My Wandering Eye: Tamworth Garden V.S.O.P. Apple Brandy, 7-year-old

I’d like to thank Tamworth Distilling and their PR team for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Tamworth Garden VSOP Apple Brandy bottle, 7-year Napoleon, 50% ABV, made with NH Cortland heirloom apples, Calvados style, on an outdoor wooden surface.

It has been quite a while since we last did a My Wandering Eye post so I thought that I might start with a reminder of what we are doing in this series. My Wandering Eye is an ongoing series reacting to the continually rising prices in the bourbon world. We’ve reached a place where even average products have hit the range where they compete price-wise with other types of aged spirits. If I’m going to be asked to drop $40 to $75 on a mid-range bourbon, I might as well see what else I can get for that money. I hope to see if another spirits category offers something downright tasty in that price range. The goal isn’t to find cheap spirits but to maximize the quality I’m getting at a particular price point. The reviews in this series will all be written through a bourbon drinker’s lens.

I used to make hard cider every year. I've been traveling during apple season for the past few years, but it really is a fun project to do at home with friends or family. I got really into it too. I'd travel to rural Wisconsin and pick up apples straight from the orchards (the more rural you get, the less expensive the apples get). I had my own blend of apples that I liked to use. I'd calculated over the years which apples yielded the most juice per bushel, how each affected the flavor I wanted, all of that. Like I said, I was into it.

Because of my interest in both distilling and cider making, it wasn't surprising when I discovered that I really enjoyed apple brandy. It's just hard cider all grown up. And so when the PR folks for Tamworth Distilling reached out to see if I was interested in taking a look at their apple brandy, my answer was something along the lines of "yes please!" And when the bottle showed up, I was ecstatic to see that the variety of apple used to create it was one of the cornerstones of my own cider experiments: the Cortland apple. This was one of my family favorites growing up. I'd travel with my grandparents to the orchard (coincidentally in the same area I went to as an adult) and we'd pick apples. I don't remember all of the varieties, but I remember Grandma getting McIntosh and Cortland for sure. Cortland would last in the cellar for a decent amount of time, so we'd get to have one every now and then when going down for something else.

So that made me just a little predisposed to be happy to taste the product. Of course, the other thing is who made it. I'll quote the PR email for this bit:

Tamworth Distilling founder, booze baron Steven Grasse (AKA the father of craft gin), is known for creating brands including Hendrick’s Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Narragansett and more – but he is also a historian and author whose passion for American history underscores the craft-forward approach of his distillery and his spirited books, including Colonial Spirits: A Toast to Our Drunken History.

So now that we know the pedigree and why I was excited to give this a taste, let's get on with the tasting, shall we?

Tamworth Garden V.S.O.P. Apple Brandy, 7-year-old

Purchase Info: This item was sent at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $75 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.00

Details: 50% ABV. 7 years old.

Nose: Cinnamon, oak, apple, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Mouth: Juicy apple, almond, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering notes of juicy apple and vanilla.

IMAGE: A hand drawn smiley face. This denotes that I like the product.

Thoughts: Yum, yum, yum. Yumyum. Yum, yum, yum.

As you can see, I really like this. Unlike many apple brandies I've had, this tastes less of dried fruit and more like a juicy apple — which, I'll be honest, I really enjoy. There is a whiskey-like amount of heat and spice. This is a warm one, but not overly so. Fruity, baking spice, vanilla. It's delicious! It also makes a wonderfully apple-forward Sidecar with Grand Marnier and lemon juice. Big fan. So big, in fact, that before I even finished the tasting, I was on the company website ordering the XO 10-year-old version and a few other goodies that may or may not make it into future posts. I adore this brandy.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Stoll & Wolfe Pure Rye Single Barrel Cask Strength

I’d like to thank Stoll & Wolfe and their PR partners for providing this sample bottle with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Stoll & Wolfe Distillery Pennsylvania Single Barrel Rye Whiskey, 100% Pure Rye, 107 proof, photographed on a snowy deck with warm amber whiskey glowing in winter light.

Hello my friends. Tonight we have a real treat for you. Stoll & Wolfe Pure Rye Single Barrel Cask Strength is described by the distillery as an interpretation on the historic Monongahela-style of Rye Whiskey that was once much more common than it is today. It was a rye whiskey developed along the Monongahela River, which flows through West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania before joining the Allegheny at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River.

Now, being in Lititz, PA, Stoll & Wolfe aren’t necessarily very close to that Monongahela River Valley (being about as close to it as I am to the U.P. of Michigan from here in the Twin Cities of Minnesota), but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a lot of state pride in their regional whiskey style. I know I would.

