Ask Me Anything!

I got tons of great questions in response to my Ask Me Anything post.  Here are answers to a number of them.

Years ago, you wrote an article for one of the whiskey magazines titled "Craft Whiskey Sucks." Now, many years later, would you write the same thing? Do you still think it mostly sucks? 

It was back in 2010 that I wrote on the Malt Advocate blog that "Most Craft Whiskeys Suck" (Whisky Advocate seems to have taken down the old blog archive but I cross posted the piece on my blog). For the most  part, I think that's still true. There are over 800 craft distilleries making whiskey in the US, but I can count the ones I've had anything good from on two hands: Charbay, Balcones, Cut Spike, Old Potrero, Seven Stills Tom's Foolery...maybe a few more, but not many. It's surprising because seven years ago, I assumed that the reason most craft whiskeys sucked was that they were too young, but now there are a number of four and five year old craft whiskeys, even BIBs, and they still mostly suck. If it isn't age, what's the issue?  I've heard lots of theories, from the stills to the yeast to the length of fermentation, but I can't claim to know.

Sku - at what point does a whisky that you own become too expensive that you don't open the bottle? For instance, I have a 2012 FR Small Batch that I'm told now sells for over $700 - that seems a ludicrous amount to spend on a bottle, and I wouldn't spend that amount on it and I'm happy I got it at retail back then. But now I find that decision to open is harder and harder, and I might not ever.

I do my best to ignore the secondary market. Every bottle in my closet is there to drink. I don't think of it as an investment except in my own happiness, so I don't hesitate to open anything.

Do Armagnac houses/domaines have recognizable profiles? For example are there specific differences in notes between Chateau de Gaube and Domaine de Busquet that you could expect to find despite the vintage?

I can't speak to your two examples as I've don't think I've had them, but Armagnacs absolutely have house styles. There are a number of variables which contribute to house style including grape varietals, types of barrels used and use of additives. Even within houses, there are recognizable differences, such as a Domaine de Baraillon Armagnacs made from Folle Blanche, which tend to be dry and earthy, vs. those made from Baco/Ugni Blanc. which tend to be fruitier.

How many spirits bottles do you tend to have in your personal collection at any given time (more or less)? of that group, what percentage consists of whiskey v. brandy v. other spirits at this point? do you have any favorite spirits categories other than whiskey or brandy (e.g. mezcal or Jamaican rum)?

-JCR 

I keep a list, so I can tell you exactly. I currently have 269 bottles of whiskey (115 of which are open), 55 bottles of brandy (25 open), and 14 bottles of rum (9 open). Beyond that I have a handful of Mezcals and  Absinthes and a dozen or so spirits I mostly use as cocktail ingredients. Other than whiskey and brandy, I love super-funky rums, and in the summer, I drink a lot of amaro (Aperol, Campari, Cynar, etc.).

1. in your opinion are micro-distillers pricing their bourbons too high?
2. is the bourbon renaissance a bubble?
2a. if it is a bubble how bad will the pop be?
3. are "tech" whiskies like cleveland viable? that is, in the long run, can a "whisky" that's aged for an hour really compete on price/quality with a bourbon that's aged for 10 years? in fact, i have seen cleveland priced higher than eagle rare and laughed all the way home.
regards,

-dan

1.  Yes.
2.  Not entirely, but there is a bubble.
2a.  Somewhere between Bordeaux and Beanie Babies.
3.  I doubt we will see amazing tech whiskey that connoisseurs will seek out, but eventually, technology will likely allow for the production of whiskey that is close enough to standard aged whiskey that it will sell successfully. I'm guessing one day there will be hour-old tech whiskeys competing with standard Beam and Jack Daniel's. Even if they aren't quite as good, if the price is significantly lower, they will be fierce competitors.

Simple: 100 duck sized horses or one horse sized duck?

The duck, assuming I get to eat it if I win.

How does it feel to be the dean of American whiskey bloggers? How much longer do you think you'll keep going? Do you think blogging about whiskey is still relevant?

1.  I appreciate the accolade, but if there is a dean of American whiskey bloggers, it's Chuck Cowdery. He had already been at it for years when I showed up on the scene.
2. At least through the end of the week.
3. Blogging, in general, is much less relevant than when I started ten years ago.  These days, people spend a lot more time on social media than on blogs, but I still find blogs relevant and read them, both for reviews and information. That being said, it does seems like a dying form...like books.

1. What is the next big thing in spirits and why is it Armagnac?
2. Do you believe that dusty bourbon/rye has a familiar profile that you don't find in today's products, i.e. "dusty notes"? If so, do you believe that's due to bottle conditioning or some other factor(s)?
3. Given the current boom and scarcity of anything allocated or limited edition, are there bottles you regret passing on years ago that you wish you would have bought more of?

