoholic products occurred during this trip. My sober memory isn't worth a dime, so pardon the lack of meticulous detail in these posts.

Secondly, I've lived long enough in the state of Ohio to feel comfortable with saying that, "Cincinnati is basically Kentucky." That is not an insult to that city nor either state. As one drives south of Columbus, The American South reveals itself quickly. It can be heard in the accents and trucks, tasted in the food, and seen on the fire-and-brimstone billboards. And of course, Cincy is right on the border of the Bluegrass State. Now, on to the adventure!

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It is raining in Kentucky as you read this. Parts of the state have been flooding for most of 2025, as the downpour does not stop. And, much like last year's Paris adventure, I did not pack appropriately for the weather.

Luckily the sun held off the dark clouds for the first few hours of day one, as I sped (read: drove incredibly safely) to Covington, KY, because I left my house an hour later than I'd intended. One minute before the tour was to begin, I parked at New Riff Distillery, right across the bridge from Cincinnati.

Kentucky is happy to see me

In 2014, Ken Lewis sold his ownership stake in The Party Source to the employees so that he could build a distillery in their parking lot. He brought on Larry Ebersol, the retired master distiller of the late great Old Seagrams Distillery to consult, and hired Brian Sprance of Sam Adams to run the 60' x 2' massive column still. In 2024, Ken retired, leaving ownership in the hands of his daughter Mollie Lewis and Hannah Lowen.

New Riff Distillery gets its water from a natural aquifer beneath the building, the corn from Indiana, and rye from Germany. Their bourbon comes from a 65/30/5 mash bill, while the rye goes with the MGP-like 95/5 mash. Those mashes undergo a 4-day open fermentation until they've become a ~7%abv distiller's beer. The first distillation goes through that huge 18-plated column still, then the low wines are further distilled in their thumper pot still to get the desired high wines. Their #4 char barrels come from two Kentucky coopers, and each final bottled batch is fashioned from 30-35 of those barrels. They have one bonded warehouse on site, and another off-site.

The tour guide (whose name I did not record, sadly) did an excellent job handling all of my pestering very well. The group tried a bunch of their products during the tour, and I found their Bottled-In-Bond bourbon to be my favorite thanks to its unique tobacco and dark chocolate notes. Afterwards, I went upstairs to their great bar and tried three of their single malts — the 2023, 2024, and 2025 releases — and liked all of them, though the long-gone 2023 was my favorite.

New Riff was a very pleasant surprise. Their whisky feels neither rushed nor raw nor over-oaked. I'd be happy to buy a bottle of that BIB, and the 2023 single malt if I ever find it in the wild.

Afterwards, I went to The Party Source and bought one liter of 190-proof Everclear, as one does.

As soon as I got to my hotel in Cincinnati, the thunder and lightning began, which was fabulous because I had very good tickets to the Reds vs. Nationals game. Though I did not pack a jacket, nor even a sweatshirt, I did have a good umbrella. So after I walked to the stadium, I sat down in my seat, watched the storm, and waited.

Okay, I didn't sit for the full two-hour wait. I ate ballpark pizza and forced down a Yuengling tall boy. And then the rain stopped! And a great ballgame commenced, with Hunter Greene striking out 12 Nationals in six innings, leading the Reds to a 6-1 win.

The rain started again during the eighth inning and did not stop for three days.

That one time I went to Kentucky

My goal has been to take one international trip each spring, but I could tell that 2025 was going to be a bit different, even before the year began. Issues with time, money, geopolitics, and personal life converged and I was left without a plan or a plane ticket. Then, several weeks ago, a little impulsive brainstorm blossomed: Go. To. Kentucky.

By car, the Cincinnati border is less than two hours from my house, and yet after nearly nine years in Ohio, I've never made a trek farther than The Party Source. Not with my daughters' mother, nor the four women with whom I've had (limited) relationships, nor any of my whisk(e)y buddies. So my 2025 Spring Vacation would take me to Bourbon Country.

Despite nearly three decades' worth of attempts, my palate has never fully embraced bourbon. I've always found contemporary bourbon's scope of complexity to be far narrower than Scotch whisky's (and Irish whisky's and Japanese whisky's), due to the dependence on the bourbon spirit's intensive oak extraction. In fact, I find white dog and distiller's beer to be more interesting than the resulting brown oak juice.

