Book - BourbonSphere

A Whiskey Love Story

Uncle Nearest Whiskey founder Fawn Weaver spent eight years researching and writing “Love & Whiskey,” the story of Nearest Green and Jack Daniel. During that… Read More

Uncle Nearest Whiskey founder Fawn Weaver spent eight years researching and writing “Love & Whiskey,” the story of Nearest Green and Jack Daniel. During that time, she also launched the Uncle Nearest brand, one of the fastest-growing whiskey brands on the market, and the book also tells that story as well. We’ll talk with Fawn Weaver on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, and share tasting notes for the Uncle Nearest Rye whiskey in the What I’m Tasting This Week Department. In the news, there’s a deal in place to revive the historic Dallas Dhu Distillery in Speyside, and the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2024.

Episode 1064: July 7, 2024

A Debut Whisky for Ardnahoe

Islay’s Ardnahoe Distillery has released its first single malt since the distillery opened in 2019, and we’ll talk about the journey with Scott Laing of… Read More

Islay’s Ardnahoe Distillery has released its first single malt since the distillery opened in 2019, and we’ll talk about the journey with Scott Laing of Hunter Laing & Co. on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, longtime Glen Grant master distiller Dennis Malcolm is retiring after 63 years in the whisky business, while Oregon officials have decided not to prosecute six former state liquor regulators for diverting stocks of Pappy Van Winkle whiskies for their personal use.

Episode 1057: May 19, 2024

Image courtesy Hunter Laing & Co.

In Search of Dusty Whiskies

There’s a unique subset of whisky collectors who spend their spare time scouring obscure liquor stores for vintage bottles. In some cases, the distillers no… Read More

There’s a unique subset of whisky collectors who spend their spare time scouring obscure liquor stores for vintage bottles. In some cases, the distillers no longer exist or the brands have been sold to their current owners, but in some cases, it’s possible to find vintage editions of today’s classic whiskies. Aaron Goldfarb has been chronicling so-called “dusty hunters,” and his new book “Dusty Booze” will be published on March 5th. He’ll join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, U.S. spirits sales were flat in 2023, with concerning drops for Irish whiskies and Single Malt Scotches in particular. We’ll have the details, along with a new report showing Kentucky Bourbon generates $9 billion a year in economic impact for the Commonwealth.

Episode 1043: February 11, 2024

Tennessee Whiskey’s Lost History

History changes all the time as we uncover new facts about the past, and historian Drew Hannush’s new book shakes up some of the history… Read More

History changes all the time as we uncover new facts about the past, and historian Drew Hannush’s new book shakes up some of the history of Tennessee Whiskey. For starters, “The Lost History of Tennessee Whiskey” sheds new light on the origin stories of Jack Daniel’s and the Lincoln County Process. We’ll talk with Drew Hannush on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Heaven Hill is closing its bottling operations in Canada, while Irish Distillers is getting out of the beer business.

Episode 1041: January 28, 2024

“Do You Even Like Whisky?”

Women still face huge barriers to equality within the whisky industry, according to a new survey from the Our Whisky Foundation. The survey found high… Read More

Women still face huge barriers to equality within the whisky industry, according to a new survey from the Our Whisky Foundation. The survey found high levels of unconscious bias and sexual harassment along with a perceived lack of respect for women working in the industry. We’ll discuss the survey’s findings with Becky Paskin of the Our Whisky Foundation on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Heaven Hill’s new Bardstown distillery reached a major milestone this week, while the Bourbon Women honored this year’s Women in Whisky Award winners.

Episode 1020: September 3, 2023

Photo by Jo Hanley courtesy of Our Whisky Foundation.

Sipp’n Corn Book Review – Lawyerly Libations

I found a new book to add your personal collection or holiday gift list—Lawyerly Libations, Concoctions for the Counselor, Apéritifs for the Attorney, Elixirs for the Esquire, and Additional Alcoholic Anecdotes: A Cocktail Compilation for the Burgeoning Barrister’s Bar, by Michael J. McCormick. While…

I found a new book to add your personal collection or holiday gift list—Lawyerly Libations, Concoctions for the Counselor, Apéritifs for the Attorney, Elixirs for the Esquire, and Additional Alcoholic Anecdotes: A Cocktail Compilation for the Burgeoning Barrister’s Bar, by Michael J. McCormick.

