Opportunities to speak with the real distillery masters of Kentucky come few and far between when you live this side of the pond. So when I received an invitation to a Masterclass with Drew Mayville – Master Blender at the Buffalo Trace distillery – there wasn’t even a question about whether it was worth the half-days leave and three and… Read more »
This week the British Bourbon Trail cuts a path up north, to Nottingham. Bourbon certainly wouldn’t have been found there in the times of Robin Hood (nor would the baked potato street vendor that bears his name), and in fact it nearly wasn’t just the prince of thieves who missed out. The first time I visited Nottingham I didn’t find much… Read more »
Although the vast majority of bourbon comes from Kentucky, it doesn’t have to. Bourbon can be made anywhere in the United States and still be called bourbon. Sadly, relatively few non-Kentucky bourbons are available to buy in the UK, which is why I frequently ask friends who are travelling State-side to bring me back a local whiskey if they can find… Read more »
Note: “Marshals” has now become “Sadler’s Brewhouse and BBQ” I have to admit that for a while it was looking like the only places I could go to explore new and interesting whiskeys were either London, which isn’t too far but can be expensive to travel to, or up North, which despite being where I’m from nowadays always seems like a heck… Read more »
Bourbon is a drink that’s made to be enjoyed in the company of others and every once in a while you get an opportunity to enjoy it with people who really know their bourbon. And few people know their bourbon better than Tom Fischer, the man behind bourbonblog.com. This week I had the very special honour of being invited to… Read more »
If my travels have taught me anything, it’s that the north is leading the way in terms of the British bourbon revolution. And nowhere is this truer than in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Despite being the city in which I was born, I’ve never lived there and this was my first visit as an adult, so I didn’t really know my… Read more »
Do not adjust your screens folks, you read it right. Of course I’m aware that Scotland is much more inextricably associated with, well, Scotch. I am also well aware that many Scottish Scotch advocates take a rather, shall we say, snooty view of bourbon and other world whiskey. However, the thing that Scotch and Bourbon have in common is, surprise… Read more »
Wood is very important to whiskey. So important, in fact, that if it hasn’t touched wood, it isn’t whiskey. And that includes unaged whiskey – known as ‘white dog’ – which, to earn the name, has to have come into contact with wood for at least a short time. So whether the spirit has spent eighteen years in a number… Read more »
This post is a tribute to one of our favourite places to eat and drink. In London we discovered that following the smell of smoked meat often leads to a decent selection of whiskey. And nowhere is this truer than at Red’s True BBQ. Red’s have outlets in Nottingham, London, Leeds and Manchester. Just to get it out of the… Read more »
You’ve heard of Johnny Walker, right? Quite possibly even tried it. Was it Red Label or Black Label you tried? You may or may not remember, but it was probably one of those two. The Red label is the cheapest Johnny, Black label is supposed to be a bit more special. But did you know there is a Double Black… Read more »
