By Richard Thomas Rating: C The square, brown glass bottle of Ballatine’s Finest, the entry-level scotch of the company, is a familiar sight around the world. Even in countries where you can’t find J&B or Jack Daniels, Ballantine’s is usually around. For many years, Ballantine’s was the top-selling scotch in Europe, and it continues to enjoy great popularity both there ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Jameson 18 Year Old Limited Reserve is billed as the “elder statesmen” of the line by the distillery, and it is certainly the most rarefied bottle of whiskey Jameson produces. Given that Jameson is arguably at the forefront of Irish whiskey labels (it is certainly the most famous), Jameson 18 Year is at the forefront ...

Bourbon Whiskey Under American federal law, bourbon must be made from a grain recipe with at least 51% corn and distilled to a strength not greater than 80% alcohol. The latter is at least ten points weaker than what is allowed in Canada, Ireland or Scotland. It must be then aged in new, charred oak barrels and bottled at a ...

Updated April 10, 2021 By Richard Thomas Rating: B The Glenfiddich distillery is named after the Dufftown, Scotland river valley that has served as its home ever since it opened for business in 1887. “Glen Fiddich” means “Deer Valley” in Gaelic, hence the stag logo that graces Glenfiddich’s labels. Dufftown is where William Grant, founder of the distilling company William ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: F Shortly after moving to Portugal, I threw my first murder party and invited a mix of my wife’s English-speaking friends and some of the teachers from the English school I was working for at the time. The boyfriend of one of my fellow teachers brought me a present, a bottle of Highland Clan scotch. I’m ...