Once you acquire more than a handful of whisky bottles , you have to start thinking about the best way to keep them organized. Even more important, storing whisky in the right conditions helps keep open bottles tasting their best, while maintaining those you maj be saving for a special occasion or as a collection. Being well organized allows you to easily locate specific bottles, avoid cluttering your living space, and protect your most valuable whiskies. Use this guide to avoid lackluster flavors, evaporating fill levels, sun-bleached labels, and calamitous leaks while also showing off your connoisseurship.

Storage Basics

Compared...

A lot has changed about the business of putting people on boats and sailing them around the world since Gavin “Captain Stubing” MacLeod strode the decks of “The Love Boat” in the 1980s. Take size, for example. The Pacific Princess , the real ship that the fictional Stubing navigated to and from Puerto Vallarta each weekend, had capacity for all of 780 passengers, whereas today’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s immense Harmony of the Seas , can accommodate close to 7,000 travelers. And it’s not just the size of the ships that has grown, but also that of the cruise...

In Pour This, Pair That, Whisky Advocate asks professional chefs to share a recipe designed for a specific type of whisky. Learn why these food and whisky combinations work—and try them yourself at home!

High-proof bourbon has seen its stock rise in recent years. As whiskey lovers search for ever more powerful expressions of their favorite distillers’ visions, these robust, rich bottlings have come to exemplify the art of bourbon production. And alongside appropriately full-bodied dishes, all those layers of flavor and aroma packed into the high alcohol content really have a chance to shine.

“The reason for fatty food...

Some whisky fans assert that bourbon is analogous to jazz: the only spirited art form original to America. As bourbon is made with an indigenous plant—corn—that seems a pretty solid claim. Well, as long you define “American” as from the U.S. Look south of the border, however, and you’ll find another spirit unique to North America: tequila. Its agave base is similarly original to the continent and it predates America’s corn concoctions by a century.

The Aztecs were drinking the fermented juice of agave for some 2,500 years before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the early 16th century and distilled...

The run-up to the holidays is full of planning, excitement—and a lot of running around. It’s important to make time to catch your breath and actually enjoy the season. An advent calendar is a great daily reminder to slow down and enjoy the holiday spirit—especially if it’s filled with whisky. (Get it?)

You can buy a number of pre-made whisky advent calendars. The Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar offers a collection of 25 exclusive single-barrel bottlings, while Heritage Distilling Company’s calendar includes the craft distillery’s bourbon and rye, as well as gin and vodka. Drinks by the Dram offers a host...

Did you see Monday’s reveal of the full Top 20 list ? Check out all 20 of the most exciting whiskies of 2017, including Whisky of the Year .

Beyond the Top 20 list, there’s more excitement to be had in this week’s new whisky releases. Glen Moray —whose 18 year old was number 10 on our list —is launching a sherry cask-finished, NAS single malt. For only $30, it’s worth picking up if you’ve never gotten acquainted with this Speyside distillery.

Higher up the pricing ladder, Macallan has a new line of single cask whiskies ranging in age from...

San Francisco has always been a great place to enjoy whisky and has the history to prove it. While the inferno of the 1906 earthquake incinerated most of the city, firefighters worked overtime to save the vast whiskey warehouse of a local merchant named A.P. Hotaling. The building still stands on Jackson St., and the plaque outside displays a cheeky tribute to their effort:

If, as they say, God spanked the town For being over-frisky, Why did He burn His churches down And spare Hotaling’s whiskey?

The rest of the poetry on this tour will come in a glass. No...

While the biggest whisky news this week was the announcement of our 2017 Whisky of the Year , there are lots of other great whiskies to celebrate. If you haven’t checked out the most exciting whiskies of 2017, head over to the Top 20 page to see 1 through 10, and check back on Monday, 11/20, for 11 through 20.

Meanwhile, take a look at the newest whisky releases, coming out now. Jim Beam has launched a non-chill filtered bourbon aged 5 to 6 years and bottled at 50% ABV. Priced at $23, it is definitely worth trying to see...

Thanksgiving is a time to drink and eat with your family, to share memories and joys and field goals. It’s also a great time to help spread your love of whisky and potentially create new fans. After all, some friends and family members maj never have tried really good whisky or given it much of a chance. As a passionate whisky lover, you can show them what makes whisky so exciting.

If you really wanted, you could probably come up with a pretty good whisky pairing to go with turkey, stuffing, or cranberry sauce, and convince the host to put...

