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The Bourbon Fox & Hound

The Fox's Take

The Hound chases. The Fox tastes.

Two animals, one operation. The Hound runs the drops, the shelf intel, and the alerts. The Fox decides whether the bottle was worth opening once it came home — the tasting notes, the side-by-sides, the honest verdict on what to actually pour.

115

Tasting notes

25

Bottles written up

10

In the queue

The posture

The Fox does not chase. The Fox decides what was worth chasing.

Every Fox writeup is on a bottle the Hound has poured. No secondhand notes. No press kit copy. If the Fox has not nosed it, the entry says so. If the Fox is new to a category — and on several of these the Fox is — the entry leads with that.

The intel is the product. The intel has to be clean. The Fox keeps the Ledger honest.

Field tastings

From the journal.

September 21, 2026 · The Hound

The Hyperion, and the Bottle That Went Too Fast

Redwood Empire's Hyperion, the 2026 Release - a blend of straight whiskeys that prints its own recipe: 32 percent bourbon, 30 rye, 25 wheat, 13 single malt, bottled unfiltered at 110 proof. Steve held the allocation at The Brothers, ninety-one dollars a bottle. It did not last the week.

Smooth for 110 proofSweet but not too sweetToasted maltLingering oakWent fast

June 22, 2026 · The Hound

Tonight's Pour — Penelope Toasted Rye, After the Goal

Watched Messi tie the international scoring record at the bar. Came home, cracked the seal on a gift bottle of Penelope Toasted Rye to mark it. Now the Hound will always remember where it was when that goal went in.

Toasted oak and brown sugarCinnamon stickBlack pepper rye spineVanilla and caramel from the finish barrelLong heat — earned, not aggressive

June 9, 2026 · The Hound

Tonight's Pour — Still Austin 'The Artist' Straight Rye

Food & Wine ran a bartender roundup of the best whiskeys for a Manhattan today. Still Austin's straight rye made the cut alongside Rittenhouse and Michter's. So the Hound came back to The Artist tonight — 100 proof, Texas grain-to-glass, around forty bucks.

Black pepper spiceCinnamon and cloveSoft caramelHonest grainLong warm finish

June 7, 2026 · The Hound

Lovely Pour, Amazing Manhattan — Peerless Toasted Rye at The Brothers

Steve poured Peerless Toasted Rye, Batch 2, 109 proof, at The Brothers on Sunday. The last pour from the bottle. The Hound had met this one the week before in a Perfect Manhattan — large rock, the way it should be built. Two pours, two formats, one empty decanter on the bar.

Toasted oakCaramelized brown sugarBaking spiceSoft cherryLong warm finish

June 7, 2026 · The Hound

Planters Single Barrel, and the Label That Means It

Planters Whiskey Ozark Highlands Single Barrel Reserve — produced by Nobleton's Distilling House in Union, Missouri. 57.66 percent. The back label reads like a country song. The whiskey inside backs it up.

EarthyTobaccoSweet honeySoft fruitLong warm finish

June 7, 2026 · The Hound

The Juice Box and The Brothers Picked This One

Sunday at The Brothers. Steve poured Rare Character Single Barrel rye — a joint pick by St. Louis Juice Box and the bar itself. Barrel R95-200. 115.44 proof. Eight years and two months old. The cartoon zebra on the label has a rifle and a thousand-yard stare. So did the Hound after the first sip.

Toasted rye breadBlack pepperStone fruit pitMint at the backLong heat, no harshness

From the ledger

Bottles, profiled.

Redwood Empire

The Hyperion, 2026 Release

Smooth for 110 proofSweet but not too sweetToasted maltLingering oak

Penelope Bourbon

Toasted Rye — Toasted Series, Batch 24-504

Toasted oak and brown sugarCinnamon stickBlack pepper rye spineVanilla and caramel from the finish barrelLong heat — earned, not aggressive

Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co.

