Coffee liqueur has been done — and mostly done wrong. Lebowski's Kool-Luah flips the script. Crystal and Roger bring this unexpected bottle to the Liquor Library and discover a coffee liqueur built on actual craft principles, not artificial flavoring and corn syrup. The result is something worth talking about. Bottle Specs Spirit: Lebowski's Kool-Luah Coffee Liqueur Category: Coffee Liqueur Base: Premium coffee-forward liqueur Price range: ~$30–40 Comparison: Think Kahlúa, do

Yéyo's high proof expression takes everything that made the original interesting and dials up the intensity. Crystal and Roger taste through this elevated expression and find a tequila that rewards those willing to pay attention. Bottle Specs Spirit: Yéyo High Proof Tequila Category: 100% Blue Weber Agave Blanco Tequila ABV: ~55%+ (higher than standard expression) Price: ~$45–55 Region: Jalisco, Mexico — Highlands Additive status: Additive-free Why High Proof Tequila Is Worth

Bardstown Bourbon Company's Stave & Finish series is built around a deceptively simple idea: take a good bourbon and finish it in a secondary cask to add a layer of complexity. Crystal and Roger put this Small Batch expression through its paces and report back on whether the extra step earns its price premium. Bottle Specs Spirit: Bardstown Bourbon Company Small Batch Stave & Finish Category: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Distillery: Bardstown Bourbon Company, Bardstown,

Crystal and Roger take the Black Momma Vodka experience all the way to the source — an in-person distillery tour followed by a focused review of the Peach Tea Vodka. What they find is a brand built on real craft conviction, not just a compelling backstory. Bottle Specs Spirit: Black Momma Vodka — Peach Tea Vodka Distillery: Black Momma Vodka (Black women-owned) Category: Flavored Vodka ABV: 35% (70 proof) Price: ~$25–30 Flavor: Peach tea — genuine flavoring, not artificial Th

MurMur Rum starts with a question most distillers wouldn't ask: what happens when you ferment mango alongside sugarcane? Crystal and Roger find out, and the answer is a rum that tastes genuinely unlike anything else in the category. Bottle Specs Spirit: MurMur Rum Category: Craft Rum — mango fermentation Key ingredient: Mango fermented alongside sugarcane ABV: ~40–43% Price: ~$30–40 Innovation: Mango introduced during fermentation, not added after distillation The Innovation:

Corte Vetusto is the kind of Mezcal that makes you understand why serious spirits drinkers become obsessed with the category. Crystal and Roger pull this bottle from the Liquor Library and find a production-focused, terroir-driven expression that rewards the attention you give it. Bottle Specs Spirit: Corte Vetusto Mezcal Region: Oaxaca, Mexico Agave: Espadín (Agave angustifolia) Production: Traditional tahona and clay pot still ABV: ~46–47% Price: ~$50–65 NOM: Certified mezc

LALO's original expression built a following on clean, honest agave flavor at a price that didn't require an occasion. The High Proof expression asks: what if that same philosophy was dialed up to full intensity? Crystal and Roger revisit LALO to find out. Bottle Specs Spirit: LALO High Proof Tequila Category: 100% Blue Weber Agave Blanco Tequila NOM: 1466, Highlands, Jalisco ABV: Higher than standard LALO (~55% — varies by batch) Price: ~$55–65 Additive status: Additive-free

Still Austin describes their Cask Strength as 'the grain to glass journey, undiluted.' Crystal and Roger take that description seriously and put this Texas straight bourbon through a proper evaluation to see if the cask strength heat serves the whiskey or just amplifies its flaws. Bottle Specs Spirit: Still Austin Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey Distillery: Still Austin Whiskey Co., Austin, Texas (grain-to-glass) ABV: ~60–62% (cask strength, no water added) Mashbill: 7

Hochatown Distilling Company is building something special in southeastern Oklahoma, and their Loyal & True Reserve Bourbon is the bottle that makes that case most clearly. Crystal and Roger have been watching this brand develop, and this review is the moment they put the liquid to the test. Bottle Specs Spirit: Hochatown Loyal & True Reserve Bourbon Distillery: Hochatown Distilling Co., Broken Bow, Oklahoma Category: Oklahoma Straight Bourbon Whiskey Age: Reserve expression

The flavored whiskey category exists largely to make people forget they're drinking whiskey. Frisky Whiskey is different — it's using flavor to enhance the spirit, not hide it. Crystal and Roger make the case that it's time to put down the Crown Royal apple and pay attention to what this category can actually be. Bottle Specs Spirit: Frisky Whiskey Premium Flavored Whiskey Distillery: Oklahoma-produced Category: Flavored American Whiskey Key flavors: Natural flavoring profile

