By Paer Johansson “What am I really doing here?” I felt I had to ask myself, standing in the rain in the center of Edinburgh, way too early on a Wednesday morning? I was waiting for the ride to the Diploma course in Single Malt Whisky held by the Edinburgh Whisky Academy (EWA). But my concerns started to dispel when ...

By Richard Thomas American limited edition whiskeys are fast becoming collectible items, and some of those terms I just used have implications. Most, but not all, limited edition whiskeys are akin to vintage wine, varying in their flavor profile from year to year. Collectibles command such high prices on the open market that it’s not uncommon to find bottles from ...

Battle of the Knob Creeks, Comparing NAS To 9 Year Old By Richard Thomas Some three years ago, Beam Suntory quietly removed the age statement from Knob Creek. After dropping the 9 years from the label, it retained its official label as “Knob Creek Small Batch,” but to writers, bloggers and enthusiasts it became known as “Knob Creek NAS” (i.e. ...

This Year Saw Many Outstanding Rye Whiskeys. Was It The Best Class For Modern Times? By Richard Thomas With the coming of Fall, I can look back on 2019 and tell you it was a mighty fine year in rye whiskey. Three releases in particular have given me sufficient pause to wonder if this hasn’t been the best year for ...

By Richard Thomas The bourbon boom times have brought plenty of new investment into the whiskey industry in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and along with it have been several new distillery starts. The newcomers have ranged from a handful of crafty nano-distilleries to Bardstown Bourbon Company, a distillery so productive it just might have cracked into the Top 10 list ...