But, to me as a history nut, the most intriguing thing about this whiskey is the guy who helped start the company—and has his name on the bottle. Dick Stoll was the last distiller at a (now) pretty famous Pennsylvania distillery. It went by many names over the years, but the two that are most well known these days are Bomberger’s Distillery and Michter’s Distillery (this was back before the current owners of the Michter’s name acquired the lapsed trademark and started making their own pretty darn tasty whiskeys under the name). Here is the brief synopsis quoted from the Stoll & Wolfe website:

Dick Stoll’s roots stretch back to his tenure at the historic Pennsylvania Michter’s Distillery. There, under the mentorship of Master distiller C. Everett Beam, Stoll honed his skills and mastered the particular style of Pennsylvania whiskey distillation.

Despite Pennsylvania Michter’s closure in the 1980s, Stoll’s passion for both whiskey and the region has endured. As a capstone to his career, he partnered with Avianna and Erik Wolfe to revive the historic legacy right here in Lititz, Pennsylvania.

I’ve been reading a lot about Mr. Stoll over the course of the last couple of days in preparation for this review. I’d do a hell of a lot worse than these legendary Whiskey writers so I’m just going to point you to them instead. Here is Lew Bryson’s remembrance of Dick Stoll upon the occasion of his death in 2020. And of course, the book that brought my attention to the history of the Pennsylvania Michter’s Distillery and those that worked there Chuck Cowdery’s The Best Bourbon You’ll Never Taste (I also reviewed said book shortly after it was released, in case you wonder what I thought of it back in 2012).

Now, before you go read all those links, let’s get into the reason we are all here. The actual whiskey. Stoll & Wolfe Pure Rye Single Barrel Cask Strength was made from a mash bill of 80% Rosen Rye and 20% malted rye. This rye strain was almost lost to history until local farmers worked with the distillery to recover it. The rye is made using a sweet mash process that doesn’t use any “setback” from previous runs to help maintain pH levels. It’s a trickier process, as without the proper pH levels the mash could get infected by undesirable non-yeast organisms. It’s a much older mashing process, but it was the one most often used in Monongahela-style rye. The whiskey is bottled at 107 proof and is available from the distillery website for $78.15 per 750 mL bottle. Now let’s see how it tastes.

Stoll & Wolfe Pure Rye Single Barrel Cask Strength

Purchase Info: This sample was provided to me at no cost for review purposes. This item is available for nationwide shipping on the distillery website for $78.15 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.21

Details: Barrel 1225. Aged 34 months. 53.5% ABV. Mashbill: 80% Rosen Rye, 20% malted Rye.

Nose: Butterscotch, cedar, almond, and a faint note of wintergreen.

Mouth: Spicy & hot in the mouth with notes of allspice, cedar, wintergreen, peppermint, and almond.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of butterscotch, cherry, mint, and baking spice.

IMAGE: a hand-drawn smiley face that denotes I like the product.

Thoughts: I'm really digging this one. The nose is super sweet, sweeter than most ryes. The mouth and finish bring more traditional rye notes to the party. Mouth is spicy and hot but the mint on the finish is almost cooling. It' is less than three years old, too young to be called whiskey in many countries, but is still a fully mature product. Young? Yes. Brash? At times. Delicious? Absolutely. I like this one a lot.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

High West Cask Strength Bourbon

I’d like to thank High West and their team of PR Professionals for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Close-up of a High West Cask Strength bourbon bottle on a snow-dusted wooden railing, showing the label with barrels illustration and amber whiskey, winter background softly blurred.

Hello friends! It’s been quite the month here in the BourbonGuy household, but we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, so let’s dig right in on the latest thing that the Whiskey Fairy has brought me.

Tonight’s whiskey is a new release from High West Distillery. A blend of straight bourbon whiskeys bottled at cask strength, this release was cleverly named Cask Strength. It looks to have been officially released on January 12th. It is listed as “Bottled by High West Distillery,” but as usual with whiskey that High West has sourced, they are as transparent as can be about what is actually in the bottle. Here is the breakdown of the mash bills:

  • 60% Corn, 40% Malted Barley, sourced from a Kentucky distillery

  • 60% Corn, 40% Rye, sourced from a Kentucky distillery

  • 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley, sourced from a Indiana distillery

  • 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley, sourced from a Kentucky distillery

  • 84% Corn, 8% Rye, 8% Malted Barley, sourced from a Tennessee distillery

The product was bottled at 117 proof and will be available as a limited release nationwide at a suggested retail price of $69.99. Here is what Distilling Director Isaac Winter has to say about the release:

"This was a really fun blend to put together. Building on our high-rye blending philosophy, this Cask Strength expression uses our Bourye blending approach to precisely balance rye-driven spice with malted barley richness, resulting in layered complexity and a bold, lasting presence that keeps you coming back.”

Let’s dig in, shall we?

High West Cask Strength Bourbon

Purchase Info: This product was provided at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $69.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.67

Details: Batch 25K14. A blend of seven straight bourbons from Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. 58.5% ABV. Non-age stated.

