Given no other knowledge of a scotch distillery, most whisky lovers would choose to know just one thing: Is their whisky smoky or not? The answer isn’t so simple, as more single malt producers play both sides of the fence. Exceptions to the rule are exciting for both fans of a distillery, who get to see a new side of their old favorite, and detractors, who might discover they enjoy a distillery’s whisky after all. Unpeated versions will offer little to no peat smoke, while peated renditions show obvious smoke. So choose a distillery, then have it your way.

Single...

Game of Thrones might be over, but it lives on in Scotland as Johnnie Walker is launching two new limited-edition blends in honor of the series. Johnnie Walker A Song of Ice honors House Stark, while Johnnie Walker A Song of Fire salutes House Targaryen. Both whiskies are available nationwide for $36.

Meanwhile, Glen Moray has debuted a 21 year old single malt finished in port casks. There are 1,200 bottles of the whisky coming to the U.S. this year, priced at $180.

Jameson Caskmates has made two special editions in partnership with Chicago’s Revolution Brewing and Bale Breaker Brewing...

Imagine a country that has everything necessary for making whisky: robust agriculture, pure water, and centuries of distilling know-how—plus, its citizens love to drink the stuff. You probably aren’t thinking of France. Yet from the jagged rocky shores of Brittany to the steep slopes of the Alps, from verdant Alsace-Lorraine to the patchwork fields and vineyards of Cognac, whisky is flowing throughout the Gallic nation.

The French have long been the world leaders in per-capita scotch consumption, gulping down 178 million bottles in 2017, but the country’s homegrown whisky industry emerged in the 1980s, and has taken off only in...

In 1992, the European Union introduced a system of geographical indications (GI) for unique foods and beverages of its member countries. Alongside Roquefort cheese and Beaujolais wine, France received GI status for whiskies from two regions—Brittany and Alsace—whose parameters were later formalized through stringent definitions. These GIs serve to offer consumer assurances, similar to the other existing EU GIs for scotch and Irish whiskey . When developing a proposed definition to cover the entire country’s whisky production, the Fédération du Whisky de France had to make its guidelines broad enough to envelop the existing GIs for Brittany and Alsace. There...

Whether you love or hate peated whisky, there is no doubting the immense industry behind it. Peat itself is densely compressed, decayed vegetation that looks like clumps or bricks of mud. So how does that translate to smoke flavor? The scotch industry has it all figured out, with these four professions playing key roles in delivering peat from the bog to the bottle.

The Peat Cutter

This seasonal position on a remote Hebridean island requires strength and stamina, coupled with a tolerance for dirty, repetitive tasks. Cutting turf from the earth into bricks for drying is accomplished outdoors regardless of...

France has long led the world in per-capita scotch consumption, but the country’s own whisky industry has been gaining traction recently, with production now doubling every year. Many French whisky distilleries are small businesses, selling most of what they make locally, but a handful of bottles are reaching the U.S., with more arriving every year. Start your French education with the nine examples below.

C’est Magnifique! These Whiskies Offer a True Taste of France

Armorik Double Maturation single malt —93 points, $60 Malt and lilacs, pineapple, and orange peel intertwine in a nose that shows the best of sherry finishing....

Whiskey lovers have debated for years, and now it’s time to put the question to rest: is Tennessee whiskey, like Jack Daniel’s, a bourbon or not?...

It could be a dream come true: all the Van Winkle bourbons and the entire Buffalo Trace Antique Collection for just $100. The New Hampshire Liquor Commission (NHLC) is raffling off the whiskey haul to raise money for a good cause. A $100 raffle ticket buys one entry to win a bottle of each the following: Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year old, Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year old, Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 year old, 20 year old, and 23 year old, William Larue Weller, George T. Stagg, Eagle Rare 17 year old bourbon, Sazerac 18 year...

Many whiskeys have a good story behind them, but for Rabbit Hole’s newest bourbon, that story takes on particular poignancy. In an exclusive interview with Whisky Advocate, Rabbit Hole founder Kaveh Zamanian revealed why he chose the name Heigold , and what inspired the new names he’s given to the rest of the brand’s whiskeys. Heigold ($70) and the rebranded line roll out next month, first at the distillery and later more widely.

Other new whiskies are coming out as well. Kentucky Owl is releasing the third batch of its rye, this time with a 10 year old age statement....

Just a few weeks after announcing its sale to Pernod Ricard , Rabbit Hole Distillery is unveiling a new whiskey—along with a complete rebranding of its core range—debuting next month. The change is intended to honor influential figures in Louisville and in the life of Rabbit Hole founder Kaveh Zamanian, and the new whiskey—a straight bourbon—ties the spirit of a 19 ^th -century Kentucky immigrant with Zamanian, who emigrated from Iran as a child. “He was a stonecutter who settled here in Louisville, and carved all kinds of ornate symbols of what I consider to be immigrant patriotism, really a...

Can’t get enough smoke in your whisky? Bartender Charles Joly, the 2014 Global Bartending Champion and co-founder of Crafthouse Cocktails , likes to flavor spirits and cocktails using cold-smoke devices that add tantalizing barbecue and smokehouse flavors, but without the meat-searing heat. “Aroma is where the party happens,” he says. “The more senses you can engage, the more you engage the drinker, the more memorable experience they’ll have.”

