The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday

By Richard Thomas A distillery is in essence a booze-making factory, and like blue-collar industrial enterprises everywhere, they often close on the Holidays if not for the duration of the Holidays. Yet as tourism has become a larger part of the business of many distilleries, this isn’t quite as true as it used to be. The distillery itself might not ...

By Kurt Maitland While traveling to Japan this year, I made a point of detouring to Taiwan to visit the Kavalan Distillery. Taiwan’s Kavalan has been making news and shaken up the whisk(e)y world since it went global in 2012. They’ve turned heads, won awards and have changed the paradigm of how one can make a good tasting whisky. I’ve ...

By Father John Rayls Rating: B Kilchoman Sanaig is named after a rocky inlet northwest of the Islay distillery. According to the distillery manager, John MacLellan, “Sanaig is a bold marriage of sherry and bourbon cask maturation. It is both a continuation of the classic Kilchoman style people know and love as well as a development fans of Kilchoman have ...

By Richard Thomas A novel item to appear in the whisky news is Whisky-Me, a British subscription service that delivers a different sample in the mail every month. For roughly $10 a month, you get a shot’s worth (roughly 1.5 oz) of a middling single malt delivered to your door. Plenty of services exist in the UK and the US ...

By Father John Rayls Rating: A- There are many opinions about Orphan Barrel whiskeys, ranging from love and devotion to cynicism and avoidance. For myself, having found several sourced whiskies that I thoroughly enjoy, I remain open-minded concerning the Diageo’s Orphan Barrel releases.  While I’m skeptical about the stories of suddenly rediscovering barrels that are 12 to 25 years old ...