By Richard Thomas Like the bourbon that goes into making it or the colonels of legend who supposedly drank it, the mint julep is every bit as much a part of Kentucky culture as horse racing and hot browns. While the term “mint julep” first appeared in 18th Century America and early juleps were made using rum and gin, under ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: D+ I’ll make it through the day With some help from Johnnie Walker Red –Elliott Smith Johnnie Walker Red is the entry-level label of the famous brand, making it the cheapest and most generally available Johnnie Walker whiskey, albeit not the most iconic. Despite its standing at the bottom of the Johnnie Walker ladder, Red Label ...

By Richard Thomas With its combination of sweetness and charred smokiness, bourbon was made for pork. That should come as no surprise to any student of Southern culture, since pork was the staple meat Old South. Think about southern hams, southern sausages and the barbecue of North Carolina and Tennessee, or the myriad recipes for pork-flavored soups and stewed greens. ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: C Whyte & Mackay are a Glasgow label, have been in the scotch whiskey business since 1844, and are now owned by an Indian conglomerate. This is another one of those labels that, like VAT 69, were famous several decades ago (Shackleton took the stuff with him to Antarctica, and you can see boxes of Whyte ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: C- Johnnie Walker is one of the most recognizable labels in scotch whiskey, as it is distributed to virtually every country in the world (including quite a few Islamic ones as well), so it needs no introduction. Johnnie Walker Black Label, however, might need a little further explanation. Walker’s Black Label is one of the more ...