The Spirit World

For many, “Whisky” immediately brings to mind Scotch Whisky, and its often robust, smoky, peaty flavor. Like all other whiskies, Scotch is made from grains which have been fermented, and then distilled. But what sets Scotch apart from the others is that the heat it uses to halt the pre-fermentation germination process comes from peat […]

The debate continues. Was whiskey first distilled in Ireland, or in Scotland? It is possible that we may never truly know the answer to that question, but when you are in Ireland, be sure to give them the benefit of the doubt.
From a historical perspective, things always get murky the further back in time you […]

As we continue our examination of “Whisk(e)y”, let’s now take a look at the unique product coming from our neighbors to the north, Canadian whisky.
In the US, the birth of our whiskey industry is usually attributed to Pennsylvania and the rye whiskey which was being made there, and later to Kentucky, with the advent of […]

Rye may have been America’s first whiskey, and at one time it’s most popular. Today however, bourbon is king.
According to the US Federal guidelines (availalbe here and here), to be called bourbon, a whiskey must meet the following criteria:

It must be manufactured entirely in the United States.
It must be made from at least 51% corn.
It […]

We’ve covered Whiskey before, but Whiskey is the most complicated of the spirit categories, since within it there are several different types, and often a little bit of confusion ensues. So I’d like to dive into this topic a little deeper, and hopefully shed a little light on it, starting with rye whiskey.
One of the […]

Licor 43, a product of Spain, is one of those products that I feel isn’t being properly marketed, or to put it more precisely, it’s not being marketed by people that actually understand how to use this product. For me, it is often my little “secret weapon,” when trying to present somebody with a drink […]

Tiki drinks can often bring to mind a silly rum enhanced juice laden libation sporting a paper parasol, and often festooned with various bits of fruit and greenery. You out grew these sorts of drinks back in your college days. Truth be told, these faux tropical concoctions really hold a hallowed position amongst the ranks […]

Tonic Water is one of those products which is both expected to be a standard at all bars, but also often overlooked and misunderstood.
Originally, tonic water got its start as an evolution of the use of quinine as a cure (or actually a symptom reducer) for malaria. It was the Peruvians who originally discovered the […]

There are many different products that you may have heard of, yet have never really tried, Fernet Branca typically falls into this category for most people. It is also one of those products that when some people try it they wonder what on earth made them do that.
To the uninitiated, Fernet Branca can frankly seem […]

One of the key new products I was looking forward to seeing at the recent London Bar Show was Angostura’s new orange bitters. But before I dive into that, I’d like to provide a little background to help set the context.
We’ve covered cocktail bitters overall in the past, in which we discussed the category itself, and […]