While the title is a mouthful, and maybe only funny to a lawyer, don’t be dissuaded. The title is a tongue-in-cheek prelude to McCormick’s witty style, through which he showcases cocktail history while diving into related (sometimes tenuously related) legal stories and even more historical context. Better yet, the legal stories often wryly mock the absurdity of lawyers and the law, just like the title.

Lawyerly Libations tells a different story in each of its 21 Chapters (a shout out to the 21^st Amendment) paired with 21 classic cocktail recipes. Chapter 7 has one of the best explanations of the Whiskey Rebellion with fun citations to Hamilton: An American Musical along with robust citations and footnotes for anyone interested in a more scholarly approach. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton wanted to fund the nation’s debt by taxing domestic whiskey production—the infamous Whiskey Tax—which spawned rebellion in western Pennsylvania in 1791, and McCormick tells the rest of the story.

Plus, because using law as a resource wouldn’t be complete without raising a dispute, Lawyerly Libations tees up a fight for the first “American” cocktail. There’s a case to be made for the Old Fashioned, with its sheer simplicity and a recipe contained in the first U.S. cocktail recipe book in 1862. A better case is made for the Mint Julep, with its roots as a Persian tonic (گلاب / gulāb) and its arrival on our shores in the late 17^th Century, the innovation of Virginia colonists who made it with mint leaves, and then through the mid-1800’s when ice became more readily available and it became more recognizable to what it is today. And a seemingly weaker case can be made for the Sazerac®, but in typical legal fashion, it’s the Sazerac that secured trademark protection for “America’s First Cocktail®.”

Lawyerly Libations is an entertaining and fast-paced read that has been impeccably researched. Consider it for at-home bartenders, drinks enthusiasts, history buffs, and, of course, lawyers in your life.

Lawyerly Libations, Concoctions for the Counselor, Apéritifs for the Attorney, Elixirs for the Esquire, and Additional Alcoholic Anecdotes: A Cocktail Compilation for the Burgeoning Barrister’s Bar
Author: Michael J. McCormick
Published: July 9, 2022
Purchased on Amazon for $13.99.

Wild Turkey Musings eBook

My latest book, Wild Turkey Musings: A Whiskey Writer’s Retrospective, is now available as an eBook (Apple, Kindle, and PDF formats). Though still months from the hardback’s official release, I felt it was important to get this publication out as soon …

The post Wild Turkey Musings eBook appeared first on Rare Bird 101.

Wild Turkey Musings Pre-Order

I’m proud to announce that my second book, Wild Turkey Musings: A Whiskey Writer’s Retrospective, is available for pre-order.
The post Wild Turkey Musings Pre-Order appeared first on Rare Bird 101.

I’m proud to announce that my second book, Wild Turkey Musings: A Whiskey Writer’s Retrospective, is available for pre-order.

The post Wild Turkey Musings Pre-Order appeared first on Rare Bird 101.

Truffle Hunting for Whisky History (Episode 965: August 14, 2022)

Andrew Welford is described as a “truffle hunter” for whisky history, but his best find to date didn’t sell for a penny. In fact, he donated an original John Walker & Sons shares ledger from 1944 that he found on eBay to Diageo’s corporate archive in Scotland. We’ll talk with him and Isabel Graham-Youll of Whisky.Auction, who helped bring together the book with its new home. In the news, the Kentucky Bourbon Benefit auction to help the state’s flooding victims is underway with bidding already exceeding $250,000. We’ll have that story and much more, including a Major League Baseball team Read More »

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To Your Health! (Episode 962: July 24, 2022)

Alcohol has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries, even when the healers of history didn’t always know they were distilling alcohol when they made their potions. Some of those potions even sound a lot like today’s cocktails, and drinks writer Camper English has been studying the links between alcohol and medicine for his new book Doctors and Distillers. We’ll explore some of that history with him this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the American Craft Spirits Association has handed out its annual awards, and we’ll have the details. We’ll also get a preview of this September’s Kentucky Read More »

Alcohol has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries, even when the healers of history didn’t always know they were distilling alcohol when they made their potions. Some of those potions even sound a lot like today’s cocktails, and drinks writer Camper English has been studying the links between alcohol and medicine for his new book Doctors and Distillers. We’ll explore some of that history with him this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the American Craft Spirits Association has handed out its annual awards, and we’ll have the details. We’ll also get a preview of this September’s Kentucky Bourbon Festival, and on Behind the Label, we’ll answer the question “What’s in a (distillery) name?”

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