Everybody loves fresh cocktails, but nobody wants to play bartender at their own party. “A well-made punch means that you don’t get stuck tending bar all night while your guests start forming Lord of the Flies-esque alliances in the corners of your house,” says San Francisco bartender Drew Record. And while rum, brandy, and vodka are popular ways of spiking the punch bowl, you don’t want to overlook whisky. “The flavors speak to winter: cinnamon, clove, and allspice in your stews and stuffings; cocoa and butterscotch in the cookie jar; and oranges and pears in your stocking by the fireplace,”...

After tasting hundreds of bourbons, scotches, and other whiskies throughout the year, we have arrived at the 2019 Whisky Advocate...

Rum cask-finished whiskies are relatively unusual compared to those whiskies that spend their final days in casks that held port, sherry, or wine, but the pleasure they deliver is like sipping golden sunshine. Sweet tropical fruit notes bathe the whisky in lush flavors.

During the spring, the sugarcane harvest in the Caribbean is in full swing. Cane is the raw ingredient for rum, mostly produced from molasses, a byproduct of sugar manufacture. Like whisky, rum is a clear spirit when it enters the barrel: the color is generated from the spirit’s interaction with the wood over time, and depending on...

Bourbon isn’t bourbon unless it’s aged in a new charred oak container; Kentucky’s bourbon distillers, in fact, filled 1.7 million barrels in 2018, the vast majority of them made from American white oak. The wood is a crucial part of bourbon’s identity and production, yet much about its biology isn’t well-understood. Fortunately, help is on the way. The University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture is partnering with Maker’s Mark and Independent Stave Company to study the DNA of the white oak and learn how to best preserve and protect the species for future generations.

“The current supply of mature white...

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, and if you’re panicking about what whisky to serve, take a breath: We’ve got you covered, with recommended pours , party-ready punches , and a guide to pairing whisky and pie . (Speaking of which—we can also teach you how to make pie-inspired whisky cocktails .) But if you’re looking for brand-new bottles to pop, keep reading.

For the high rollers, Michter’s is rolling out its aptly-named Celebration just ahead of the holidays. The blend of straight bourbon and rye is priced at $5,000, with just 277 bottles available.

At 20% less than...

New whiskies continue to roll out this week, and fans of peaty scotch, complex Irish whiskey, and unique American craft have plenty to anticipate.

Laphroaig has launched a 16 year old whisky in the U.S. Part of the permanent lineup, it’s priced at $90 and available nationwide in limited amounts.

Redbreast is releasing four batches of a limited-edition Small Batch. Just over 1,000 bottles of the single pot still whiskeys are available in California and Massachusetts, priced at $100.

Scotland’s Daftmill Distillery is debuting in the U.S. with its 12 year old single malt, distilled in the summer of 2006....

“This punch allows the subdued acidity of the apple to shine through with balanced depth and effervescence of the sparkling wine, while Canadian rye adds subtle floral qualities,” says its creator Frankie Solarik, co-owner of...

Created by San Francisco bartender Drew Record, this holiday drink combines “scotch to warm the soul, sherry to pique the intellect, Bénédictine to trigger the nostalgia, and mint to settle the tummy,” Record says....

Rather than baking spices, this mulled cider created by Jane Keenan, beverage director at...

Equally delicious served chilled or hot, this warming dram created by Dusty Grable, director of beverage at...

Until the mid-20th century, it was taken for granted that all scotch included some peat . After all, peat was the country’s main fuel source for thousands of years, and the flavor became entwined and admired in many styles of Scotch whisky. Perhaps surprisingly, Scotland has only 0.3% of all the peat on earth—and yet the flavor and success of peated Scotch whisky has spawned admirers around the world who are eager to give their own whiskies the pungent, powerful character of Scottish peat. These distillers introduce peat in a variety of ways: by blending peated spirit from Scotland with...

Whisky lovers have one more reason to hit the hallowed Kentucky Bourbon Trail . Bardstown Bourbon Co. opened its new visitors center on Sept. 9, offering tours, cocktail classes, and tastings geared toward every level of bourbon drinker, from novice to connoisseur. The facility features a sleek, modern vibe, with glass paneling, moss art walls, and an open design that’s meant to highlight the company’s focus on transparency and collaboration, while celebrating both the art and science of whiskey making.

