Three of the core expressions in the Redemption Whiskey range.

Redemption Whiskey was founded in 2010. It focuses on reviving the classic American rye whiskey style that was predominant before Prohibition. The brand seeks to celebrate America’s original spirit by creating high-quality rye and bourbon whiskeys. Recently, I had an opportunity to sample Redemption’s whiskey lineup. Below are the tasting notes.

Bardstown Barrel Selections initially launched Redemption, which Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits acquired in 2015. The whiskey is sourced from the MGP Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Known for its high-quality rye and bourbon production, MGP has played a critical role in the revival of the American rye whiskey industry and has a proven record of crafting rye whiskeys from a variety of traditional rye mash bills.

Redemption focuses on high rye content in its mash bills, especially for its rye whiskeys, to create bold and spicy flavor profiles.

Redemption Straight Rye Whiskey, 2 YO, 46% ABV, 750 ml

The mash bill is the classic MGP high rye mash bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barrel. This classic recipe has been the basis of many award-winning American rye whiskeys.

It is robust and spicy on the palate, with rye bread, black pepper, spearmint, and dill aromas, complemented by hints of caramel, almond, nutmeg, and vanilla.

It’s full-bodied with a distinctive mouth weight on the palate, featuring spicy rye, caramel, and citrus peel flavors. Additional black pepper, cinnamon notes, and an herbal touch of mint create a complex and layered profile. The finish is long, with lingering rye spices of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, some mint, and a subtle sweetness of caramel and vanilla.

Redemption High-Rye Bourbon, NAS, 46% ABV, 750 ml

The mash bill is 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. The bottle doesn’t carry an age statement, but the whiskey is believed to be an average of 2.5 years.

The nose offers caramel, vanilla, and toasted oak aromas, along with hints of dried fruit and a touch of traditional rye spices, especially nutmeg. The palate is smooth and well-balanced, featuring sweet corn and corncake flavors, toffee, and vanilla. The high rye content adds a spicy edge, with notes of black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. The finish is medium length, with lingering notes of caramel, oak, and a hint of rye spices.

Whiskey with ice cubes in glass

Redemption Wheated Bourbon, 4 YO, 46% ABV, 750 ml, Batch# 2

The mash bill comprises 51% corn, 45% winter wheat, and 4% malted barley. This is among the highest wheated mash bills among American bourbon producers.

The nose has an unmistakable sweetness featuring aromas of honey, vanilla, and baked bread, complemented by hints of caramel and oak. It’s soft and creamy on the palate, showcasing honey, vanilla, baked apple, and butterscotch flavors. The wheat in the mash bill adds a smooth and mellow texture with subtle cinnamon spice notes, particularly nutmeg and toasted nuts. The finish is medium length, with a gentle sweetness and a smooth, lingering finish of vanilla and honey.

Redemption Barrel Proof Straight Rye Whiskey, 10 YO, 55.1% ABV, 750 ml

This rye whiskey has consistently won medals in international spirit competitions. It’s crafted from a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% barley malt.

The rye whiskey offers an aromatic and intense nose, showcasing a layered complexity of rye spices, caramel, dark chocolate, and toasted oak. Additional hints of vanilla and a touch of citrus add depth. It’s robust and full-bodied on the palate, with an oily, dense quality. It features strong flavors of spicy rye, dark chocolate, cooked cereal, apple, and caramel. The high proof intensifies the experience with black pepper, cinnamon notes, and a hint of mint. The finish is exceptionally long, with lingering notes of rye spice, dark chocolate, a gentle sweetness of caramel and vanilla, and a touch of bitterness at the end.

Redemption Barrel Proof High-Rye Bourbon, 9 YO, 57.2% ABV, 750 ml

The mash bill includes 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. There is also a 10 YO version with a mash bill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. The tasting notes apply to the 9 YO expression, although the two bourbons are similar in aroma and taste profile. The 10 YO is spicier on the palate, especially on the finish, with a more pronounced rye spice note.

