By Richard Thomas One of the ugly little secrets of sensory science is just how much the senses of taste and smell can be influenced by preconceptions. Ideally, this reality can be guarded against, and it’s what makes the notion of the blind taste test so interesting. The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 was the earliest lesson of just how ...

New Economic Numbers And Tax Breaks Leave More Questions Than Answers By Richard Thomas February saw the release of a key economic report from the Kentucky Distillers Association (KDA), the trade group that represents the Commonwealth’s bourbon industry. The statistics presented in the report were held up as a cause for celebration, billed as a picture of the Kentucky bourbon ...

By Richard Thomas My initial reaction upon first reading about the emerging California Sober movement was thinking “You have got to be f***ing kidding me.” My disbelief was that even in an era when people love to cloak their bad behaviors behind a thick layer of phony moral superiority, disinformation and deflection, the hypocrisy of this particular trend was so ...

By Richard Thomas A recent scroll through my Instagram yielded a picture of a bottle of Old Barterhouse bourbon, which had been trotted out by the poster to share at a gathering of fellow enthusiasts. He declared it one of his favorite pours, whenever he can snag a bottle that is. I have a long memory, so that Insta post ...

By Richard Thomas High end bourbon has been rocked by twin scandals in 2023, and while they are taking place on opposite sides of the country, all of it lies in the realm of bottles that are either truly finite (i.e. no more are coming) or those commanding demand that far outstrips supply. Collectables, in other words. Things Go Downhill ...