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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
My interest in American whiskey all came about because I bought a set of three whiskey miniatures and tried them side by side to see if I could tell the difference. That was a long time ago, and whilst I remember being able to distinguish one from the next, I didn’t really have the vocabulary to describe how they were different…. Read more »