But I have also lost my way when it comes to American whiskies. At some point I lost interest in seeking out a better bourbon, and cringed at every new Craft creation. As of early 2025, other than Indiana's MGP 95/5 ryes, I didn't know what American whiskies actually work for my taste buds. So, I wanted to find out.

Due to the nutty internal and external life I'm navigating, the one that barely leaves me time to post on this blog, I didn't plan much of this trip. There did need to be baseball games, long walks in the woods, barbecue, and, yes, bourbon distillery tours, the normal ones that anyone else can sign up for, no special behind-the-scenes treatment.

That 9-day trip concluded last weekend. I will now attempt to recap it in less than a handful of posts, and then return to my regularly(?) scheduled(?) whisky reviews. Thank you for your patience.

Three Macallan single malts from ...... Macallan

Since 2021, Macallan has released at least 47 different non-age-statement non-vintage official bottlings, as per whiskybase. In that same time period its fellow giants, Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, released 18 different non-age-statement non-vintage official bottlings combined.

That's a lot of storytelling and mystery Macallan meat. Edrington's cash cow has clearly elected to double down on NAS releases while the rest of the market has backed off from producing the same. They do it because they can. The market exists so it is filled, almost monthly.

Long time readers know I am not part of the Macallan demographic, BUT I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of last week's age-stated independently bottled Macallans. I ended that post with some parting shots, and now it's time for me to fulfill my promise.

Part of the Harmony Collection, Rich Cacao is fashioned from sherry-seasoned European and American oak. It's supposed to taste like good chocolate, and pair well with good chocolates. That link will take you to the official site that offers additional storytelling about Spain, as well as details about the whisky's box that's made with used cacao husks.

The Edition series did actually catch my eye back in the day. Costco used to carry the first two editions for prices below their SRPs, while the whisky flexed well above 40%abv. The boxes are pretty too, if you have the whole collection. Edition No. 2 was partially created by Spanish chefs (just like the Rich Cacao), and is made up of sherry puncheons, butts and refill hogsheads. Thank you, TWE, for sharing the cask detail since Edrington's marketing evades useful information about this product.

And then there's Classic Cut 2023 Edition. Part of an annual range, this edition of The Cut was of interest to me not just because it has a solid ABV, but because its producers admit that the mix includes ex-bourbon casks. Zoiks! What has become of Macallan?!

Here they are:

THREE MORE MACALLAN MATES

Macallan Rich Cacao 44.0%abv	Macallan Edition No. 2 48.2%abv	Macallan Classic Cut 2023 Edition 50.3%abv
Toasted oak, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts hit the nose right up front, while Chambord, Luxardo syrup, and turpentine stay behind.	The nose starts off slightly paint-y and floral. Semi-sweet chocolate, actual Oloroso, and brine arrive next, followed by cantaloupe and cologne.	The rawest nose of the three, and the fruitiest, with lots of apple skins and port-like berry notes. An even mix of vanilla and barley fill out the edges.
This palate starts off quite similar to the nose, with lots of toasted oak spice, dried blueberries, and something PX-ish. Sweet little oranges tingle in the background.	Toffee, semi-sweet chocolate, and sea salt start the palate. The Oloroso note appears here too, getting drier with time. Hints of marzipan and tart oranges provide additional character.	This very malty, toasty palate reminds me of digestive biscuits (always reliable), with Brazil nuts, tangy limes, and sweet oranges in the back.
It finishes floral and PXy with subtle notes of dried blueberries and sea salt.	The finish is all toffee, toasted almonds, and dried cranberries.	All the maltiness stays through the finish, with a balance of tart and sweet running through the middle.
Comments: This one is a struggle at times. I don't mind the missing chocolate, in fact the whisky's lack of chocolate may make it a better pairing with some nice slabs of the darkest stuff. Instead there's a lot of fortified wine in this mix, resulting in a sweet unbalanced thing. But the salt and oranges do help a bit.	Comments: THIS is the chocolatey one. The spot-on bottling strength helps deliver a bigger whisky than the standard range can offer. It is, of course, all-cask, making it one of countless contemporary whiskies that could have come from nearly any Scottish distillery.	Comments: Though this is probably the youngest of the three, I like it the best. The casks show lots of restraint, something one doesn't often find in this distillery's official releases. Then again, I like the old Fine Oak series more than most folks, so your mileage may vary here.
Rating: 81	Rating: 84	Rating: 85

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Another positively surprising round. I expected to dish out some 70s ratings for C-grade material, but none of the whiskies dipped to that level. Even the Rich Cacao had some good angles. There was a moment when I considered buying the 2024 Classic Cut if I could find a good deal, but then I remembered I was on my third drink, the point when retail therapy replaces rational thought for the night. But I still do not understand Macallan's pricing, as none of these Macs offer anything that cheaper age-stated whiskies could not replicate or better, especially those from a certain independent bottler.

