By Richard Thomas Imagine that a wine and travel magazine, such as Wine Spectator or Food and Wine, wanted to do a piece on the rose wines from Ibizia, and how they were so enjoyable in the hot climate there and would therefore be just as enjoyable in similar places in the United States. Now imagine such a magazine giving ...

By Richard Thomas Summer and barbecue go hand in hand, and standing right next to Mr. Barbecue ought to be a bottle of whiskey. As BBQ maestro Adam Perry Lang told me earlier this year, the flavors found in whiskey make it both a natural ingredient and accompaniment for barbecue sauce and many cookout dishes. Of course, you can just ...

By Richard Thomas One of the telling virtues of bourbon is how you can get really good quality for a reasonable price. This sometimes holds true outside the United States, even after import duties have taken their bite. Bourbon is definitely a spirit where “cheap” doesn’t necessarily mean “inferior.” Even among bourbon enthusiasts, the go-to choices for everyday drinking often ...

The Silver Trail Fire Raises Questions Of Equipment And Training Quality By Richard Thomas While at Scotland’s Spirit of Speyside whisky festival earlier this month, I had the opportunity to visit Strathisla, billed as Scotland’s oldest distillery. It certainly looked the part, roughly the same size as some of America’s bigger craft distilleries and with an appearance comparable to a ...

Separating Fact From The Legend Of Jack Daniel By Father John Rayls A part of Toby Keith’s “Hit It” song goes: C’mon There’s a gentleman down in Lynchburg On the south side of Tennessee. He started cookin’ that homemade whiskey Had his own little recipe. Now his name’s on a million labels And you can see it on a billboard ...