My Bourbon Collection: Vault

Embark on a Bourbon Adventure with Colonel Wood!

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

🥃 THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Where Col Wood shares what the angels won't
From the Desk of Col Wood
Saturday, September 26, 2026

Well now, friends, the leaves haven’t quite turned yet, but the warehouses already smell like October. I sat down this evening with a short pour and a longer list of what the industry has been stirring this week, and I’ll be damned if it isn’t a curious mix of old bottles getting a new backbone and folks still betting on brick and mortar while the rest of the world talks glut.

willett finally lets that pot still bottle speak at full volume
Willett has taken its most recognizable decanter—the one that looks like the still itself, dreamed up by the late Even Kulsveen—and filled it with the same wheated mash bill (65% corn, 20% wheat, 15% barley) at natural cask strength instead of cutting it down. Entry proof stays 115; what comes out of the bottle will wander batch to batch and be printed right on the label. They’re planning two drops a year, timed to the spring and fall equinoxes, at a neighborly $67.

That’s a smart piece of work. The original Pot Still Reserve already had personality; this one just stops whispering. In a year when a lot of folks are hunting value instead of unicorns, a $67 full-proof expression in a bottle you can spot across the liquor store feels like the kind of honest play we could use more of.

Col Wood's Call to Action: If you already own the regular Pot Still Reserve, pull it off the shelf tonight and sit it next to a glass of something else wheated. Write down what changes when the proof goes up. That’s how you learn your own palate instead of waiting for a review to tell you.

morehead is still pouring concrete, glut be damned
Eastern Light Distilling just locked in the last pieces of a $60 million pile—$23.1 million in private money plus USDA-backed and clean-energy financing—to finish a 50,000-square-foot contract house in Morehead. They’re talking a 54-inch column, more than 125,000 barrels a year once it fires in late 2027, and a campus built so smaller brands can have a real home instead of just a purchase order.

Now, we all know Kentucky is sitting on a historic barrel inventory and Americans are sipping a little lighter. Building another big still in that climate takes either courage or a very long calendar. I lean toward both. Contract capacity that is transparent and eastern-Kentucky-rooted might be exactly what some of these newer labels need when the big houses are still sorting their own warehouses.

Col Wood's Call to Action: Next time you’re at a tasting room or a bottle shop, ask who actually distilled the juice. If the answer is “a partner,” remember that partner is about to have a new address in Rowan County. Support the folks who put their name on the still, not just the label.

📱 A Word from Our Sponsor (That'd Be Me)
Look, friends, with Willett dropping a new proof every equinox and half the industry still trying to remember which barrel went where, a scrap of paper in the kitchen drawer just won’t cut it. That’s why I built My Bourbon Collection: Vault. Version 3.0.0 is out now, $1.99, and it does the one thing this week’s news keeps reminding us we need: it keeps a permanent record of what you own and what it actually tasted like the night you opened it. Tasting journal stays with the bottle, not in your fading memory. Grab it here: https://t.co/Bo3oe1ApWR

🛠️ The Distillery: What We’re Barreling Next
We’re not done cooking. Next up in the stillhouse: a barcode and OCR scanner so you can add a bottle without typing every blessed field, a proper data import so you can bring your old lists over without starting from scratch, and a couple of quiet improvements I haven’t quite decided whether to announce or just let you find. Patience, like good whiskey, rewards the ones who wait.

Until Next Week, Friends
Keep your pours honest and your notes honest-er. The market will keep doing what markets do; our job is to taste what’s in the glass and remember why we started.

Yours in bourbon,
Col Wood
P.S. - Add a single drop of water to a new high-proof pour and wait thirty seconds before you judge it. The whiskey will tell you more if you give it room to breathe.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

🥃 THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Where Col Wood shares what the angels won't
From the Desk of Col Wood

Saturday, September 19, 2026

Well now, friends, I poured a little something this morning while the porch was still cool and the news stack was already warm. Folks keep asking if bourbon’s running out of steam. I’ll be damned if the stills haven’t answered that one by lighting another fuse. New rye from the Beam family, a twentieth Parker’s Heritage, and the annual Van Winkle roll call all landed in the same week. The warehouses may be full, but the storytellers ain’t quiet.

booker’s went and made rye again (and little book brought three generations along)

Freddie Noe just dropped Booker’s The Reserves 2026 — only the second Booker’s rye ever, after that 2016 thirteen-year. This one’s a Kentucky straight rye finished in apple brandy barrels, kissed with cinnamon, bottled uncut at 125.1 proof after six years and change. Inspired by Booker’s old A.B.C. Wassail, if you can believe it. Same week, Little Book The Infinite Edition III stitches together 23-year Knob Creek from Booker’s time, 11-year from Fred, and 9-year Baker’s from Freddie, plus a carryover of last year’s blend. That’s three generations in one glass at 118.3 proof.

I like a distiller who’ll risk looking a little foolish for flavor. Cinnamon-infused rye will split a tasting table faster than politics at Thanksgiving, and that’s the point. Heritage isn’t a museum label. It’s a family arguing in the rickhouse about what Granddaddy would’ve done next.

