Whiskey Under 50

We came to the realization that we haven't covered a lot of the more generic "corporate" whiskey on this podcast, so we decided to change that! On this episode we dive into Basil Hayden, Buffalo Trace, Ezra Brooks 99, and Old Forester 100. We sip them, we talk about them, we compare them, and we rate them -- all in one episode! We do the hard work, so you don't have to. Cheers! 

Lots going on in this episode! Amy and Jonathan take a birthday vacation to Costa Rica where they bring back two rums from distiller Ron Centenario, a bottle of blended Diplomatico rum, and a bottle of local fire water they called Cacique. Then to celebrate the birthday Whiskey Under 50 style we pop open a bottle of Revival Rye from High Wire Distilling that is distilled from 100% un-malted Abruzzi rye grown in the Carolinas. Cheers! 

Have you tried the Kirkland Signature premixed Old Fashioned? What about the Bulleit premixed Old Fashioned? In this episode we try them side by side and tackle a problem that had plagued humans since the creation of whiskey - is it worth it to buy a premixed Old Fashioned or should you just make your own?Remember to like and comment!Cheers everyone! 

Nathan takes a trip down to the South Carolina Lowcountry and brings back Hi-Wire Distilling's Jimmy Red which is a 100% red corn bourbon and the Burnt Church Distillery Bluffton Carolina Gold Rice whiskey. If you happen to be down in the area - check them out! Both are super unique in their own way and not something typically found in today's whiskey world. Don't forget to like and comment! Cheers!

This episode we taste two great Whiskey Under 50 picks -- the Green River Wheated Bourbon and the newly released Bardstown Bottled in Bond. Both swing high above their price point but give us a listen to hear what we think. We also discuss the important topic of how many ingredients make a cocktail. If you disagree with our conclusions drop us an email.One final item -- Give us some stars and a comment. We really appreciate hearing from you, and it lets us know you enjoy the show! Cheers!

Amy escaped the rain and cold of the Pacific Northwest and jetted off for the sunny Palm Desert. While there basking in the sun and hitting the links she decides she needs to buy a bottle of Laphroaig Oak Select scotch whisky and graciously brings it home for us to try. Luckily, we just happen to have some Laphroaig 10 Year sitting around to try it up against. Give us a listen, comment, and like.Cheers! 

Our friend Joe took a trip to Maui and brought back a new whiskey from Kupu Spirits to share around. This then prompted Amy and Jonathan to bring over the Paniolo whiskey from Hali'imaile Distilling and the whiskey-adjacent spirit 12th Hawaiian Distillers Reserve that they acquired in Hawaii to complete our impromptu luau party. Come drink with us as we party Hawaiian style! Like / comment / leave us a reviewCheers!Find us at whiskeyunder50.com 

Did you know Elijah Craig recently came out with a toasted rye? Neither did we until Nathan stumbled upon it at our local bottle shop. We compare it to Elijah Craig's other rye offering - the straight rye. But wait, there's more! At the end of the episode Nathan break's out a special bottle he picked up for an astonishingly cheap price. Like, listen, and follow us for more! www.whiskeyunder50.comCheers! 

Happy New Year! We're kicking off the new year by sampling a couple rye whiskies from Owensboro Kentucky, or more specifically Green River Distilling. First up is the self-titled drink Green River Rye followed by Nathan's new favorite distillery Wheel Horse. Both are 95/5 straight ryes and both are sour mash, but do they taste the same? Listen to find out, and like and subscribe because we're awesome.Cheers! 

What whiskey would you bring to share at a Christmas or holiday party? We pick out what we would bring and talk about why we selected them. The three of us couldn't be more different in our picks. Jonathan goes for the middle-of-the-road crowd pleaser and brings some Buffalo Trace, Nathan made the correct decision (as per usual) and brings an obscure Bhakta 1928, and Amy brings a Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 year that only people super into peaty Scotch whisky would enjoy. We at Whiskey Under 50 hope you are able to get out there and try some new whiskey or whisky this holiday season. Cheers! 