Three Macallan single malts from Signatory Vintage

Macallan, or rather "Speyside (M)", has become hot stuff in the indie bottler scene with specific thanks to Signatory Vintage. At some point the Symington squad scored many casks from Edrington's cash cow. As of today, Signatory has released at least 45 different Speyside (M)s across three different ranges — Cask Strength Collection, 100 Proof Edition, and Small Batch Edition — in less than two years, all (or most) of which had sherry cask maturation.

This will be the first time I have reviewed a Signatory 100 Proof Edition, a range that instantly created its own rung on the single malt pricing ladder, offering age-stated (usually over 10yrs) high-strength, oft-sherried, very small batch single malts at less than 60 euros. They beat everyone to it. And the quality is there, I can attest to that.

Signatory has also expanded their Small Batch Edition range which offers single malts older than the 100 Proofers, with a less fiery ABV, at a slightly higher price.

The Cask Strength Collection continues to soar, though many of the range's whiskies have had secondary maturations.

Today I will indulge in three Speyside (M)s, one from each of these ranges. The first is an official "Things I Really Drink", a 14 year old 2010 (1st and 2nd fill oloroso butts) from the Small Batch range, a bottle I split halfsies with the Doctors Springbank. The second is a 13yo (1st and refill oloroso butts) from the 100 Proof Edition range. And the third, an 18 year old first-fill oloroso butt, comes from the classic Cask Strength Collection.

I probably have not tried three Macallans in one night in nearly 15 years. Things were different then.

THREE MACALLAN MATES

Speyside (M) 14-year-old 2010 Signatory Small Batch #16 48.2%abv	Speyside (M) 13-year-old 2011 Signatory 100 Proof #27 57.1%abv	Speyside (M) 18-year-old 2005 Signatory Cask Strength cask DRU17/A106#5 57.7%abv
The nose offers mint, chocolate, and walnuts up top; dried cherries, dried raspberries, and a hint of dunnage underneath. It gets more milk chocolatey with time. It picks up more dunnage funk once diluted to 43%abv. Dark chocolate and coal mix with dried raspberries and vanilla bean.	The nose, very different than the 14's, dishes out carob, dried blueberries, baklava, cherry bubblegum, toffee pudding, and a whiff of gunpowder. The gunpowder expands once the whisky is dropped to 43%abv. The nose gets more leathery, briny, and meaty.	The deepest nose of the three. Raw cocoa, asphalt, dried cherries, and black currant jam up front, freshly polished leather shoes in the middle, toffee pudding in the back. At 43%abv, it feels darker (if that makes sense) with dunnage, steel wool, pine sap, and orange oil.
This palate goes a direction different than the nose. Savory dried herbs, metal, and cocoa appear first, followed bitterer herbs, toasty oak, dusty smoke. At 43%abv mixed nuts take over, followed by fresher berries and a touch of soot.	No gunpowder on the neat palate. It's actually quite plummy at first, but then shifts gears: tobacco, raw walnut, raw almonds, salt, pepper, and very dry sherry. Diluted to 43%abv, the whisky takes on a gentle honeyed sweetness, with Cow Tales candy and a hint of gunpowder.	Loads of tobacco, metal, and earth arrive in the palate first, followed by blood oranges, dried leaves, and a wormwood bitterness. This palate also gets sweeter at 43%abv, with banana pudding, sugar cookies, toffee pudding, and mint leaf.
The finish follows the un-sweet path with raw walnuts, dried herbs, and tart limes. When dropped to 43%abv, the whisky gets slightly sweeter, with fresh berries being balanced out with salt and pepper.	Raw nuts, salt, pepper, and that very dry sherry finish it off. It switches to honey, salt, and ash once diluted to 50%abv.	It finishes smoky, leafy, earthy, with raw walnuts and herbal bitterness. The 43%abv finish matches the palate, then adds a vibrant peppery zing.
Comments: I am enjoying my 350mL! The whisky has the right bottling strength, though slight dilution doesn't hurt a thing. The prettier nose and grittier palate offer a great contrast, with neither besting the other. Gimme a little dunnage and soot in my Macallan anytime.	Comments: Slightly dirty, slightly wild, with an impressive dryness (when neat) this Macallan has more fight to it than Edrington would ever allow in their standard releases. As noted above, this reads like the cask was seasoned with something closer to Manzanilla than Oloroso, which is a good thing.	Comments: It's a heavy one, a beast that only shows its sensitive side once doused with water. The surprising earthiness gives the neat finish some Kilkerran vibes. The fruits' cameo appearances push this whisky to the big 9-0.
Rating: 86	Rating: 87	Rating: 90 (when neat)

