By Richard Thomas One of the few opinions I find are commonly held in world whiskeydom—common among industry types and enthusiasts, bar people and journalists—is how Scotch Whisky produces the biggest bunch of snobs around. Even the snobs themselves sometimes agree with that assertion, taking a perverse pride in what most would think of as a flaw. How is it ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Before the World Whiskey Boom, Slane Castle was one of several independent and sourced whiskey brands, in this case associated with the namesake estate that hosts one of Europe’s best known annual music festivals. However, after Beam Global (now Beam Suntory) bought Cooley Distillery in 2011, the sourcing for these independently bottled brands dried up. ...

By Richard Thomas BenRiach has become one of the great success stories of modern Scotch whisky. Built in the late 1890s, BenRiach has a history like that of many distilleries in Scotland, having changed hands multiple times and consequently serving the interests of many masters, ultimately leading to obscurity. By the beginning of the 21st Century, BenRiach was barely operating ...

By Richard Thomas Lexington’s old Pepper Distillery is a fixture of some of my earliest childhood memories. When I was in kindergarten, the family farm was just down the road from this historic, long forgotten bourbon factory that was shuttered in 1958. My Dad would frequently drive up Old Frankfort Pike and onto Manchester Street, going past the big, abandoned ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon, sourced with Luxco stock and released through Limestone Branch Distillery, is now in its third edition. Since the brand is jockeying for a place in the annual slate of exciting autumnal American Whiskey releases, it’s worth pausing to do a recap of the series so far and the people who make ...