-signde 

1.  I love Armagnac, but I actually think full proof, additive-free rum is more likely to be the next craze. Serge at Whiskyfun recently compared Hampden Jamaican rum to 1970s Ardbeg which pretty much guarantees that thousands of malt-heads will be seeking it out, and they should. In terms of Armagnac, there's a new new generation of Armagnacs aged in new oak (e.g. Charron, L'Encantada) which may well catch on with the bourbon lovers.
2.  That's a great question. My experience, and I think most folks who drink a lot of dusties would agree, is that those bourbons definitely have a different profile and one that's changed through the years.  For instance, prohibition era bourbon tastes much spicier than today's stuff whereas '70s bourbon is like liquid candy.  I have no idea why the differences exist and how much of it is related to so-called old bottle effect. I don't think we will ever know for sure, since there were many differences between how they made bourbon and rye decades ago and how they make it now - lower entry proofs, differences in fermentation and distillation, etc.
3. There aren't really bottles I regret passing on because I didn't pass on much. I was lucky to get into this whiskey in the early 2000s when things were cheap and plentiful, so I had some great stuff at ridiculously low prices (some of which seemed ridiculously high at the time). In terms of bottles I wish I had bought more of, one of the first bottles of bourbon I purchased was the old Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve 10 year, 101 proof - that's one that I really miss, though not enough to pay secondary prices for it.

Why "Sku"?  

It's my initials.

We often talk about the downsides of the bourbon boom? From your perspective, what are some of the positive aspects?

Great question! With all the complaining about prices, loss of age statements and the secondary market, it's easy to forget that thirty years ago, almost no one was drinking bourbon, and there were only one or two ryes on the shelf, if that. No one bothered to do special releases, experiment or put out well aged whiskey because no one cared about American whiskey. Fast forward thirty years and there's bourbon everywhere. I just did a tasting of 20 currently available, affordable rye whiskeys, and we could have probably done 40. We have a diversity of mashbills, yeast, proof and nearly everything else. It's true that compared to ten years ago, prices are higher and well-aged whiskey is harder to come by, but there are more choices in the American whiskey aisle than there have ever been, and more is coming. Everyone talks about the craft distillers, but the growth of mid-sized Kentucky distilleries is what I find most promising. These larger distilleries like Willett, Michter's and New Riff are going to have the means and capacity to produce great bourbon and rye, and I'm betting they will.

Does MAO still make you swoon? 

-Jealous in Jersey

 Nah, that guy's annoying.

Do you ever have any regrets about spending so much of your life on this whisky hobby?

Not at all. On the contrary, I've met amazing friends, had a lot of great times, and I have been endlessly impressed by the kindness and generosity of the other folks in the hobby.


That was fun! Thanks to everyone who sent in questions.

The New Craft BIBs

Just a few years ago, it looked like the category of bonded whiskey was on its way out. In 2013, I made a list of all of the bottled in bond whiskeys available and could only identify 18, more than half from Heaven Hill and many of which were regional releases that weren't widely available. Only one of them, Anchor's Old Potrero, was from a craft producer.

Well, like many other things, craft whiskey seems to have brought back the bottled in bond category. Over the last couple of years, there has been a huge boom in new BIB whiskeys from craft producers, as well as more products from the big boys like Brown Forman and Beam. Here is a list of BIBs from the new distilleries that have either been released or cleared labels:

A.D. Laws Four Grain Bourbon
Dad's Hat Rye (Mountain Laurel Spirits)
Few Bourbon & Single Malt
Kings County Distillery Bourbon
Leopold Brothers Maryland Style Rye
North American Steamship Rye (Quincy Street Distillery)
Old Maysville Club Rye (Old Pogue)
Oregon Spirit Distillers Bourbon, Rye and Wheat Whiskey
Outryder American Whiskey (Wyoming Whiskey)
Peerless Rye (Kentucky Peerless)
Project No.l 1 Bourbon (Breuckelen Distilling)
Rocktown 5th Anniversary Bourbon
Tom's Foolery Bourbon, Rye & Corn Whiskey (as well as Applejack)
Wigle Rye (Pittsburgh Distilling)
Willett Bourbon

It's pretty impressive that in four years craft distillers have nearly doubled the number of BIB whiskeys on the market.  If I've missed any, please let me know in the comments.

The Lost World of Lost Spirits Part 2

On Monday, I described my trip to the new Lost Spirits distillery/ride in LA where I learned about Bryan Davis's system for aging spirits. On paper, he can mimic the esters in aged spirits, but how do they actually taste?  I casually sampled some spirits at the distillery and while his 61% rum certainly didn't taste unaged, it still had some new make notes that you wouldn't taste in the old rums he's using as a model.

Davis sent me samples of his treated Isaly whiskeys, aptly named Abomination. These were made from underaged (approximately two year old) heavily peated Islay whiskeys and subjected to Davis's week-long treatment which included exposing it to treated American oak which had been seasoned with late harvest Riesling.

