I love whiskey — decades of pours, comps, and “is this bottle worth it?” debates. I’m an old man with the experience, not the YouTube or long-form writing chops. So I built WhiskeyBotAI: free reviews, comps, and tasting notes for fellow whiskey lovers. Ask it what to buy, what to skip, and what’s worth opening. Grab Whiskey Bot here → x.ai/bot/MIy2SVh11H4gXGxO5z6… Buy me a pour → buymeacoffee.com/whiskeybotp… This is my contribution to the community. Daily updates + Whiskey Wednesday.

Buy: Rittenhouse BiB or Sagamore Signature if you want everyday rye that punches. Skip: paying secondary for a one-off store pick you’ve never tried. What’s the best rye under $45 you’ve opened lately?

Whiskey Wednesday warm-up: drop what’s in your glass + the price you paid. I’ll reply with a same-lane buy/skip and a cheaper comp when I can.

Knob Creek 12 vs Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (batch-dependent) under $75 — which are you opening this week, and why? Drop your pick and what you paid. (Worth-it comps → x.ai/bot/MIy2SVh11H4gXGxO5z6… · tip a pour → buymeacoffee.com/whiskeybotp…)

Old Grand-Dad Bonded (the 7yr BiB story at ~$40–45): spice bomb, Bonded honesty, still a value. Would you buy, skip, or open this over Beam Bonded or Rittenhouse for a Friday pour? What’s on your shelf tonight?

Hot take for the $50–75 lane: Wild Turkey Rare Breed still beats most “special” bottles in that band for drinking, not collecting. Curious what you think — what’s in your glass tonight?

Can’t find Blanton’s / Weller at retail? Buy: Larceny Barrel Proof or Maker’s 46 Cask Strength for the wheated vibe. Skip: 3× secondary on a 90-proof special bottle. Would you open the retail comp tonight, or keep hunting?

Buy: Heaven Hill 7yr BiB and Evan Williams BiB if your shelf still has them. Skip: paying over $50 for a no-age BiB that used to be $25. What’s the best BiB you’ve seen under $40 this month? (Comps anytime → x.ai/bot/MIy2SVh11H4gXGxO5z6…)

Ohio is getting a $2.2 billion drug plant. Bayer is building a pharmaceutical manufacturing campus in New Albany, outside Columbus, with about 600 permanent jobs and 1,500 construction jobs. The first part is set to open in 2031, making cancer, heart and kidney medicines. Love seeing medicine made right here at home. I'd take one of these in the Quad Cities.

The roof at American Family Field might have decided Game 1. Padres down 3-2 in the 9th, one on, one out. Ty France's drive clipped a roof cable and dropped into Jackson Chourio's glove on the warning track. Replay upheld it as fair off the roof, a live ball and an out. Brewers win 3-2. At a 49 degree launch angle it probably wasn't a homer anyway. Still a brutal way to lose a playoff game.

Wisconsin lost one of its own Friday. Trooper Bradley Ritger was 29. On Sept. 21 he put down spikes on an I-94 bridge during a pursuit near the Dunn-Eau Claire county line, then fell from the bridge to the road below while moving to cover. He died Friday. He'd served nearly five years with the State Patrol after three with Corrections. Gov. Evers says flags will come down once funeral plans are set. Rest easy, Trooper.

Long Island firefighters pulled a trapped homeowner out a window Saturday. Flames were coming from a house on Hornbill Drive in North Hills when two Manhasset-Lakeville deputy chiefs went in, found the resident, and got them out to waiting medics. The resident and a Nassau County officer were treated for smoke inhalation. Three firefighters had minor injuries. Hats off to those two chiefs for going in.

Every deputy went home after a suspect opened fire on them in Spring Hill, Florida. The sheriff says the man, a convicted felon and registered sex offender, threatened a girl under 10 Saturday and left the home, likely armed. Around 8 p.m. behind a tire shop on U.S. 19, he jumped out of his car and started shooting. Two deputies returned fire and hit him. State investigators are reviewing it. Thank God that first deputy got out of there.

An Israeli plumber who helped save a FlyDubai flight got a thank-you from the President. Yaniv Hayun was one of the passengers who overpowered the attacker in the cockpit, then helped steady the plane. He says he picked it up watching air disaster shows. Trump called him a hero and joked he can be his plumber. Ambassador Huckabee thanked him with a signed MAGA hat. Regular guy, stepped up when it counted.

A U.S. Marine is in Japanese custody over a hotel killing in Okinawa. Police say Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi, 39, at a Naha hotel early Saturday and taking her wallet. They say the two were seen going into the hotel together. He denies it, and the Corps says it's cooperating with Japanese authorities. As a vet, this one turns my stomach. If it's true, he's a disgrace to the uniform.