Castle & Key Poised To Go Operational, But Plenty Of Work Remains By Richard Thomas My first acquaintance with the crenellated grace of the Old Taylor Distillery came in my late teens. Although I had a license and a car, I continued to enjoy the pleasures of my bike, and went for long rides on rural roads. One of these ...

By Richard Thomas When it comes to whiskey and wood, the world has three basic models. The American model relies heavily, although not exclusively, on new oak. The Irish and Scottish model relies heavily, although not exclusively, on used barrels. Finally, the Canadians are a heterodox lot who use both new and used barrels. Yet it’s the Irish and Scottish ...

Marking the progress Master Distiller Marianne Barnes and her team are making in their painstaking restoration of the historic Old Taylor Distillery, the site now has a brand to go with it: Castle & Key. One of the issues confronting the resurrection of the Old Taylor Distillery was what to call it’s bourbon (Old Taylor will also produce gin), since ...

By Richard Thomas Come this summer, the whiskey news should be full of stories about the grand reopening of the Old Taylor Distillery, heretofore the prettiest distillery ruin in America, what with its fantasy castle facade and decadent, decayed gardens. If the restoration of a lovely old ruin into a functioning distillery. If that weren’t enough, former Brown-Forman Master Taster ...

World Whiskey’s Five Worst Industrial Calamities By Richard Thomas Industry is prone to accident and calamity, and the whiskey industry perhaps moreso than most. This is due to the salient fact that it is an industry dealing in a highly flammable substance, namely concentrated alcohol in its vaporous and liquid forms. The history of the world whiskey business is replete ...