Videos

We started The Practical Still podcast about 18 months ago with the premise that there are wonderful bottles of bourbon, rye, and single malt whiskeys waiting for us on shelves any day of the week. We don't need to chase unicorn bottles, camp out in parking lots, or pay inflated…

Open the Bottle - Not Whiskey: Christian Brothers Sacred Bond Brandy, Bottled In Bond. I don't drink much brandy and certainly don't know much about it. But why should that stop me from opening up a bottle and sharing my initial reactions to it? It shouldn't and it didn't. Most…

Tasting whiskey blind, that is without knowing what sort of bourbon, rye, or scotch whisky you're drinking, is the only way to remove the bias and know for sure if you like a whiskey or if you've just been caught up in the hype. I think that's right but even…

Back to the Bottle - Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Bottled at 94 proof, this is the spicier sibling of the Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon, and, like that bourbon, it's a solid, enjoyable sipper that does a decent job in an Old Fashioned cocktail. I wasn't sure about…

Open the Bottle - Russell's Reserve 10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey This is basically 90 proof, 10-year-old Wild Turkey bourbon with the extra love that Russell's Reserve commands, and I like it! I bought this bottle a couple of years ago for less than $20, which won't happen…

Back to the Bottle - George Dickel 15-year-old Single Barrel Tennessee Whisky It's no secret that George Dickel produced whisky is a favorite of ours at The Practical Still. Well-aged Dickel is particularly enjoyable IF you are a fan of that funky Dickel flavor profile as we are. A 15…

Alison Tetrick @amtetrick is a cowgirl, a scientist, a storyteller, and a professional cyclist. It turns out she's also a whiskey fan and even carries a flask of bourbon with her in gravel races like Unbound Gravel in Kansas. That's where Dan @browntiedan caught up with Alison and her partner…

Open the Bottle - Redbreast12 year old Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Bottled at 40% ABV, this Irish whiskey might not be given a chance by many American whiskey drinkers due to the low proof. That is unfortunate because this single pot still Irish whiskey is just delicious and approachable…

Back to the Bottle - Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey I really thought I'd like this one more than I do. It's not bad at all but it certainly isn't exciting. I think at the price and proof point, I'd stick to wheated bourbons such as Larceny or even…

Back to the Bottle - Wild Turkey Master's Keep Cornerstone Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey These special releases from Wild Turkey don't seem to get much love outside of hardcore Wild Turkey fans. I haven't had them all - only because I haven't been able to find them all - but…

Behind the Scenes - How some of these whiskey videos come to be! It's not so complicated but it does take time to set up all the gear and arrange the set so I try to record a handful of Open the Bottle and Back to Bottle reaction videos each…

Open the Bottle - Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Store Pick from Hazel's Beverage World in Boulder, Colorado. I've always wanted to try this bourbon as one of the more well-known takes on moving mature whiskey into a new barrel for additional aging. Is that finishing or…

Dan and I always say that we don't have whiskey collections. We just have bottles of whiskey we haven't opened yet. The reality is that we do have quite a few bottles of bourbon lying around regardless of what we call it. So, do we really need so many if…

Open the Bottle - Russell's Reserve 13-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey bottled at barrel proof of 114.8 and non-chill filtered. I think Wild Turkey makes some of the most enjoyable whiskey both in their Wild Turkey bourbons and ryes and in their Russell's Reserve bourbon and rye whiskey expressions. This…

My reaction to Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey after it's been open for a while. This is one of those bottles that folks who work in liquor stores get tired of talking about. It went from being stacked on shelves years ago at $25 to impossible to find and being…

Back to the Bottle - Four Roses Small Batch Select Bourbon Whiskey 104 proof, non-chill filtered, and made up of six of the ten bourbon recipes from Four Roses, this is a delicious and readily available whiskey that isn't overpriced. In my opinion, this is one of the best bottles…

Open the Bottle - George Dickel 8-year-old Bourbon Whisky From one of the biggest names in Tennessee whisky and one of the biggest names that often isn't named but we know the name anyway in sourced whisky comes a bourbon whisky. Not just a bourbon but an 8 year, age-stated…

Back to the Bottle - Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey How about just a solid, 100 proof straight rye whiskey that can be bought nearly anywhere in the country for less than $30? Retail is higher but this Knob Creek Rye whiskey always seems to be on sale. I…

Open the Bottle - Baker's 7-year-old Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Until recently, Baker's was part of Jim Beam's Small Batch Bourbon Collection, invented by Booker Noe back in the 1980s. Now, both Baker's 7 and Baker's 13 are single barrel offerings and the ages can vary a bit…

Open the Bottle - Elijah Craig 18-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Is 18 years too long for bourbon to stay in a barrel? In the case of this Elijah Craig, no it is not. This is delicious bourbon whiskey! We've never had a chance to taste this whiskey and, even…

Back to the Bottle - Fireside Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel Club Pick This was part of a group of club pick bottles where the head of the club asked us to just 'trust him' as they weren't your normal private picks. This Fireside is produced by Mile High Spirits…

Open the Bottle - Russell's Reserve 6-year-old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Once again, I'm putting my Wild Turkey appreciation on display with this 6-year-old Russell's rye. This bottle was also included in a recent attempt to determine if I could tell Wild Turkey 101 rye whiskey, this Russell's Reserve 6…

Back to the Bottle - Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey - I can never figure out why I don't always have a bottle of this open on my bar and I will never understand why every bourbon drinker doesn't either. It's nothing fancy. The proof is…

Shopping for whiskey can be very different depending on where you are. The biggest difference you'll see is when states where the government controls retail sales, known as 'control states'. ABC stores in those states are the primary retail outlet and while they can still be package stores in some…