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Forbes
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The World's Best Small Batch Aged Bourbon, According To The San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
The Small Batch Bourbon Finalists in the 6-10 Years from the 2025 SFWSC Eight Bourbons are finalists in the Small Batch Aged Bourbon section. Five bourbons are in the 6-10 Years category, and three are in the 11 Years and Older category at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Below are brief backgrounds and tasting notes on the finalists. The Top Shelf 2025 Awards Gala, a highly anticipated whiskey industry event, will announce the winner on November 9 at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. This bourbon is a small-batch, limited release produced by The Beautiful and The Damned, a new artisan whiskey brand that focuses on blending storytelling with premium spirit craftsmanship. "Last Lion" is named to evoke an era of fierce independence and honor, fitting the bourbon's bold character. Typically bottled around 100 proof, Last Lion is crafted using sourced Kentucky bourbon aged for at least six years before blending. On the nose, it reveals rich aromas of vanilla bean, toasted coconut, fresh leather, and charred oak. The palate is silky smooth yet robust, showcasing flavors of brown sugar, dark stone fruit, cinnamon bark, and sweet tobacco. The finish is layered and long, with lingering sweet oak spice and cooked/caramelized fig. This bourbon feels classic but vibrant — a smooth, yet robust sipper with a noteworthy backbone. The SFWSC Judging Panel described the whiskey as featuring: 'Aromas of cooked apples galore, a ton of fresh black pepper spice, caramel, allspice, and nougat. It's sweet and easy to drink on the palate, featuring white sugar, apples, honey, caramel, allspice notes, and some slight herbal tea notes. The finish is long and very balanced.' This bourbon comes from Rare Character Whiskey Co., a brand known for finding exceptional barrels from undisclosed distilleries and bottling them in limited batches. Batch 02 is a Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at barrel strength, with ABVs varying by barrel but generally in the 110–120 proof range. On the nose, Batch 02 offers expressive aromas of roasted pecans, molasses, black cherries, and toasted vanilla. The palate is robust yet balanced, layering dark caramel, spicy rye bread, cocoa nibs, and dried fruit flavors. The finish is long and rich, with lingering pepper and butterscotch notes. This complex and favorable bourbon has traditional and slightly unconventional edges, true to its "rare character" name. The SFWSC Judging Panel described the bourbon as featuring: 'Spicy aromas on the nose, along with cherry syrup, nuts, caramel, and vanilla. The palate features dried fruit flavors, rye toast, chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. The finish is long, with lingering leather, chocolate, and fruity notes.' Kentucky Senator is a revived heritage brand paying tribute to famous Kentucky politicians. The John Brown release is the third bottling in the series, named for the first U.S. senator from Kentucky. Distilled in Kentucky and bottled at 107 proof, it is crafted as a limited edition small batch. On the nose, the bourbon delivers dark toffee, crème brûlée, cherry compote, and a subtle hint of mint. The palate is full-bodied and flavorful, featuring burnt sugar, maple syrup, toasted almonds, and spiced orange zest notes. The finish is long and satisfying, with lingering oak, nutmeg, and a hint of dark chocolate. This polished bourbon feels elegant yet robust, a fitting homage to its namesake. The SFWSC Judging Panel described the whiskey as expressing: 'Big, bold aromas of vanilla custard, cherry syrup, and caramel on the nose. The palate features maple candy, almond praline, wood spice, and chocolate. The finish is long and sweet, with lingering candied orange zest, caramel, and spice notes.' Fiddler Encore Bourbon is an innovative wheated bourbon from ASW Distillery in Atlanta, Georgia. It undergoes secondary aging with hand-harvested, Georgia oak staves placed in the barrels, giving it a distinctly local character. This unique process and the bourbon's distinctive flavor make it a must-try for any bourbon enthusiast. It is bottled at around 120 proof. The bourbon offers a unique nose of caramelized bananas, toasted pecans, honeysuckle, and vanilla bean. The palate is rich but balanced, showcasing honeyed cornbread, marshmallow, baking spices, and light oak tannins. The Georgia oak influence brings a slightly sweeter and softer profile than traditional American oak. The finish is smooth and floral, making it a distinctive Southern bourbon that blends Georgia terroir with traditional craftsmanship. The SFWSC Judging Panel described the bourbon as featuring: 'Cooked sweet corn on the nose with floral, seasoned oak, and