Whiskey Wednesday: A Grainy Hedonism

Hedonism is one of the most acclaimed products of popular blender Compass Box. What makes it different from most popular Scotches is that it's a grain whiskey.

In the language of Scotch, malt whiskey is whiskey made from malted barley. Grain whiskey is the whiskey made from any number of unmalted grains, which could include barley, corn, wheat or rye. Grain whiskey added to malt whiskey is blended whiskey.

Grain whiskey often gets a bad rap because of the tendency of some blenders to use inferior grain whiskies in their blends. However, there is nothing inherently inferior about grain. In fact, almost all of America's best Bourbons and rye whiskies would be labeled "grain whiskey" if they were produced in Scotland as they are made from a mixture of unmalted grains.

Hedonism is a vatted grain whiskey, meaning that it is a mix of grain whiskies from different distilleries. Under new rules recently issued in Scotland, such a whiskey will now be called a blended grain whiskey.

Tasting

Compass Box Hedonism, vatted grain whiskey, 43% alcohol by volume, non-chill filtered, natural color. Compass Box is an independent blending company. $90-100.

The nose on this is pure Bourbon...sweet, corny Bourbon. The taste is much lighter. It has some bourbon, but also some sweet fruit and some barley too. Clearly, corn and barley are at play here. I don't taste rye, but I suppose a small amount could have snuck in as well.

In terms of whiskies I've had, this tastes a lot closer to American whiskey than malt, which makes sense since, as I noted above, American whiskies are mostly grain whiskies. Interestingly though, the whiskey I think it comes closest to in flavor is Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, an American single malt. They both have the same light, fruity notes, though Stranahan's has quite a bit more fruit.

This is a nice, light whiskey. Good for a summer's day, and I'd even consider it on the rocks. While I enjoyed it, I wasn't blown away by it. It's interesting for its uniqueness and for the insight it gives into the other Scotch whiskey, but I wonder if it isn't respected more for these qualities than for its objective taste.

Next Week: Finally, Speyside

The Return of La Nueva Flor Blanca

Last year, I did a pupusa round up and discovered LA's best pupusas at a small Beverly Boulevard shop called La Nueva Flor Blanca. The pupusas there were near-perfect. They were served hot as coals and generously stuffed with fillings. Especially lovely was their chicharron, a spicy, crunchy, ground pork that, when mixed with red beans and cheese, made the perfect pupusa revuelta.

Alas, within weeks of my review, LNFB was shuttered by the Health Department and stayed closed. But now, nearly a year later, they are back open with the same Salvadroan-Guatemalen menu. It's hard to describe my excitement at this new turn of events. Needless to say, I paid a visit within the first week, and my expectations were high.

These were roughly the same pupusas. Large, searing hot patties of masa, generously filled with the various pupusa fillings, but something was missing. It was the spice of the pork, the key to LNFB success: the chicharron had changed. I can't explain it, but it's less salty, less porky, less crunchy, and overall, less transcendent.

Some inquiries in broken Spanish revealed that the woman who was the primary cook at this site in its previous incarnation now works at a new LNFB branch in South LA (Vernon and Broadway). It turns out there are a number of LFNBs run by an extended family, though there appears to be some variance form spot to spot. (There also appear to be other restaurants of the same name which may or may not have a connection, familial or otherwise).

Of course, LNFB Beverly just reopened, so I don't want to judge to harshly, and even without the magic chicharron, these are still darned good pupusas, so I will give it some time and hope against hope for the return of the transcendent chihcarron.

UPDATE: A week later, this place was up an running like it had never disappeared. The chicharron is back in all it's porky, spicy glory and the pupusa revueta is back as the best pupusa in town. Great platanos too!

La Nueva Flor Blanca
4271 Beverly Blvd. (North side of Beverly between Kinglsey and Normandie)
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 662-9493

Hat's Off to TiGeorge

Week after week, writing about the wonderful bounty of foods of all flavors and styles that are available to Southern California, it's easy to pass over the news that food is becoming a scarce commodity in much of the world. As global food prices rise, riots have broken out in much of the impoverished world as people wonder where the next meal will come from.

Given all of this, it's heartening to read about food service professionals such as George Laguerre, proprietor of the wonderful TiGeorge's Chicken, which may be LA's only Haitian restaurant. Wedensday's LA Times ran a feature on Laguerre in the Food Section.

