Infectious Charm. Devastating Wit. Below Average Looks.
A Tennessee whiskey company that buys bulk rye whiskey from Indiana, modifies it somewhere in Plainview, IL and then bottles it in Norwalk, CT is almost a quintessential example of the current state of American whiskey. Maybe a better way is to say that George Dickle Rye is a glimpse behind the curtain of the American whiskey business.... Continue Reading →
Batch Variation. You see this cryptic phrase all over the whisky blogosphere. It is generally used to point out apparent differences from one batch to the next in whiskey production. Of course, whiskey is produced in batches, some small, some enormous, and for NDP’s, they have the perhaps the least amount of control from batch to... Continue Reading →
While we rage, rage against the dying of authenticity, or, the common business practice of companies purchasing already aged whiskey, bottling it under their label, and sometimes lying about it, you can’t fault a business group for being upfront about it. At least I don’t. Not too much, anyway. There is a perceived gap in... Continue Reading →
The French wine industry coined the word “terroir” as a way to romanticize not just the wine but the very ground from whence the wine is derived. Terroir is defined as “the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced.” Ever see that documentary “Somm?” The sommeliers... Continue Reading →
I think the American craft distilling scene could take a lesson from Benromach Distillery. Looking at the movement from afar, it seems that there are a number of things they can no longer get away with, but one in particular is simply this: no more riding on the coat tails of anything other than what you put... Continue Reading →
I hope the good people at Glenlivet never read this review. Not that there is any remote chance they would anyway, but hope remains. You see, we as a club have tried every readily available expression from Glenlivet with the exception of their 25 year old. We’re not dentists, so we don’t count the glass... Continue Reading →
So we move on from the sassy fest of our last post to a more reasoned approach this time around. We present today a rather invigorating rhapsody of whisky geekery on Auchentoshan Triple Wood. The issues raised by this particular malt’s style inspire a quick word or two on distillation, as Auchentoshan distills their Scotch... Continue Reading →
It seems we don't write blog posts about industry happenings, trends, or even the dumb controversies we are supposed to care about. Could we? Sure. We pretty much only do reviews. To strike a balance, we throw in our opinions, if relevant, in the write ups. The NAS controversy is one of those topics making the rounds... Continue Reading →
Concerning the Midleton Barry Crocket Legacy bottling released years ago, a promotional video on the various Midleton releases claimed that it “must be the ultimate expression of the art,” namely, the single pot still style of Ireland. Another marketing claim? I will say that I do not think it is. In fact, I think they are right. Midleton... Continue Reading →
As recently stated by Lew Bryson, Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey was once a “white whale” in the whiskey world, and not just the Irish one. But the pursuit for this rare pot still style was not quite at the vomit inducing level of Pappy hunting by the various Ahabs lurking among us.... Continue Reading →
It is not without a sense of delicious irony that our selection today was volunteered by the one member of SWC who enjoys Irish whiskey the least. But where this story becomes less amusing is when this said member found himself at the Irish Beer and Whiskey Festival in, of course, Ireland, and speaking one on... Continue Reading →
**This review was conducted by Ian Fallon, a founding member of SWC, and does not reflect the opinions of the entire club** Angel's Envy is a bourbon I have been wanting to experience for a while now. It's about time, pretty much every other blog on the planet wrote their review years ago. And what's... Continue Reading →
I suspect our frequent caterwauling on paying more for less and why that is, you know, bad, is falling on deaf ears. And maybe that’s okay. The whiskey category, especially American whiskey, is growing mainly because people are willing to shell out obscene amounts of money for whiskey that was cheaper five years ago, and... Continue Reading →
A good whiskey connoisseur is able to relate his/her hobby to most people. And this skill has little to do with writing a well phrased review, but rather it has more to do with telling good stories about a special pour you had in the past or sharing some unique memory closely associated with a... Continue Reading →
Kentucky’s weather has a particularly unrelenting way about it when it comes to aging distillate. With the temperature extremes in that searing, hot, humid, hell like state, a multi story rackhouse does not need much time to perfect a fine bourbon. When temperature goes up, whiskey expands, forcing itself in the oak to those wonderful... Continue Reading →
Bill Samuels Jr., president of Maker’s Mark, suddenly realizing that his distillery has only ever produced one product since the fifties, laughed uncontrollably that they managed to get away with it for so long. When finished, he called in his Master Distiller to his vast office and declared that they must make something new for... Continue Reading →
Bourbon brands do a great job, probably the best job, at tracing their lineage all the way back to the farmer-distillers of the late 18th/early 19th century. Way back then, farmers preferred to distill the grain they harvested and sell it for profit rather than travel the many miles to market hauling a few hundred... Continue Reading →
In our humble yet devastatingly accurate opinion, the single best way to grow your whiskey palate is to challenge it. If you have a smoky Islay in front of you, pour a sherried Speyside next, then followed by a bourbon cask refill. In order to sharpen your sensory perception of the differences, you have to... Continue Reading →
“There are times when I desire a sweet, hefty bourbon, or perhaps a lovely pot stilled Irish, maybe even a nicely sherried Speyside malt. But today, friends, today nothing less than the tar soaked, burning brine and wispy salty sea, the peat fueled fire cooking a kettle of kipper on top of the mountains of Islay overlooking... Continue Reading →
Spokane Whiskey Club 