caramel notes. The palate features a candied sweetness, corn bread, cooked bananas, nuts, caramel, and vanilla flavors. The finish is long and sweet with lingering cooked corn and seasoned oak notes.' This bourbon is a smaller, emerging brand focused on robust, high-rye recipes. A 'high-rye' recipe typically contains more than 15% rye in the mash bill, contributing to a spicier and more complex flavor profile. Long Ridge's recipe consists of 60-65% corn, 30-35% rye, and a touch of malted barley. It's typically bottled between 95 and 100 proof. The nose features spicy cinnamon, clove, roasted peanuts, and dry leather notes. It's aromatic and flavorful, exhibiting sweet vanilla, cracked pepper, caramel apple, and freshly toasted rye bread flavors. The finish is crisp and moderately long, with a spicy rye snap and a final note of charred oak. Long Ridge's bourbon feels youthful but energetic — a rye-forward bourbon for those who like their whiskey with some spice. The SFWSC Judging Panel described the bourbon as: 'Flavorful and aromatic with a big, bold, and spicy aroma and flavor profile.' The Finalists in the 10 Years and Older Small Batch Bourbon Category from the 2025 SFWSC This is a legendary sourced bourbon originally bottled by New Riff Distilling under the "O.K.I." label, standing for "Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana." The 15-year-old release comes from meticulously selected barrels of MGP-sourced bourbon, distilled in Indiana and aged in Kentucky warehouses. Bottled around 100 proof, this bourbon exudes classic old bourbon character, a testament to the traditional craftsmanship that goes into every bottle. On the nose, it offers robust aromas of dark oak, old leather-bound books, burnt caramel, and dried tobacco leaf. The palate is lush and layered, with nuanced flavors of molasses, walnut brittle, dark cherry preserves, and spice-laden oak. The finish is incredibly long, with lingering bittersweet chocolate, toasted vanilla, and aged wood notes. O.K.I. 15 Year is a testament to the power of time — an old, stately bourbon for serious connoisseurs. The SFWSC Judging Panel described the whiskey as exhibiting: 'Pronounced caramel and spice notes on the nose. The bourbon is bold and wild, expressing seasoned oak, aged leather, and spice flavors. The finish is long and rich, with lingering leather, spiced figs, and a hint of caramel.' This is a rare, ultra-aged straight bourbon offering from the Redemption line, a brand generally better known for its rye whiskeys. This limited release showcases barrels distilled at MGP and aged for 18 years. This bourbon boasts an intense, brooding profile and is bottled at a cask strength of around 103 proof. The nose reveals dense layers of old leather, dried tobacco, dark maple syrup, and charred oak. On the palate, it is flavorful, revealing nuanced notes of burnt toffee, blackstrap molasses, seasoned oak, dark cocoa, and baking spices. The finish is long and dry, with lingering espresso and oak wood flavors. This big, serious bourbon is best suited for slow sipping and contemplation. The SFWSC Judging Panel described the whisky as featuring: 'Aromas of pancake syrup and spiced leather on the nose. It's bold and flavorful on the palate, with old leather, dried tobacco, cocoa, and molasses notes. The finish is long, with lingering notes of leather and spice.' Lucky 13 is aged 13 years and bottled by Widow Jane Distillery in Brooklyn, New York, using sourced Kentucky and Tennessee whiskey stocks. Bottled at 93 proof, Lucky 13 undergoes proofing with Widow Jane's famous limestone water from Rosendale Mines, giving it a distinctive mineral complexity. It's rich and aromatic on the nose, featuring butterscotch, ripe plum, toasted oak, and cinnamon sugar notes. The palate is smooth and flavorful, layering vanilla cream, caramel apples, dried cherries, nutmeg, and soft tobacco notes. The finish is warm and medium-long, highlighted by sweet spices and gentle minerality. Lucky 13 strikes a beautiful balance between rich flavor and easy approachability — a fortunate find for any bourbon lover. The SFWSC Judging Panel described the bourbon as featuring: 'Butterscotch aromas and seasoned oak wood notes complemented with orchard fruits, creamy vanilla, caramel, and nutmeg spice. The finish is long, sweet, and layered with lingering caramel apple, cherry syrup, and vanilla notes. The eight Small Batch Aged Bourbons from the 2025 SFWSC feature an eclectic collection of craft producers from all over the US. They represent a broad array of styles and proofs reflecting a variety of terroirs and maturation environments. They underscore the wide range of aroma and flavorful profiles that characterize contemporary craft bourbons and showcase how barrel selection and blending can allow specialty bottlers to produce exceptional bourbon. These eight expressions are among the world's best small-batch aged bourbons. All are worth trying.
