Tom Wilmes
Tom Wilmes is a journalist based in central Kentucky, specializing in bourbon and other spirits. A contributor for Garden & Gun, he has also written for Whisky Advocate, The Local Palate, Southbound, and various other publications. Follow @kentuckydrinks on Instagram.
HOME & GARDEN
A Kentucky couple pull out all the stops for the ultimate DIY home bourbon escape
Drinks
The age of the liquid inside the bottle is rivaled only by the provenance of its ownership
Drinks
Like “fingerprints” for bourbon, whiskey webs not only look stunning, they might also contain answers that further the science of whiskey-making and more
Drinks
Distillers explore multiple avenues in broadening bourbon’s boundaries
Arts & Culture
Fans can’t attend this year’s Run for the Roses, but that doesn’t mean you can’t watch the race from home in style
Weekends
America’s native spirit flows along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, where back roads lead to new discoveries.
Southern Heroes
The co-founder of Uncle Nearest, the most-awarded new whiskey brand in the country, keeps an undersung distiller’s legacy alive
Drinks
A century since Prohibition, Hartfield & Co. remains the first and only distillery operating in bourbon’s namesake county
Drinks
Meet Victoria Eady Butler, great-great-granddaughter of the pioneering distiller Nathan “Nearest” Green, who is carrying on her family’s legacy as the newly named master blender for Tennessee’s Uncle Nearest whiskey
Drinks
Learn more about the art and alchemy of blending an award-winning bourbon with Four Roses’ Master Distiller Brent Elliott
Drinks
To some, giving bourbons a second soak in oak is blasphemy. Others just want a second sip of the tasty results. Master taster Peggy Noe Stevens weighs in on the trend that’s pushing bourbon’s boundaries, and recommends three bottles to try
Drinks
Four barrels, two hurricanes, and one epic yearlong voyage: Two weeks ago, the first leg of Jefferson’s Journey ended with a tasting in Kentucky
Drinks
Nick Laracuente surveys Kentucky’s lost distilleries to better tell the stories behind the bottles
Drinks
Bill Thomas, owner of Washington, D.C.’s Jack Rose Dining Saloon and a World Whiskey Awards judge, on four small bourbon, rye, and whiskey distillers to try
Drinks
Straight talk from a Kentucky source on global tariffs and potential impacts back home
DRINKS
Four bourbon aficionados weigh in on their benchmark bottles, and similar tastes to try
Drinks
Historian Michael Veach clarifies several persistent stories about the South’s favorite spirit
Drinks
Know your “single barrel” from your “small batch,” your “age statement” from your “angel’s share”
Drinks
Assistant master distiller Elizabeth McCall expounds on barrel-finished bourbon, the makings of a great mint julep, and why cola is okay as a mixer
Drinks
These thirty-two entrants in our Craft Brewery Bracket are making their mark