The story told of his inspiring life but also about how he is giving back. Laguerre has started a program to ship propane burners to people in Haiti, which allow people to cook without the use of wood, which causes deforestation.

So stop by TiGeorge's for one of the excellent veggie plates and give your support to someone who's doing more than cooking great food.

Whiskey Wednesday: Who Owns Your Whiskey - Edrington Group

In part 2 of our occasional series on who owns your whiskey, we present a brief profile of Edrington Group. Edrington is a British based spirits company which is focused almost entirely on Scotch.

Their profile includes the following:

Single Malt Scotch

Glenrothes
Glenturret
Highland Park
Macallan
Tamdhu

Blended Scotch

Cutty Sark*
Famous Grouse

Other Spirits
Brugal Rum (Dominican Run)

*Cutty Sark is jointly owned with British wine merchant Berry Brothers & Rudd which also is jointly involved in marketing The Glenrothes.

While their protfolio is nowhere near the size of Diageos, they have some very well respected and top selling whiskies. Famous Grouse, a blended Scotch, is the best selling Scotch in Scotland; The Macallan is the third best selling single malt in the world [2006 figures]; and both The Macallan and Highland Park are among the most critically acclaimed malts in the world. Of late, the company has made a concerted push to increase the market share of The Glenrothes, another Speysider with a somewhat lighter and less sherried profile than Macallan.

There are many more companies out there, so I will continue to occasionally profile these corporations. Next week, however, we will take a break for something a bit more hedonistic.

Beautiful, Boutiful Beoreks at Taron Bakery

Taron Bakery is an Armenian bakery on Hollywood Boulevard just behind the big Kaiser complex. They make a limited number of delicious Armenian pastries. Their specialty is beorek (alt. spelling boerek), meat and cheese pies popular in that intersection of Europe and the Middle East.

When you walk in, you will see two shelves of pies behind the counter and the hostess will tell you what they have that day.

They make four kinds of Beoreks: cheese, spicy cheese, beef and spinach. I tried all but the spinach and they were excellent. The beef is nicely spiced, the cheese is salty and oniony. The spicy cheese is flecked with red pepper bits, but only enough to add flavor, not any real heat. The crusts are salty, chewy, wonders, not quite the thickness or chewiness of pizza crust but close, with a nice browning on the oiled surface.

The other mainstay at Taron is the lahmajune, sometimes referred to as Armeninan Pizza. It consists of a layer of spiced, ground beef sandwiched between layers of flat-bread the consistency and thickness of a lavosh. It's somewhat more heavily spiced than the beef used in the beorek.

So, next time you're in the mood for some good meat and cheese pies, check it out in Hollywood or at their branch in Glendale.

Taron Bakery
4950 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 663-4809

1117 S. Glendale Ave., #D
Glendale, CA 91205
(818) 553-1883

Carmela Ice Cream

Recently, at the Sunday Larchmont Farmers Market, I noticed a relatively new stand, Carmela Ice Cream, which serves gourmet ice cream and sorbet made in a small downtown factory. The flavors available were intriguing: meyer lemon, brown sugar vanilla and others made from produce purchased at farmers' markets.

It turns out that Carmela is pretty much a one woman show, founded by traveling foodie Jessica Mortarotti. Mortarotti loved the interplay of flavors in the foods she tasted on various travels. I asked her what gave her the inspiration to make ice cream:

I am a self-taught chef and have always had a genuine love for unique spices, fresh herbs, etc. I recognized a niche in the gourmet dessert market for ice creams that are more geared towards people looking for something fresh, hand made and unique. Ice cream seemed like the perfect blank canvas. I actually didn't even know how to make ice cream when I decided to start this business - so there has been a big learning curve.

As a lover of farmers' markets and someone who buys her ingredients there, Mortarotti made the novel decision to market her ice cream exclusively at local farmers' markets. Right now, she has stands at Thursday's South Pasadena market as well as Larchmont Boulevard's Sunday market.

Her stands are generous with the samples, so I tried a few including Aztec Chocolate (with chili); Mexican Chocolate (with cinnamon); and salty caramel. My favorite of these was the salty caramel. It was ultra-creamy with a subtle caramel taste and just a dash of salt. It was distinctly less dense than most caramel ice creams; I think it's that subtlety I like the most. The ice cream has a light, airy texture, and retains that wonderful, fresh-churned consistency.