The bourbon is rich and aromatic, with notes of caramel, vanilla, and dark fruit, complemented by hints of toasted oak and baking spices. It’s robust on the palate with a layered, nuanced complexity, featuring flavors of toffee, dark chocolate, and dried cherries. The high rye content adds a spicy edge, especially on the 10 YO expression, with pronounced black pepper, clove notes, and an herbal hint of tobacco leaf. The finish is long, with lingering notes of caramel, oak, and a pronounced rye spice.

Redemption Whiskey has successfully revived the classic American rye whiskey high rye mash bill, producing high-quality whiskeys that honor the rich history of American distilling. Each expression offers a unique and memorable tasting experience, from the bold and spicy Straight Rye Whiskey to the rich and complex Barrel Proof offerings. Whether you’re a rye enthusiast or a bourbon lover, Redemption’s whiskeys provide a delightful journey into the world of premium American spirits.

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No matter where you are in the country right now—no matter what town you’re in, on what time of what day—the answer to that question is almost certainly, yes. Imagine someone places an icy Mojito into your hand, condensation already beading on the glass, the bright mentholated aroma reaching up to invite you to take a sip. What are you going to say? No?

Rum is the ultimate summer spirit. There are some spirits, like gin, that can easily wear summer clothes, and others, like whiskey, that require a bit more mixological magic to get them to vibe with the sunshine, but rum doesn’t need so much as a raised eyebrow. Rum was born in the sun. Molded by it. There’s some fair disagreement about where specifically rum was invented—some say Barbados in the mid 1600s, while others point to earlier versions in both Indonesia and Brazil—but no matter where it’s from, one thing those places all have in common is that even the winters are hot.

Rum drinks have also gained a reputation for being big buckets of juice. This is understandable, but unjust. Their inextricability from tropical vacations is a double-edged sword because the bars at these places tend to use sugar as a substitute for freshness, precision or training. Fortunately for everyone, properly made rum drinks are never too sweet and are a late-summer revelation—whether it’s the bracing tartness of the traditional Mai Tai or the sultry texture of an Old Cuban, here are nine rum cocktails to get you to through the dog days of summer.

The Queen’s Park Swizzle is like the alter ego of the Mojito, its dark twin. “If the Mojito is like a lovely evening with your spouse,” we write, “the Queen’s Park Swizzle is like a beautiful stranger leading you by the hand down a dark hallway towards the sounds of a party you can’t yet see.” They share a build—rum, lime, simple syrup, and mint—but the Queen’s Park trades the Mojito’s easy brightness of light rum for the indulgent vanilla notes of an aged rum, and adds a spicy shock of Angostura Bitters on top, all supercharged by the chilling power of crushed ice. Make the recipe below and find out why it has been called “the most delightful form of anesthesia given out today.”

2 oz. aged rum

0.75 oz. lime juice

0.75 oz. demerara syrup

8-10 mint leaves

Add mint leaves to a tall glass. Add simple syrup and gently muddle mint into the syrup. Add crushed ice two-thirds or so full and agitate (either swizzle back and forth with a swizzle stick or a bar spoon, or else just stir) until the glass begins to frost. Add crushed ice to fill and decorate the top with two to three dashes of Angostura Bitters. Garnish with a mint sprig and serve with a straw.

There are two Daiquiris, and for our purposes, we can divide them into the right kind and the wrong kind—and if you believe Daiquiris to be blended concoctions of sour mix spiked with rum so cheap they don’t sell it in liquor stores, I regret to inform you that you’ve only had the wrong kind. “One is the neon slushy you’d get in Cancun that’s so sweet you involuntarily lick the air after you taste it,” we’ve warned you of previously, “and the other is one of the greatest simple cocktails of all time.” A proper Daiquiri is simply rum, lime, and sugar—find out why it’s a great litmus test of a bartender’s skill, or just make one, below.

2 oz

1 oz. fresh lime juice

0.75 oz. simple syrup

Add ingredients to shaker tin, add ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds. Strain off ice into a stemmed coupe glass. Garnish with a thin lime wheel or honestly nothing at all and enjoy while reflecting that the best things are often the simplest.