Col Wood's Call to Action: If you snag either bottle, don’t just photograph the wax. Sit down with two glasses — neat, then with a drop of water — and write what the cinnamon actually does after the heat fades. Compare it to a standard high-rye. That’s how you learn whether the experiment earned the proof.

pappy’s annual parade and parker’s twentieth lap

Old Rip Van Winkle and Buffalo Trace posted the 2026 Van Winkle collection: five bourbons and one rye, selected the usual way by the family and Harlen Wheatley. Same week Heaven Hill unveiled Parker’s Heritage Collection 20th Edition — a 14-year Kentucky straight bourbon fermented with rye backset. Pursuit and Shortbarrel even slipped out a maple-finished bourbon blended with double-oak rye they called Found Footage. The festival circuit’s still ringing.

Here’s the realistic part, friends. Allocated drops still make grown people act like kids at a parade, while everyday drinkers are looking harder at what’s actually on the shelf. That’s the two-story year we’re living in. The high end still shines. The middle of the market is asking better questions. Don’t let the lottery tickets crowd out the bottles you can actually open on a Tuesday.

Col Wood's Call to Action: Pick one “hunt” bottle and one “drink tonight” bottle this month. Taste them side by side. If the allocated one doesn’t clearly beat the honest $50 pour, say so out loud. The angels already took their share. You don’t have to pretend.

📱 A Word from Our Sponsor (That'd Be Me)
Speaking of bottles flying past faster than you can remember what they tasted like — that’s the whole problem. Notes on a napkin vanish. Photos get buried. A year later you can’t recall whether that Parker’s was the one with the rye backset or the one you swore you’d never pay secondary for.

That’s why I built My Bourbon Collection: Vault. Version 3.0.0 is out now. It captures your bottles and your tasting journal permanently — not a social feed that forgets you, a vault that keeps the proof, the date, and what your own tongue said. $1.99. Worth it the first time you open a bottle and realize you already wrote the story once.

https://t.co/Bo3oe1ApWR

🛠️ The Distillery: What We’re Barreling Next
We’re not done aging this thing. Coming down the line: a barcode/OCR scanner so you can add a bottle without typing like a mule, data import so you can leave that other app without losing a decade of notes, and a few surprise improvements I’m not ready to name because I still like watching folks lean in. Patience, friends. Good whiskey and good software both need time in the wood.

Until Next Week, Friends
Keep your pour honest and your opinions cheaper than secondary. I’ll be on the porch same time next week, reading whatever the stills decided to confess.

Yours in bourbon,
Col Wood
P.S. - When a new release hits your glass, give it five minutes of air before you judge it. Bourbon, like most Southern conversations, improves once it stops shouting.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

🥃 THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Where Col Wood shares what the angels won't

From the Desk of Col Wood
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Well now, friends, I poured my coffee this morning and realized half the whiskey world is either standing in a Bardstown parking lot or refreshing a lottery page like it owes them money. Kentucky Bourbon Festival weekend is in full swing, Cowboy Bourbon is hitting the Texas gate as I write this, and the angels, bless their thirsty hearts, have been working overtime. Pull up a chair.

pappy’s fall catalog just dropped, and so did a few jaws

Buffalo Trace finally pulled the sheet off the 2026 Pappy Van Winkle collection this week, and I’ll be damned if it isn’t the same six-bottle parade we all pretend we’re going to find at MSRP. Old Rip 10 at $170, Special Reserve 12 at $200, the 15 at $300, the 20 at $400, the 23 at $500, and that 13-year Family Reserve Rye sitting pretty at $300.

Folks, those are the suggested prices. The actual price, as any honest drinker will tell you, is whatever your pride, your secondary-market app, and your marriage can survive. Meanwhile Garrison Brothers is handing out the first thousand bottles of 2026 Cowboy Bourbon this morning in Hye—141 proof, uncut, unfiltered, $250 if you got there at 8 a.m. and still had feeling in your feet. Starlight’s 10-year Mizunara lottery closes today too. It’s a beautiful, slightly unhinged week to be a whiskey person.

The high end is still throwing a party. The middle shelf is still working for a living. Both can be true. Don’t let anybody tell you you’re not a real collector because you passed on a $500 bottle you were never going to open anyway.

Col Wood's Call to Action: If you’re hunting this weekend, hunt with a list and a limit. Write down what you already own before you buy what you ��might never see again.” The bottle that gets away is cheaper than the one that gathers dust.

kentucky boy rides again, and chris morris gets his flowers

Brown-Forman dusted off Kentucky Boy this week—a brand they first tucked in the stable back in 1923—and they’re pouring it as a one-time salute to Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris and fifty years of service. The juice is a blend of three Morris-era signatures: Woodford Double Oaked, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, and King of Kentucky. Vintage racing label, $100 a bottle, a cut going to Second Stride for retired Thoroughbreds, and the official debut happening right in the middle of Festival weekend.

That’s the kind of story I like. Not another mashbill-and-a-hashtag. A man who spent half a century in the warehouses getting a bottle named after the old workhorse brand, and the horses getting something out of it too. If you’re in Louisville or Bardstown this weekend, that’s the one I’d stand in line for without feeling like I needed a second mortgage.

While we’re on industry weather: Washington’s latest Canadian alcohol ban has the trade groups nodding along, since Canada drinks almost none of our bourbon and we drink a whole lot of theirs. Leverage is leverage. Just don’t pretend trade fights make the whiskey in your glass taste any different.