The ice cream sells for $9 per pint or $3 for a small paper cup.

Check it out!

Whiskey Wednesday: Who Owns Your Whiskey?

For those of us who are whiskey freaks, whiskey is many things: a passion, an intellectual pursuit, a fitting end to the day (or beginning?) or maybe even an obsession. The truth is, however, that whiskey is also a business, and like communications, media and almost every other industry in the global economy, whiskey distilleries acorss the globe are being consolidated by a few large corporations. These corporations often own whiskies of mutiple origin (e.g. Bourbon and Scotch) as well as other beverages.

As with all industries, the issue of globalization and consolodation is complex and controversial, and while I have my own views on the subject, I don't intend to use this forum to promote them.

However, I think it behooves us all to know which companies own our whiskey and what they are doing with it. To that end, when I review whiskey in the future, I will include the owning corporation, and from time to time, I will profile a whiskey company and their portfolio.

We will start that process today with the elephant in any room discussing whiskey ownership: Diageo.

DIAGEO

Diageo is the largest alcoholic beverage company in the world. It was formed in 1997by a merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan. It is publicly traded and headquartered in London.

Among its holdings are:

Single Malt Scotch (working distilleries):
Auchroisk
Benrinnes
Blair Athol
Caol Ila
Cardhu
Clynelish
Cragganmore
Dailuaine
Dalwhinnie
Dufftown
Glendullan
Glen Elgin
Glenkinchie
Glenlossie
Glen Ord
Glen Spey
Inchgower
Knockando
Lagavulin
Linkwood
Mannochmore
Mortlach
Oban
Royal Lochnager
Strathmill
Talisker
Teaninich

Single Malt Scotch (shuttered distilleries):
Banff
Brora
Coleburn
Convlamore
Dallas Dhu
Glen Albyn
Glen Esk
Glenlochy
Glen Mhor
Glenury Royal
Millburn
North Port
Pittyvaich
Port Ellen
Rosebank
St. Magdalene

Major Blended Scotch Brands:

Bell's
Black & White
Buchanan's
Haig
J&B
Johnnie Walker
Old Parr
Vat 69
White Horse
Windsor

Irish Whiskey

Bushmills

American Whiskey

Bulleit Bourbon
George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey

Canadian Whiskey

Crown Royal

Other Major Alcohol Brands:

Bailey's Irish Cream
Ciroc Vodka
Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
Don Julio Tequila
Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
Gordon's Gin
Guinness Stout
Harp Lager
Red Stripe Beer
Romana Sambuca
Smirnoff Vodka
Tanqueray Gin/Vodka

In addition, Diageo has distribution rights for Jose Cuervo Tequila.

As you can see, this is a massive company with a very deep portfolio. Most people probably would not guess that Captain Morgan and Port Ellen share a common ownership, but there it is.

In terms of single malts, Diageo's greatest innovation has been the classic malts range, a special promotion of a selected whiskey from each Scottish region. The classic malts range allows a bar or restaurant to say that they have a wide range of malts by simply purchasing the range, all from Diageo. The precise malts in the range change from time to time, but the marketing of these "classic malts" has been laregely responsible for the US popularity of Lagavulin, Oban, Dalwhinnie and Talisker.

Interestingly, despite the popularity of the classic range, the one thing the Diageo profile lacks is a top-selling single malt. None of their malts crack the top 5 in sales.

In the future, I'll try to profile more whiskey companies and their holdings, just so you know who owns your favorite whiskey.

KFC: Korean Fried Chicken

My home neighborhood of Koreatown goes through very noticeable food trends. A few years ago it was boba tea. A boba shop opened up on every corner and every place in town, except maybe Carl's Jr., started serving boba. Then, last year, it was the tart yogurt craze started by Pinkberry. All those boba places in local stripmalls were replaced by yogurt shops offering tart yogurt with a variety of toppings.

This year, it's fried chicken. The craze began with KyoChon, a Korean mega-chain, which opened a branch on Sixth Street. Now it seems that Korean fried chicken joints are popping up all over. These places serve large orders of chicken fried to order (which usually means a hefty wait). I was never that into boba or tart yogurt, but fried chicken is a craze I can really dig into, so over the next few months, I'll be sampling some of the local wares.

