Spirited Saturday - Summer Whiskey

Mars Iwai Tradition Japanese Whisky, 80 proof

Regular price: $52 per bottle | Sale price: $46 per bottle

Crafted in Nagano, this Japanese whisky is the overachiever of the malt world. Think of Iwai Tradition as the sophisticated friend who shows up with wildflower honey and cloves, then casually drops a hint of peat just to make things interesting. On the palate, it’s a smooth, velvety tag-team of milk chocolate and nougat that finishes with a cinnamon-spiced mic drop. It’s a total passport-free vacation in a glass—no luggage fees required.

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 86.6 proof

Regular price: $39 per bottle | Sale price: $35 per bottle

Though it won’t overwhelm you with heat, this single barrel legend is a masterclass in understated elegance. Between the vintage dating and those charming handwritten bottle details, it feels like a bespoke treasure that accidentally kept its affordable price tag. It’s the ultimate shelf essential—a reliable, flavorful companion that proves you don’t need a high proof to have a high-class spirit.

Green River Honey Finished Straight Bourbon, 92 proof

Regular price: $27 per bottle | Sale price: $24 per bottle

Forget floral whispers; this bourbon did a cannonball into a beehive and never looked back. Green River Honey Finished Bourbon doesn’t just hint at sweetness—it claims it as a birthright. While the nose offers a polite, oaky greeting, the palate is a full-blown honey takeover that shoves every other flavor into the background. It’s a decadently sticky-sweet spectacle that leaves you with a finish of pure, liquid sunshine. If you’re hunting for a pour that actually brings the buzz, you’ve found your queen bee.

Willet ‘Speakeasy’ Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 98 proof

Regular price: $39 per bottle | Sale price: $35 per bottle

With a minimum four-year residency in the barrel, this bourbon greets you with a nose that’s a sweet-talker—all caramel, vanilla, and butterscotch with a caffeine-kick of coffee. On the palate, it trades the sweets for a fruit basket of apples, pears, and citrus, though it never quite forgets its sugary roots or its spicy side. It wraps things up with a finish so long and elegant you’ll want to stay for an encore, leaving you with nothing but a warm, cozy glow.

Teeling Small Batch Rum Cask Finished Irish Whiskey, 92 proof

Regular price: $42 per bottle | Sale price: $37 per bottle

This 92-proof Irish expat skipped the rainy Dublin weather for a permanent beach vacation in a rum cask. The result? A tropical personality that trades drizzle for sunshine. It greets you with a smooth vanilla-oak handshake, followed by a toffee-and-caramel bear hug that’s dangerously cozy. At $37, it’s cheaper than a flight, and the relaxation levels are vastly superior.

Chattanooga Tennessee Straight Rye Malt Whiskey, 99 proof

Regular price: $45 per bottle | Sale price: $40 per bottle

If standard rye is a lecture on “how to be spicy,” this 99-proof rebel is the student who threw the syllabus out the window. Using slow-toasted, drum-roasted rye malt, it swaps the usual harsh bite for a savory-sweet symphony of candied fruit and fresh herbs. It’s an attitude adjustment in a glass, proving that rye doesn't need to be grumpy to be delicious. The spicy kick is still there, but only to brag about how much better it is than the competition.

Cocktails

Cooder’s Cover 1980

2 oz Chattanooga Malt Rye

1 oz Peach Syrup

2 oz sweet tea 

2 dashes lemon bitters

Combine all ingredients with ice into a shaker, shake vigorously for 15 seconds, strain into highball glass over ice.

Garnish with lemon peel

Bob Marley’s Ghost

1 ½ oz Teeling Small Batch Whiskey

2 oz Grapefruit soda

½ oz lime juice

2 dashes Peychaud bitters

Combine all ingredients with ice into a shaker, shake vigorously for 15 seconds, strain into an ‘up’ glass

Garnish with lime wedge