By Richard Thomas Irish whiskey remains a boom sector. Sales continue to grow, and new expressions come out and new distilleries open regularly. If anything, its momentum is accelerating. Yet despite the surging popularity, half-truths and falsehoods about Irish whiskey abound. Setting the record straight means puncturing the five biggest myths about Irish whiskey. 1. Irish whiskey comes in two ...

By Richard Thomas On Thursday, Michter’s took a big step in its transition from bottler to distiller when it took delivery of and installed its distillation equipment. The media, including a video-shooting drone, looked on as the 46-foot tall column of the still was moved into Michter’s production facility, located in the Louisville suburb of Shivley. Michter’s President Joseph Magliocco ...

By Richard Thomas 1. Nobody Drinks Gin Neat: Not since the days of the Dickensian poor has neat, unadultered gin been a popular choice for a good drink. Nowadays only Clay Risen thinks gin is for straight drinking, but then again he also the guy who thinks Jim Beam White is hands down better than all craft whiskeys. According to ...

By Richard Thomas A meme that was a fixture both in bar arguments and with some grumpy commentators was denying there was any such thing as Tennessee whiskey. “It’s all bourbon, and nothing more than bourbon,” they would say. Then came the attempt by British drinks giant Diageo to overturn Tennessee’s 2013 state whiskey law., which defined Tennessee whiskey essentially ...

By Richard Thomas When people refer to Chip Tate and Balcones Distillery as “trailblazers,” they aren’t exaggerating. After several years spent in the brewing industry and a Summer 2008 apprenticeship under Jim McEwan of Bruichladdich, Tate set about building a distillery with his compatriots from scratch. In a spirit reminiscent of the early days of the craft brewing boom, they ...