Barrel-aged gin occupies a fascinating middle ground between the botanical world of gin and the oak-forward world of whiskey. Woodworks Distilling has been doing this seriously, and Crystal and Roger bring their barrel-aged expression to the Library to see how the aging changes what makes gin interesting. Bottle Specs Spirit: Woodworks Barrel Aged Gin Distillery: Woodworks Distilling, Oklahoma Category: Barrel Aged Gin Base: Gin distilled from grain with botanical bill Aging:

What happens when you pair a Caribbean rum with purpose-designed glassware? Crystal and Roger team up Planteray Originalé Rum with the Glasvin glass to find out how container shape changes the experience of a spirit that's already worth paying attention to. Bottle Specs Spirit: Planteray Originalé Rum (formerly Banks Rum) Distillery: Planteray (Plantation) — multi-country blend Category: Blended Premium Rum Blend: Caribbean and South American rums ABV: ~41.2% Price: ~$30 Glas

Yéyo's Reposado 2024 Tropical Edition is a limited seasonal release that raises a pointed question: when does tropical fruit influence in a rested tequila enhance the category, and when does it just make something that isn't really tequila anymore? Crystal and Roger dig in. Bottle Specs Spirit: Yéyo Reposado 2024 Tropical Edition Category: Reposado Tequila — seasonal/limited release NOM: Highlands Jalisco production Age: Minimum 2 months in oak (reposado) ABV: ~40% Price: ~$5

Rye and rum shouldn't work together — or so the conventional wisdom goes. RY3 uses a rum cask finish to challenge that assumption, and Crystal and Roger evaluate whether the result is a clever innovation or a case of two good things that cancel each other out. Bottle Specs Spirit: RY3 Rum Cask Finished Rye Whiskey Category: Straight Rye Whiskey — secondary cask finish Rye mashbill: High rye content Cask finish: Caribbean rum barrels ABV: ~46% Price: ~$55–65 What Rum Cask Fini

New Dawn Distilling's 6-Year New York Bourbon arrives with owner Dawn Shalvey at the table to explain what six years of aging means in the climate of upstate New York — and why this sustainable distillery's approach to bourbon is producing something genuinely worth tracking down. Bottle Specs Spirit: New Dawn Distilling 6-Year New York Straight Bourbon Distillery: New Dawn Distilling, New York State Founder: Dawn Shalvey Age: 6 years — significant for a craft producer Sustain

One year in and The Liquor Connoisseur goes back to the bottle that launched everything — LALO Tequila Blanco. Crystal and Roger revisit their very first review to see if their palates have grown, whether LALO holds up, and what a year of intentional drinking has taught them. Bottle Specs Spirit: LALO Tequila Blanco (original expression) NOM: 1466 — Highlands Jalisco Production: 100% Blue Weber Agave, additive-free ABV: 40% (80 proof) Price: ~$45 Anniversary milestone: 1 year

Tito's Handmade Vodka is the benchmark that every American craft vodka gets compared to. Crystal and Roger bring Black Momma Vodka into that exact conversation — is this Black-owned craft vodka worth the comparison, and does it win? Bottle Specs Spirit: Black Momma Vodka Distillery: Black women-owned and operated Category: Premium American Craft Vodka Base: Grain vodka ABV: 40% Price: ~$25–30 The comparison: Tito's Handmade Vodka at ~$20–25 The Tito's Standard Tito's Handmade

Cincoro was founded by five NBA team owners, including Michael Jordan. Crystal and Roger ask the uncomfortable question that any honest spirits review has to ask: when a celebrity-backed tequila comes with a premium price tag, does it earn that premium on the liquid, or is it just paying for the name? Bottle Specs Spirit: Cincoro Tequila (Blanco, Reposado, Añejo reviewed) Founders: Five NBA team owners including Michael Jordan Production: Highlands and Lowlands agave blend, N

Penelope Bourbon built its identity on grain diversity — a four-grain mashbill that adds wheat and malted barley alongside the standard corn and rye. The Rosé Cask Finish takes that foundation and asks: what does French rosé wine barrel finishing do to a bourbon that already has that much complexity? Bottle Specs Spirit: Penelope Rosé Cask Finished Bourbon Distillery: MGP production for Penelope Bourbon Category: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — secondary finish Mashbill:

Don't Buy Any Rum Until You Watch This Ten to One Caribbean White Rum arrived on the scene with a bold promise: to change the way people think about white rum. Crystal and Roger took that challenge seriously, bringing the bottle to their tasting table to find out whether this Black-owned spirit brand has the goods to back up the claim. About Ten to One Rum Founded by Marc Farrell, Ten to One sources rum from Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, and the Dominican Republic — and blends