Category: whisky
-
Maker’s Mark Distillery Visit 2012
This spring I visited the Maker's Mark distillery, along with seven other American whiskey distilleries in Kentucky and Tennessee. I had previously been to Maker's Mark and wrote about my visit here. As you'll read, I learned a lot of different stuff on this trip. Maker's Mark uses a mashbill of 70% corn, 16% soft…
-
Woodford Reserve Distillery Visit
This spring I visited eight American whiskey distilleries, including Woodford Reserve. Woodford Reserve's distillery is in a charming setting, nestled down next to a stream in a little valley. The distillery is in a grey stone building dating to 1838, though everything inside it is new. Like most American whiskey distilleries, it changed names and…
-
Wild Turkey Distillery Visit
This spring I visited eight American whiskey distilleries, including Wild Turkey. The Wild Turkey brand has been around a while, but the current distillery is just three years old, having moved across the street from the old one. It's clean, modern, and spacious. Wild Turkey uses all non-GMO grains in their bourbon and rye, but…
-
Jack Daniel’s Distillery Visit
This spring I toured eight American whisky distilleries, including Jack Daniel's. As you'd expect, Jack Daniel's is a huge operation with a very slick tour. You start with a video at the visitors' center, then take a shuttle up to the top of the hill. There, they burn sugar maple wood into charcoal for the…
-
Distillery Visit: George Dickel
This spring I visited the George Dickel distillery, located in Cascade Hollow, Tennessee. Dickel and Jack Daniel's are the two defining Tennessee whiskies: both employ the "Lincoln County Process" of running the new spirit through 10+ feet of charcoal before it is aged. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a requirement of Tennessee whisky,…
-
Summer Whisky Cocktails in Whisky Advocate Magazine
Holy Smokes! They put my story on Summer Whisky Cocktails on the cover of Whisky Advocate Magazine! Inside it's 7 pages of deliciousness, with recipes brought to you by: Alan Akwai Brendan Dorr Jon Santer David Delaney, Jr. Larry Rice Sam Ross Kevin Diedrich Kevin Kelpe Mike Ryan There are swizzles and punches and…
-
When Pot Distilled Whiskey Is Not Pot Still Whiskey
What is pot still whiskey? The obvious answer is "whiskey that's made in a pot still," but apparently that's not true if you're in Ireland. I was on a trip recently with whiskey writer/expert/class clown/author Dominic Roskrow and was showing off my sexy Irish whiskey distillery diagram, when he called me out on it. He…
-
Where Irish Whiskey Really Is Really Made
In my story last week in the San Francisco Chronicle, I didn't get the chance to be as nerdy as I wanted to with the specifics of the three (and a half) distilleries in Ireland and which whiskies they make. So here are more details from an earlier draft of the story. Jameson, which accounts…
-
Irish Whiskey History
I recently read the book Irish Whiskey: A 1000 Year Tradition, which is no longer in print but still available. It was originally published in 1980 and most recently reprinted in 1998. A lot has happened since then, but this book has some good historical information. Here are some facts and assertions from the book.…