There are two bottlings of Abomination, an orange label, titled The Crying of the Puma, that was exposed to toasted oak and a black label, aka The Sayers of the Law, that used charred oak. At my request, Davis also sent me a sample of the untreated whiskey so I could compare. I'll start with my notes on that base whiskey and then review his two bottlings.

Lost Spirits Abomination Base Whiskey

The base spirit is completely colorless. The nose has a rich peat like any young peated malt would. The palate is actually pretty decent, sweet with some fruit notes (green grapes) and a big hit of peat. The finish has peat and fuel type notes.  This is a high quality whiskey with a lot of peat and a good balance. It's an Islay, so we know the likely distilleries.  This could be Laphroaig or even a Lagavulin. Alright, let's see what happened after a week in Bryan's "reactor."

Lost Spirits Abmoination, The Crying of the Puma (Orange Label), 54% abv ($50)

The Orange Label Abmoniation is the color of tea (color is relevant here since Davis doesn't use any coloring additives, so any color comes from the one week exposure to wood in his contraption). The nose is a bit less raw than the base spirit. It has a sort of savory note and then maple syrup. The palate opens with a nice coffee note along with the peat. It's got a weird brown sugar note, but otherwise tastes like a good peated malt. The finish is very nice with strong peat.

This is a good, peated whiskey. It still tastes like a young whiskey but not an underaged one; it doesn't have new make notes. Tasting blind I would probably guess it was five to seven years old.

Lost Spirits Abmoniation, the Sayers of the Law (Black Label), 54% abv ($50)

The Black Label was treated with charred oak. The color is similar to the Orange Label. It has a sort odd nose with peat and soy sauce. The palate is peaty and quite sweet, with an artificial sweetener type of a note. It also has a touch of that umami note from the nose and a slight soapiness. The finish is nicely peaty.  I don't like this one as much as the Orange Label. There is a syrupy sweetness that I don't prefer and that slight soapiness as well.

Overall, I'd say these are successful whiskeys. I really enjoyed the Orange Label and while I thought the Black was too sweet, it wasn't bad. They both tasted significantly older than the underaged base spirit.

So what does it all mean?  Has Bryan Davis conquered whiskey aging?  Well, it's hard to say. Whatever he did here, he certainly succeeded in making two whiskeys that look and taste older than the young spirit he started with. He certainly deserves credit for that and for producing good whiskeys.

The caveat here is that heavily peated malt is probably the most forgiving of all whiskeys. The heavy peat can mask a lot of flaws and off notes; that's why heavily peated malts are one of the few whiskeys that taste good when very young, and this base was a very good peated malt. Even the two year old spirit was palatable. That's not to take away from the quality of these whiskeys, but it does raise a question of whether Davis's mechanism would be replicable for other spirits that are less forgiving.

But despite the caveat, Davis not only has the most unique distillery tour around, he managed to make a very young whiskey taste significantly older - and also taste pretty good, and that's no small feat.

The State of American Whiskey Distilleries 2017

Each March I review the state of craft whiskey per my Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries and Brands.  As of today, the list shows 803 American distilleries making whiskey, up from 683 last year. Here's the number for each year since I started doing the count (I didn't do counts in 2010 and 2011):

2009: 44
2012: 129
2013: 190
2014: 325
2015: 517
2016: 683
2017: 803

New York continues to lead the pack with 70 distilleries making whiskey (up from 53 last year), followed by Washington (58), California (51), Colorado (46), Pennsylvania (36), Texas (36) and Kentucky (35).

And be sure to check out this month's issue of Imbibe Magazine which focuses on whiskey and has a two page spread, including a color coded map, based on my whiskey list (only available in hard copy).

What Whiskey Should I be Drinking?

If you're a regular reader, you'll know that lately I've been reviewing more brandy and rum than whiskey.  It seems much easier to find great brandy and rum without participating in the whiskey rat-race, but I feel like I should see if I'm missing anything in the whiskey world, so I thought I'd ask for opinions.

Are there any truly great, affordable (say under $100), available whiskeys that you have been drinking lately?  If so, what are they?

These can be any type of whiskey and can include old standbys or newer releases.

Let me know, and if I see anything I haven't tried before, I'll try to give it a whirl.

Thanks!

Gift Idea: The New Single Malt Whiskey

If you know someone who's a fan of single malt or world whiskeys, you should consider The New Single Malt Whiskey as a holiday gift. Edited by Carlo DeVito, the massive tome covers nearly every aspect of single malt including reviews of over 300 malts from nearly 200 distilleries across the globe. The list of over 60 contributors includes nearly everyone who has ever written anything about whiskey (myself included).

The only caution I'd give is that if you're a frequent reader of blogs, a number of these pieces will look familiar, having been lifted directly from the whiskey blogosphere.

