Last night at the BTC 2017 competition we had Springbank 14 Year Old Bourbon Wood that was bottled last augusti and it was quite an infuriating experience. I tasted it, took notes, filled in my guess and continued to drink a few more drams with a friend and one of those drams was also this Springbank 14 Bourbon. So I had the same whisky twice in a single night, just a few drams apart but oh what different notes did I take for each of them. Luckily I got points for age and ABV (12yo and 55%) but if I’d had...

Arturo Cole, bartender at...

Spiced demerara syrup and St. Elizabeth’s allspice liqueur add classic holiday flavors to a favorite warm cocktail in the Ultimate Hottie Toddy from Aaron Blakely, bartender at...

“This Fancy Bourbon Punch is kind of a hard thing to screw up, so feel free to experiment and have fun with it,” says Matt Wallace, mixologist and beverage director at Bar Tribute in Sherman Oaks, CA. He brews loose tea, but four or five tea bags will also work. Green tea will give the most neutral flavor; for more complexity, try pu-erh or Earl Grey. If you don’t have fresh nutmeg to garnish, don’t substitute powdered nutmeg, which can turn your punch into a paste. Instead, use citrus wheels.

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Bryan Schneider, bartender at...

When it comes to serving cocktails at holiday parties, you have two options: Spend the entire night shaking, stirring, juicing, and garnishing, and miss out on most of the fun—or make a bowl of punch, let guests serve themselves, and actually enjoy the night.

Easy choice, right?

“Whenever I host a party, everyone expects some cocktails. Pre-batching a large format cocktail means guests can serve themselves, and I can spend time hanging out, rather than preparing everyone’s drinks,” says Bryan Schneider, bartender at New York City’s Quality Eats .

Whisky is the ideal base spirit for this time of year,...

Holiday drinks don’t have to be heavy and spicy. Take this floral, honeyed Peche-y Keen. “Redolent with ripe stone fruit notes and bright herbaceousness, this citrusy highball reminiscent of summer will keep a crowd smiling during a gathering,” says Joaquín Simó, beverage director and partner at New York City’s...

This is the peatiest whisky ever from Compass Box .

As often the recipe of the blend is easy to find: around 75% Ardbeg from re-charred barrels, around 11% Caol Ila from refill barrels, 13% Clynelish (re-charred hogsheads) and a very small portion of their typical Highland malt blend which usually involves Dailuaine and Teaninich finished in Compass Box’s special French oak ‘hybrid’ casks. A lot of information actually, it turns out the only thing missing is a name.

Compass Box No Name (48,9%, OB 2017, 15.000 btl.)

Nose: lovely elegant Islay style. Lots of ashes and hints...

The Ultimate series by Van Wees in Holland is known for having affordable whiskies, often middle-aged whisky from sherry casks and mostly sourced from Signatory Vintage stocks. Today we try their latest bottlings, a Clynelish 1996 and Macduff 2008, both from sherry casks.

Clynelish and sherry casks often cause a clash in my opinion, taking away some of its unique character, so it needs to be subtle. We’ve had some excellent (darker)  young Macduff from sherry casks though.

Clynelish 21 yo 1996 (46%, van Wees The Ultimate 2017, sherry butt #8793, 623 btl.)

Nose: juicy, tart fruits, like...