With Amy's never-ending quest to find a good Scotch for less than $50 she gets talked into buying an Isle of Skye 12 year. Thinking it was peaty, and needing something to compare it to, we grabbed a Compass Box Peat Monster off the shelf. The head-to-head comparison didn't really go as planned but either way we got to drink some whisky, so it can't all be bad. Slainte! 

What better whiskey to celebrate with on Thanksgiving than Wild Turkey? It's like it was made for that specific US holiday. This year Wild Turkey has released a 70th anniversary whiskey to commemorate Jimmy Russell's 70th year at the company. See how that 70th anniversary edition stacks up against the companies Longbranch release in this week's episode. 

You ever purchase bottles on vacation that you've never tried before and know very little about? That's this episode. While in Nashville we both purchased bottles that we hadn't tasted before and only heard about -- the Blue Note Uncut and the Peg Leg Porker 8 year. We taste them both to see if they are worth the hunt and the price. Also, Amy and Jonathan surprise Nathan with a hard-to-find Leiper's Fork Rye bottle. 

The enigmatic trio of Whiskey Under 50 is back for a new whiskey drinking season and to kick it off they head to Nashville Tennessee to take on some distillery tastings. We hit Dickel (Cascade Hollow), Nearest Green, Corsair, Nelson's Green Brier, and Leipers Fork. And wouldn't you know, we bring some bottle's back to share with y'all. 

In our 5th season finale, Amy and Jonathan fly all the way to Chicago just for a Bushmills whisky tasting - and they don't bring any Bushmills back for me! So instead, we drink some Koval Oat, Green River Rye, and New Riff that they did bring back. Listen as they regale us about their time in the Windy City and we sample our way through some whiskey.Talk to you all again when that fall whiskey weather hits. Cheers!  

It's Valentine's Day at Whiskey Under 50 and to celebrate we chose 3 whiskies we think our significant other should be buy us, that isn't the Wee Beastie. This week we drink the Pikesville Rye, the Michters Rye, and the Woodford Wheat. All solid choices for that special someone - or just get them for yourself - we won't judge.  Cheers! 

What happens when you take two popular brands of Scotch whisky and put them in a taste-off against each other? You end up with some interesting opinions on these two Scottish staples. And try a Penicillin cocktail - it's delicious. Cheers! 

This week we battle a couple smaller and unknown rye whiskies -- the Widow Jane Oak and Apple Rye from NY and the Limousin Rye from Wisconsin. Does Amy's presumed extensive knowledge of apples come into play? Only the listeners will know. 

This week Whiskey Under 50 brings on special guest Aaron to teach us all about the fantastic world of what makes Tiki, Tiki. Join us on this journey as we sample a Tiki cocktail and do a bit of rum tasting.  Tiki - a harpoon thrown at the ordinary Cheers! 

Amy and Jonathan take a trip up to the great white north and bring back a couple Canadian whiskies under $50 for us to try, eh. Next time you're in Canada give Reifel Rye a try, we think you won't be disappointed. Cheers! 

Happy New Year! This week the gang at Whiskey Under 50 sits down with Amy's brother Travis to drink some whiskey. But Travis doesn't drink whiskey. So how do you teach a whiskey noob to start enjoying the brown water? You throw them into the deep end of the pool. Cheers! 

As 2023 comes to a close, the team of expert tasters at Whiskey Under 50 reminisce about all the good, and bad, whiskey consumed throughout the year. What did we like this year? What was not worth the money? And what would we never buy again? See you in 2024 --- Cheers! 

Thank you to all the listeners that have made 2023 a great year for Whiskey Under 50! To round out the year we've made ourselves some holiday cocktails and try a taste of the #20 whiskey of the year (and the only one under 50) the Ezra Brooks 99 Rye. Also, who likes Southern Comfort? Cheers! 