Col Wood's Call to Action: If you can get to a Festival pour or that Old Forester release room, taste first, photograph the label second, and write three notes before the next booth. Memory is a leaky barrel.

📱 A Word from Our Sponsor (That'd Be Me)

Y’all keep buying allocated bottles and then staring at the shelf six months later like, “Now what in the hell was that one supposed to taste like?” That’s the problem. Pappy week, Cowboy morning, Kentucky Boy at a hundred bucks—none of it matters if the notes live in a napkin, a dying notes app, or your cousin’s group text.

My Bourbon Collection: Vault, Version 3.0.0, is $1.99 on iOS and it does the unglamorous thing right: it keeps the bottle, the proof, the date you cracked it, and the tasting journal permanently. Not until the next phone update. Not until you switch apps and lose half your cellar. Permanent capture, so when this fall’s lottery bottles show up and then vanish, you’ve still got the story.

https://t.co/Bo3oe1zS7j

🛠️ The Distillery: What We’re Barreling Next

We’re not done aging this thing. Coming down the line:

A barcode/OCR scanner so you can add a bottle without typing like you’re filing taxes

Data import, for folks ready to leave that other app without starting from zero
And a few surprise improvements I am not about to spoil, because a good barrel doesn’t tell you everything on day one
We’ll release when it’s ready to drink, not when the calendar yells.

Until Next Week, Friends

I’m headed back to the porch with something that did not require a wristband. Festival dust settles, Cowboy bottles ride out of Texas, and the rest of us still have Monday. Drink what you love, write it down, and don’t let the allocated circus convince you the everyday pour is lesser. It isn’t.

Yours in bourbon,
Col Wood

P.S. - Before you swallow the first sip of anything new this weekend, nose it twice with your mouth slightly open. The second pass is where the truth usually shows up.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

🥃 THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Where Col Wood shares what the angels won't
From the Desk of Col Wood Saturday, September 5, 2026

Well now, friends, I poured a short one this morning before the coffee even finished talking, because September has a way of arriving like a cousin who didn’t call first. National Bourbon Heritage Month is upon us, the shelves are groaning, and the big houses are still arguing about whether the party is over or just changing bands. Pull up a chair.

the obituaries were a little early
Outgoing Brown-Forman chief Lawson Whiting looked the analysts in the eye this week and said the death of American whiskey has been “a bit exaggerated.” Interest, he insists, is still high. The numbers are less poetic. First quarter of fiscal 2027 showed a 1% organic sales dip. The Jack Daniel’s family slipped a point, Honey and Fire took a harder punch, Woodford sat still, and Old Forester was the lone American whiskey in the house that managed a modest 1% rise. Bulk whiskey sales, once a quiet cash machine, have fallen off a cliff — from well over a hundred million to about thirty — as nobody needs extra barrels the way they did two years ago.

I’ll be damned if that doesn’t sound like a man trying to keep the porch light on while the warehouse is still full. Folks are drinking less overall, Canada’s still a mess of boycotts and tariffs, and Kentucky’s barrel count remains historic. But Whiting’s point is worth chewing on: people haven’t fallen out of love with bourbon so much as they’ve gotten pickier, poorer, and more sober-curious. Premium bottles that earn their keep still find a home. The rest is fighting for fridge space next to the NA beer.

Col Wood's Call to Action: Don’t panic-buy the cheap stuff just because it’s on sale. Taste what’s actually in your glass this month, write down whether you’d buy it twice, and let the glut work for you instead of against your wallet.

heritage month showed up with a suitcase
September 2 kicked the door in. Old Forester’s 2026 Birthday Bourbon is out at select retailers — eleven years, Warehouse B, a little extra time in the cistern room that the distillery swears sweetened the fruit. Maker’s Mark dropped Cellar Aged 2026, a cask-strength blend of 11-, 12-, and 14-year juice at 112.1 proof for $175. Michter’s toasted-barrel rye is rolling at barrel strength. Starlight’s putting a 10-year Mizunara Reserve through a lottery. Remus is celebrating ten years of Repeal Reserve with Series X and its first rye. Basil Hayden finished a batch in Cognac casks. Sagamore’s eight-year bottled-in-bond rye is going national. Four Roses already marked the calendar for Limited Edition Small Batch on October 10. Booker’s even named a batch after a milkshake.

That’s a lot of liquid for one month, friends. The industry may be trimming stills and staff, but nobody forgot how to print a pretty label when Heritage Month comes calling. The danger isn’t scarcity anymore. It’s amnesia. You’ll taste four new bottles at a festival, swear you’ll remember the toasted rye versus the cellar blend, and by Thursday the notes are living in a crumpled napkin behind the bar cart.

Col Wood's Call to Action: Pick two releases this month, not twelve. Sit with them on different nights. If a bottle doesn’t earn a sentence in your journal, it doesn’t earn a second pour.

