I only vaguely recall my first pour of whisky from Paul John Distillery. I was visiting London for the Whisky Exchange Show on a cold and rainy October day. We have plenty of incredible whisky shows in North America, but London wins on sheer quantity of whiskies. From a list of seven-hundred potential pours, I had made a long wish-list of whiskies to try. Paul John wasn't on the list.
Read MoreWidow Jane Distillery is the trending distillery out of Red Book, Brooklyn. The label is owned by Cacao Prieto, the maker of "beans-to-bar" fresh chocolates. Their list spirit products sold is extensive, and largely not distilled at their facility, but rather they purchase barrels of whisky from other distilleries and bottle them themselves.
Read MoreLarceny is in the category of a wheated Bourbon, a sub-brand of the Bourbon category that's glorified by big hitters like Maker's Mark, W.L. Weller, and of course Pappy Van Winkle. Most bourbons use a combination of corn, rye, and malted barley in their starting recipe. Wheaters use wheat instead of rye. It's still a bourbon, but a different take on bourbon.
Read MoreReleased as part of Old Forester's Whiskey Row series, the 1897 honors the Bottled-in-Bond Act and the old way of making whisky. Old Forester doesn't always get lot of love from whisky enthusiasts, but these new product releases seem intended to attract today's whisky drinker. This release definitely seems designed to bring enthusiasts willing to pay for premium bourbon back to the Old Forester brand.
Read MoreFor Scotch drinkers that love their peat, Ardbeg represents the trinity of Islay along with Laphroaig and Lagavulin. The three neighboring distilleries brag about peat levels and expensive rare releases, but each has a unique voice in the whisky world. Lagavulin is civilized and composed. Laphroaig brags about its "you either love it or hate it" flavors. Ardbeg embraces the funky briny nature of Islay.
Read MoreBy every comparison, the Bowmore Tempest is the opposite of the mild please-all peated Bowmore 12 Year Old scotch. Bowmore Tempest is the whisky for a growing enthusiasts. It has all the flavor one would expect in non-chill filtered cask strength scotch, without the intensity many cask strength whiskies hold.
Read MoreArdbeg releases Uegeadail and Corryvreckan annually. The Uegeadail is primarily ex-sherry barrel and ex-bourbon barrels blended while the Corryvreckan is matured in a raw mixture of French Oak casks and Burgundy wine casks. In this way, these are peated scotches with opposing views on texture. One is dry and cinnamon spice forward, the other is zesty and peppery. Both are delicious.
Read MoreRussell's Reserve is the premium brand of whisky from Wild Turkey Distillery. If you've been reading my reviews, you'll know I've loved everything that comes under this label. Russell's Reserve Straight Rye is priced at $30 and is readily available. Complaints of a bourbon shortage do seem overblown with whisky like this that's easily available.
Read MoreHigh West Double Rye is an excellent example of why age statements aren't always relevant. Double Rye is, technically, a 2 year old whisky being sold for a deluxe price point. But one shouldn't focus on that.
Read MoreFor whisky enthusiasts, today's lack of supply of old favorites is creating a frantic buying environment. There are, however, whiskies that are available and delicious. Aberlour A'Bunadh is one of those whiskies. It's not cheap in any traditional sense, but it is affordable considering it's cask strength first-fill single malt scotch.
Read MoreLong-time whisky drinkers hate the youth of today. These old-time bourbon drinkers started getting grumpy years ago when Pappy become exclusive. But let's face it, Pappy was "that pretentious stuff some celebrity chef-turned-tv-personality drank."
Read MoreBuffalo Trace is stand-out in the category of available, higher-end, and affordable American bourbon. Perhaps Wild Turkey 101 has more character, and Maker’s Mark has an enjoyable smoothness through the middle, but Buffalo Trace is the ideal well-rounded bourbon. It’s light on rye, but there is spice, and it’s not too heavy on oak, but there’s sweetness from the start. If you don’t believe me, take the time to chew Buffalo Trace while tasting it. That’s right, do the Kentucky chew. Get all those flavours going. I can’t find a moment where this drink isn’t rewarding.
Read MoreMaker’s Mark 46 tastes great in a Glencairn glass, in a plastic cup, on ice, with some water, or from the bottle (I haven’t actually tried this!). It’s the whisky that’s most likely to make an appearance when I’m hosting a party with a mix of wine, beer, and whisky drinkers. It pops nicely with flavour, it doesn’t require fancy glassware, and it's a whisky that stirs conversation.
Read MoreFrom removing the cork, to tipping the bottle, to the pour, Mortlach Rare Old is a fine experience. The bottle screams “expensive whisky.” That being said, the marketing is likely to enrage many. Bragging that your whisky is "rare” and “old" has the same stereotypes associated with driving an embellished large car. Maybe there are some insecurities there?
Read MoreLaphroaig 18 is a favourite of mine. It wasn’t long ago that you could find this release for around $75 in the United States. At that price point, it’s an insanely great buy, and quite frankly we’ll likely not ever see it sold so cheaply. While the product is largely discontinued, you might still find supplies of it in 2016 before it’s officially gone.
Read MoreI sometimes avoid defining “Single Malt Scotch” during whisky tastings because I get the inevitable questions that cause more confusion than clarity. Single malt scotch is a single distillery whisky made in Scotland of 100% malted barley. It's most often blend of hundreds of barrels, and so long as those barrels contain 100% malted barley whisky that was distilled in the same distillery, it's defined as single malt scotch.
Read MoreIn 1900, Gooderham & Worts was the largest distillery in the world. It was located in what is now Toronto’s historic Distillery District. The company was started by James Worts, a Englishman that opened up a prominent windmill in Canada. He went into business with his brother-in-law, William Gooderham.
Read MoreI sat down with Shane Bahng, the COO of Norlan Glass, the newly funded Kickstarter project. Their glass was developed using 3D printers and a select group of Scotland’s whisky industry experts that offered feedback on the 90 or so design choices they started with. The design selected is intended to be a beautiful tumbler-style glass that offers a better nosing experience.
Read MoreEagle Rare, is in many ways, is the perfect bourbon for casual bourbon drinkers. There’s enough dramatic shift between the oaky-vanilla start and the oak-based-spicy finish to say yes, this is well-aged bourbon. It’s easy to drink, but not boring. There’s enough complexity that you can sit back and enjoy it, but it’s not so luxuriously priced that you feel bad for drinking it absently.
Read MoreMaker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength bourbon comes in a charming miniature bottle that has that “I snuck it out of the test lab” feeling to it. At the time of this writing, though, it’s only available at the Maker’s Mark Distillery gift store. There’s a good degree of bottle variation between releases. Proof levels will vary. The one reviewed here is bottled at 54.45% ABV.
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