Originally Posted by
exerda
Sorry for multi-responses, but I just today, while sipping a couple of bourbons, realized, "Hey, there must be a DiningBuzz thread on bourbon
Hey, I rather like some of the High West stuff, for example, and they don't distill much (if any) of their spirits yet. But I'm drinking their American Prairie Reserve right now, which is one of my favorite whiskeys, and I love their Midwinter's Dram rye, too.
The difference is that high west doesn't try to concot some sort of cockamamie bull story about where their whiskey comes from. Templeton was the worst offenders. High west is very upfront about their sourcing. Yes most rye comes LDIbut at least high west is doing something interesting with the rye they get, whether blending or finishing it. They just re released their Bourye (bourbon rye blend) they I would recommend getting. I just had the good fortune of trying their Rocky Mountain 21 yo rye a couple weeks ago. It was quite good. And I do believe they are aging some of their own product.
Another bottler/distiller to look at is smooth ambler out of WV. Also sourcing a lot of stuff, both bourbon and rye but upfront about it. And it's good stuff at a reasonable price point. They got their own product that I think is three years young right now. It's aging quite nicely.
Fdw