A Spring 2016 Update On Ireland’s Distillery-Building Boom By Richard Thomas Irish whiskey is one of the fastest growing sectors of the world whiskey industry, a fact that has led to a strong revival of Ireland’s distilling scene. At one point the Emerald Isle had only two working whiskey distilleries (and one of these, Bushmills, was in Northern Ireland to ...

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 ...

The Top 5 For Myths And Misinformation About Volunteer State Whiskey By Richard Thomas Given that it’s an American icon and the second-best selling whiskey in the world, that Jack Daniels’ lies at the heart of so many of the classic bar counter debates shouldn’t surprise anyone. It can even be said that, once you exclude Scotch vs. Bourbon, Jack ...

By Richard Thomas Only a few years ago, a controversy raged in American whiskey circles about the use of small barrels in the craft whiskey sector. A big part of why the issue caught on among bourbon enthusiasts for a time is because, until the craft distilling movement started, the 53 gallon American Standard Barrel (ASB) was the beginning and ...

Why Bourbon Barrels Dominate Not Just American Whiskey, But Irish, Scotch And Japanese Too By Richard Thomas When it comes to whiskey and wood, two basic facts stick fast. First is that barrel maturation, that intricate dance of cask, climate and clock, often accounts for half or more of how a whiskey tastes by the time it reaches the bottle. ...