Carbon & Oak

I hadn't planned on picking up a bottle of Green River Honey Finished Bourbon. Truth be told, I'm still a little skeptical of the flavored whiskey boom that's swept through bourbon over the last few years. Some releases have been better than others, but few have left me wanting to buy a bottle, let alone recommend one.

A busy week for bourbon watchers — Sazerac closed a $20 million deal to acquire the former Garrard County Distilling property in Kentucky, Buffalo Trace dug into Prohibition-era history, and the industry handed out its mid-year awards. Here's everything worth knowing.