I decided to start at the beginning so I headed over to KyoChon, and I'm so happy I did. This is some of, if not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The order of choice is a whole chicken chopped in smallish pieces and fried. The pieces are perfectly fried; they have a firm, crisp crust, not a batter, and the meat is moist and juicy. The original recipe has a wonderful garlicky, salty taste and there is a minimum of fat. The small pieces increase the fried surface area, so you don't end up with big pieces (say breasts) which have a low proportion of fried surface to meat. This stuff is heavily addictive. I challenge anyone not to finish a whole box, large though it is.

We also ordered a side of hot wings. These were good as well, both sweet and spicy, and again, perfectly fried, but they paled in comparison to the amazing original recipe.

There's clearly a reason this chain has done so well in Korea, and I came away wanting to know more about it, so I took a look at their website. It was filled with helpful information about their "special taste culture filling," and proudly declares that KyoChon is a "synonym flashed upon with taste." I couldn't have said it better myself.

KyoChon
3833 W. 6th Street
Los Angeles, CA
(213) 739-9292

2515 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA
(310) 320-9299

Crazy Custard: Binnie Loco

Binnie Loco is a new frozen custard shop in a strip mall on Third Street, just west of Vermont. The opening of any frozen custard shop in LA is notable as the hearty midwestern treat is none to available here, so I had to try it.

If you haven't had a proper frozen custard before, you must do so. It's a rich ice cream served out of a soft serve machine, sort of like soft serve with a kick. In the frozen north of the country, particularly in Wisconsin, it's the frozen dessert of choice.

Binnie Loco is sort of a hybrid, serving mid-western style frozen custard, Latin American liquados and loads of toppings look like they are straight out of Pinkberry. It's an only in LA culture clash.

The frozen custard comes in two flavors: vanilla and dulce de leche. I enjoyed both. They were super creamy, rich and had nice flavor. The only complaint I had was a slight chemical taste on the finish. Despite that, when I finished a cup of vanilla, I wanted more.

The toppings aren't much to talk about and they don't have any flurry-style blend, which would probably be good, but they do have liquados.

I tried a mango liquado. Unlike a traditional liquado, which is a mixture of fruit and milk, this one was more of a shake, mixing frozen custard, ice and a mango syrup of some kind. The mango flavor was nice, but I could have done without the ice, which diluted the creaminess of the dish.

All in all, I enjoyed Binnie Loco and it's a great stop after going for Salvadoran at El Palmar or Oaxacan at La Morenita, as it's less than a block away from both and any decent frozen custard is a welcome treat in our neck of the woods.

Whiskey Wendnesday: How to Read a Whiskey Label, Part 2 - Label Terms

Reading a whiskey label means wading through numerous terms which may be ambiguous, confusing and downright misleading...actually, it's a lot like reading law. To guide you through this twisted path, here is a handy glossary of common terms used on whiskey labels.

Age: When a whiskey says that it is 10 years old, contrary to popular belief, that does not necessarily mean the whiskey in the bottle has all been aged for 10 years. Rather, it means that the youngest whiskey in the bottle is ten years old; it usually will be mixed with older whiskies unless it is labeled single cask or has "distilled on" and "bottled on" dates. If a whiskey does not list an age, you don't know how old it is, but if it is Scotch, it must be at least three years old. If it is Bourbon, it has no minimum age requirement unless it is labeled Straight or Bottled in Bond.

Abv/Proof: The acronym abv stands for alcohol by volume and denotes the percentage of alcohol in the whiskey. Whiskey can range from 40% all the way to 60% or higher for certain barrel strength Bourbons. Proof is an old American formulation of alcohol percentage. The proof is equal to double the abv, so 50% abv equals 100 Proof. American whiskies often use proof but also must include abv.

Bottled in Bond (BIB): Bottled in Bond is an American term which denotes a whiskey which (1) has been aged at least four years; and (2) is at least 100 proof (50% abv). The term comes from a nineteenth century law which sought to improve the quality of whiskey for consumers.

Cask Strength/Barrel Strength: This indicates that the whiskey has not been diluted with water prior to bottling. In other words, it has the same abv it had in the cask, which means it will be stronger than other whiskey, which is diluted with water after coming out of the cask. Generally, Scotch uses the term cask strength while Bourbon uses barrel strength or barrel proof.