The New Single Malt Whiskey ($35)
Carlos DeVito, Editor
Cider Mill Press

Sku's All Time Favorite Whiskeys

I often get asked what my favorite whiskeys of all time are. It's a tough question and one I've mostly avoided answering, but given that my blog is approaching the ten year mark, I thought I would take a stab at my very favorite whiskeys of all time. This isn't a buyer's guide. Most of these aren't available anymore, but these are the very best whiskeys I've tasted without regard to price, availability or anything else, listed in alphabetical order:

• Ardbeg Provenance. I've tried two of the four releases (the two for the U.S.) and they were Ardbeg at its peaty, oily best. It captures the absolute bets of Islay. 
• Brora 30 2007 Official Release. Brora is one of my favorites and of all the official releases I've tried, the 2007 was my favorite - smoky yet balanced.
• Brorageddon. This heavily sherried Brora bottled for the Plowed Society is just incredible - with its matching sherry and peat notes. This could be my number one whiskey of all time.
• Charbay Pilsner. Something magical happened in Sonoma County back in 1999 when Marko Karakasevic distilled some pilsner from the Sonoma Mountain Brewery along with some added hops. The whiskeys that resulted were funky and magical and weedy. All of the releases are great, but I especially love releases I and IV and, probably most of all, the special release they did for the LA Whiskey Society.
• Glendronach 1972 700 Series. These perennial Malt Maniac favorites are probably the best sherried whiskeys around...yes, that means better than Black Bowmore! I've tasted casks 702, 710, 711 and 712, and they are all fantastic.
• Highland Park Bicentennary. More than any other, this was the malt that made me a whiskey geek. I can still remember my amazement at its complexity and balance when I tasted it in the early 2000s. Does it measure up all these many whiskeys later?  I don't know, and I don't know if I want to know. I haven't had the courage to try it again. I think I prefer the memory.
• John Gibson's PA Rye. I've been lucky enough to try quite a few prohibition era whiskeys, and the best thing I've tasted by far from that era are Gibson's ryes. Made in Pennsylvania, they have a lovely sandalwood note that you don't find in today's ryes.
• Lagavulin 16. It's had its ups and downs for sure, ranging from exquisite to just good, but is there any whiskey that's been more consistent over the past 15 years? Is there any whiskey that's been more responsible for creating malt fanatics, peatheads and Islay lovers? I think not. Ten years ago, it was $40; now it goes for around $70, but that's nothing in terms of whiskey inflation. 
• Willett's Bernheim Ryes (Rathskeller Rye/Doug Philips Rye, etc.). The casks of old Bernheim rye from the mid-80s purchased by Willett are legendary for a reason. They are massive spice bombs, some of the fullest bodied rye ever made. Not all of them, though, are created equal. The very best are the Rathskeller Rye bottled for the Seelbach Hotel, the two casks of Willett bottled for Doug Philips, the bottles done for Bourbon DC (Iron Fist and Velvet Glove) and LeNell's Red Hook Rye.  
• Very Very Old Fitzgerald 1952/1964. Stitzel-Weller bourbon is widely coveted for good reason. At its height, it was amazing stuff, subtle, creamy and sweet. My favorite of them all is this 12 year old distilled in 1952 which is probably the best bourbon I've ever tasted. 

Those are my all-time greatest whiskeys.  What are yours?

Ten Years of LAWS: An Interview with Adam Herz

Adam Herz preparing to pour

A decade ago, the whiskey craze was still in its infancy. Increasingly, people were drinking, writing and talking about whiskey. At that time, a group of whiskey fans in Los Angeles started meeting for tastings as the Los Angeles Whisk(e)y Society. Unlike many informal whiskey groups of the time, they also created a website to track their tastings.

LAWS was founded by a small group of LA whiskey enthusiasts, but the driving force was screenwriter Adam Herz (best known for the American Pie films) who held the meetings in his home. Today, I talk with Adam about his reflections on the tenth anniversary of LAWS. (Disclaimer: I have been a member of LAWS since 2010).

How and why did you and the original members come up with the idea for LAWS?

It was just instinctive. The original email that I sent to 9 friends in 2006 went like this: “Guys. We’ve been drinking a lot of whisky lately. It’s time to take things to the next level. I propose we form some sort of gentleman's club dedicated to the drinking of fine whiskies.” So, we all met and chipped in together to drink good stuff. It just snowballed from there. Enormously.

How experienced with whiskey was the original group that formed LAWS?

Most of us had been drinking malts for a year or two. There was some debate over whether that qualified us to do ratings. My argument was, “what you taste is what you taste,” and that we should assign ratings based purely on our enjoyment of each whiskey. Cut to 10 years later, that’s kind of the group’s mantra: all that matters is your personal enjoyment of the beverage.

In your opinion, is there a "right way" to taste whiskey?

The way whiskey is supposed to be tasted is by pouring it in your mouth, then swallowing it. Smell also matters. That’s about it.

What we expect to taste has more influence than what we do taste. Your brain is looking to confirm or reject whatever it’s anticipating. So I try to remove all the pomp and circumstance. It’s just a beverage.