Our friend Joe is back, because he made another potential ill-advised whiskey purchase. Joe picked himself up a Texas Giant - the whiskey brand often maligned by this podcast! But this time it's the rye version instead of the bourbon. Will the rye redeem Texas Giant from the bad taste that is still in our mouths from the bourbon? Or will it go down as yet another off-putting attempt at a whiskey? Guess you have to listen to find out.   Cheers! 

Welcome to another episode of Whisky Under 50! In this episode we tackle some cheap blended Scotch whiskies -- the venerable Chivas Regal, and the popular Jonnie Walker Red Label. And if that wasn't enough, we then really turn it into a party when we add some Drambuie to make Rusty Nail cocktails. Rusty Nail cocktail:2 parts blended Scotch whisky1 part Drambuie liquorCheers! 

We're celebrating an early Thanksgiving and mixing up some whiskey cocktails that we, and you, can take to the gathering. Show those you care about that you put some premeditated thought into your drinking and mix up one of these festive fall cocktails. Cheers! 

We haven't done much local whiskey on Whiskey Under 50, but that ends today. This week we taste the local powerhouse Woodinville Whiskey Co Bourbon and put it up against some other local offerings from the nano distiller Bad Dog and the Hood River Distillery Trail's End. You don't have to travel all the way to Kentucky to get some good whiskey - you might find it in your own backyard. Cheers! 

In this abbreviated special edition, we pick up where we left off from our last episode. We grab a couple more bottles off the shelf in our quest to find where Trader Joe's sources their bourbon. This time I'm sure we got it! 

Amy buys herself a bottle of Trader Joe's Straight Bourbon Whiskey for her birthday and brings it over for all to share. But what is this Trader Joe's Bourbon - where is it sourced from? Being the whiskey sleuths we are, we get a couple contender bottles off the shelf, dust off the ol' taste buds, and have ourselves a taste-off. 

Your hosts, with their friend Joe, embark on a whisky sampling journey thanks to Costco's offerings from the 4 primary Scottish whisky regions. Only a blind taste test to select which whisky comes from which region will prove who among them is the true Scotch whisky aficionado (or who is just lucky). 

This week we dig deep into the vault and pull a couple unique whiskeys off the shelf -- the Grainiac from Corsair and the Americal Vatted Malt from Barrell. Two very distinct and unusual drinks that don't have any equals in the whiskey game. If you're building that whiskey collection, get 'em if you can! 

There sure are a lot of rye whiskies out there and this week we try two more -- Nelson Brothers with whiskey out of Tennessee, I mean Kentucky; and a cheap barrel proof from the folks at James E Pepper with a whiskey out of Kentucky, I mean Indiana. Is it just me or does it seem like no one produces their own booze anymore? Either way, one of these we thought was pretty good and worth the price of admission. Give a listen and find out which. Cheers!  

We head to the liquor store and look for whiskey/whisky we can buy for a $20 bill out the door - and with the taxes in our part of the world that's no easy task. Most of us understood the instructions. But we managed to come up with 3 that blind taste test and may or may not recommend - Ancient Age, Canadian Hunter, and Ballantines scotch. Cheers!

Nathan traveled to France and randomly grabbed a couple bottles of French Whisky off the shelf at a Paris wine shop. Because France is known for its whisky, right? Both are wine barrel aged so maybe that makes it more French?  Either way, give a listen as we take a journey down the path of French whisky. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Merci! 

We've come out of our summer break to bring you this special episode! 2/3 of Whiskey Under 50 traveled to Portugal and brought back some taste experiences from Portugal's only whiskey distillery - Venakki. We open up two cask strength bottles for the first time and give them a taste. If you ever find yourself in Portugal or are lucky enough to find them somewhere on the shelf, we recommend you give them a try! 

Summer is quickly approaching, our lives are getting busier, so it's time to close out this season of Whiskey Under 50. To close it down Jonathan brings over some selections from Bulleit Distilling - the base model and a 10 year. This is definitely one of our more divided episodes so give a listen to hear who loves it, and who hates it. Enjoy your whiskey tasting and we'll be back soon! 