Natural Colouring: The designation Natural Colouring appears on Scotch bottles to denote that the Scotch does not contain caramel coloring. Few people realize that many, if not most Scotch does contain coloring. In recent years, there has been a consumer movement against coloring. Unlike in some European countries, Scotch sold in the US is not required to disclose on the label whether it uses coloring, so if it does not say Natural Colouring, it's probably colored. This is not an issue for Bourbon as U.S. law prohibits the use of coloring in American whiskey.

Non-Chill Filtered: Chill Filtering is another process which has recently come under attack by consumers and critics. The process cools whiskey down and filters it to eliminate oils that can cause a cloudiness to form at cool temperatures. Critics say these oils contain essential flavors. Many Scotches are now bypassing this step though almost all Bourbon is still chill filtered. Again, if the label does not say non-chill filtered, the whiskey probably was chill filtered.

Single Cask/Single Barrel: Single Cask (Scotch) or Single Barrel Barrel (Bourbon) means that the whiskey in the bottle came from a single barrel. If it does not say this, then the whiskey is probably a mix of whiskies from different barrels. Note that just because it is single cask does not mean that it is cask strength and vice versa. Unless it is designated as cask strength, single cask whiskey can still have added water.

Straight: Straight is a term used in American whiskey that signifies that the whiskey has been aged for at least two years. For instance, Straight Bourbon Whiskey or Straight Rye Whiskey.

Next Wednesday: Who Owns Your Whiskey

NoHo Noodles: Krua Thai

I live near Thai Town, so I don't tend to travel for Thai food, but I've been hearing for years about the growing Thai community in North Hollywood. NoHo is to Thai Town as Monterey Park is to Chinatown, they say. Well, we'll see.

I did frequent the Wat Thai food stalls back when it was running them (how I miss the mango-sticky rice), but other than that, I stay close to home for Thai food.

I recently happened to be in the Valley and decided to try some Valley Thai, so I headed to Krua Thai, the destination restaurant for noodle lovers. I must say, I was impressed.

Since noodles are their specialty, we went all out and got three orders. Pad Thai and Pad See Ew were more moist and soupy (greasy?) than other versions I'd had, and they packed a huge flavor punch. They were both among the best versions I've had. General's Noodle was more like a Chinese noodle dish. It had thin noodles in a light broth mixed with slices of char siu pork. It was good, but didn't have the same gusto as the more traditional Thai dishes.

Papaya salad was fresh and intense with slightly larger slices of papaya than I'm used to. Deep fried beef (beef jerky on the menu) was intensely charred and served with a tangy, piquant sauce. I also enjoyed the eggplant with ground pork.

Overall, an impressive take on Thai favorites with a style distinct from a lot of the Thai Town locales I inhabit. I will undoubtedly making more trips to Thai Town North.

Krua Thai
13130 Sherman Way (west of Coldwater)
North Hollywood, CA 91605
(818) 759-7998

Mi Casa es Su Casa: Casa Noble Tequila

Long before I became a whiskey nut, I was drinking Tequila. Prior to my first trip to Mexico, I had mostly been a wine and beer drinker with the occasional cocktail thrown in. I wasn't sipping straight spirits.

That all changed for me one night at the Bar La Opera in Mexico City, a beautiful nineteenth century establishment with holes in the ceiling that allegedly dated back to a shooting spree by Pancho Villa after a night of drinks.

It was at La Opera that I was served up a shot of Heradurra Reposado along with a side of sangrita, the citrus/chili juice that is a popular Tequila chaser in Mexico. I couldn't believe the smoothness and flavor of the drink, and I was an immediate convert. It was this introduction to straight, brown spirits that eventually led me to whiskey, but that's another story.

This was somewhat before the big super-premium Tequila boom, so good Tequilas were few and far between in the US. Over the last ten years, of course, Tequila has cashed in, and now it is everywhere. It is also increasingly expensive and encased in ever more elaborate designer bottles. I still go back to Hearradura (both reposado and añejo) as my favorites, but I also like to branch out.

Tasting

Casa Noble Añejo is a 100% blue agave Tequila that is 40% alcohol. The agave for Casa Noble is grown exclusively in their fields near the town of Tequila in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Unlike most Tequila, which is double distilled, Casa Noble is triple distilled and aged for five years in French white oak barrels.

