Review: Jefferson’s Reserve Oklahoma Barrel

Jefferson’s is a non-distiller producer (NDP) of bourbon. The company does not own a distillery, but buys aged bourbon from other producers and then blends the various barrels to produce a consistent product. “The Reserve is the perfect marriage of four different recipes of bourbon, one of which is an elder statesman. The result is […]

Review: Four Roses Small Batch

Yeah, so all the same stuff I already said about Four Roses in my other review…here. Except that Small Batch is a blend of four different select bourbons. Two of the bourbons are comprised of a mash of 60% corn, 35% rye and 5% malted barley (the ‘B’ mash bill), while the other two bourbons […]

Review: Jefferson’s Reserve Groth Reserve Cask Finish

One of the first “nicer” bottles of wine that my wife and I shared after we got out of school and actually had some actual disposable income was a 2004 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon. I had high hopes for this Groth Cask Finished bourbon because of that and I was not disappointed. This bottle is batch #3, […]

Review: Willett Pot Still Reserve

We were lucky enough to actually go to the Willett Distillery last summer, which was June 2014. We grabbed this bottle, Johnny Drum Private Stock, and Pure Kentucky, and out of trio, the Pot Still is the only one left. Sad face. Oh, and my pot still t-shirt! Hooray for that! I definitely recommend vacations […]

Review: Four Roses Single Barrel

Four Roses has ten different recipes, yielding three finished products; yellow label, Small Batch, and Single Barrel, with the occasional limited edition. While most distilleries age bourbon in warehouses that are many stories high, Four Roses ages its bourbon in a one-story warehouse to ensure that each barrel is aged in a similar environment. Interesting […]

Review: Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit is a single barrel bourbon, and according to some very serious researching, Jimmy Russell personally selects barrels that have been aging for about nine years to be bottled as this expression. Since this is bottled from a single barrel as opposed to a batch of barrels, each bottle has the ability […]

Review: Stagg Jr.

Barrels and Mash has yet to see a 5/5 review (whiskey or beer), but that’s because the site didn’t exist yet when I tried the 2013 George T. Stagg. That bourbon had it all, high proof, straight from the barrel, complexity, and just an intangible character that made it so amazing I understand why it’s one […]

Review: Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Single Barrel Oklahoma #5

As I’ve started writing about bourbon and reading more and more posts and comment threads I’ve noticed an odd trend: people love to talk shit on Woodford Reserve. I don’t know why, I’ve always found Woodford to be a solid bourbon, is it just because it’s so popular which makes it “not cool” to like, or do […]

Review: Poor Man’s Pappy

When I started up this site a couple of months ago home vatting was near the top of the list of things to experiment with and write about. Well, I have done a terrible job so far of following through on it, but that’s ok, because there are awesome people out there like the nice […]

Review: Blanton’s Single Barrel

Blanton’s was one of the first bourbons I really wanted but had a hard time finding. It just so happened that the time that I began wanting it was when it became hard to find. Luckily for everyone Blanton’s has become easier to find again since Buffalo Trace increased production more than ten years ago. […]