Nose: Cinnamon, clove, caramel, almond, and oak.

Mouth: Drying in the mouth. Black tea, cinnamon and clove, stone fruits, almond, and oak.

Finish: Long and very warm. Notes of oak, almond, chocolate, and cinnamon.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face denoting that I like the product.

Thoughts: I’m not the biggest fan of this one neat. It’s drier than I’d prefer, very hot, and the alcohol notes are a bit too prominent for me. However, add just the tiniest splash of water or ice and it goes from hot and dry to velvety. It becomes sweeter as the caramel and stone fruit notes start to show. The baking spice notes become more generic, but the oak steps forward a bit. All in all, this is a pour that benefits from a little water—which is how I usually enjoy my bourbon anyway. It’s also delicious in both a sour-style cocktail (I did a Gold Rush) and a spirits-forward cocktail (I did a Boulevardier). I really like it.

Before we finish, I want to apologize for ghosting everyone last week. Between both of my dogs being on hospice care, the assault on my adopted home state of Minnesota by the federal government (it’s been worse than what even the local news has reported), and a long-overdue discussion that led to a Festivus-style airing of grievances—one that nearly had me cutting ties with both of my parents over the holidays—I’m in the middle of quite the mental breakdown. Possibly my biggest in about 15 years.

I’m OK. I’m not a danger to myself or anything like that. But it was all a bit too much for me to try to be witty and creative for most of the month of January. I’m getting the help I need, but if you or someone you love is experiencing a mental health crisis, help is available.

U.S.: Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — free, confidential support available 24/7. You can also visit 988lifeline.org for chat support and additional resources.

Outside the U.S.: Visit findahelpline.com to find local crisis hotlines by country.

Fiddler Bourbons from ASW Distillery

I’d like to thank ASW Distillery for providing these review samples with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Four bottles of ASW Distillery’s Fiddler Bourbon—Georgia Heartwood, Soloist, Wheated, and Antique—lined up on a snowy deck rail with winter trees and houses blurred in the background.

ASW Distillery in Atlanta, Georgia sent me an email a little over a month ago asking my favorite whiskey—and then saying that they hope they can compete for the title. I loved that confidence and told them to please send a sample over. And they followed through with four! I’ve been sitting on them for a couple of weeks now because trying to find time to taste four whiskeys in a week, when things like a clean palate are a consideration, is difficult (especially when one of those weeks included Thanksgiving). But I finally have them done and am ready to go.

ASW sells a combination of in-house distilled whiskey, whiskey sourced from Indiana, and blends of the two. We received one in-house-distilled bottle and three sourced-and-finished bottles. I’ll start with the in-house and move on to the sourced after.

Fiddler Soloist

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided at no cost for review purposes. MSRP is $74.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.00

Details: Batch 25-02. Mashbill: 55% corn, 17% Malted Barley, 14% Malted Wheat, 14% malted rye. 6 years old. Batch size four barrels. 50% ABV.

Nose: Oak, leather, red fruit, caramel, and nutmeg.

Mouth: Caramel, red fruit, malted grains, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oak.

Finish: Somewhere between gentle and warm. Medium length. Lingering notes of caramel, cinnamon, malted grains, chocolate, and nutmeg.

Thoughts: If I had only had one sip of this, it would have had a neutral rating. That first sip was strong on the malted grain notes, which aren't my personal favorite flavors. However, as we progressed through the tasting, the malted notes receded and integrated with the caramel, oak, and baking spice notes. At the end of the tasting, I can honestly say that I really enjoyed it and can't wait to try the others. I like this one. I’m still not 100% sold that I would personally buy it because of the malted grain notes, but it is a very well put together whiskey that those that enjoy malted grain notes will enjoy.

Fiddler Georgia Heartwood

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided at no cost for review purposes. MSRP is $79.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.33

Details: Indiana-distilled wheated bourbon (presumed MGP) finished with Georgia oak staves. 59.2% ABV. 7 years old. Batch size: 4 barrels.

Nose: Oak, maple, caramel, almond, and cinnamon

Mouth: Sweet and spicy with notes of cinnamon, oak, maple, almond, caramel, and vanilla.

Finish: Warm and long. Lingering notes of Caramel, Vanilla, and oak.

Thoughts: This is really good. Very sweet, which works nicely with the spicy notes. Not much to say here—this started with the good bones of a (presumed) MGP bourbon, and they enhanced it. I'm enjoying it a lot.

Fiddler Wheated

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided at no cost for review purposes. MSRP is $39.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.67

Details: Distilled in Indiana. 46% ABV. Batch size: 4 Barrels. Mash bill: 51% corn, 45 % Wheat, 4% barley. Blend ages: 50%-7 years, 25%-6 years, 25%-7.5 years. 50% of the batch is "double oaked."