📱 A Word from Our Sponsor (That'd Be Me)
Speaking of napkins and forgotten pours — that’s exactly why I built My Bourbon Collection: Vault. Version 3.0.0 is out now for $1.99, and it exists because Heritage Month and a warehouse glut will fill your shelf faster than your memory can keep up. The app’s permanent data capture and tasting journal mean the proof, the warehouse note, and that “gingerbread toast” remark don’t vanish when the box does. You’re not cataloging trophies. You’re keeping a working record so the next time Old Forester or Maker’s or some leftover allocated unicorn shows up, you already know what you thought last time.
https://t.co/Bo3oe1zS7j
🛠️ The Distillery: What We’re Barreling Next

We’re not done cooking. Next up in the Vault: a barcode and OCR scanner so you can add a bottle without typing like a mule, data import for folks climbing out of another app, and a few quiet surprises I’m not spoiling until they survive the proof run. Patience, same as a rickhouse.
Until Next Week, Friends

The category isn’t dead. It’s just learning to live with fewer automatic toasts and more honest ones. Pour something you chose on purpose this weekend. Tell a neighbor why.
Yours in bourbon,
Col Wood

P.S. - Taste the second sip slower than the first. The first one is manners. The second one is the truth.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

🥃 THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Where Col Wood shares what the angels won't

From the Desk of Col Wood
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Well now, friends, I poured a modest dram this morning and watched the late-summer light hit the glass, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t look like the industry itself this week: a little gold, a little heat, and more new barrels rolling in than a man can reasonably keep straight without a notebook. Pull up a chair.

when the rickhouse door swings open and everybody walks out at once

Folks, the last seven days have been a parade of new bottles. Bardstown Bourbon Company put 2026 Discovery and that Lochs of Jura barrel finish on shelves nationwide—limited, $139.99 a pop, one of them already sporting a near-perfect 99-point score overseas. Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2026 showed up blending 11-, 12-, and 14-year stocks after extra time in the limestone cellar. Starlight dropped a 10-year Mizunara reserve—the oldest they’ve finished in that Japanese oak yet—and Four Roses kept the Experimental Series rolling with a honey cask finish. Add Brough Brothers’ pair honoring the Belle of Louisville (proceeds to the steamboat, bless ’em) and you’ve got more labels than a country store in October.

That’s the fun of it. That’s also the trap. When every distillery is finishing, blending, and shipping limited runs in the same week, a fella can drink three new things and forget which one had the cherry-wood kiss and which one tasted like the cellar. Memory is a leaky barrel.

Col Wood's Call to Action: Pick two of these new releases this weekend—not five—and write three honest notes while the glass is still in your hand. Nose, palate, finish. That’s how you keep the angels from taking more than their share of your recollection.

tariffs, takeovers, and the quiet work of staying in the game

Meanwhile, the grown-up business of whiskey got a little louder. Trade talks with Canada fell apart and those 50% tariffs on Canadian goods (and the long boycott of American whiskey up north) snapped back into place. The American Whiskey Association called it unfinished business, and they’re not wrong—our bottles have been shut out of most Canadian provinces for a year and a half. Down home, Sazerac picked up Garrard County Distilling in Lancaster, adding stills and warehouses to an already sprawling Kentucky footprint. Diageo is chasing a billion dollars in savings and trimming the payroll. Distributors are still picking through the RNDC wreckage, with new letters of intent flying in Indiana and Kentucky.

Optimistic? Sure. Realistic? Also yes. Consolidation and trade friction don’t make the whiskey in your glass worse tonight, but they do mean the map of who owns what—and who can sell where—keeps shifting. Keep an eye on the little guys who still put their name on the stillhouse door.

Col Wood's Call to Action: Next time you’re at the store, ask where a bottle was actually distilled and who owns the brand this month. Curiosity is free, and it keeps you from being surprised when the label changes owners.

📱 A Word from Our Sponsor (That'd Be Me)

Speaking of keeping things straight when the shelves are overflowing—My Bourbon Collection: Vault just shipped Version 3.0.0. For $1.99 it lives on your phone and does the one thing a flood of limited releases makes painfully obvious: it captures the bottle and the tasting notes permanently, so you don’t have to reconstruct last Saturday from a blurry photo and a hazy memory. Tasting journal, collection vault, no cloud that forgets you. That’s the whole point when Bardstown, Maker’s, Starlight, and half of Kentucky drop new juice in the same week.

Grab it here: https://t.co/Bo3oe1ApWR

🛠️ The Distillery: What We’re Barreling Next

We’re not sitting on our hands. Next up we’re working on a barcode and OCR scanner so you can add a bottle without typing every letter like it’s 1998. Data import is coming so you can bring your old collection over from whatever app you used before without starting from scratch. And yes, a couple of surprise improvements are aging in the warehouse—nothing I’ll spoil yet, but they’ll make the vault feel a little more like home.

Until Next Week, Friends

That’s the week from my desk: new whiskey everywhere, old trade fights still simmering, and enough bottles to fill a second rickhouse if we’re not careful. Drink what you love, write it down, and don’t let the noise convince you the simple pour isn’t still the best one.