It wasn’t long ago that now-former chief executive David Mandell, who co-founded Bardstown Bourbon Co. back in 2014, had grand...

With hundreds of whiskies poured, numerous seminars to choose from, and in-booth attractions, the savvy WhiskyFest attendee knows a little preparation goes a long way. Luckily, the WhiskyFest app is here to help. Plan your dram-filled route across the showroom floor, read up on seminars and who is leading them, and use the app to take notes along the way.

WhiskyFest hits San Francisco on oktober 4, with more than 400 whiskies available to taste. (Get some recommendations from Whisky Advocate’s editors about the can’t-miss bottles —and get your tickets before they sell out.) The WhiskyFest San Francisco app is...

These days, a new whisky comes out practically every day—sometimes a dozen or more a week (all reported each Friday in Whisky Weekend ). Store shelves are crowded with more bottles than ever before. New releases make a splash, but when a whisky disappears, it usually happens quietly.

That was the case with Old Scout, a popular whiskey sourced from MGP and bottled by Smooth Ambler . Just a few years ago, the West Virginia distillery was selling every bottle of Old Scout bourbon and rye that it could ship—so much that it ran out of mature whiskey altogether. So...

When you hear smoky whisky, you’re likely to think of peat—the decayed vegetation that compacts into bogs over centuries, and is later dug up, dried, and used as fuel in the malting process. Peat is common and easily accessible across Scotland and Ireland, making it the most popular combustible used to flavor single Maltwhisky, but it’s not the only thing that adds smoke to drying malt. Distillers in other parts of the world are adding smoky notes to their whiskies using a variety of fuels and flavoring sources. Just like the first distillers who discovered peat, these producers are...

With its bright red glow and booming bitterness there’s no mistaking Campari, and it can be off-putting at first. “Being Italian, I really like the bitter taste,” says Angelo Sparvoli, bartender at The American Bar at The Savoy in London. “In fact, we say ‘bitter is better.’”

Campari’s bitter quality delivers balance and complex flavors to a cocktail. “It’s very zesty, with pronounced orange on the nose and notes of citrus and vanilla,” Sparvoli adds. Whisky has the necessary backbone to hold up to the bitterness of Campari, which in turn provides a counterpoint to a whisky’s sweeter side.

That...

Just as spices transform the act of eating from functional to pleasurable, spice flavors can enliven whisky. Baking spices in particular evoke holiday scents wafting from the kitchen, and the sensations of fresh pastries served warm from the bakery. The impression of baking spices— we’re talking mainly about cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and allspice—adds warmth, color, and complexity to the aroma and flavor of whisky. At times they can be punchy and assertive, bursting with aromatic character, and at others masked in deep, woody earthiness. When searching for spice notes in whisky, watch for them to erupt on the...

After more than 160 years, the man who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey will be honored with a distillery bearing his name. On Sept. 14, the Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee opens its doors to the public for tours and education about its namesake and the heritage of the state. Uncle Nearest whiskey —named after Nathan “Nearest” Green, an enslaved man who distilled whiskey in the 1850s and taught a young Jack Daniel how to do so as well—launched in 2017, but has quickly risen to prominence as Green’s story has spread.

Building on that momentum is...

A comeback is an exciting thing—especially when it involves a beloved whiskey. In addition to the return of Smooth Ambler’s Old Scout 99 Proof Bourbon (more on that below and in this article ), Old Forester has brought back its 1910 Old Fine Whisky. Initially released in oktober 2018 , the bourbon was such a success that it sold out quickly—but Old Forester now has plans in place to ensure that won’t happen again. Similarly, Old Forester’s sister brand Woodford Reserve is rolling out more bottles of its straight malt whiskey which sold out shortly after launching in juni 2018...

WhiskyFest is all about enjoyment—drinking great whiskies, learning from the experts, even making new friends—and the 2019 WhiskyFest San Francisco is set to bring all of that and more. Attend one of the expert-led seminars , and spend some time enjoying experiences like the Bowmore Oyster Luge (trust us—it’s awesome) and the taste-focused Whisky 5, which helps you narrow in on different whisky flavors. And peruse the pour list ahead of time on our website or app .

Since there are more than 400 whiskies on offer, we recommend devising a loose strategy (here are some tips to help you...