Patron holds a unique reputation in the cocktail world. It’s a popular call at bars, a marketing darling and a tequila that’s highly-regarded by the drinking public. But it gets less love from the craft bartending community. In an age…
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Labor Day Weekend. It’s great for many reasons. The most obvious, of course, is a reprieve from work. But it’s also a welcome reminder that fall is just around the corner. And when we think fall, we think whiskey. Granted,…
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What gives a whisky its national identity? The answer seems simple on a basic level: where the whisky is made. And of course, there are some ingredients that stand out as markers: bourbon boasts of corn, scotch breaths peat. But…
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Laphroaig Select is the latest salvo from a brand that doesn’t shy away from innovation. In recent years, Laphroaig supplemented its portfolio with the release of Laphroaig Triple Wood and, more recently, Laphroaig Cairdeas Port Wood Edition. Now, the Islay-based…
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Clyde May’s Whiskey hails from Alabama, where it can trace its root back to a gentleman named… you guessed it, Clyde May. Old Clyde was a craft distiller in an age of moonshiners, and while he flouted the law making…
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According to the barrage of press releases hitting our inbox, August 16th is National Rum Day. Oh, who are we kidding… it’s been marked on our calendar for months. So now seems like a good time to pull out these…
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Many, many years ago, Bowmore 12 Year was our first introduction to Islay scotch. And it proved to be quite the intro, quickly cementing our love for Islay whiskies and their rich, smoky qualities. Just recently, Bowmore announced a new…
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It’s just a fact of life that certain times — say, while attending church or when faced with the prospect of a dry wedding — necessitate the use of a discrete vessel full of liquor. So fortunately, flasks exist. But…
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Single malt whiskey typically conjures images of Scotland and rolling fields of heather. And while Scotland continues to produce the vast majority of single malts, more American distillers are getting into the game. Balcones and St. George are a couple…
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That’s not a typo. It’s really spelled VDKA, and it launched in early 2014. VDKA 6100 hails from New Zealand, and it has the unique distinction of being distilled from whey. You can distill vodka from most anything with fermentable…
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The hangover. Nature’s way of reminding you that you are not, in fact, invincible. It’s a beautiful thing, really. An unbiased admonishment of your previous night’s behavior that simply and fairly judges your body’s ability to process the terrible things…
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The origin story of Innis & Gunn is an interesting one. Their unique beers were born from ales that they originally used to season barrels destined for whiskey. The plan was to trash the beer after giving the barrels what they needed. However, some brewers spoke up and thought the beer was pretty damn good…read more →
Read MoreJuly 24. Big holiday. Yep, the totally-not-made-up National Tequila Day. Now, we’ve never required an excuse to drink tequila, but a full 1/365th of a year dedicated to the stuff is just fine in our book. So naturally, we took…
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Another Tales of the Cocktail is in the books, and with it: another bout of day drinking, spirited dinners, all-out fetes and just the right amount of regret. This year witnessed a slew of larger-than-life bashes put on by notable…
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I begin writing, as usual, with a full glass. I’m fond of doing so. I pour a glass of whisky and do not begin writing until after first enjoying a dram unsullied by the pressures of a blank page. The pressures to write something worthy of the casual reader’s attention as he browses his newsfeed…read more →
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It’s that time of the year. The temperature’s heating up and you need something to cool down. Cold beer comes to mind. On that note, let’s introduce the first installment of Summer Cooler, where we recommend beers — from IPAs…
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Auchentoshan American Oak is a new addition to the Auchentoshan Scotch Whisky portfolio. This expression is a triple distilled single malt that’s been aged in first fill American oak barrels that previously held bourbon. With each filling, less and less…
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We’ve spent time detailing the origins of Suntory, the beverage giant that pioneered Japanese whisky and introduced it to the Western world. Now let’s look at a figurehead whose passion was not profitability, but the perfection of his individual craft and the effect it had on the world around him. I’m speaking of Masataka Taketsuru…read more →
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Rhum agricole is the French term for a style of rum that’s distilled from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice, rather than molasses, which is a byproduct of refining sugar. And perhaps no place in the world is better suited to producing…
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Pouring the hot water into whisky, the fragrance suddenly rises in the light of a cold white morning. Lines from a poem by Japanese naturalist Bokusui Wakayama, reflecting on his oyuwari–a drink akin to a hot toddy–as he enjoyed it one cold winter morning. It struck me… read more →
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