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News broke in september that SPI Group—which owns the Kentucky Owl brand of bourbon and rye—was eyeing property in Bardstown, Kentucky , and now the company’s U.S. arm, Stoli Group, has confirmed plans to build a distillery there. The 420-acre site at Cedar Creek Quarry will be called “Kentucky Owl Park” and will be home to a distillery with a capacity of 1.5 million proof gallons and an elaborate visitor experience. Construction is scheduled to start in early 2018, with whiskey production slated to begin by 2020. This will be Bardstown’s sixth distillery, joining nearby Heaven Hill , Barton 1792...

The post...

There will be no shortage of drams at WhiskyFest New York— over 480 different whiskies will be poured (download the app to have the full list at your fingertips). We have guides to the can’t-miss scotch , bourbon , and craft whiskey picks at the event—plus a guide for planning how to make the most of your evening and tips for picking the right seminar for you .

If your goal is to try the newest whisky releases, we can help you there too. Many brands bring their latest and greatest releases to WhiskyFest New York, and some even make...

There is a lot of new whisky this week, but the biggest release has been out for a while. Lagavulin 8 year old first debuted in 2016 as a special edition whisky celebrating the distillery’s 200th anniversary. It has now officially been added to the Lagavulin range permanently, joining the 16 year old and Distiller’s Edition.

While more bourbon will soon be made in Bardstown at Kentucky Owl Park , this week’s new bourbons all come from outside the state. Virginia’s A. Smith Bowman is releasing a $40 port-finished bourbon as part of its permanent lineup. Isaac Bowman Straight Bourbon...

WhiskyFest is celebrating its 20th anniversary in New York on november 16th, and, with over 110 tables pouring nearly 500 different whiskies, it’s going to be quite the celebration. As always, Scotch and bourbon lovers will find plenty to enjoy. Plus, craft distillers from around the United States will be sharing their unique and exciting whiskeys at WhiskyFest. Craft whiskey is incredibly diverse and constantly changing, and even longtime fans will find new drams to try. Don’t worry if you aren’t sure where to start—this guide offers tips for making the most of all of WhiskyFest’s craft whiskeys. (You can...

Whiskey distillers come from all walks of life, including the armed services. And for many veterans, making whiskey isn’t just a passion—it’s a way to use skills gained during their service, to employ their brothers and sisters in arms, and to give back to their communities. “Transitioning veterans need a good support system, especially if they are battling disability or PTSD,” explains Jason Justice, founder of Justice Label Distillery in Sinton, Texas.

A PTSD sufferer himself, Justice understands the importance of such support. He currently employs three veterans part-time. “I have had success placing these individuals into roles that they...

Few meals are as primally pleasing to prepare as steak cooked on the grill. Summer is when countless Americans get in touch with their inner Neanderthal, carefully choosing the cut, thickness, and age of steaks for a meal of flame-cooked flesh. Whisky, of course, makes a natural partner with flavors of smoke and char, but as it turns out, creating the perfect pairing of whisky and steak requires a little more inspection than you might first think.

“The provenance of the beef is more important than the cut,” says Danny McCallum, chef at Toronto’s premier steakhouse, Jacobs & Co. “While...

New whiskies this week truly run the gamut from Irish blends to craft rye, with ages ranging from 8 months to 18 years.

Jameson is launching The Blender’s Dog in the U.S. The whiskey is part of Jameson’s Whiskey Makers Series , which celebrates the different crafts that go into producing a finished whiskey. In Winter 2016, the Blender’s Dog was rated alongside the other two whiskeys in the line, The Cooper’s Croze and The Distiller’s Safe (all were available in Europe first)—and The Blender’s Dog outshined its siblings with a 90-point rating. It should be easy to find on...

Brunch cocktail menus are dominated by Mimosas, Bloody Marys, and Screwdrivers, with rarely a drop of whisky in sight. And that’s a shame, because whisky-based cocktails can easily make for light, refreshing companions to your eggs Benedict and French toast.

“Culturally, it’s ingrained in us to think of whisky in terms of stiff drinks that burn your throat as they go down,” says Gates Otsuji, co-founder of Swig + Swallow and regional chef de bar of New York City’s The Standard . And when it comes to drinking in the morning, it’s taken for granted that low-proof, light drinks like...

Tennessee whiskey is more or less synonymous with Jack Daniel’s . In fact, the only other major distiller of the style is George Dickel . But a new Tennessee whiskey will soon present a third option. It made an early debut at the 2017 San Francisco WhiskyFest (and will reappear at the 2017 New York WhiskyFest ). Distiller Allisa Henley of Sazerac’s as-yet-unnamed Tennessee whiskey distillery provided tastes of the whiskey she and master distiller John Lunn began putting into barrels in juni. Along with the 3 month old whiskey, Henley offered WhiskyFest attendees the opportunity to taste unaged distillate...