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Ignoring the fact that one could have bought all three of these terrific bottles together for less than the price of one bottle of the official 18......actually, I can't ignore that. It's crazy crazy crazy crazy. Macallan fans, WTF? Why do you put up with Edrington's showily bloated pricing, for heavily-diluted massive-batched whisky, may I add? You know what, never mind. I'm going to do a three-Macallan-OB Taste Off next, just to see where it takes me.

Dalwhinnie 30 year old 1989 Diageo Special Releases 2020

I'm not sure how many more Dalwhinnie reviews are possible, so I'm happy to have the opportunity to include at least one oldie from that distillery on this site.

Newer readers may not realize this, but Diageo's "Special Releases" were once actually special, not ten year old whatsits in wine casks. Both the 2019 and 2020 sets included a 30-year-old 'Whinnie. Today's 2020 release is the more naked of the two, having lived in only refill hoggies. Gimme gimme gimme.

Distillery: Dalwhinnie

Ownership: Diageo
Region: Highlands (Central-ish)

Age: at least 30 years (1989-2020)

Maturation: refill American oak hogsheads

Outturn: 6978 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 51.9%

Chillfiltered? No

e150a added? No
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

Surprise! This isn't your average Dalwhinnie nose. It's chalky and lightly earthy, with caramel, shortbread biscuits, and a hint of butterscotch. Then, baked bananas and grilled pears. A mix of lemon cake and clove cigarettes appears after 45 minutes of air. The palate arrives fruitier than the nose, with guava, limes, and canned peaches. Hints of vanilla and dusty smoke drift through the background. Lightly sweet and lightly bitter, the finish starts with lemon curd, then tilts towards lemon juice after some time.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or ¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Lemon cake, shortbread biscuits, dandelions, and strawberry pie filling on the nose. The sweeter and tangier palate narrows a bit, but adds passion fruit to the guava. The tart and sweet finish matches the palate.

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This spirit is different than contemporary Dalwhinnie, and I prefer it. Both wilder and more varied, it delivers a fuller and more interesting drinking experience. Though this 30yo was not a home run, I wanted more of it because there's more "there" there. (Excellent sentence, man.) And though I don't make outright recommendations on this site, I do encourage anyone with a bottle of old Dalwhinnie (except for the 15) to open it up and indulge in a style that doesn't exist anymore.

Availability - Secondary market?

Pricing - ???
Rating - 88

Dalwhinnie Distillery Exclusive, batch 1

Because the Buchanan and/or Black & White blends have always been popular somewhere on this blue Earth, Diageo (DCL, SMD, UD, etc.) has very rarely released Dalwhinnie casks into the blender/independent marketplace. The conglomerate has also released very few cask strength versions or unique age-stated bottlings of the Cairngorms-adjacent distillery. As a result, official NAS malts are mostly what curious drinkers have had access to.

Today, I'm going to try Batch #1 of Dalwhinnie's NAS Distillery Exclusive series, bottled in 2022. I don't know much more about it, other than it was bottled in a very non-Diageo 48%abv/NC/NCF format. The 15yo will serve as its drinking partner.

Distillery: Dalwhinnie

Ownership: Diageo
Region: Highlands (Central-ish)

Age: ???

Maturation: ???
Bottling year: 2022

Outturn: 7500 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 48%

Chillfiltered? No

e150a added? No
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

The nose starts with flowers by the ocean, apricot jam, and peach gummy bears. It picks up smaller notes of barley and white chocolate with time. The lightly sweet, but very tangy palate leads with apples and limes up front. Roses, apricot jam, and orange marmalade soak into the midground, while ginger beer stays in the back. It finishes simply with limes, apricots, and ginger beer.