Yours in bourbon,
Col Wood

P.S. - When you try one of those new finishes, give it five minutes in the glass before you decide. Col Wood talks slow, and so should you.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

🥃 THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Where Col Wood shares what the angels won't

From the Desk of Col Wood
Saturday, August 22, 2026
Well now, friends, the late summer heat’s still clinging to the Bluegrass like a stubborn mule, and I’ve been sitting here with a neat pour watching the industry spin its latest yarns. Seems every week brings a fresh reminder that bourbon’s never truly still—whether the big boys are snapping up shuttered stills or the craft folks are dropping limited bottles that’ll vanish faster than free samples at a festival. Let’s dig into what’s been bubbling this past week.

sazerac’s latest kentucky land grab

I’ll be damned if Sazerac isn’t playing the long game better than most. Just this Friday the folks behind Buffalo Trace, Barton 1792, and a whole heap of other liquid gold made it official: they’ve acquired the shuttered Garrard County Distilling facility down in Lancaster. That place opened with big dreams in 2024, then went quiet for over a year under a mountain of debt—more than $26 million, if the court papers are right. Sazerac picked it up at auction for around $20 million and plans to fire those two column stills back up, hire folks, and fold the 210-acre spread (complete with a couple of warehouses) into their growing Kentucky network.

It’s a smart move in a market where warehouses are full and some smaller operations have felt the pinch. While others are tightening belts, Sazerac keeps adding capacity—they’ve already poured billions into Buffalo Trace expansions and more warehouses across the state. Demand for their portfolio ain’t slowing, and this gives them more room to keep the barrels filling without missing a beat. Optimistic? Sure. Realistic? You bet—plenty of independent dreams have hit hard times lately, and the big players with deep pockets are the ones stepping in.

Col Wood’s Call to Action: Next time you’re hunting bottles, pay attention to the supply stories behind the labels. Support the folks keeping the stills humming—whether that’s a visit to a Sazerac property or just raising a glass to the workers getting those jobs back in Garrard County. Keep an eye on what rolls out of Lancaster in the years ahead; it might just show up in your favorite pours.

bardstown’s unexpected finishes hit the shelves

Speaking of fresh liquid, Bardstown Bourbon Company dropped a pair of limited 2026 annual releases that started hitting shelves yesterday—2026 Discovery and Lochs of Jura Barrel Finish, both clocking in at a suggested $139.99. Discovery takes a blend of 7-, 10-, and 11-year Kentucky bourbons, finishes ’em four months in rare Garryana (Oregon white oak) barrels, and bottles at a lively 112.8 proof. Lochs of Jura starts with a custom mix of bourbon and rye, then rests another 32 months in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks from Scotland’s remote Isle of Jura before coming out at 104 proof. That Jura expression even snagged a 99-point Best American Whiskey nod at the IWSC earlier this year.

These ain’t your everyday finishes, friends. Garryana brings clove and nutmeg whispers you don’t get from the usual white oak, while those Jura casks pull in unexpected Scotch-side character without losing the Kentucky soul. In a year where folks are more curious than ever about production details and value, Bardstown’s proving you can still innovate without chasing scarcity hype alone. Limited quantities mean you’ll have to move quick if you want one—or both—on your shelf.

Col Wood’s Call to Action: Get out there this weekend and track these down if the finishes intrigue you. Taste side-by-side if you can score both, and jot down what the different woods do to the whiskey. Share your notes with a buddy—conversation over a pour is half the fun.

📱 A Word from Our Sponsor (That’d Be Me)

Now, with limited releases flying out the door and big companies adding capacity left and right, keeping track of what’s actually in your own collection can feel like herding cats in a thunderstorm. That’s where My Bourbon Collection: Vault comes in, friends. The brand-new Version 3.0.0 is live on the App Store for just $1.99, and it’s built for exactly this kind of chaos. Permanent data capture means your tasting notes, bottle details, and inventory stick around no matter what—perfect when you’re trying to remember how that Garryana-finished Discovery stacked up against last year’s finds, or tracking the steady stream of new expressions hitting the market. The tasting journal turns every sip into a lasting record so you don’t lose those “I’ll be damned” moments to memory alone. Grab it here and put a little order in the beautiful madness: https://t.co/Bo3oe1ApWR

🛠️ The Distillery: What We’re Barreling Next

We’re not resting on our barrels, folks. Coming down the line: a Barcode/OCR Scanner so you can add bottles with a quick snap instead of hunting for details by hand, Data Import tools to make the jump from whatever app you’re currently using smoother than a well-aged pour, and a few surprise improvements we’re still aging in the dark. Patience, friends—good things take time, just like the whiskey.

Until Next Week, Friends

That’s the share for this week. Keep your glasses full, your curiosity sharper than a new char, and remember that even in a shifting market the good stuff finds a way. Raise one for the folks back at work in Lancaster and the innovators dropping those unexpected finishes. I’ll be right here next Saturday with more.

Yours in bourbon,
Col Wood

P.S. - When you crack a new bottle, take the first pour neat and let it sit a minute—patience reveals what the rush misses.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

Greetings, y'all. This fine 10-year single barrel is a true Southern classic—smooth caramel, oak, and spice in perfect balance. A warm, honest pour that never fails to please. MSRP: $55

My Bourbon Collection Score: 4.1/10

Hunt Score: 4/10 Easy Find

Taste Score: 7.2/10 Derby Position: 7
Collection Score: 1/10 - Common

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

🥃 THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Where Col Wood shares what the angels won't

From the Desk of Col Wood
Saturday, August 15, 2026
I’ll be damned if this August heat doesn’t make a man appreciate a slow pour even more. The cicadas are still singin’, the barrels are still breathin’, and I’ve got the latest from the rickhouses ready to share with you folks like we’re sittin’ on the porch with a couple of glasses between us.

the warehouses keep stackin’ higher—mgp’s brown goods drop 59%

Friends, the numbers don’t lie, and they ain’t pretty this week. MGP Ingredients—one of the heavy hitters in contract distillation—just reported that its brown goods sales (bourbon, rye, and the rest of the whiskey they supply to other brands) fell a full 59% in the second quarter. Distilling Solutions revenue overall was down 42%. They blamed the ongoing industry-wide barrel glut and customers holdin’ back to manage inventory and cash flow.

