Opinion - BourbonSphere

Busting The Biggest Myth Of Tennessee Whiskey

By Richard Thomas One of the ugly little secrets of sensory science is just how much the senses of taste and smell can be influenced by preconceptions. Ideally, this reality can be guarded against, and it’s what makes the notion of the blind taste test so interesting. The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 was the …

By Richard Thomas

Making maple wood charcoal at Jack Daniel’s in the 1930s.
(Credit: Public Domain)

One of the ugly little secrets of sensory science is just how much the senses of taste and smell can be influenced by preconceptions. Ideally, this reality can be guarded against, and it’s what makes the notion of the blind taste test so interesting. The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 was the earliest lesson of just how snobbery and closure to new concepts can condition and blinker people who are supposed to be expert and rational in a given field, opening the door to biases. That wine tasting has been immortalized in film, and did more than any single event to give us a world where wines not from France are actually taken seriously, precisely because it proved that wines from not-France could compete.

A narrower example of this psychsomatic effect on taste has infested writing about American whiskey: the perception of a maple syrup note in Tennessee Whiskey. The processing of the chemical signals our olfactory senses send to our brains is interpretive and based on experience, so different experiences can lead two different people to label a particular note differently. But knowing the maple flavor is as close to universal as it gets in the United States, so that isn’t the reason so many of my colleagues consistently find a maple note in Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel whiskeys. Some have even found it in the in-house Greenbrier White Label.

That maple note is not there, period, and the reason some see it isn’t because a neurological signal connects that sensation to the closest memory. This connection is made because of a preconception of the Lincoln County Process, a preconception that hilariously means they’ve wholly misunderstood what the process is for. In other words, when you read “this Dickel has a maple note,” that should be translated as “I never learned why George Dickel does what it does, but I’m writing about them anyway.”

The Lincoln County Shortcut
Tennessee’s signature contribution to whiskey-making is the institutionalization of charcoal leaching, better known as the Lincoln County Process. Distillers in the state didn’t invent the charcoal filtration of new make whiskey, but it just so happens that Jack Daniel’s is from the state, and that company has always utilized this method. Since Jack Daniel’s is America’s biggest whiskey brand, and second only to Johnnie Walker worldwide, that means charcoal leaching has become synonymous with the company and its region of origin: Lincoln County.

Tennessee whiskey-makers have traditionally relied upon sugar maples to supply the hardwood for making that charcoal. This tradition is now enshrined in law, so the wood source for the charcoal used in making Tennessee Whiskey can only be sugar maple. That choice of wood, however, is entirely about availability and has nothing to do with imparting flavor. The use of any charcoal will, in a sense, actually subtract flavor from a new make whiskey, and sugar maple is no exception.

Sugar maple charcoal filtration done on a craft scale at Nelson’s Greenbrieer
(Credit: Richard Thomas)

The Lincoln County Process serves the same purpose as a Brita filter. Charcoal has a very high carbon content and a porous, high-volume surface. Carbon is chemically sticky. So, filtering a liquid through charcoal removes certain reactive compounds from the liquid. If that is what you want, the liquid is purified.

This information is available in most supermarkets and on countless survivalist TV shows, but somehow these facts have failed to penetrate the brains of some of my colleagues. This is especially the case of those who (apparently) have never asked the folks from Jack Daniel’s, George Dickel or others just what the Lincoln County Process is supposed to do. By subtracting volatile compounds from it, the new make gets a head start on some aspects of maturation, because those volatile compounds would have otherwise broken down after several years of maturation.

In the 2010s, many newcomers to whiskey-making were touting gimmicky methods involving pressure cooking and sonic treatments to accelerate the maturation process. All of them overlooked a time-tested, proven method for producing a smooth, mellow whiskey in half the time: the Lincoln County Process.

The process has its drawbacks. Recall that the eliminated compounds break down during the maturation process. Without getting into a lengthy chemistry lesson, what they break down into is useful in producing what people like about middle aged and old whiskeys. Still, the point is charcoal filtration is exactly that: a filter, not an infusion.

Why Sugar Maple?
To explain why a Tennessean would choose sugar maple for his filtration charcoal, first answer this question: why isn’t there a substantial maple syrup industry anywhere in the United States south of, say, Massachusetts? The trees thrive across North America, so what is it about very northern sugar maples that make them viable for making syrup, but not those growing south of New England?

First, did you know you can make syrup from trees other than sugar maples? The reason sugar maples have their name is because they produce twice the amount of sugar of other sugar-bearing trees. You can make syrup from other maples, birch and even walnuts, but its more efficient to rely on sugar maples if you have them.

It’s also more efficient to rely on those northern sugar maples for industrial purposes. The colder climate makes for a more productive and more reliable sugaring cycle. That is vital for building an industry around maple syrup.

The Lincoln County Process, JD style
(Credit: Brown-Forman)

In Tennessee, the climate is lousy for making maple syrup, but there are still a great many sugar maples thriving in the forests. All other hardwoods had and still have a plethora of uses other than making charcoal. Sugar maple is abundant, but not much used for making furniture, musical instruments, barrels, boats or in construction. I’ve raised this topic with Chris Fletcher (current Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller), Jeff Arnett (former Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller) and John Lunn (former George Dickel Master Distiller, now deceased). All three were adamant that charcoal filtration doesn’t actually put anything into the new make whiskey; two of the three said the reason they’ve used sugar maple is because it’s a cheap and abundant source of charcoal, nothing more.