The Piña Colada is a vacation in itself, “the cocktail equivalent,” we say, “of the guy at the bar wearing a Hawaiian shirt who keeps trying to strike up conversations with everyone, and whom you end up liking despite yourself.” It is as much as anything responsible for the sugary reputation of rum drinks, but with a lighter hand on the coconut and a little added lime juice, it can be transcendent. Honestly, even bad ones are pretty good, and good ones are phenomenal.

2 oz. rum

0.25 oz. lime juice

1.5 oz. pineapple juice

1.5 oz. cream of coconut

If using pebble ice: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with a handful of pebble ice and “whip” to mix everything together. Dump contents into a festive glass and pack in as much more ice as will fit.

If using a blender: Add liquid ingredients and about 6 to 8 oz. ice to a blender and blend on high for about 10 seconds. Empty into a festive glass.

In both cases, garnish with pineapple leaves, an orange slice, and a little colorful umbrella, if you’ve got it.

“Across the entire classic cocktail universe,” we claim, “no drink has suffered more indignity—had more liquid crimes done in its name—than the Mai Tai.” Like the Daiquiri, you might think you know what the Mai Tai is about, but if you’re picturing a deathly sweet, over-juiced concoction, you’re picturing the wrong one. The original 1944 Mai Tai is just rum, lime, orange liqueur and almond—tart and bracing, and among the strongest of the classic cocktails. Find out what Mai Tai means (and how it became the sugar-embalmed zombie version of itself) here or make one for yourself with the recipe below.

2 oz. aged rum (Appleton Estates Signature Blend or Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum)

0.5 oz. orange curaçao (Grand Marnier)

0.5 oz. orgeat (Small Hands Foods Orgeat)

1 oz. lime juice

Add all ingredients together in a tin with crushed ice. Shake briefly, about five seconds, and empty contents into a tropical-looking 14 oz.-ish glass. Pack with more crushed ice and garnish with a juiced lime husk and a sprig of mint, making it resemble a palm tree on a small green island.

The Old Cuban—aged rum, lime, simple syrup, and mint, with Angostura Bitters and Champagne—is very often described as a combination of a French 75 and a Mojito, but we think that’s not quite right. Both of those latter cocktails are pure brightness, while the vanilla from the aged rum and the spice from the bitters in the Old Cuban “moves it from poolside to inside,” we write, “as if under a slowly twisting ceiling fan in a smoky room, long narrow beams of light through the wooden shutters.” It is the darker side of refreshing, the more alluring and seductive side, and has our vote for one of the best cocktails invented in the last 20 years.

1.5 oz. aged rum

0.75 oz. lime juice

0.75 oz. simple syrup

6-8 mint leaves

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

2 oz. sparkling wine

Add all ingredients except wine to a cocktail shaker with ice, shake well for 10 to 12 seconds and strain into a flute or stemmed cocktail glass. Top with wine and garnish with a mint leaf or sprig.

The Painkiller is one of only a handful of drinks that has been patented by a liquor company, so legally speaking, there’s only one recipe we’re allowed to say is a Painkiller, and unfortunately, it isn’t all that good. But Painkiller-adjacent recipes can be phenomenal—some incorporate lime and/or passionfruit to shock the whole thing to life, and some just use a different rum to add richness. Either way, it’s a template too good to be ignored—and it’s all the more fun when you know the sordid history of the drink, involving corporate espionage and a run in with the Royal Navy here.

2 oz. Pusser’s Rum

4 oz. pineapple juice

1 oz. orange juice

1 oz. coconut cream

Shake on crushed or cracked ice for four to six seconds and dump contents into a tall glass or tiki mug. Top with more crushed ice. Garnish with a grind of nutmeg if you have it, or a slice of orange, or pineapple leaves, or all three.

And, of course, the Mojito, the drink that’s like a beachy Cuban summer in a glass. It’s light, bright, effervescent, and fresh. There was a time when the Mojito was the bane of bartenders back in the early aughts when the drink was popular, but the craft cocktail movement hadn’t really found its sea legs yet. So that usually meant this drink felt like a chore to make during an era of Jack and cokes and vodka-sodas. But once we introduced fresh ingredients and proper technique across the world of cocktails, it was time to reclaim the Mojito’s honor.