We’ve known the boom was coolin’, but seein’ a drop that steep still makes a man sit up straight. Premium brands under their roof like Penelope showed some growth, so it ain’t all darkness, but the message is clear: the days of endless demand are behind us for now. Production pauses earlier this year weren’t idle talk. The angels are takin’ their share, and the market’s adjustin’ the hard way. Optimistic? Still am—quality always finds a home. Realistic? You better believe it.

Col Wood’s Call to Action: Walk your own collection this weekend. Write down what’s open, what’s collectin’ dust, and what’s actually gettin’ poured. In a glut like this, knowin’ exactly what you own keeps you from buyin’ more of the same.

fresh juice on the trail—redemption’s first bib and garrison brothers’ laguna madre

On the brighter side of the ledger, a couple of solid new pours just stepped into the light. Redemption Whiskey rolled out its first-ever bottled-in-bond single barrel—minimum six years old, 100 proof, high-rye mash bill from MGP’s Ross & Squibb Distillery, non-chill filtered, and hand-selected by master blender Alan Kennedy. It lands nationwide in September as the lead of their relaunched Higher Marques line, right around $50. Vanilla, leather, crème brûlée, and warm spices on the notes—sounds like a everyday sipper worth chasin’.

Meanwhile, Garrison Brothers’ 2026 Laguna Madre hit e-commerce and key accounts this past week after the distillery event on the 8th. Eight full years—four in American oak, four in rare Limousin—bottled at 101 proof, with a limited cask-strength single barrel version at 135.4 for those who like it uncut. Creamy white chocolate, cacao, and that Texas heat signature. Only 3,000 bottles total, so it won’t linger long.

Col Wood’s Call to Action: If either of these catches your eye, grab one and taste it next to something already on your shelf. Jot the differences down—age, proof, finish. That’s how you turn a purchase into real knowledge.

📱 A Word from Our Sponsor (That’d Be Me)

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When the market’s full of excess inventory and fresh releases, the permanent data capture and tasting journal let you log every bottle and every note so nothin’ gets lost in the shuffle. No more guessin’ what you already own when the next limited drop tempts you. Keep your collection honest right here:
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🛠️ The Distillery: What We’re Barreling Next
We’re still fillin’ barrels in the digital rickhouse. Comin’ soon: a barcode/OCR scanner for addin’ bottles in a flash, data import so you can bring lists over from whatever app you’re leavin’ behind, and a handful of surprise improvements I’m keepin’ under wraps for now. Good things take time—just like the whiskey.

Until Next Week, Friends

That’s the lay of the land from this desk. The industry’s workin’ through its surplus with some hard numbers and some welcome new juice. Pour yourself something honest, raise a glass to the folks still craftin’ with care, and I’ll meet you right back here next Saturday.

Yours in bourbon,
Col Wood

P.S. - When you taste, give it a full minute in the glass before the first sip. The nose always tells half the story if you’ll just let it speak.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

🥃 THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Where Col Wood shares what the angels won't

From the Desk of Col Wood
August 8, 2026
Well now, friends, the porch fan’s turning slow this morning and the coffee’s strong enough to stand a spoon up in. I’ve been watching the news roll in like summer thunderheads over the bluegrass, and I’ll be damned if the whiskey world isn’t still full of surprises even when the warehouses are stacked higher than a church steeple. Pull up a chair—let’s talk about what’s been pouring out this past week.

stetson finally tips its hat to the barrel

Folks, after more than 160 years of putting cowboy hats on American heads, Stetson has decided the American West needs a proper pour to go with the brim. This week the brand saddled up with master blender Dan Callaway and two Kentucky heavyweights—Bardstown Bourbon Company and Green River Distilling Co.—for the first-ever collaboration between those two outfits. The result is a 100-proof high-rye Kentucky straight bourbon averaging about seven years, showing buttery oak, caramel, vanilla, brandied fruit, and warm baking spices. Suggested retail sits right around seventy bucks, available online and at select Texas shops for now, with wider distribution on the horizon.

It’s a classic American story: take something iconic, treat it with respect, and let Kentucky do what Kentucky does best. In a market still wrestling with too many barrels and softer demand, a new brand with real heritage and honest juice is a welcome sight on the shelf.

Col Wood’s Call to Action: Next time you’re shopping, look past the usual suspects and give a new name like this a fair shake. Write down what you taste—nose, palate, finish—and see how it holds up against your favorites. Knowledge is the best insurance against a crowded market.

jack daniel’s climbs coy hill for a high angel’s share

Meanwhile down in Lynchburg, Jack Daniel’s just dropped Distillery Series Selection #17: High Angel’s Share Straight Tennessee Whiskey. These barrels spent a decade on the top floor of Barrelhouse 1-13 atop Coy Hill, where the angels take more than their fair share and the liquid left behind gets mighty concentrated. Bottled at a batch-proof 138.4, the official notes speak of brown sugar, banana nut bread, maple syrup, and a long, warm oak finish. It’s in 375 ml bottles, $44.75, and available only in Tennessee and at the distillery’s White Rabbit Bottle Shop for now.