That’s why blind tasting is so important. Today, nearly every “blind” tasting I see online goes like this: “We took these 4 specific whiskeys and blind tasted them to find out which we liked best!” That’s not a blind tasting — that’s just a guessing game.

Blind tastings are when you have no clue what’s coming, period. Many people don’t like to do those because they’re afraid of “not liking something that’s actually good.” And vice-versa. But that’s what you want to happen! You have to realize what’s in your mouth vs. what’s in your head.

There are lots of whiskey tasting groups around but few have such extensive websites. How did you come up with the idea for the website?

When we started, the few existing whiskey sites were difficult to navigate and there was no way to sort and filter. That drove us nuts. So we custom-built our database and interface to be what we wished existed.

Also, we wanted a different rating system than the 100-point scale — one that had more generalized categories, along with a sense of “Would I buy this?" Hence our letter grading scale, which has been widely adopted, which is cool to see.

What is the average LAWS meeting like (subtext: How geeky are you guys)?

Each meeting’s format is to open 5 to 10 new bottles along some theme. For the first few years, we always tasted blind, only knowing the style of whiskey to be tasted -- bourbon, malts, etc. Now we’re kind of half-and-half. We’ve hit on some classic formats, sort of how The Price Is Right has their classic games. So we spend the first two hours very, very focused on tasting the new bottles, sometimes in a pure blind tasting, and sometimes in a game or competition. Then, we relax and move to “The Reserves,” which at any given time are around 175 open bottles from previous meetings, member donations, and group buys/finds.

As for “geeky” — our conversation is very whiskey-heavy, so to an outsider, it would probably sound overly detailed and maybe obsessive. But to anyone who loves whiskey, it would just be insightful and informative.

What have been your favorite LAWS meetings?

Too many to count. The “battle” format is a big favorite: two or more collectors will donate bottles from their collection. The bottles are known only to them and can't already be on the LAWS website. The group then tastes/rates them all blind, and whoever’s bottles score the highest wins. It’s a lot of fun, because we take winning way too seriously. And because someone’s “ringer” bottle always ends up getting lousy ratings, and they get all butthurt about it.

What has been the biggest change in the whiskey world over the last ten years?

Increasing scarcity and prices, but that’s a given. After that, I’d say the preponderance of the trophy mentality.

What happened was, as whiskey blew up in social and traditional media, newcomers to the hobby became less interested in whiskey itself and wanted only to obtain the specific bottles they’d read about. And they wanted them quickly and at any price.

So, whiskey (particularly bourbon) moved from something pursued for the merits of its flavors, to being a piece of commerce that you could brag about owning. Whiskey forums transformed from places of friendly collaboration to virtual trophy rooms. Tasting notes and buying tips were replaced by photographs merely proving ownership of a bottle — or even just ownership of a sample! Who needs to see the ten-thousandth photo of yet another Pappy or BTAC stash? They all look the same. Show me something I haven’t seen before.

How has the group changed over time?

Experience, comfort, and pickiness. “Experience” because we really, really know our stuff and have tasted an enormous amount. “Comfort” because, for those of us that have been in the Society a long time, there’s no longer that crazy, on-overdrive push to taste everything, meet everyone, get new releases, go to events and distilleries, and so on. We’re kind of more relaxed now, I guess. And “pickiness,” because the bar is admittedly very high for LAWS meetings now… we’ve tasted so much that, for us to keep future meetings interesting, the lineups have to include some insane bottles.

Oh, and also, we rarely publish anything about our meetings anymore. We kind of lost interest in doing the writeups… like I said before, braggadocio has come to dominate so much of the US whiskey scene, we don’t want to seem like we’re trying to contribute to that. Many of us still publish notes/ratings, because it’s fun to do, and we do feel we’re contributing to the community by posting those.

Any advice for people starting their own clubs? Or about whiskey in general?

The fun of whiskey is in the pursuit, the journey, the rise up the learning curve. You know all those crazy bottles you’re dying to try? You wanna know what they taste like? Something else you’ve already had. Or at least pretty similar. What will begin to matter most is who you’re drinking with and what the occasion is. I still love drinking crazy stuff I haven’t tasted before — but the fun of opening those bottles is in doing it with friends.

Lastly, what will LAWS be drinking for its tenth anniversary meeting?

A wide variety. I’m personally looking forward to opening a 1965 Corti Bros Clynelish, and one of our last remaining LAWS Charbays. [Ed. Note: the LAWS Charbay is a Charbay Hop Flavored Whiskey bottled especially for LAWS].

Thanks to Adam for taking the time to respond to my questions.

How Tan is my Valley? High West Valley Tan

Utah distillery High West is primarily known for their great sourced whiskeys and blends, but they also distill their own whiskey, and they have been slowly releasing it to the public. The only aged whiskey made from their own distillate which they are currently selling is Valley Tan. Previously, Valley Tan was an oat whiskey (85% oat, 15% barley), but for this third release, they've combined the oat with a wheat whiskey (90% wheat, 10% barley). It is aged in a combination of new and used barrels and contains whiskeys from one to six years old. It is only available in Utah.