Nose: Oak, brown sugar, cherry, and baking spice.

Mouth: Brown sugar, allspice, cherry, and oak.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramel linger.

Thoughts: This is pretty good. I like it. It’s the lowest proof offering they sent over, and I think that is to its benefit. It is sweet and flavorful with no need for water or ice to tame it. I like it. The price is nice, too.

Fiddler Antique

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided at no cost for review purposes. MSRP is $99.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $6.67

Details: 8 years old. 55.4% ABV. Mash Bill: 51% corn, 45% Wheat, 4% barley. Batch size: 4 barrels.

Nose: Caramel, cherry, oak, and vanilla.

Mouth: Caramel, cherry, oak, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Notes of cinnamon, red fruit, and oak.

Thoughts: This is a cinnamon bomb on the finish. Similar to the Fiddler Wheated in taste, but amped up due to the proof. The mouth is full of caramel and oak. Like the others, this is really good.

IMAGE: A smiley face because I like these products.

Overall thoughts: While these did not unseat my favorite bourbons of the year (for the record, those are the Four Roses Single Barrel Red Label bottles that were announced late last year), they are very good whiskies. Some of these are getting close to the luxury spending point in terms of cost, but if you have the scratch, they are very good. As I’m a big fan of MGP bourbons and not a fan of malted grains, I gravitate toward those personally, but if you are a malted grain fan, the Soloist is really good. My favorite of the bunch is the Georgia Heartwood. All in all, if you visit, you should grab a souvenir at the price point you can afford.

This post was updated to reflect newly provided pricing from the producer. As the pricing was lower than what was available online, this has changed a few of my thoughts in the final paragraph as well.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Iowa Bourbon Whiskey, Batch 4

I’d like to thank the folks at Cedar Ridge Distillery for sending this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Bottle of Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Iowa Bourbon Whiskey, 105 proof, with a blue label, on a wooden deck rail with green trees and soft evening light in the background.

Last month, while I was away on vacation, I received a package. Now picture this: I’m on vacation and get a notification from my doorbell that a package is being delivered (that’s a sentence I’m glad I don’t have to explain to my younger self…). My daughter, home on her lunch break to let the dogs out and not knowing that I’m watching, accepts the package and sets it aside for when I get home. At this point, I have no idea what it is and have to wait an entire week to find out. I was alive with curiosity. But because I was on vacation, I had to put that aside and wait. The only thing worse than unfulfilled curiosity for me is having a surprise spoiled.

It turned out to be a surprise bottle of bourbon, which is always a welcome surprise. I mean, honestly, if you’re going to be graced with unannounced gifts, isn’t bourbon one of the better ones you could be graced with?

So what is this bourbon that so unexpectedly showed up on my doorstep? That would be Batch 4 of Cedar Ridge Distillery’s Double Barrel Bourbon. According to the product website, this bourbon has a mashbill of 74% corn, 14% malted rye, and 12% malted barley. It’s scheduled for release on November 7th, 2025, and has an MSRP of $59.99 for a 750 mL bottle. Here’s what the producer had to say about it:

For this annual release, we transferred our original Iowa bourbon into a second, new American oak barrel to capture the full-bodied flavors of its freshly charred staves. The secondary finishing cask draws out the bold qualities of our classic bourbon and the rich flavors of Iowa corn.

So let’s see how this tastes, shall we?

Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Iowa Bourbon Whiskey, Batch 4

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided by the producer for review purposes and at no charge. The suggested retail price is $59.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.00

Details: 52.5% ABV. Mashbill: 74% corn, 14% malted rye, and 12% malted barley.

Nose: Cinnamon, vanilla, caramel, along with the boozy/oaky smell of a dusty rickhouse.

Mouth: Grain forward with notes of vanilla, caramel, black tea, and cinnamon.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Lingering notes of black pepper, cinnamon, and bitter oak.

IMAGE: I like this bourbon and have denoted that with a hand-drawn smiley face.

Thoughts: Initially, I was unsure whether I liked this or if it was off-putting. After sitting with it a bit, I realized the part that threw me was the strong, almost bitter grain notes hiding under the sweetness of that first sip. It doesn’t help that I usually don’t like malted rye in my bourbon, so having a lot of grain flavors that include that tends to give me pause. I was so unsure whether I liked this or not that I set the tasting aside to revisit it another day. On the second try, I put aside the Glencairn I normally use for notes and went with a rocks glass instead. A rocks glass is my preferred way to drink whiskey, so when I need to give something another look, that’s how I do it. Having done so, I found myself quite enjoying the Double Barrel Bourbon. If pressed on whether I’d purchase it for myself, I’d probably pass—$60 is a lot for a bourbon I didn’t instantly like. So this one gets a like from me, but I could also see where some folks might not.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.