By Richard Thomas One of the clearest markers that the whiskey boom was a worldwide phenomenon was the surging growth of Irish whiskey, measured not just in cases of Jameson shipped but in the revival of Ireland’s very distillery scene. Whereas Irish whiskey-making began the century consolidated around a mere three distilleries, by 2013 one could ask if the country ...

A Guide To Tennessee Whiskey, The Law, And The Lincoln County Process By Richard Thomas When it comes to bar counter arguments, whether Tennessee Whiskey is nothing more than Bourbon from the Volunteer State is one of the great classics. This boozy dispute was supposedly closed in 2013 when the State of Tennessee passed a new whiskey law, one that ...

By Richard Thomas Although Prohibition left America replete with defunct distilleries, to date the story of America’s exploding craft whiskey movement has been one of new starts. Where old names like Pepper or Michter’s has been revived, for the most part it has had no connection to its roots past its brand name. Yet recent years have seen a handful ...

By Kurt Maitland Making a long story short, I ran into Reid Mitenbuler at a tasting. I’ve seen his work before and dove into his book right after. For me, it’s one of the best books on American whiskey that I’ve had the pleasure to read this year. I had to catch up with Reid to bombard him with questions ...

By Richard Thomas Lately the mainstream news seems to have been on a see-saw when it comes to Scotch whisky. On the uptick, it reports on how large and valuable the whisky industry is (such as it did during the September 2014 independence referendum) or on how the value of rare, collectible bottles of the stuff is at an all-time ...