By Richard Thomas One thing I’m discovering in doing interviews with creative folks is just how true the stereotype is that musicians, actors, writers and artists love good drink. So it is with Midnight High, a reggae- and hip hop-influenced rock band from Astoria in Queens, New York. The trio of Ben, Kurt and Bogger are whiskey drinkers with tastes ...

An Interview with Dry Fly Co-Distiller Kent Fleischmann By Richard Thomas Distilling and whiskey-making has spread all around the United States in recent years, sometimes to surprising locations. One region where the craft boom has gone that should surprise no one is the Pacific Northwest, where craft beer-making got a foothold as far back as the 1970s. An increasingly familiar ...

By Kurt Maitland In New York, The Brandy Library has a reputation as the spirits connoisseur’s bar. That makes French-born Flavien Desoblin the owner of a major service institution in a town where upscale tastings and product launches are a fixture of the serious drinker’s circuit. As The Brandy Library is one of Kurt Maitland’s favorite bars, he made a ...

The Man Who Makes William Grant and Sons Tick By Richard Thomas When it comes to the big, established players in scotch whisky, arguably the one with the most cachet is William Grant and Sons. The company is not just the third largest in the industry, but also still an independent, family-owned enterprise after almost 130 years. In terms of ...

By Richard Thomas Originally from Kansas, Katie Buchanan relocated to New York to study at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, and is now pursuing her trade there as a modern blues singer-songwriter. But in addition to her devotion to Fender guitars and her music, Katie is also a self-described whiskey fanatic. With a new single, “Go,” coming out ...