By Richard Thomas Back in July, Grant’s Blended Scotch Whisky gave its line-up a top to bottom shake up, compete with new expressions, discontinued expressions and a new look. Most of our readers ought to be familiar with the brand, because even among the Americans I know folks who consider their cheap, super-sized bottle of Grant’s at Trader Joe’s a ...

By Richard Thomas In the midst of the Bourbon Boom and with autumn, the season when the most anticipated American Whiskey releases come out, it would be easy to overlook that Summer 2018 has not been an easy period for the Kentucky Bourbon industry. Washington politics, bad weather and a major accident have come together to make it an unlucky ...

By Kurt Maitland Back in late June I had the pleasure of traveling to Denver, Colorado to attend Stranahan’s Cask Thief Festival at their distillery. The festival, now passed its third year, and is an event that shows off the best of Stranahan’s. Fans come from all over to see the distillery, eat, listen to music and, last but certainly ...

By Richard Thomas Once the province of bar, retail and industry pros, whiskey festivals have grown far beyond being mere conventions. These events are now so tourist-centered that it’s hard to find a festival not organized with enthusiasts first and foremost in mind. Most modern festivals were started with drinkers and collectors, not industry pros, in mind. Attending these events ...

By Richard Thomas Last week saw a landmark meeting as the executives from the world’s whisk(e)y trade organizations gathered in a show of unity, calling for the removal of tariffs between longtime trading partners on spirits exports. Hosted by the Kentucky Distillers Association (KDA), the “W9 Spirit of Collaboration Summit” was held in Louisville on Thursday, July 26th. It brought ...