It's a NOLA kinda episode! This week Nathan talks about his recent visit to New Orleans, and Amy and Jonathan reminisce about their previous time in New Orleans. We both visited NOLA Distilling and 73 Distilling and come away with similar bottles.  Come for the whiskey talk, stay for the travel tips! 

This week Nathan goes on a business trip to Utah and surprises everyone when he comes back with whiskey that isn't from High West. We taste a relatively new product called Dented Brick blended whiskey and a bourbon from Sugar Hill Distillery. Get yourself some of that limestone mountain water! 

This week we apologize for an egregious error we made in a previous episode regarding butts, of the cask type. It certainly won't happen again. We also take a taste tour of some Pennsylvania rye whiskeys from Dad's Hat distillery. 

When you're fancy like us you can't always drink that swill that is under $50. In this week's episode we go north of the $50 mark to see if the added price really gets you a better whiskey. The results surprised us and will likely surprise you as well. 

It's the annual Whiskey Under 50 St Patrick's Day episode! This year we sample a new-to-us offering from Jameson called the Black Barrel, an unknown whiskey blend called the Glass Manor, and a stalwart Irish whiskey - the Red Breast 12 year. Are any of them better than the others? Give a listen and find out. Slante!

This week we go down the Beam bottled in bond rabbit hole trying the Old Tub against its cousin the Old Grand-Dad. But then we decide to get the Old Overholt off the shelf, another Beam bottled in bond, and compare it to the Tub and Grand-Dad. By now you're probably as confused by all these Beam bottled in bond products as we are - so you should give us a listen to see which of these three we like the best. 

When you think of the things Missouri is known for, people tend to think of Super Bowl champions or BBQ, and not whiskey. But that doesn't mean the state doesn't have some good whiskey to offer.  Nathan recently traveled to St Louis and brings back a single malt from Spirit of St Louis Distillery and a bourbon from Switchgrass Spirits that he thinks Amy and Jonathan will enjoy. Cheers! 

Ever buy a whiskey off the shelf based entirely on how the bottle looks, without doing any research first? We bring Nathan's brother Aaron onto the episode to taste a couple whiskies we may have done that with. Listen to this episode and learn from our mistakes! Cheers!

Ever had a boxed whiskey? What about a Canadian whiskey, aged 6 years, that comes in a fancy black box? That's what we're trying this week, and to give it some comparison we bring back an old standard - the Kirkland Signature Canadian whiskey. Even if you don't think boxed whiskies would be your thing, we give you several ideas for why they are advantageous. 

Does whiskey pair well with some food like wine? In this week's episode we pick three whiskies we think will pair well with some common Valentine's Day candy and put that theory to the test. Follow along to see how we did and get the Valentine in your life some good whiskey under $50. Cheers!

Today we sample some of Cali's finest rye whiskies when we put the well-known Redwood Empire against a little-known cask strength whiskey that goes by Riptide. Does aging a whiskey so close to the ocean impart some form of salty low-tide ocean scent? I don't think so but one of us does. Give a listen to find out who, and with what whiskey. Cheers! 

This BONUS episode was recorded just after we recorded the Jack Daniels Bonded episode. Amy was adamant that the JTS Brown was better, so we had to do a quick impromptu side by side. 

You can't sell a Billion dollars' worth of product a year and not be good at it, right? Well ... this week we give a taste to Jack Daniels and their, relatively, new release the Jack Daniels Bonded. You know the regular black label but do you know the bonded? Give a listen and find out! 

This week we venture across the pond to Scotland to taste an old familiar, the Laphroaig 10 year, and compare it to a complete unknown, the Scarabus. 

This week we battle some whiskey from good 'ol Washington State! You ever see Dry Fly 101 on the shelf or maybe 2Bar bottled in bond and think to yourself - I wonder if either of these are any good? Now is your chance to find out!