I sat down with Shane Bahng, the COO of Norlan Glass, the newly funded Kickstarter project. Their glass was developed using 3D printers and a select group of Scotland’s whisky industry experts that offered feedback on the 90 or so design choices they started with. The design selected is intended to be a beautiful tumbler-style glass that offers a better nosing experience.
Read MoreWith murder, theft, and bribery highjacking the whisky news, this year’s headlines have read like they were ripped straight out of the latest Netflix crime drama. Just last week, there was a fatal stabbing over a box of bourbon. Earlier in this year trucks carrying Pappy Van Winkle were stalked as they left wholesalers with drivers being offered bribes for cases of whisky.
Read MoreAbsolut Creates Whiskey-Flavored Vodka, Wonders If Whiskey Drinkers Will Gravitate Towards It? Uuuuum no. That's a resounding no to one of the most ridiculous questions maybe of all time. Of course whiskey drinkers wouldn't be down with whiskey flavored vodka? Why? Because it's vodka!
Read MoreFaintly reminiscent of a time in my youth spent customizing and dressing a virtual Barbie on Mattels interactive website - the adult whisky-drinker in me is thrilled about Buffalo Trace’s new educational, interactive website “Craft Your Perfect Bourbon”.
Read More"We found that comet Lovejoy was releasing as much alcohol as in at least 500 bottles of wine every second during its peak activity," said Nicolas Biver, of Paris. If a scientist from Scotland or Kentucky had made this discovery, it would have been quoted in whisky. That’s probably about 125 bottles of spirit every second.
Read MoreIn an interview with Jane Conner, the director of Maker’s Mark Private Select program, whsky.buzz learned additional information around the recently announced program. Maker’s Mark is getting ready to roll out a program where whisky lovers can, literally, choose their own adventure. In this case, there will be a total of 1,001 unique outcomes, and program members will have a preview of some of these different taste profiles.
Read MoreYour home bar. A sanctuary tucked away in the corner of your living room, or your kitchen or your bedroom (just me?) where you can perfect the art of cocktails and entertain like a boss. Everyone is cooler when they can mix a mean cocktail.
Read MoreBalvenie announced the release of the David Charles Stewart Compendium of whiskies. Five chapters, each with five single cask selections from five decades honouring David’s 50 years in the whisky business. That’s a total of 25 whiskies, and they’re priced at over £125,000 for the set. Individual bottles range from £400 to £19,000. At these prices, the question to ask is, what is the whisky worth?
Read MoreBuffalo Trace announced this year’s release of the Van Winkle lines of bourbon. Unfortunately, the yields are less then in previous years. Marketing director Kris Comstock noted “… several of the older Van Winkle barrels did not meet those standards.” The result is less 15 year-old Pappy, and “far less” of the 20 and 23 year-old releases. Kris suggested the allotment is half as much as last year.
Read MoreThe biggest flavour change in the whisky world in the last ten years has been a move away from smooth whisky, and a move toward whisky with character.
Read MoreEagle Rare, is in many ways, is the perfect bourbon for casual bourbon drinkers. There’s enough dramatic shift between the oaky-vanilla start and the oak-based-spicy finish to say yes, this is well-aged bourbon. It’s easy to drink, but not boring. There’s enough complexity that you can sit back and enjoy it, but it’s not so luxuriously priced that you feel bad for drinking it absently.
Read MoreWe’re just one mile of Deatsvill, Kentucky. This is T.W. Samuels Distillery, named after the founder. T.W. Samuels is the great-grand father of Bill Samuels Senior, the founder of Maker’s Mark distillery. Bill actually worked these very grounds you see here in the 30s and 40s.
Read MoreMaker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength bourbon comes in a charming miniature bottle that has that “I snuck it out of the test lab” feeling to it. At the time of this writing, though, it’s only available at the Maker’s Mark Distillery gift store. There’s a good degree of bottle variation between releases. Proof levels will vary. The one reviewed here is bottled at 54.45% ABV.
Read MoreBeing a bourbon person, I often get asked for recommendations - a task I find very tricky because it can be such a personal thing. The last thing I want to do is send someone in the wrong direction in their bourbon consumption (the horror!). But, there are a few that I find myself coming back to as recommendations in certain scenarios. I’ve chosen bourbons that are relatively easy to find.
Read MoreBuffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC) whiskies are highly sought after, rarely found, and cherished by the quarter-ounce when poured. I was at Buffalo Trace Distillery to do a tasting of the 2015 collection prior to release. When I posted a photo of the collection on Twitter, I was challenged with “why bother?" What’s the point of reviewing BTAC when there's so little supply released that it's nearly impossible to get?
Read MoreBourbon buyers in Ontario have always had their secrets. When rare products appeared on shelves (Elmer T. Lee back in the day, W.L. Weller 12 today), Ontario whisky buyers snatched them up quickly. Good bourbon options in Ontario are, however, disappearing. We can’t even blame the LCBO on this one. The demand for bourbon in the United States is delisting many favourite bourbons from international sales.
Read MoreFor some unfathomable reason, Business Insider is covering alcoholic drinks in their finance section these days. Maybe it’s because finance isn’t a great traffic driver, or maybe they’ve run out of things to talk about in the world of finance. This oddity did, however, birth something I found interesting.
Read MoreRedbreast 12 is the exact opposite type of drink I reach for, and yet it continues to be one I always have around. This isn’t a ‘staying out at a loud bar’ whisky, but rather an ‘at home reading a book’ sipper.
Read MoreJust around the time the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection comes out, Jamie and I speak with Sazerac Director and Master Blender, Drew Mayville. Drew tells us of his favourite Buffalo Trace Experimental lines, answers the question of “why BTAC?” and talks about his role as the Master Blender. We sipped from the Single Oak Project with their experiment of coarse grain versus light grain. We also took home some the infamous 26-year old [failed experiment].
Read MoreWhisky additives have always sparked suspicions from whisky consumers. Many want real proper traditional whisky. But what does that mean? Reid Mitenbuler, author of Bourbon Empire, notes: “In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, whiskey was minimally if at all aged. Drinkers often added flavorings to mask any rough edges."
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