There’s ongoing and seemingly endless debate about the perfect amount of aging for whisky. Part of the reason for that is the fact that whiskies vary, and what’s “perfect” for, say, a particular bourbon isn’t necessarily right for a single malt Highland scotch or a blended Canadian whisky. Different aging conditions and barreling techniques mean bourbon and rye naturally mature more quickly than scotch or Irish whiskey, while whiskies from other parts of the world—Japan, Canada, India —enjoy their own unique maturation environments.

And yet there’s something special about decade-old whisky from almost everywhere. Ten year old bourbon presents as...

Have you been following along with the Top 20 countdown ? Whiskies 5-10 have all been revealed, and we’ll unveil the the rest of the list next week. Join us for the countdown, and don’t forget to enter the sweepstakes to win the top three whiskies!

With the holiday shopping season officially underway, now’s the time to start thinking about what whisky you want to give—or receive. (For whisky-related gifts that aren’t actually bottles, though, check out our gift guide .)

Several distillers are offering their whiskies in special holiday packaging, including Hibiki— which we wrote about previously — J....

In case you missed it, the biggest news of the week is the announcement of Whisky of the Year , along with the reveal of the full Top 20 whiskies of 2018. Get on over to the list to read up on why these are the most exciting bottles of the year.

Meanwhile, there are tons of new whiskies to look forward to, some of which are hitting shelves right now. First up, Basil Hayden’s has released its first age-statement bourbon, a 10 year old. The whiskey will be for sale in limited amounts for $60, and will return in...

A new whisky record was set on november 29th at Christie’s auction house in London, when a single bottle of The Macallan Michael Dillon 1926 60 year old sold for a cool £1 million ($1.28 million). This special one-off bottle, hand-painted by artist Michael Dillon, depicts the Easter Elchies House at the Macallan estate. The whisky inside was drawn from the same vintage as other bottles that broke auction records earlier this year . With buyer’s premiums included, the price for the Michael Dillon bottle was £1.2 million ($1.5 million), a value that exceeds the previous record of £848,750 ($1.1...

Holiday gifting-giving can be a stressful experience, especially if you’re buying for a whisky drinker with persnickety tastes. Whisky Advocate’s  Buying Guide can provide excellent recommendations for the right bourbon, scotch, or other whisky in a variety of price ranges, as can our many whisky lists .

But while a bottle is always a welcome gift (particularly if it’s so well-decorated you don’t need to wrap it, like Hibiki Japanese Harmony’s special anniversary edition ), you maj want to extend beyond the obvious and bestow something more special. Whisky Advocate is here to help with this list of suggestions that...

With gift-giving season upon us, there’s no better time for new whisky. First up, Maker’s Mark has a very special Private Edition coming out in december—a custom bourbon created by the competitors on Bravo’s Top Chef . Just a few hundred bottles are available for $80 each, going on sale after the second episode of season 16 airs on december 13.

Islay distillery Bowmore has unveiled a single malt distilled in 1965 and aged a whopping 52 years. There are just 232 bottles available, but at a cost of $30,000, the list of eligible purchasers isn’t going to be too...

WhiskyFest New York takes place december 4th, and with over 475 pours on offer, the only difficult part of the event is choosing what to taste. Many attendees structure their choices around a single style, like scotch or bourbon, while others choose to focus on what’s new. If you aren’t sure where to start, read up on our strategies for making the most of your evening —or simply let this list be your guide.

And don’t forget that when you’re ready to take a break from the floor, there are a dozen seminars packed full of whisky education and rare...

A historic and well-known scotch label has changed hands. Cutty Sark blended whisky —formerly part of the Edrington Group portfolio—has been acquired by French company La Martiniquaise-Bardinet , which also owns Glen Moray Distillery in Scotland’s Speyside region. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Edrington has agreed to continue providing blending, bottling, and other services for Cutty Sark during a transition period.

Cutty Sark was invented in 1923 by wine and spirits company Berry Bros. & Rudd  and named after a famous clipper ship that was the fastest in the world during its 19 ^th -century heyday....

WhiskyFest’s fall season kicked off in San Francisco on november 2nd with a night of exciting conversations, fascinating seminars, and hundreds of amazing whiskies from the farthest reaches of the globe to the city’s own backyard.

Of course, Pappy Van Winkle was on hand. (Photo by Peter Wagner)

WhiskyFest offered hundreds of options for eager whisky lovers. (Photo by Peter Wagner)

The crowd at San Francisco’s Marriott Marquis was greeted by hundreds of whiskies from Scotland and Kentucky to Tennessee, Ireland, Canada, Japan, and beyond. Among many rare pours, whisky lovers were treated to Pappy Van Winkle , the 2018...

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There’s so much new whisky coming out, it’s hard to know where to start! First things first: Blood Oath is releasing its first three “pacts”—annual batches—in a special gift pack for the holidays. Just 900 of the trilogy packs will be for sale nationwide for $599. Whisky Advocate’s Buying Guide scored Pact No. 1 82 points , Pact No. 2 88 points , and Pact No. 3 89 points .