DILUTED to ~40%abv, or 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

There's a gentler mix of peach skins, roses, and white chocolate on the nose, with hints of raspberry jam and caramel in the background. The palate matches the nose well with roses and fresh berries in the first sip, fresh ginger, lemon juice, and caramel in later sips. It finishes sweetly with ginger beer and lemon candy.

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Another very pretty Dalwhinnie. While I appreciate its better presentation, this exclusive batch reads simpler and softer than the current 15-year-old. It's a friendly, casual pour that can take a few drops of water, if desired. It's definitely something that would appeal to a distillery tourist who wants something "smooth". Contemporary Dalwhinnie single malt is indeed a gentle spirit.

Availability - Sold out

Pricing - allegedly £95 in 2022
Rating - 83

Dalwhinnie 15 year old (1980s) versus Dalwhinnie 15 year old (2024)

After the distillery's founding in 1897, Dalwhinnie passed through the hands of five different ownership groups over its first 29 years, ultimately landing in DCL's (proto-Diageo's) large portfolio where it has since served as an ingredient of the Buchanan and Black & White blends.

Dalwhinnie 15-year-old was one of Diageo's original Classic Malts, entering the market in the 1980s. Over one million Dalwhinnie 15yo bottles are sold each year, often landing it among Diageo's top 5 best-selling single malts. It was also one of my first regular single malts (~20 years ago) because Trader Joe's used to sling it for $39.99!

Before I opened this bottle a couple months ago, more than a decade had passed since I'd last tasted the 15. The first thing I noticed was how easily the Dalwhinnie from my new bottle drank. Yes, the whisky had been chillfiltered and diluted down to 43%abv, but its style also matched the malt's advertised slogan, "The Gentle Spirit". Two years prior, I'd also taken part in a bottle split of the original 15yo bottling from the 1980s. It is now time to match them up.

A quick note before the Taste Off commences: These two Dalwhinnie 15s are not the same spirit. The distillery's worm tub and condensers were replaced in 1986, then the distillery went through further updates six years later. On-site maltings were shut down in 1968, so the '80s version may include some of that previous era's spirit as well.

A Dalwhinnie Duo

Dalwhinnie 15 year old bottled in the 1980s 40%abv	Dalwhinnie 15 year old bottled in 2024 43%abv
The nose begins with wet old oak and wet roots. Maybe a funky dunnage hint too. Pencil shavings, limes, and mint leaf emerge after about a half hour.	The nose starts off very doughy with soft notes of saline, anise, and orange peel, adding Midori liqueur, roses, dandelions, and lemon candy after some time in the glass.
A odd mix of bitter wet cardboard and stout arrives first in the palate, followed by vanilla, brown sugar, sawdust, dusty smoke, and a hint of lemon.	First up in the palate: roasted barley, roasted coffee beans, and semi-sweet chocolate. A bold sweet orange note slowly morphs into bitter peels after a while.
It finishes briefly with iron, sawdust, and brown sugar.	A cooling sensation spreads across one's tongue in the finish, bringing with it sweet and tart oranges and a touch of mocha.
Comments: This may have had some Old Bottle action affecting it. Or United Distillers had a whole bunch of funky musty casks in the Dalwhinnie warehouse, 40ish years ago. No matter the reason, this '80s single malt reads like a '60s/'70s cheap blend. That's not a complete insult since '60s/'70s cheap blends are better than many top shelf blends today.	Comments: Sitting down and focusing on this whisky, I find it better than I'd expected. This bottle has served as my casual single malt for the past two or three months, pleasant but mostly forgettable. But now the nose has a very pretty arrival, and it doesn't die out after an hour in the glass. The presentation does the palate a disservice, likely choking off angles and layers, but the flavors that remain are comfy.
Rating: 73	Rating: 84

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Chillfiltration and dilution do not help either of these Dalwhinnies, but the newer bottling weathers it much better. Is that because the liquid is fresher in the newer bottle, or do the extra 3 points of alcohol help? A little from column A and a little from column B, most likely. The 1980s version is also much darker than the new one, and that certainly ain't due to first-fill sherry casks. In a possibly unpopular move, I'm going to say the newer version is constructed better than the older one. Please forgive me.