Toasted Rye, Batch 2

Toasted oakCaramelized brown sugarBaking spiceSoft cherryLong warm finish

Nobleton's Distilling House (Planters Whiskey)

Ozark Highlands Single Barrel Reserve

EarthyDamp tobaccoDark honeyStone fruitLong warm finish

Rare Character Whiskey Co.

Single Barrel Series Rye — Barrel R95-200

Toasted rye breadBlack pepperStone fruit pitMint at the backLong heat, no harshness

Found North Whisky

Goldfinch First Flight — 15 Year Cask Strength

HoneyOrchard fruitButterscotchGolden raisinDry oak

Found North Whisky

Single Barrel 12 Year — Cherry Liqueur Finish

Black cherryVanillaDried oakToasted grainLong finish

Frank August

Small Batch Straight Rye

Brown sugarCaramelRye pepperCinnamonLight leather

Starlight Distillery

Mizunara Reserve, Batch 002

SandalwoodCoconutHoneyToasted oakFaint incense

Open verdict

In the queue.

Bottles the Hound has poured but the Fox has not signed off on yet. One pour is an impression. Two is a verdict. These are waiting for the second pour.

Forge of Freedom, American Light Whiskey

Pending
  • · American light whiskey, aged 11 years
  • · A special release to celebrate America's semiquincentennial — United States 250th anniversary, 1776–2026, July 2026 (per the label)
  • · Finished in a 45% wheat bourbon barrel (per the label)
  • · Finished in French oak, white ash, and cherry wood (per the label)

Copper Dome Campus Series, "Gum Tree"

Pending

Nobleton's Distilling House

  • · 57.4% ABV — handwritten into the ALC./VOL. box
  • · Blend of two complementary barrels, hand-selected by seven 1906 Society founders and longtime fans of SEMO, Nobleton's, and Copper Dome (per the label)
  • · 750 mL — age and mash bill not printed on the bottle

Poured at The Brothers Beer & Bourbon House, Ballwin, MO

Copper Dome Presidential Reserve, Volume I

Pending

Nobleton's Distilling House

  • · Wheated mash bill — 70% corn, 25% wheat, 5% malted barley, all Missouri-grown
  • · Hand-selected by Dr. Carlos Vargas, then president of SEMO
  • · Alumni-owned distillery, Union, MO
  • · Portion of sales funds SEMO scholarships

Poured at The Brothers Beer & Bourbon House, Ballwin, MO

FEW Bottled-in-Bond Single Barrel

Pending

FEW Spirits (Evanston, IL)

  • · 100 proof — bottled-in-bond
  • · Single barrel release

Heaven's Door Exploration Series I — Calvados Cask Finished

Pending

Heaven's Door Distillery

  • · Finished in Calvados casks with toasted oak staves
  • · 108 proof — 54% ABV
  • · Exploration Series Volume I

Poured at The Brothers Beer & Bourbon House, Ballwin, MO

Joseph Magnus — Brothers & St. Louis Juice Box Private Barrel

Pending

Joseph Magnus / Jos. A. Magnus & Co.

  • · Private barrel: "From the Private Barrel of The Brothers & St. Louis Juice Box"
  • · Exclusive Bottling — store pick

Poured at The Brothers Beer & Bourbon House, Ballwin, MO

Penelope Estate Collection 9yr Private Select

Pending

Penelope Bourbon (MGP-sourced)

  • · Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskey
  • · 101.2 proof — 50.6% ABV
  • · Estate Collection private select

Poured at The Brothers Beer & Bourbon House, Ballwin, MO

Still Austin Cask Strength

Pending

Still Austin Whiskey Co. (Austin, TX)

  • · 116 proof — 58% ABV
  • · Cask strength release

The pack

The Fox is one half.

The Hound runs the rest. The Barrel Ledger tracks what is dropping and where it is sitting. The Journal carries the field dispatches. Drops and Intel is the live feed.

And if you want the intel before it goes public, the monthly dispatch goes to the Lodge first.

Join the Lodge →