High evaporation, high proof, high interest—exactly the kind of experiment that keeps the category lively while the bigger industry picture stays complicated. When the angels get greedy, the rest of us get something special.

Col Wood’s Call to Action: If you can get your hands on a bottle (or any high-proof experimental release), don’t just drink it—document it. Note the proof, the warehouse story, and how those concentrated flavors evolve in the glass. Those details disappear faster than the angels’ share if you don’t write them down.

📱 A Word from Our Sponsor (That’d Be Me)

Speaking of writing things down, friends… with new bottles landing every week and warehouses full to bursting, it’s easier than ever to lose track of what you’ve got, what you’ve tasted, and what you actually think about it. That’s exactly why I built My Bourbon Collection: Vault. Version 3.0.0 is out now, and it gives you permanent data capture and a proper tasting journal so those notes don’t vanish into the ether. Track every bottle, every pour, every impression—especially handy when the market’s tossing new releases and high-proof experiments at you faster than you can keep up. It’s just $1.99 on the App Store. Grab it here: https://t.co/Bo3oe1ApWR

🛠️ The Distillery: What We’re Barreling Next

We’re still aging a few good things in the warehouse. Coming down the pike: a barcode/OCR scanner so you can add bottles without typing every last detail, smooth data import for folks moving over from another app, and a handful of surprise improvements I’m not quite ready to spill yet. Patience, friends—good whiskey and good features both take time.

Until Next Week, Friends

That’s the week’s share from this old colonel’s desk. Keep your glasses full, your notes honest, and your sense of humor dry. The industry’s got its challenges, but the juice keeps getting more interesting if you know where to look.

Yours in bourbon,
Col Wood

P.S. – Next time you pour a high-proof whiskey, let it sit in the glass a full five minutes before the first sip. The angels already took their share; give the rest of us a chance to catch up.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

Greetings, y'all. This High Angels’ Share delivers rich concentration from those thirsty barrels—caramelized citrus, oak, and spice in fine harmony. A true Southern pleasure in a small bottle.

-Distributers MSRP: $59.99 (375 ml)
-Colonel’s Palate Score: 8.2/10 - Place Finisher
-Colonel’s Rarity Score: 7/10 - High Target

Highly recommended for those seeking concentrated Old Forester character.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2024 https://t.co/sB0bPUkZOs

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

Greetings, y'all. Blade and Bow offers a refined, approachable sip with soft fruit, vanilla, and gentle oak—true Southern hospitality in a glass, perfect for sipping neat or sharing.

MSRP: Approximately $50

Colonel’s Palate Score: 6.5/10 - Steady Strider

Colonel’s Rarity Score: 4/10 - Common

A reliable, well-made everyday bourbon that honors Stitzel-Weller heritage without pretension; recommended for regular enjoyment.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Where Col Wood shares what the angels won't
From the Desk of Col Wood
Saturday, August 1, 2026
Well now, friends, pull up a chair and forgive me for going dark last week. I was off on a little bourbon-related travel—chasing down some barrels and good conversation down Kentucky way—and the newsletter just had to wait. Truth is, the angels got their share of my time, and I came back with a full glass and a fuller head of stories. Let’s dig into what’s been bubbling in the industry these past few days.
sazerac keeps knocking, brown-forman keeps saying “not today”
I’ll be damned if the takeover talk doesn’t keep circling like a hound around a smokehouse. Sazerac—those Buffalo Trace folks—sent another letter this week asking Brown-Forman (Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve, for the uninitiated) to reconsider that old $15 billion buyout offer. Brown-Forman’s board looked it over, talked it through with the family that still holds the reins, and came back with a polite but firm “not actionable.”
Folks, this isn’t just corporate theater. The whole whiskey world’s feeling the squeeze—consumers drinking a little less, inventory piling up, and the big boys eyeing each other for scale. Brown-Forman’s staying independent for now, which is fine by me. There’s something comforting about a company that still answers to a family more than a spreadsheet. But mark my words: these conversations ain’t going away while the market stays soft.
Col Wood’s Call to Action: Next time you’re shopping, skip the hype and pick up a bottle from a family-owned or independently minded outfit. Support the ones holding their ground—your dollars vote louder than any press release.
mgp’s sales take a nosedive, and the warehouse shelves keep filling
One of America’s biggest contract distilleries just laid some hard numbers on the table. MGP up in Indiana—makers of whiskey for all sorts of brands you know and love—reported brown goods sales down a staggering 59 percent in the second quarter. Contract distilling side dropped hard too, and they’re pinning it square on the whiskey glut we’ve all been whispering about.
Kentucky’s sitting on a record 16-plus million barrels of bourbon, much of it left over from the last round of tariff scuffles with Canada. New tariff talk is swirling again, and the industry’s still trying to work through the last pile-up. Production’s slowing in places, warehouses are full, and the contract folks are feeling it first. It’s a correction, plain and simple—not the end of the world, but a reminder that even the best whiskey needs drinkers to match the stills.
Col Wood’s Call to Action: With so many bottles looking for homes, now’s the time to taste carefully and keep notes. Don’t just buy—pay attention to what’s actually in your glass so you know what you love when the shelves start clearing again.
A Word from Our Sponsor (That’d Be Me)
Speaking of keeping notes and not losing track of what’s what in this crowded market… friends, if your collection’s growing faster than you can remember the details, I’ve got just the thing. My Bourbon Collection: Vault just dropped Version 3.0.0 on iOS, and it’s built for exactly this moment. Permanent data capture and a proper tasting journal mean you can log every bottle, every pour, every thought—before that next limited release or warehouse special disappears into the fog of “what did that one taste like again?” No more sticky notes or half-forgotten spreadsheets. For $1.99, it’s cheaper than a pour at most bars and a whole lot more useful when the industry’s swimming in inventory.
Grab it here: https://t.co/Bo3oe1ApWR
The Distillery: What We’re Barreling Next
We’re not sitting still, either. Next up in the Vault: a barcode/OCR scanner so you can add bottles without typing every letter like it’s 1995, data import so folks switching from another app can bring their history with them, and a handful of quiet improvements I’m keeping under wraps for now. Think of it as the angel’s share of innovation—slowly evaporating the friction so the good stuff stays.
Until Next Week, Friends
That’s the news from this side of the barrel. The industry’s got its challenges, but bourbon’s survived worse and come out smoother for it. Pour something honest this weekend, share it with somebody who’ll listen, and remember—the best stories usually start with “well now…”
Yours in bourbon,
Col Wood
P.S. - Next time you nose a glass, give it a full thirty seconds of quiet before you sip. The angels already took their share; the rest is yours to discover.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