Buffalo Trace Distillery has unveiled a new range of experimental bourbons as part of its Old Charter brand. The distillery has been experimenting with different types of oak for years,...

Shiny copper stills get all the attention, but the most challenging part of whisky making usually happens behind closed doors. Except for single barrel offerings , almost every whisky is a blend of barrels. Master blenders face a challenge whether they’re replicating a flavor profile or striving to create something totally unique.

“Blending is a creative art,” explains John Glaser, founder and whisky maker at Compass Box Whisky , which specializes in the innovative blending of whiskies.

Although distilling must be left to the professionals, anyone can experiment with creating blends at home. Amateurs are now blending custom whiskies from...

In an industrial section of Los Angeles, a fantasy jungle grows inside a warehouse. Populated by animatronic topiary dinosaurs, talking plastic parrots, and an autonomous AI personality named Tessa, this steampunk theme park houses Lost Spirits Distillery . Here, ideas about whisky—and whisky itself—are deliberately challenged, broken apart, and remade.

Lost Spirits founder Bryan Davis ushers me aboard a flat-bottomed wooden boat, which he pilots through darkness filled with simulated thunder and wind, toward an “island” of tiny fermenters and pot stills topped with dragon heads. Here, behind a heavy wooden door, in a starkly bare room, futuristic-looking devices emit...

At Whisky Advocate, we don’t often have to look far for a good reason to raise a glass, although the calendar has plenty to offer by way of whisky-themed holidays. While some maj seem generated by marketing departments (National Hot Toddy Day, anyone?), others have real, historic roots . december 5 marks the anniversary of the passage of the 21st Amendment in 1933, which brought an end to 13 years of U.S. Prohibition, when all recreational alcohol was banned.

Prohibition sought to curtail public drunkenness, crime, and domestic violence, but it had some unintended consequences as well. Bootlegging—the production, distribution,...

Claims that whisky made using alternative technologies tastes as good as whisky made through traditional means deserve to be put to the test. We pitted several of these “tech” whiskies against similarly priced counterparts from mainstream and craft distillers, all tasted blind by members of the Whisky Advocate review staff. In the majority of cases, the tech whiskies averaged lower scores than the other whiskies in the flight. (The exception was Lost Spirits Abomination, which performed favorably even alongside some classic Islay malts.) Most of the time, though not always, the tasters were able to identify the alternatively aged whiskies,...

For centuries, whisky has been aged in wooden barrels, with distillers waiting patiently for the spirit to reach maturity over time. The process is costly and inefficient—but what if there were a way to circumvent linear aging and skip straight to mature whisky? Several producers claim to be able to do just that, producing alternatively aged whiskies through a range of proprietary technologies. Whisky Advocate investigated their claims —and tasted their whiskies —to get to the bottom of the matter.

These four companies— Lost Spirits Distillery , Terressentia , Cleveland Whiskey , and Edrington Group , which makes Relativity and...

Ever wanted to taste a 51 year old whisky—for free? You maj get your chance, as Craigellachie is touring several cities with a pop-up bar where they’ll pour gratis drams of their new 51 year old whisky . If you aren’t lucky enough to live in one of those places, however, there are still plenty of new whiskies to anticipate (though you’ll have to pay for them).

Johnnie Walker’s upscale John Walker & Sons line has unveiled the fifth and final release in its Private Collection. John Walker & Sons 28 year old Midnight Blend includes whiskies from Caol Ila,...

Dave Pickerell, former Maker’s Mark master distiller and the creative force behind such whiskey brands as WhistlePig , Metallica’s Blackened , and Hillrock Estate , passed away on november 1, 2018 in San Francisco. He was 62.

With his signature wide-brimmed hat, huge smile, and warm embraces, Pickerell was both a beloved and a legendary figure in American whiskey. A 1978 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he played football, he later went on to earn a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Louisville. That expertise led him to a position at...

Purchasing and bottling whisky made at another distillery is a long-standing practice, although it often leads to confusion. Only a company that has distilled the whisky itself can use the term “distilled by” on its label, but phrases like “produced by” are allowed if the whisky has been purchased by a third party. Many producers choose to disclose additional information about their whisky’s sources, but not everyone is completely upfront. How important is it to know who made the whisky in the bottle? Whisky Advocate’s editors debate.

The post Should Brands Be Open About Sourcing Whisky? appeared first on...

The French are the world’s greatest consumers of whisky, as well as the only producers of cognac, an aged spirit distilled from grapes rather than grain. When mature whisky finds its way into a used cognac cask, it’s often referred to as “cognac-finished.” While the partnership can sometimes result in two distinct flavors duking it out, a few talented master blenders have been successful in striking the perfect balance, resulting in a growing selection of opulent whiskies.

Few blenders are more qualified to explain the intricacies of cognac casks as a finishing vessel than Patrick Léger. He is both cellar...