American whiskey drinkers can easily locate the proof of their favorite whiskey on the bottle label, but more elusive is its barrel entry proof, the alcohol strength at which it enters the wood barrel. You see, before they dump it into barrels, distillers are legally required to reduce the proof of their bourbon or rye distillate by adding water. Reducing the proof in turn increases the total volume of liquid. Thus, the lower the proof of the whiskey, the more barrels that are required, adding greatly to the final production cost.

In 1962, the U.S. Treasury raised the legal maximum...

Whisky lovers will descend on New York’s Marriott Marquis on november 16 for the 20th anniversary of WhiskyFest. With nearly 500 whiskies (and even a few other spirits and wine) available, there will be something for everyone, whether you’re a scotch lover , a craft whiskey fan, a whiskey veteran looking to try the next big thing, or a bourbon aficionado. If bourbon is your drink of choice, you’ll have a vast array to choose from—so where do you start?

Many folks will head straight for the Pappy Van Winkle table—especially since the 2017 releases are just coming out. If...

“There’s nothing quite like fresh blueberries, and Knoxville has some of the country’s finest. It’s only natural that Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey pairs perfectly with them,” says Gates Otsuji, co-founder of...

“Much like the city of New Orleans, whose Bywater District lends its name here, this Bywater Spritz is a collection of seemingly disparate ingredients which fit together in a mellow and surprising way,” says Gates Otsuji, co-founder of...

“At first glance, this Seelbach Cocktail appears to be a whiskey cocktail, but it’s the first cousin of the classic Champagne Cocktail,” explains Kent Westmoreland, head mixologist at...

“The Fare Thee Well is smooth, tangy, and features a subtle hint of sweetness from the fruit,” says Michael Loomis, corporate beverage director for...

Ever since the early days of whisky production, distilleries have appeared and disappeared. Some failed, some merged, some literally exploded, and the Scottish landscape is littered with the remains of historical distilling. However, oktober was a busy month for the lost distilleries of Scotland.

Port Ellen in its heyday. Not much of it’s left these days…for now

It’s not every day that it’s announced that a closed distillery is to reopen, but two on the same day is unheard of. At the beginning of oktober, Diageo announced that it was going to reopen Brora and Port Ellen , both closed...

Some time ago I reviewed a Tamnavulin 1992 from Cadenhead and said this whisky didn’t really exist as a single malt until the Tamnavulin Double Cask was launched some time ago. It is the first official bottling in more than 20 years.

Tamnavulin distillery changed hands in 1993 from Invergordon Distillers to Whyte & MacKay and was silent between 1995 and 2007 for renovation and upgrades.

Double Cask was initially matured in bourbon barrels and has been finished in sherry butts. It is the only expression for the foreseeable future, although they are sitting on some stocks that go back...

A lot of independent Glenrothes releases these days, many of which are dark sherry casks.

Today we’re trying one bourbon expression bottled in Holland by The Duchess and and at least one sherry bombs bottled by Sansibar.  The third one is from the latest Butterflies series by  Antique Lions of Spirits . As it turns out, the same age but three totally different profiles.

Glenrothes 20 yo 1996 (52,8%, The Duchess Shieldmaidens 2017, bourbon hogshead #10/1996)

This cask was apparently shared with Whiskyclub Ypenburg.

Nose: very natural, with varnished oak, sugared cereals and plenty of lemons and unripe...

Islay’s oldest distillery released a 19 year old hand-filled single cask for Feis Ile 2017. Matured in a first-fill Oloroso puncheon , this whisky was distilled in januari 1998 and bottled on the 27th of maj 2017.

People started queuing as early as 7am in front of the distillery. With only about 600 bottles available (and a questionable policy of selling 4 bottles per person), it sold out in a matter of hours. I was able to buy one in the secondary market, with a significant premium, but somehow I was triggered by the profile and a few early reviews....

It has been a long time since we’ve tried Port Askaig bottlings. These undisclosed Islay malts (often Caol Ila, but not all) are bottled by Speciality Drinks (member of the Whisky Exchange group) and the range has been growing steadily since the launch in 2009 .

One of the latest additions is this Port Askaig 15 Year Old Sherry Cask , a vatting of peated whisky from 1997 (20%) and fruitier spirit from 2001 (80%). They were married together at 50% ABV for three months and then brought back to bottling strength. All matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry butts.

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Liquid Treasures has a new Miltonduff 1995 that has just arrived in store.

Miltonduff 22 yo 1995 (56,1%, Liquid Treasures 2017, bourbon hogshead)

Nose: very barleyish start, with green apples, pears, some grassy notes. Fresh herbal touches. Porridge. There’s also a mint / menthol theme. A pretty simple dram with textbook bourbon maturation. Mouth: majbe a little hot, with some beer-like notes, citrus fruits and a minty oakiness. Nicer with water, there’s a light hoppy side to it, and you get some mocha notes towards the end. Whiffs of pepper and light waxy notes. Finish: medium length, same...

Pin Gin 40%...

This week brings a mixed bag of new whiskies, from limited-edition scotch to a whole range of Japanese blended malts and a couple of craft whiskeys.

Ardbeg is releasing a well-aged single malt called Twenty Something. Available in limited quantities for the Ardbeg Committee and at U.S. retailers, Twenty Something costs $450 and is made up of whiskies aged at least 23 years. This is remarkable not only because of its age, but because Ardbeg Distillery operated very infrequently during the 1980s and ’90s, even closing down completely between 1981 and 1989. So stocks this old are tiny, and this...

When it comes to tasting whiskies, there is a huge range of things to distract you. The room you’re in, other people around you, rogue pets, your roommate’s bad taste in music, next door’s obsession with cooking cabbage…the list goes on. Above all, there is one thing that distracts more than any other: knowing what you are tasting.

It’s difficult to remove a lot of the other distractions, but removing the knowledge of what’s in your glass is fairly simple – welcome to the world of blind tasting.

A row of anonymous glasses – step one in tasting whisky blind...