By Richard Thomas Buffalo Trace Distillery draws in some 340,000 visitors annually which places it among the most visited distilleries in the world. For most of those visitors, the distillery’s location on the banks of the Kentucky River is one of its most bucolic features; indeed, the distillery itself figures prominently for kayakers and boaters …
By Richard Thomas When Maker’s Mark released Maker’s 46, it was a major landmark for Kentucky bourbon. Since its inaugural release in 1953, the only product the Loretto, Kentucky company had ever sold was its flagship expression, Maker’s Mark itself. Five decades passed between Bill Samuels, Sr. starting the family business over again, famously burning …
By Richard Thomas St. Patrick’s Day and the Spring Equinox are behind us, so even if the weather is still a bit chilly, springtime has arrived. As a rule, Spring is not a season associated with the much sought after, annualized limited edition releases that are so passionately sought after by enthusiasts. However, there are …
By Richard Thomas St. Patrick’s Day falls on Monday the 17th this year, so the party will begin on the preceding weekend. But the trickle of new Irish Whiskeys began entering the market in February, to get the word and the product out in time for the emerald holiday. So it is with the latest …
By Kurt Maitland If you are a big fan of Scotch, you have probably heard of Angus MacRaild. It could have been via his satirical blog, Whisky Sponge (“the Onion” of the whisky world) or his independent bottling operation, Decadent Drinks (both highly recommended). Or perhaps you’ve seen him at London’s Whisky Show with a …
By Richard Thomas When I penned Why The Trade War Didn’t Put Pappy Back Within Reach in December 2021, a year after Joe Biden’s clear victory in the 2020 elections, I never expected to revisit the subject of tariffs on American whiskey exports again. But here we are. The trade war started by President Trump …
By Richard Thomas At the end of 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared “no level of alcohol consumption is good for you.” Before that came an EU study linking even moderate drinking to cancer, but that received less media attention. This issue did not garner cause a press furor until Summer 2024, when a …
By Richard Thomas The club of diehard fans for Lawrenceburg’s Four Roses Distillery may be smaller than, say, Buffalo Trace, but a good argument can be made their fandom is more devoted and authentic. Four Roses gives its devotees much to latch onto, such as the brand’s almost romantic restoration story: two decades ago, it …
By Richard Thomas Despite the growing, dark clouds of a probable sales slump and market correction for whiskey generally, newcomers are still entering the game–and there is still room for them. For folks with a nose for a quality whiskey, an eye on the market and a good sense for business, there will always be …
We continue The Whiskey Reviewer‘s tradition of offering the staff’s Top Picks for the previous year, announced every year in early January. This is our informal version of an awards show in print, with an infamous on informal. We do not convene a panel, because that is too much of a bother! Instead, each member …
