The Spirit World

When distillers Laphroaig launched their first ever live online whisky tasting, an army of malt fans from around the world made it the largest interactive event of its kind.
From New Zealand to Sweden, New York to Sydney, thousands watched the live WebTV show in London and mailed in hundreds of questions to the eminent panel of […]

The farmer’s market gives us seasonal and tasty foodstuffs, and for that we are grateful. But if human history has taught us anything, it’s that if it can be eaten, then it can be turned into booze. Of course, the quickest way to get some farm into your glass is to muddle the fruit, vegetables, […]

Malt Advocate’s John Hansell reports that Old Forester will release Repeal Bourbon, this fall, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition in the US.
Repeal is a new expression, which Hansell’s post quotes master blender Chris Morris as describing thus: “it is an Old Forester that has more of a robust aged character […]

So mixed drinks have made a comeback and you are thinking “what am I to do with all my brandy, vodka, absinthe, etc. that I have been enjoying neat (without ice, by it’s onesies)? Well, sure you could buck the trend and keep on with being a neat-freak, or you could experiment with ingredients that […]

Being that my throat has been acting a fool as of late, I have a wonderful topic to write about: drinking while under the weather. 
There are a number of whisk(e)y drinks that are meant to cure all that ailes you, such as the hot toddy, Irish coffee, and even the Blue Blazer.  Today, I am […]

These days, cocktail folks the world over are brushing the cobwebs off classic cocktails and returning them to circulation. Their digging into dusty drink books of yore have given us such delicious new-old hits as The Last Word, The Aviation, and The Clover Club, just to name three. Research in this area surely continues, to […]

Each year, and with fairly little fanfare, there is a fairly exhaustive spirits judging that takes place in San Francisco. Anthony Dias Blue is the founder of the competition, which saw its eighth year in operation when it held its 2008 judging in mid March.
There were 847 products submitted, across 439 different brand classifications. Judging […]

A Japanese whisky has been voted the best in the world.
Yoichi 20-year-old is the first variety outside Scotland to win the coveted single malt award from industry bible Whisky Magazine, scotching the hopes of dozens of other varieties, including last year’s winner, Talisker 18-year-old, from the Isle of Sky.
Yoichi, which is distilled near Sapporo City […]

I attended the 5th annual American Distilling Institute conference earlier this month, and am happy to report that artisan distilling is thriving in the U.S. When my husband and I started our distillery four years ago, there were about 65 small distilleries in the U.S. Now there are 144 in operation and/or under construction. They […]

Last week saw the fifth annual gathering of the American Distilling Institute convene at the historic Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. As the trade association for the burgeoning small-scale craft distilling industry, the Institute chose an appropriate location for this year’s theme: whiskey. But the sense of history came not just from the architecture of […]