By Kurt Maitland Rating: A- This February at NYC’s Dead Rabbit Bar, I had the distinct pleasure of having Midleton’s Master Distiller Brian Nation walk me through the history of the Spot Range and what Yellow Spot itself represents. Keeping that in mind, who better to tell you about Yellow Spot that Brian Nation himself: BN (The Beginning): The Spot ...

The Guide To Understanding Irish Whiskey By Richard Thomas Once upon a time, Irish whiskey dominated the tastes of the world. In the late 19th Century, the small island’s 28 distilleries served a global market that regarded of Irish whiskey as the finest of its kind. Then came the rise of stiff competition from Scottish blended whisky, based on cheaper ...

A Talk With Louisiana’s Rice Whiskey-Maker By Kurt Maitland On a recent trip to New Orleans, I had the pleasure of tasting Atelier’s Riz rice whiskey and was able to speak to the distillery’s Jedd Haas about his whiskey. KM: What moved you from electronics and tech to distilling? What skills/approaches did you learn in your prior career that influence ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: C+ With it’s booming craft whiskey scene, Colorado is one of those states in contention to become America’s No. 3 whiskey state (after Kentucky and Tennessee), in the running with Texas and New York. Among the Centennial State’s competitive outfits is Colorado Gold Distillery, and they have a corn whiskey, a rye and a bourbon. This ...

By Richard Thomas Since its start as the 15th state, Kentucky has been one of those places that produces noteworthy people entirely out of proportion to its modest population. When it comes to Kentucky’s rising thespians, few are as true-blue or as noteworthy as Bethany Brooke Anderson. A Lexington native and University of Kentucky-trained actor, Anderson has returned to the ...