High West Valley Tan Utah Whiskey, Batch 3, 43.5% ($50)

The nose is grainy and grassy. The palate is sweet with grassy and floral notes. It's got a sweet, mild finish.

I'm not usually a fan of young, craft whiskeys, but this one is quite nice. It's got the grainy notes all craft whiskey seem to have, but it lacks any of the harshness. It's quite pleasant - definitely one of the better craft whiskeys I've tried.

Thanks to High West for the sample.

More French Whiskey: Rozelieures Single Malts

Lately, we seem to be getting a lot of new single malts from France. The latest to land at my door is a quartet of single malts from G. Rozelieures. These malts come from Lorraine, where the family grows its own barley. They are all peated to some degree and are aged in a variety of casks.

Rozelieures Origine Collection, 4 years old, 40% abv ($50)

This whiskey is aged in sherry and Cognac casks. It has a nice nose with malt, light peat, and some agave notes. The palate is very heavy on Tequila type notes with some sweetness at the end that leads into a sweet, Tequila finish. It's not bad but at 40% it tastes a bit diluted. A few points higher on the proof scale would do it well.

Rozelieures Rare Collection, 5 years old, 40% abv ($60)

This expression is lightly peated, aged in sherry and Cognac casks and finished in Sauternes casks. There are nice peaty/malty notes on the nose. The palate has light peat and very slight wine notes. The finish is slightly peated with some nice peat on the nose. Again, very decent, less watery tasting than the Origine.

Rozelieures  Fumé Collection, 6-8 years old, 40% abv ($75)

This one is aged in first fill Oloroso and Fino sherry casks. The nose opens with big sulfur notes. The sulfur is more muted on the palate which has pleasant dry sherry notes. It gains a touch of sweetness in the finish.

Rozelieures Tourbe Collection, 8 years old 46% abv ($90)

This one is peated to 30 ppm, aged in ex-bourbon casks and finished in new oak from Lorraine. It's malty on the nose with light peat. On the palate, it's got syrupy sweet peat. The peat grows into the finish.

There are all very pleasant and worth trying. They are certainly the most Scotch-like of the French malts I've tried without any of the flowery/perfume notes that I associate with French single malts. They all could benefit from a higher proof point though. I'd love to try them at cask strength.

Thanks to Heavenly Spirits for the samples.

You Go Goa: Paul John Single Malts

Paul John Single Malts are made by John Distilleries Ltd. in Goa, India. John Distilleries has been around for years producing bulk whiskey for the Indian market, including the controversial sugar-based whiskeys. They began producing single malts in 2007, first releasing them in 2012. They are now planning a launch in the U.S. so I thought I'd give them a try.

Paul John Classic Select Cask, bottled 2013, 55.2% abv

This has a nice, malty nose. The palate has malt, then some acid and some berry notes and it closes with a strong, malty finish. This is a very nice, bold malt with lots of pure malt flavors. It's well executed and flavorful.  Good stuff! 

Paul John Peated, Cask 739, bottled 2015, 57% abv

This was bottled for Dutch importer Bresser & Timmer.

The nose has a light char, like next day campfire. The palate is smoky with a touch of sweetness. The smoke intensifies toward the end and builds into a massive, smoky finish. This one is a legit peat monster.

Both of these were very impressive and worth hunting down. I'll definitely be paying attention to future Paul John releases, and I look forward to them showing up on our shelves..


Thanks to My Annoying Opinions for the samples, and also see his reviews of the Paul John Classic Select Cask and Paul John Peated.

Mothers Deserve a Drink

Every June, I get tons of emails from whiskey companies and liquor stores with whiskey gift suggestions for Father's Day. Every May around Mother's Day I get...nothing. Well, almost nothing. Last year, The Whisky Exchange, the UK based whiskey shop, were the only ones who sent me an email with Mother's Day gift suggestions. Hey whiskey folks, why no love for the mothers?

Because I know so many hard working mothers, I'm hereby announcing a new campaign called Mothers Deserve a Drink. I'm encouraging whiskey makers, sellers and bloggers to publish Mother's Day whiskey recommendations. And don't let me catch you pushing any recommendations for flavored crap or whiskey liqueurs. Mothers deserve a real drink.

Mother's Day is about a month out so you have plenty of time. If any bloggers (or whiskey companies) take me up on this, I'll publish some of my favorites right before Mother's Day.

The State of American Whiskey Distilleries

It's time for my yearly update on the state of American whiskey distilleries.  This year, my Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries shows 683 total distilleries making whiskey. That's up from 517 last year at this time, which is similar to the number of new whiskey distilleries we saw between 2014 and 2015.