The Casa Noble Tequila is probably the smoothest Tequila I have ever had. In whiskey terms, I'd compare it to a Lowland Scotch or Irish whiskey...smooth and light while still quite flavorful. The aroma has some pronunced vanilla, while the flavors present include sweet berries, cream, and some salt. The agave flavor, while present, is understated.

Undoubtedly, the smoothness of this Tequila is at least partly the impact of the triple distillation. As I'm a lover of strong flavors and I like a big agave punch, the Casa Noble is perhaps too smooth for me, but it is a perfect drink for someone who is new to premium Tequila, especially a Scotch or Irish whiskey drinker.

Casa Noble Añejo sells for about $70 and is available at most good liquor stores. They also make Tequila blanco and reposado.

Whiskey Wednesday: How to Read a Whiskey Label, Part 1 - Distilleries

One of the many mysteries of whiskey is how to read the label. Over the next two weeks, I'll have a few tips on deciphering whiskey labels and the terms used on them.

The first step in deciphering whiskey labels is to figure out who makes your whiskey. This is actually harder than it sounds, depending on the type of whiskey you are drinking. Here is how it's done.


Single Malt Scotch

With Single Malt Scotch, it is easy to figure out who makes the drink. In most cases, the name on the bottle is the name of the distillery. Glenlivet Distillery makes Glenlivet, Laphroaig makes Laphroaig, etc. There are some exceptions, where distilleries use multiple brand names (Ledaig, for instance, is made by Tobermory distillery), but for the most part, what you see is what you get.


Bourbon and Rye

Bourbon and American rye whiskey are the exact opposite of Scotch in this regard. It is often impossible to tell who distilled the whiskey from looking at the bottle. Bourbon distilleries give their various expressions brand names (they are usually named after historic distillers) that often have no relation to the distillery name.

There are only nine Kentucky Bourbon distilleries in the US (many of which make rye as well). Some of them have a brand that goes by the distillery name (Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, Maker's Mark) but others do not, and most of them have numerous brands that go by other names. For instance, Evan Williams, Elijah Craig and Rittenhouse Rye are made by Heaven Hill; George T. Stagg, Sazerac Rye and Blanton's are among the offerings of Buffalo Trace; Knob Creek, Baker's and Old Granddad are Jim Beam; and Bulleit Bourbon is made by Four Roses.

Sometimes, this sort of labeling appears purposefully misleading. There is often no indication on the bottle or even the Bourbon's website that shows the consumer where it is distilled. This can make the world of Bourbon very confusing. It looks like there are hundreds of distilleries, when there are, in reality, very few.

In addition, if you see a brand you've never seen before, you can't be sure if it is a new label from an existing distillery or an independent bottling company that has bought and bottled whiskey from one of the distilleries. (Unlike Scotch bottlers, independent Bourbon bottlers almost never reveal the name of the distillery their whiskey comes from, which further adds to the confusion).

Interestingly, the production of Bourbon is, in some ways, much stricter than that of Scotch. Unlike Scotch, for instance, Bourbon cannot use artificial coloring and can only be aged in new barrels. The labeling, however, is another story.

In my view, the distillery should always be listed on the label and bottlers should be required to reveal where their Bourbon comes from. This would help demystify the Bourbon world to consumers and keep everyone honest.


Japanese Whiskey

Japanese whiskey is the most forthright in its labels. Typically, Japanese whiskey includes both the distillery name and the company that owns the distillery. For instance, Suntory Yamazaki whiskey is made at the Yamazaki distillery, which is owned by the Suntory Corporation. The same goes for Nikka Yoichi. This is one of the only examples I know of where the actual corporate owner has their name on the label as part of the whiskey name. If this were used in Scotland, you would have Diageo Lagavulin or Edrington Macallan.

Who makes your whiskey, of course, is a separate question from who owns it, and like most commodities on the global market, whiskey distilleries are being absorbed into the hands of a small number of international corporations, but that is a discussion we will take up on another day.


Irish Whiskey

Irish whiskey is similar to American whiskey in that you cannot necessarily tell the distiller from the name on the label. However, there are only three working distillers in Ireland (Bushmills, Midleton and Cooley) so you know that your whiskey comes from one of those distilleries.

Next Wednesday: A Guide to Label Terms