Whiskey
Whiskey is a spirit produced from the distillation of grain. Debate still rages about whether the Irish Celts or Scots were the first to produce the “water of life,” but the first written recording of whiskey’s creation dates to 15th century Scotland. Origin isn’t the only debate concerning whiskey. Spelling is contentious, too. When distilled in Scotland, Canada, and Japan, it is spelled whisky without the e, while whiskey distilled in Ireland and the United States is most often, but not always, spelled with the e. Technically, whiskey is a distilled spirit produced from a fermented grain mash, distilled to no more than 190 proof, and bottled at no less than 80 proof. All whiskey, with the exception of corn whiskey and “white” whiskey, must be aged for some period of time in oak containers. Whiskey is classified by country of origin (i.e. Canadian whisky) and may be further defined by the type of grain used (i.e. rye whiskey) or the way it is produced (i.e. single malt).
Top Whiskey Posts:
The Top 10 Whiskeys of 2018
The Top 10 Whiskeys of 2017
All About Dusties: 1970s vs. 2018 Bourbon Tasted Side by Side
Top 10 Bourbons Under $20
What Grains are Used to Make Whiskey (And Why?)
From Barrel To Bottle: How Wood Aging Impacts Whiskey
In the overcrowded world of American whiskey, it’s getting harder and harder to grab the consumer’s attention, but Filmland Spirits seems well-positioned to crack that code. The brand has one of the most creative and eye-catching bottle labels in the industry right now, with each offering sporting a B-movie name and a full, pulp-style movie…
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Seattle’s Westland Distilling continues to iterate its special edition single malt whiskeys, annual releases of Garryana, Colere, and now Solum, which just hit its second release. We missed 2022’s Garryana bottling and the inaugural Solum release, so we’re picking things up here with our look at the latest Garry and our first spin with Solum.…
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Bernheim Barrel Proof — the high-test version of Heaven Hill’s wheat whiskey — is released twice a year. A224 marks the first release of 2024 and the third release of the whiskey ever. As usual, the whiskey changes little from batch to batch, this one hitting 62.6% abv. The blend is made from a mash…
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The recently rebranded and relaunched Savage & Cooke whiskey brand just got its first line extensions with the arrival of a new Bottled in Bond Series. These two whiskeys, both bonded bourbons, are built around heirloom corn varietals designed to showcase the grain above all else. We got a very early look at these whiskeys,…
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While it’s largely regarded as Scotland’s oldest working distillery, Glenturret single malt is not widely seen on our shores for some reason. Maybe that’s set to change with the arrival of Glenturret Triple Wood Single Malt, a whisky aged in sherry-seasoned American and European oak as well as ex-bourbon casks, then blended together to create…
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Heaven Hill’s Elijah Craig Barrel Proof machine is rolling for 2024, and we’re off to a curious start: A124 is one of the youngest releases in the series, at 10 years, 9 months old — and one of the lowest in proof, at just 59.5% alcohol. That’s still toasty, but considering some ECBP releases have…
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First, I love that a company in the 2020s named itself “Liquor Co.” Forget “Distilling” or “Spirits,” Sausalito Liquor Co. is kicking it old school. The California operation launched last year with three spirits, a gin, a bourbon, and a rye. Designed with northern California’s distinct flora in mind, “these spirits are meant to be…
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Since they began procuring whiskey from other producers in 2011, Smooth Ambler hasn’t been shy about labeling the resulting products as sourced. Today, the distillery categorizes its offerings across three labels: Old Scout, a brand for their sourced offerings Founders’ Series, which denotes bottlings with 100 percent in-house distillate Contradiction, with bottlings containing a blend…
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We’ve covered a pair of whiskey releases from Pennsylvania-based Bluebird Distilling in the past, with mixed results. Up next is a new bourbon, “well aged and lightly smoked,” with a charitable goal: 10% of profits from the sale of the whiskey go to the Jetty Rock Foundation, which aims to protect east coast oceans and…
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Six years ago, Taiwan’s Kavalan re-launched the Single Cask Strength Series of its single malts, with high-proof versions of its four uniquely matured bottlings on tap. We didn’t review them at the time, but from what I can tell this was a semi-relaunch of the Solist series. Neither series however has been available since 2018,…
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