By Richard Thomas Perhaps because I can date my first interest in good spirits back to a time when double and triple malts might have become a fad and Blanton’s was a new and novel product, I’m of two minds about whiskey glassware. Mindful that in the days of my youth, Kentucky’s master distillers would often call on each other ...

By Richard Thomas Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us, so now even sensible people can stick their heads up and start looking around for Christmas gifts. With whiskey never having been more popular, it’s a good bet you have a relative, close friend or significant other who wouldn’t mind getting some whiskey for the Holidays. The problem with ...

By Richard Thomas In the vein of how childhood favorites like comic books have become adult mainstream, scratch and sniff has made a comeback and embraced booze. This explains how a book about hard liquor, like Richard Betts’s The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming A Whiskey Know-It-All, can have the sort of illustrated, children’s book style that would make ...

By Richard Thomas Growing within the larger whiskey boom are many trends relating to aging in wood. Barrel-aged cocktails are catching on in mixology, while at home a growing number of enthusiasts have taken to experimenting with further aging off-the-shelf whiskey using small barrels and so-called “whiskey sticks.” The basic principle behind the whiskey sticks isn’t a new one, and ...

By Richard Thomas In the U.S. today is known as “Black Friday,” the day after the Thanksgiving holiday that signposts roughly one month remaining before Christmas, and therefore the day that so many Americans begin shopping for Christmas gifts. With whiskey trendier than ever and plenty of new whiskey fans out there, the idea of buying whiskey gifts will undoubtedly ...