Greetings, y’all. This Old Glory blend of Chicken Cock rye and Laird’s apple brandy offers a bright, patriotic pour—orchard fruit, honey, and spice in fine harmony. A true American original worth raising a glass to.

MSRP: $64.99
Colonel’s Palate Score: 7.5/10 - Show Star
Colonel’s Rarity Score: 6/10 - Solid Hold

Recommended for those seeking a distinctive, heritage-driven sipper with excellent balance and approachability.

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

Greetings, y'all. This St. George Dragonslayer brings a bold Kentucky spirit with warm oak, vanilla, and dark chocolate notes that finish smoky and true. A fine adventure in the glass.

MSRP: Not publicly listed

Colonel’s Palate Score: 6.5/10 - Steady Strider

Colonel’s Rarity Score: 5/10 - Accessible

Recommended for those seeking a distinctive craft pour with heroic character.

Colonel Wood’s After Hours Bourbon Reserve
Worth Staying Up For
https://t.co/FGSPeuHnUU

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

Greetings Y’all, I poured the first measure of Old Commonwealth’s latest 10-year with measured expectation. The bottle carried the usual weight of history—the Lawrenceburg facility, the Van Winkle years, the deliberate pursuit of what they call “big dusty energy.” I have learned to approach such claims with polite skepticism, yet I remained open.
The first impression was immediate and uncompromising: a pronounced dryness, the scent and taste of spent black tea leaves, that oxidized, almost library-like character one associates with older bottles found in quiet estate sales. Burnt sugar appeared briefly on the mid-palate, accompanied by a faint suggestion of darker fruit and a persistent rye spice that lingered after the rest had departed. The finish itself was short, clean, and austere—flavors present while the whiskey was in the mouth, then largely gone upon the swallow. It reminded me, in structure if not in precise flavor, of the old Grand-Dad 116: honest, drying, and without lingering sweetness.
Consideration was given to a whiskey sour or an Old Fashioned, but the exercise proved unnecessary. The whiskey’s character is already fully declared neat. Adding sweetness and acid would only obscure the very qualities that define it, rendering the pour largely interchangeable with any competent bourbon in a mixed glass. The liquid does not require improvement; it simply requires the proper setting.
What remained was the whiskey itself—rye-based, intentionally old-fashioned, closer in spirit to the drier, less dessert-oriented bourbons of an earlier era than to the sweeter, more polished expressions that dominate the current market. It is well made, coherent in its aims, and more heavily marketed than the drinking experience ultimately requires. Against a straightforward 10-year such as Eagle Rare it does not compete on balance, length, or everyday pleasure. Its strength lies elsewhere: in atmosphere.
And so the proper setting became clear. I shall take the bottle to the leather chair, light a cigar, and allow the whiskey to keep company with smoke, aged hide, and the quiet talk of horses and history. In that context the dried-tea dryness and muted sweetness are not shortcomings. They are simply the character of the thing—an honest, unadorned pour from a style that once required no further explanation.

Colonel Wood

[My Bourbon Collection: Vault @Col_Wood40202]

Greetings, y'all. This Old Commonwealth 10 Year Batch 3 delivers refined dusty character with elegant spice and lasting depth—a true nod to heritage that rewards the patient sipper.

MSRP: $199.99
Colonel’s Palate Score: 8.2/10 - Place Finisher
Colonel’s Rarity Score: 7/10 - High Target

Highly recommended for collectors seeking balanced modern heritage.

Colonel Wood’s After Hours Bourbon Reserve
Worth Staying Up For
https://t.co/FGSPeuGQ5m