2 oz.

0.75 oz. fresh lime juice

0.75 oz. simple syrup

10-12 mint leaves

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake. In a tall glass, gently muddle an additional three to five mint leaves. Shake the cocktail and strain into the glass over fresh ice. Top with 1 to 2 oz. soda water. Garnish with two mint crowns (the top of the plant) twisted together to form a bushy mint explosion on top.

When the heat of the day subsides and you want that rum cocktail nightcap, there’s the Bitter Tears, the tropical take on the Manhattan that you never knew you needed. I’m proud of (nearly) every drink I’ve put on a cocktail menu over the last dozen years, but the Bitter Tears is perhaps my favorite of all of them. It is made from equal parts Japanese whisky, pineapple-infused white rum and Cynar, with a touch of salt. As such it is simple (just three ingredients), easy to make (same amount of each), easy to reproduce (infusing pineapple is dead simple), and not only unusual (see above), but if I may say, very very good. You could use , but that is the distilled essence of pineapple and so is not precisely the same. Chop up a pineapple and let it sit in rum for three days, and you have an infused pineapple rum, juicy with a non-trivial amount of acidity, and that acidity in a stirred, Manhattan-like cocktail is fascinating and delicious.

1 oz

1 oz

1 oz. pineapple-infused white rum

Small pinch of salt, or 5-7 drops of a 1:4 salt to water tincture

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir for 10 to15 seconds (for small ice) or 15 to 25 seconds (for bigger ice). Strain off the ice into a coupe or cocktail glass, express the oils of a grapefruit peel over the drink, and garnish with the peel.

It was at the bar La Floridita, in Havana, where Ernest Hemingway commissioned this unusual little Daiquiri variation in 1939. Lead barman Constantino Ribalaigua had created the excellent Daiquiri #3, with grapefruit and maraschino liqueur. Hemingway—both a diabetic and a savage alcoholic—didn’t like sugar in his drinks, so he threw out most of the sweetness and, just for fun, doubled the rum. This puts us in a bind, we write: “Hemingway’s version is, simply put, unacceptable,” both too tart and too strong, and “no one even considers making it his way.” Check out the three ways modern bartenders adapt this Hemingway Daiquiri, or just make our favorite, below.

1.5 oz

0.5 oz.-0.75 oz. lime juice

1 oz. grapefruit juice

0.75 oz

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake well for 10 seconds, and strain into a stemmed glass. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry.

The inventor of the tiki classic Three Dots and a Dash, Ernest Raymond Gantt, was famously secretive about his recipes, so this drink was nearly lost to time. It was tiki archaeologist Jeff ‘Beachbum” Berry, who discovered the formula in the notebook of an old bartender of Gantt’s and published it in his 2007 book Sippin’ Safari. There’s always some ambiguity in tiki recipes, but in the subsequent 17 years we’ve collectively settled into agreement about the ingredients, if not precisely the ratios. The Three Dots and a Dash features juicy orange contrasted against textured spice, grassy rum deepened with rich honey, with the lime and falernum reminding you that this is all a tropical experience. It is at turns seductive and spicy, and eminently delicious.

1 oz. aged agricole rhum

1 oz. aged demerara rum

0.5 oz. orange juice

0.75 oz. lime juice

0.25 oz. falernum

0.25 oz. allspice or “pimento” dram

0.5 oz. honey syrup

1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake everything on crushed ice, and empty into a tall glass. Add more crushed ice to fill, and garnish with three cherries on a pick, and something to represent a “dash,” like a pineapple stick or pineapple leaf.

The Daisy de Santiago is made of rum, lime juice, a touch of sugar, and Yellow Chartreuse, served on crushed ice with a mint sprig and a sparkle of soda and it is a lovely thing indeed. It’s got the bright exuberance you’d expect but lifted by the carbonation and charmed by Chartreuse’s spice. It tastes splendiferous—not showy like a firework, but showy like a mink coat. While a Daiquiri is snappy, the Daisy de Santiago is garish. While a Daiquiri is radiant, the Daisy de Santiago is seductive. Is it better than the Daiquiri? Of course not. But we love it all the same.