This year, New York passed Washington as the state with the most whiskey distilleries, having 53 to Washington's 52. They were followed by California (45), Colorado (38), Kentucky (30) and Pennsylvania (29).  There are distilleries making whiskey in 49 states plus the District of Columbia (still no whiskey being made in Hawaii).

How Old is Your Whiskey? Are You Sure?

Here's a quiz.  Let's say you have a bottle of whiskey that says "Distilled June 12, 1996 and Bottled December 5, 2015."  How old is the whiskey in that bottle?

The answer is: you don't know. The label has not given you enough information to determine the age of the whiskey.  How so?  Well, the age of a whiskey is the time spent in a barrel. According to the Federal regulations, Age means:

The period during which, after distillation and before bottling, distilled spirits have been stored in oak containers. “Age” for bourbon whisky, rye whisky, wheat whisky, malt whisky, or rye malt whisky, and straight whiskies other than straight corn whisky, means the period the whisky has been stored in charred new oak containers. [27 CFR §5.11]

Even if you know when a whiskey was distilled and when it was bottled, you don't know how much time it actually spent in the barrel. It is not uncommon for whiskeys to be transferred to stainless steel containers before being bottled, sometimes for years. Some brandies spend decades in glass containers. Steel and glass are considered neutral containers that don't impact the flavor of the spirit. While some would certainly argue with that statement, I doubt anyone would argue that their impact in anywhere near as strong as that of an oak barrel.

In contrast to a vintage date or distilled and bottled dates, an age statement (e.g. "10 years old") means that the whiskey was actually in the barrel (and the proper type of barrel) for the amount of time listed. On brandies, however, even those age statements are often incorrect, but that's a story for another post.

The moral of the story is: unless there is an actual age statement on that whiskey, you don't know how old it is.

Accident Whiskey: a Stupid Genre

Diageo recently released its latest whiskey in the Orphan Barrel series, the Gifted Horse, in which a young corn whiskey and bourbon were "accidentally" mixed with some older bourbon. Wow! How lucky for the largest spirits company in the world that some corn whiskey (which usually sucks) was poured into a 17 year old bourbon...and now it's $50 a bottle.

Unfortunately, the "accident whiskey" seems on the way to becoming a genre of its own. First came Serendipity, a blend of Scotch in which someone poured young Glen Moray into old Ardbeg.  How...serendipitous. Then Wild Turkey introduced Forgiven, in which someone dumped rye into the bourbon.

Just like those old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercials in which someone eating a chocolate bar collides with someone eating a jar of peanut butter and makes a delicious discovery, the Accident Whiskey backstories are silly and seem implausible. (Who the hell walks around eating peanut butter right out of the jar?)  Then, the company bottles it and gives it a name like WTF Whiskey which emphasizes the accidental nature of its creation.

The prevalence of these Accident Whiskeys would lead one to believe that either these stories are marketing fluff or whiskey distilleries are run by total idiots who randomly dump barrels together. The whiskey companies can let me know into which category they fall.
 

Even More Whiskey Festivals

Over the past couple of days, I received even more suggestions for the list of the best whiskey festivals in the US, so here are some additions.

• Bourbon Classic. This Louisville, Kentucky event sponsored by the Bourbon Review will take place February 26-27. The price ranges from $269 to $375.
• Go Whiskey Weekend. Sponsored by Julio's liquors in Westborough, Massachusetts, this year's festival runs from February 24-28. You can pay for events separately or buy a VIP ticket for $150. 
• Kentucky Bourbon Affair. Another Kentucky bourbon festival, this Louisville event will be June 14-19. The general tasting is a WhiskyLive event which costs $129, but the bulk of the festival consists of masterclasses which range from $35 to $275 per class.
• Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Located in Bardstown, Kentucky, this year's Kentucky Bourbon Festival will be September 13 to 18. Prices vary by event.

The Best Whiskey Festivals

On Monday, I asked folks for their favorite whiskey festivals excluding the most well known (WhiskyLife, Whisky Fest and the Scotch Malt Whisky Extraveganza).  I got a lot of interesting replies for events big and small:

• Binny's World of Whiskies. There was lots of love for this event sponsored by Chicago liquor chain Binny's. It takes place annually just before WhiskyFest Chicago (March 16 this year). Price looks to be around $40.
• The Nth Universal Whisky Experience. This Las Vegas show is known for it's high-roller crowd. This year's Nth will be on March 4. Ticket prices range from $525 to $2,495 for a package that includes super pours of rare whiskey and "whisky speed dating" with "whisky celebrities." 
• Pittsburgh Whiskey Festival. The Pittsburgh festival happens every fall and costs $102. They do not appear to have a date yet for this year's event.
• Tales of the Cocktail. America's premiere cocktail event takes place every July in New Orleans. While it's not a whiskey festival, there are plenty of whiskey related tastings and events. This year's Tales is set for July 19 to 24. Tickets are sold per event so there are many options.
• Victoria Whisky Festival. This is one of the big ones. It's not in the US, but it is US adjacent in Victoria, British Columbia. It takes place over a weekend in January. There are various events and classes, but the main tastings seem to run from $110 to $175.
• Whisky Jewbilee. Sponsored by whiskey bottler Single Cask Nation, the Whisky Jewbilee started in New York five years ago. This year, they will be in Seattle (March 8, $95), New York (June 15, $130) and Chicago (Sept. 1, price TBA).
• Whiskey Obsession Festival. This festival takes place in Sarasota, Florida. This year, it will be March 30 to April 1. ($50-$211).
• Whiskey on Ice is a Minneapolis tasting that started last year. This year's event is on April 10 ($85-$125).
• Whiskies of the World is another travelling event. This year they have shows in San Jose (March 24, $80), San Francisco (March 26, $130-$185), Austin (Sept. 29, price TBA), Houston (Oct. 1, price TBA), and Atlanta (Oct. 22, price TBA).