The Guardian
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Gatsby by Jane Crowther; The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson-Wheeler – Jay's eternal hold
It might seem unfathomable to us now, but F Scott Fitzgerald's third novel was something of a let-down when it was published 100 years ago; his previous books, This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned – there had also been a novella, The Diamond As Big As the Ritz, and short stories including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – had been more commercially successful and found greater favour with critics. Fitzgerald's tale of obscure origins, extreme wealth and obsessional romantic desire appeared too unlikely, too contrived and, perhaps, too uncomfortable a reminder of class and financial inequality and its consequent social schisms to be recognised for what it was: a masterly exploration of delusion, self-delusion, myth-making and complicity. Fitzgerald himself died 15 years after its publication believing it to have been a worldly failure and unconsoled by any hint of its future cultural ubiquity. But literature, as we know, is studded with these anomalies, burials and rebirths and now, in an age of recycling and rebooting, it seems perfectly natural, if ironic, for The Great Gatsby to spawn a number of tribute acts. Nonetheless, it's striking that Jane Crowther's Gatsby and Claire Anderson-Wheeler's The Gatsby Gambit are debut novels, suggesting that the original is an artefact that feels fundamentally available, not forbiddingly off-limits; that both writer and reader might feel they have absorbed enough of Gatsby's internal workings as well as its superficial detail to find variation productive and interesting. (This is, of course, a generous interpretation; familiarity is also commercially attractive.) Crowther's approach is both straightforward and, in execution, intricate. She brings Gatsby to the very recent past, just pre-pandemic, and messes with gender; Gatsby becomes a female influencer, her apparently limitless funds provided not by bootlegging but invisible arrangements with beauty brands and real estate companies. Her love object is not Daisy but Danny Buchanan, the decent enough but none-too-deep husband of T, a far more savvy and implacable operator. Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald's implicated insider-outsider, is Nic, a young woman seeking to make her name not on the money markets but in the more cut-throat world of lifestyle journalism. These narrative switches take up a fair amount of energy to manifest, as Jay herself might describe it in one of her Instagram posts, and keeping track of how Crowther maps old on to new can eclipse some of her more interesting choices: that Tom's lover Myrtle, for example, becomes Miguel, an undocumented worker from the Dominican Republic with an interest in baseball and Warcraft, and a passing acquaintance with 'some guys out in Queens' who sell drugs at Gatsby's parties. For Nic, who has swallowed whole her new friend's bone-broth-and-vitamins persona, this is information to be brushed under the carpet, as is the suspicion that camera surveillance is a key part of those gatherings, and of Gatsby's modus operandi. But despite the novel sometimes over-signalling its ingenuity in reimagining the cultural landscape, Crowther still does well to portray its central figure as a tragic over-reacher, impelled by what she imagines to be love to enter into a social stratum in which preservation of the status quo is prized above all else. The Gatsby Gambit is a different affair altogether; a thoroughly enjoyable mystery story with all the tropes and pleasures of a golden age detective story. Our sleuth is Jay Gatsby's invented little sister Greta, who arrives for a summer at his West Egg home poised on the brink of adulthood and chafing at her much-loved brother's overprotectiveness. When Tom Buchanan is found dead – apparently by his own hand, in the face of spiralling debts – on Gatsby's boat, Greta's quiet persistence and powers of observation mean that she must exonerate Gatsby himself, who rapidly becomes the chief suspect. Well-written and pacy, inflected by the original characters and setting but otherwise unconstrained by them, The Gatsby Gambit romps along in rather happier vein than Fitzgerald might have recognised. As for the novel celebrating its centenary, the literary wheel keeps turning: Sarah Wynn-Williams's exposé of the Zuckerberg empire takes its title, Careless People, directly from Fitzgerald; switching on Radio 4 this week, I heard Alexei Sayle deliver the novel's final line – 'So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past' – to bathetic comic effect. That past does indeed remain another country, but one we love to visit. Gatsby by Jane Crowther is published by the Borough Press (£16.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at Delivery charges may apply The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson-Wheeler is published by Renegade (£16.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at Delivery charges may apply
Express Tribune
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Guns N' Roses part ways with longtime drummer Frank Ferrer after 19 years
Guns N' Roses have officially parted ways with drummer Frank Ferrer after nearly two decades together. The band confirmed the lineup change in a statement released on Wednesday (March 19), calling the departure amicable. 'Guns N' Roses announce the amicable exit of Frank Ferrer, the longest-serving drummer in their storied run,' the statement read. 'The band thanks Frank for his friendship, creativity and sturdy presence over the past 19 years, and they wish him success in the next chapter of his musical journey.' Ferrer joined the band in 2006, replacing Bryan 'Brain' Mantia, who had been with the group since 2000. His tenure made him the longest-serving drummer in Guns N' Roses history, surpassing Steven Adler, who was behind the kit from 1990 to 1997. His recording contributions began with five tracks on Chinese Democracy, the band's long-awaited 2008 album. He also appeared on the live portion of 2022's Hard Skool EP, while former drummer Brain played on the studio tracks, as well as Guns N' Roses' 2023 singles 'Perhaps' and 'The General.' Ferrer's final performance with the band took place at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest in November 2023, which remains Guns N' Roses' most recent live show. The group is set to resume touring soon, kicking off their Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things Tour in South Korea on May 1. The tour will continue through the Middle East and Europe, wrapping up with a July 31 show in Germany. No replacement for Ferrer has been announced. Beyond his time with Guns N' Roses, Ferrer performed with The Beautiful and later joined future GNR bandmate Richard Fortus in both Love Spit Love and The Psychedelic Furs. In 2019, he co-founded the rock band PSSR, which has released several singles in recent years.
