The Guide To Understanding Irish Whiskey By Richard Thomas Once upon a time, Irish whiskey dominated the tastes of the world. In the late 19th Century, the small island’s 28 distilleries served a global market that regarded of Irish whiskey as the finest of its kind. Then came the rise of stiff competition from Scottish blended whisky, based on cheaper ...

By Richard Thomas Heretofore, whenever the subject of “new oak” comes up in reference to European whiskey-making, the wood in question was never from the whiskey’s country of origin. The whiskey might be Irish or Scottish, while the oak is almost invariably American, French or Spanish. But no longer. New Midleton is ready to turn the corner on that mix ...

A Conversation With Jameson’s Master of Maturation By Richard Thomas Jameson likes to present the production of their whiskey as a team effort, and while the roles of their Master Distiller and Master Blender should be familiar to even casual whiskey enthusiasts, what the other members of that team might be less so. That last point is especially odd when ...

The Top 5 Pioneers Of World Whiskey By Richard Thomas Like many industries, the world whiskey industry has numerous figures that helped nudge it along into what we see today. The big Scotch brands were created in the main by several Scottish grocers, men who invented blended Scotch as we know it. Charles Gordon turned Glenfiddich into the first single ...

By Richard Thomas Bourbon is bigger than it has been in decades, and consequently myths and bad facts about America’s Native Spirit are being passed around as never before. Here are the five biggest bourbon myths explained and debunked. 1. Bourbon must be made in Kentucky: Although all of the big brand bourbon distilleries are located in the state of ...