The Best Whiskey Festivals

There are a growing number of whiskey festivals throughout the U.S. Three of the oldest and most well known festivals are Whisky Advocate's WhiskyFest, Whisky Magazine's WhiskyLive, and the Scotch Malt Whisky Society's Whisky Extravaganza, all of which travel to multiple cities.

In addition to these established festivals, in the last few years, there have been many newer, independent single-city festivals. Whiskey festivals can be a great way to taste a variety of whiskeys, so I'd be interested in knowing about these newer festivals and putting together a list of the best.  So....

What is your favorite whiskey festival (other than those mentioned above) and why?

Whiskey Gifts

Happy holidays!  Here are some of my favorites of this year's new releases for your imbibing friends and family.

Scotch

The Whisky Exchange had a big hit with a couple of sherry aged single malts from Signatory: a 1998 Laphroaig ($180) and a 1996 Clynelish ($120).  Both were excellent, and the Laphroaig might have been my favorite whiskey of the year.

For lovers of sherried Scotch without the peat, it would be hard to do better than this 1990 Glenfarclas  from K&L ($170). A vatting of two Oloroso sherry casks, this malt is balanced and highly drinkable. Honestly, I'm shocked there is any of this left, but they seem to have plenty.

Another K&L pick I really liked was their release of the Michel Courveur Peaty Overaged Malt ($90), distilled in Scotland, blended in Burgundy.


American Whiskey

My favorite of this year's special releases (that I was able to taste) was the Russell's Reserve 1998 from Wild Turkey, but it's expensive ($250) and hard to find.

For quite a bit less, I was pleasantly surprised by Old Forester 1897 ($50), a Bottled in Bond bourbon that's dry and spicy.

For those of you in the LA area looking for a great deal, Everson Royce in Pasadena bottled a very tasty Old Weller 107 ($30); a really good wheated bourbon at a good price is a rarity these days. UPDATE: Apparently this is now sold out. Sorry folks.

In the rye world, I enjoyed the Redemption Barrel Proof Rye ($100) which is one of the stronger MGP ryes on the market.


Books

This year saw two fantastic new books about American whiskey that would make great gifts. Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker by Fred Minnick ($15) is a deep dive into the world of bourbon. The book goes further than the average bourbon book with detailed information about the grains, water and wood that make bourbon great. Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America's Whiskey by Reid Mitenbuler ($18) is a fun romp through bourbon history. Mitenbuler has a knack for storytelling and illuminating historical parallels with the whiskey world of today.

Coming Wednesday:  Brandy Gifts

Three Things You Don't Need and One Thing You Do Need to Enjoy Whiskey

It's easy to lose sight of what really makes a great whiskey tasting experience.  When I talk to novices, I try to emphasize keeping it simple, but sometimes it's worth reminding even us old hands.  Here are three things you don't need, and one you do, to really enjoy your whiskey.

Three Things You Don't Need to Enjoy Whiskey

1. Expensive Glassware.  Sure, most whiskey geeks use Glencairn glasses, most industry people use copita glasses and lots of people will happily sell you really expensive glasses they claim were developed just for whiskey.  But you know what? A standard wine glass works as well as anything, and though the geeks might gasp, you can drink whiskey out of a tumbler just fine (people have actually been doing it for years).

2.  Tasting Charts.  Do you really need a chart to show you what flavors you're tasting?  I always laugh at the ridiculously complicated flavor wheels and graphs that are supposed to help novices with their complicated coordinates and weird categorizations of totally subjective flavors.  Just drink and taste.  It's a beverage, not a scientific experiment.

 3.  Paper and a Pencil (or a laptop or ipad, etc.).  You don't need to take notes!  Really.  Think of the other really, really fun activities you engage in.  How many of them benefit from taking notes?   None.


One Thing You Do Need to Enjoy Whiskey

1.  Whiskey!


Now, none of this means you can't enjoy fancy glasses or taking notes, but it's worth keeping in mind that all of that is really secondary. Drinking whiskey is really much less complicated than it sometimes appears.

Enjoy!