Now it’s easy for at-home bartenders to do likewise, with the arrival of handheld and bartop smokers that turn any dram into a tasty and dramatic event. The key is to add...

Uncork a bottle and discover the world’s greatest whisky cities, from Edinburgh to Dublin, Louisville to Osaka, and beyond. The Summer 2019 issue of Whisky Advocate magazine is on sale now!...

Following the announcement that he had been named master distiller and blender for Metallica’s Blackened whiskey , Rob Dietrich sat down with Whisky Advocate to talk about his goals, plans for new products, and what it feels like to step into the shoes of whiskey icon Dave Pickerell, who helped launch Blackened last year shortly before his death . Owned by Sweet Amber Distilling Co., Blackened is a blend of straight bourbons, ryes, and whiskeys sourced from across North America and subjected to a proprietary “sonic enhancement” process that uses Metallica songs to create sound waves, which ultimately impacts flavor....

The staid world of whisky auctions rarely sees a shakeup more dramatic than a record-setting price, but a recent sale at Bonhams in Edinburgh maj indicate that major changes are underway. More than 350 bottles of whisky valued in excess of $300,000 went unsold in the auction held on juni 5. The unwanted bottles represented nearly 40% of the lots—an unprecedented failure for a house like Bonhams.

Even with a growing number of whiskies consigned to auction each year, the successful sell rate is generally above 90%. In this sale, however, Bonhams sold just 62%—240 out of 387 lots in...

Do you miss Game of Thrones? Johnnie Walker —which previously released White Walker —is here to help assuage your woes with two new special-edition blends: Song of Ice and Song of Fire. Few details are available, but even a casual GoT fan will recognize that the Song of Ice packaging features direwolves, the sigil of House Stark, while the Song of Fire packaging shows House Targaryen’s dragons. Both whiskies are available for pre-order at Reservebar.com, priced at $43. A full U.S. rollout will happen in augusti.

Also coming out at the end of the summer, Old Forester’s 2019 Birthday Bourbon....

Scoring a rare bottle of whiskey can feel like a victory unto itself, and St. Louis Blues left wing Robby Fabbri took that winning spirit to entirely new heights. The Blues won their first-ever Stanley Cup Wednesday night, defeating the Boston Bruins 4 to 1 in a winner-take-all Game 7, and Fabbri celebrated by drinking straight from a bottle of Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 year old rye —giving all new meaning to drinking whiskey on ice.

Anything Pappy-related is the object of desire for most in the whisky community, so to see the Canadian-born Fabbri approach the bottle with...

Next stop, world domination: Rabbit Hole Distillery announced today that it has sold a majority stake to drinks conglomerate Pernod Ricard , a move that will allow the Kentucky whiskey maker to expand its reach far beyond its current footprint. The sale happens barely one year after Rabbit Hole opened the doors to its $18 million, 55,000-square-foot distillery in Louisville’s Butchertown neighborhood. Pernod Ricard also holds a majority stake in West Virginia’s Smooth Ambler Distillery .

Rabbit Hole founder Kaveh Zamanian—a psychoanalyst who started contract-producing whiskey at other distilleries in 2014—says that the partnership will enable the brand to expand...

More than 125 whiskies are reviewed in the Summer 2019 issue of Whisky Advocate—from single malt and blended scotch to bourbon, rye, Irish, Canadian, Japanese whisky, and more. Here, we highlight the ten highest-scoring whiskies (not featured as Collectibles or Editors’ Choice bottles) that are for sale in the U.S., each netting 92 points or above.

Angel’s Envy Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished Bourbon 93 points, 50% ABV, $200

The confectionary nose of flan and crème caramel comes draped over lovely grainy aromas of warm porridge and pastry crust. Vinous notes of cherry/berry fruit emerge, along with toasted almonds and floral...

In Scotland, Maltwhisky is always made using 100% malted barley. In the U.S. many malt whiskeys (especially those labeled “single malt”) are made with 100% malted barley as well. But they don’t have to be: U.S. regulations stipulate that malt whiskey is only required to have a minimum of 51% malted barley in the mashbill.

Like bourbon and rye, the maximum proofs for distillation and barrel entry for American malt whiskey are 160 and 125, respectively. Additionally, it must be stored in new, charred oak barrels. Therefore, American malt whiskeys are closer kissing cousins to bourbon and American rye...

When formulating the annual Top 20 list, Whisky Advocate’s editors consider multiple factors, including quality—a score of 90 points or higher—availability, and affordability. Beyond that, however, we look for singular characteristics that make a whisky unique—what we call “x-factor.” With its inventive blend of Highland malt scotch and American single malt, finished in a hard cider cask, Virginia Distillery Co.’s Cider Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whiskey, number 13 in the 2018 Top 20 , had x-factor that simply couldn’t be denied. Distillery director Ian Thomas explains how such a unique dram came to be created.

The post Inside Top 20: Virginia Distillery...