1.5 oz. aged rum

1 oz. lime juice

0.5 oz. simple syrup

0.5 oz. Yellow Chartreuse

1 oz. soda water

To a tall glass, add all ingredients. Add crushed ice about halfway up and give a brief stir or swizzle, five to eight seconds, to begin the chilling process. Fill the rest of the glass with crushed ice and garnish with a mint sprig or two.

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HOUSTON — Queen Bee Distilling made Osmia Vodka, an award-winning spirit, after owners Catharine Faulconer and Kim Martin realized there were few, if any, options for glorious cocktails for those with dietary restrictions due to health conditions. They set out to create a vodka made from local honey, instead of potatoes, corn, rice or wheat. This ultra-pure and sophisticated spirit is ready for you to say, “Cheers!”

Follow Queen Bee Distilling on Instagram @queenbeedistilling and Facebook and purchase from Pour & More, Downtown Spec’s and the Queen Bee website.

For member states: Chief executive officer of Angostura Ltd Ian Forbes, left, presents Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne with a specially developed bottle of Angostura Tribute rum at yesterday’s handover ceremony at the company’s Laventille headquarters.

At 50 years old, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) continues to face some “hard-hitting challenges”, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne has said.

His ministry yesterday received from spirits producer Angostura Ltd 240 bottles of a specially curated rum to be presented to member states as part of Caricom’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Speaking at a ceremony at the House of Angostura in Laventille, Browne said the handover was a fitting start to the year-long regional celebrations which will begin in T&T.

“Caricom at 50 years old continues to treat with hard-hitting challenges and we are working to increase our regional connectivity through air and sea travel, to build resilience and pursue climate justice, generate impactful levels of self-reliance with respect to agriculture, to achieve progress and sustainable development and advance the safety and security of our Caricom region which is under threat across the region,” he said.

While these are focus areas for Caricom, Browne said there should be a clear understanding that the private sector still plays an important role in Caricom’s ability to achieve these goals.

Heads of government have also focused on building a platform for the future of the region’s youth and future generations, he said.

“In this vein, as a core building block for youth engagement, Caricom has been working to create digital resilience, including artificial intelligence and data analytics, encouraging youth participation and revitalising West Indies cricket,” Browne said.

He said the flip-side to revitalising West Indies cricket was that a successful West Indies cricket team could lift and inspire an entire generation which was needed “now more than ever”.

The creation of the rum was done in collaboration with the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers’ Association (WIRSPA), Angostura said.

Chief operating officer of Angostura Ian Forbes said the tribute rum was created by the distillery’s all-woman blending team.

“This blend is a tribute to our collective history and the vibrant culture of the Caribbean. The presentation of this blend recognises the collective success of Caricom in promoting regional integration and development,” said Forbes.

At 50 years old, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) continues to face some “hard-hitting challenges.”

Guardian Media Ltd (GML) has reported a total comprehensive loss of $3.81 million for its quarter.

There are opportunities for young people in the oil and gas sector, Energy Minister Stuart Young stated.

ALMOST 22 years ago Gregg Mannette, now vice president of Sales at Guardian Life of the Caribbean, began his career as an agent and steadily rose through the ranks.

“It has been my only full-time job, I did a couple of gigs like at MovieTowne, I worked there when it had just opened and I had other part-time things in between, but this career has been right through since high school into my tertiary level education – which I didn’t continue,” he said in an interview with Express Business.

TENILLE Clarke is no stranger to producing quality work in the public relations space or being recognised for it.

But capturing the 2024 National Female Entrepreneurship award brings immense pride.

Clarke was announced the winner of this year’s award by the National Entrepreneurship Development Company Ltd (NEDCO) in collaboration with Ministry of Youth Development and National Service.

THE newly formed LIAT 2020 made its inaugural flight to St Lucia on Tuesday, signalling the return to the skies of the inter-regional airline, whose previous owners, LIAT (1974) Ltd went bankrupt in January this year.

LIAT 1974 Ltd has been under administration since July 24, 2020 and the new entity has been formed in partnership with Air Peace, a private Nigerian airline founded in 2013.