How does the angel’s share affect my whiskey? A lot of different things affect the flavors in whiskey, not least of which is the addition of water or loss of […]
Laird’s Apple Jack- America’s First Licensed Distillery
It’s autumn now and that makes me think of applejack… Laird’s applejack is not whiskey, but it was the first licensed distillery in the United States. I’m particularly proud of […]
Mash Bills in America
Did you know that mash bills are really only used in American whiskey production? American distilleries refer to the proportions of grains used as their “mash bill”. There are quite […]
The Science of Nosing
Why does my bourbon smell like vanilla? There’s no added flavorings or additives, right? Correct. Bourbon can not have anything added to it like colorings or flavor additives. The vanilla […]
Cigars and Whisky -A Perfect Pair
Cigars and whiskey go so well together… They have a lot more in common then how well they pair together… Whiskey production goes through many stages of development. Malting, milling, […]
Scottish Oak barrels for Scotch?
Did you know that there are only a couple scotches that have actually been aged in Scottish Oak? Seems like a pretty obvious thing to age your whiskies in locally […]
John Glaser of Compass Box
We all know what happens when you insert Scots-Irish folks into American whiskey production. Great American whiskey, of course. But what would happen if you insert an American into Scotch […]
Solera Aging in Whiskey
I wonder if we won’t start seeing more solera aged bottlings of whiskey in the future… Dave Pickerell was the first to use the solera aging technique in whiskey production […]
Bourbon is Not Scotch…
Bourbon is not Scotch. Silly and obvious, I know, but after reading an article where a man was blasting bourbon distilleries for removing age statements, I feel it must be […]
Barrel Shortage Effect
The barrel shortage is affecting our American whiskey… There are just about 27 cooperages in America…http://www.acia.net/membership.html The demand for good aged American white oak is such that most staves are […]