By Richard Thomas Dr. Jim Swan, the noted whisky expert who was best known for his handiwork in advising several new whisky distilleries around the glove, passed away suddenly yesterday in his home in Edinburgh. He was 75. Swan, who held a PhD in Chemistry and Biological Studies from Heriot-Watt University, began his career with a ten year stint as chief ...

By Richard Thomas For several weeks now, the American whiskey blogosphere has been abuzz with word that Campari, the Italian drinks conglomerate that owns of Wild Turkey, would be starting a line of not-Wild Turkey whiskeys. Now Campari is poised to release the first two whiskeys in the line, dubbed Whiskey Barons, entitled Old Ripy and Bond & Lillard. The ...

By Richard Thomas Bourbon is undoubtedly booming, but it’s malted barley that stands as the dominant basis for world whisk(e)y. Leaving aside all those pricey Scottish single malts that inspire such devotion from global whisky fans, two other major whisky countries—Ireland and Japan—are also surging and just as barley-based. Malts are now widely touted as the “next big thing” in ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Just because you have an urban distillery doesn’t mean you can’t have a locovore’s, DIYer’s attitude towards running a micro-distillery. Breuckelen Distilling, located (no points for guessing) in Brookyn, New York is an example. They use New York State-grown grains, mill the grain themselves, and distill and age in-house. In case you were wondering, “Breuckelen” ...

By Father John Rayls Rating: B In 1927, The Hilhaven Lodge was created as a remote recreational retreat for its owner outside of nearby Hollywood. Former owners have included Ingrid Bergman and producer Alan Carr, and the current owner is director and producer Brett Ratner, best known for his Rush Hour films. Ratner partnered with Diageo to produce The Hilhaven Lodge Blended ...