Still not persuaded? Consider this. The ignition point of dry sugar is 350F. To make charcoal, the temperature must be above 750F. Furthermore, making charcoal isn’t anything like charring the inside of a barrel. The latter process scorches the surface and carmelizes the interior of the wood, while charcoal-making carbonizes the entire material. The stuff maple syrup is made of is absolutely burned off by the process of making charcoal.

Lessons Learned
It’s important in this business to guard against your conceits and preconceived notions in any exercise that contains a fundamentally subjective element, and the best way to do that when a blind tasting is inconvenient is education. Brown-Forman whiskeys often have a banana note because their house yeast family produces it; that is science and the company confirms it. Filtration through sugar maple charcoal doesn’t introduce maple flavors to a whiskey, because that isn’t the purpose, besides which the maple-tinged sugars in question have long since been scorched into ash.

The maple note isn’t there. As for why some would perceive it, the maple flavor is so familiar in this country that I cannot credit the misidentification is due to a shallow palate. The only reasons left are dual failures in industry education and a failure of sensory evaluation. Keep that in mind the next time you read about Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 and its “trademark maple syrup note.”

Is Kentucky’s Bourbon Business Really That Rosy?

New Economic Numbers And Tax Breaks Leave More Questions Than Answers By Richard Thomas February saw the release of a key economic report from the Kentucky Distillers Association (KDA), the trade group that represents the Commonwealth’s bourbon industry. The statistics presented in the report were held up as a cause for celebration, billed as a …

New Economic Numbers And Tax Breaks Leave More Questions Than Answers

By Richard Thomas

Heaven Hill rickhouse near Bardstown, Kentucky
(Credit: Richard Thomas)

February saw the release of a key economic report from the Kentucky Distillers Association (KDA), the trade group that represents the Commonwealth’s bourbon industry. The statistics presented in the report were held up as a cause for celebration, billed as a picture of the Kentucky bourbon industry going from triumph to triumph, and its release was attended by leaders from both the state government and the bourbon industry.

“Kentucky’s economy is booming, and the Bourbon industry is helping us build a strong economy for generations to come,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “Today, this signature industry is generating $9 billion in total economic impact, with more on the way. We thank our distilleries for working hard to create more good jobs and boosting our tourism industry across the Commonwealth.”

I’m loathe to disagree with Andy Beshear, especially as both he and his father before him are/were outstanding governors for the bourbon industry. That said, I command a long memory and have some graduate-level economics courses under my belt, two characteristics that led me to some questions over the report that occasioned those remarks. Chief among those questions is “is this data as good as it seems” and “what about the salient issues for Kentuckians not discussed by the KDA?”

Old Forester’s signature is its in-house cooperage
(Credit: Brown-Forman)

Kentucky Bourbon As A $9 Billion Industry
The headline statistic in the new data is that Kentucky bourbon is now a $9 billion industry. Mind you, that does not mean it generates $9 billion in sales or profits; it means the industry has a $9 billion economic footprint. This is keeping it in tandem with Scotch Whisky, the other leading whiskey industry in the world (Scotch was estimated to have a £7.1 billion footprint in 2022), and makes bourbon one of the state’s most important industries. That number also represents the growth of Kentucky bourbon, but how much growth?

When I first started The Whiskey Reviewer twelve years ago, that KDA figure for the bourbon industry was $8 billion. For the last several years, that figure has been $8.5 billion. Now it has reached $9 billion, and over that time the industry has grown from having fewer than twenty active distilleries in the state to “100 distilling locations operated by around 84 companies in Kentucky,” representing a fivefold increase since 2009. Most of those new distilleries are craft-scale, but some are medium-sized enterprises (New Riff, Rabbit Hole, Wilderness Trail) and at least one is large (Bardstown Bourbon Company).

Another factor, one that shouldn’t require a long memory to recall, is the recent inflationary cycle. That spike of inflation ran from 2020 to 2023, with an overall rate of 6.7% during that period. Roughly speaking, for three years inflation ran triple to what it had been for the whole of the 21st Century, and those three years cover the majority of the time since the previous report on the scope of the Kentucky bourbon industry. Some simple math indicates that the half billion dollar growth tracked by the KDA (more or less) corresponds with inflation.

The old farmhouse at Wilderness Trail
(Credit: Richard Thomas)

Knowing that, I was surprised the new figure wasn’t higher, but that is as far as this exercise in being informed enough to exercise a little critical thinking go. Whether that is because inflation ate up the value of the industry’s growth or because growth has been slowing, I can’t say, but it certainly does not represent an inflation-adjusted surge of strong growth that one might have expected.

Bourbon, Taxes And The Bluegrass
As part of the new report, the KDA touted the 2023 passage of House Bill 5 (HB5), Kentucky’s infamous barrel tax. That is a 0.05% property tax on whiskey aging in warehouses (1/9 of the 0.45% tax on other forms of tangible property), and is the only tax of its kind in the US. The tax will now be gradually phased out between 2026 and 2043. In 2022, the Kentucky bourbon industry paid over $40 million in barrel taxes, and the industry has long claimed the tax is an anti-competitive hindrance to their industry.

The industry may be right, in that they are paying a tax that no one else in the United States must pay, but on a global level the truth of that statement is less clear. Every country has its own unique tax and regulatory quirks, and comparing them is often a matter of apples and oranges, or apples and pears at best. Certainly few have considered paying the tax so strong an impediment as to prevent them from a whiskey-making business in Kentucky, as witnessed by the boom in new distillery starts this last decade and the absence of any whiskey company picking up and moving out of the state.

The reason why only Kentucky has this tax is two-fold: the tax was enacted in the 1940s and ever since Kentucky has the nation’s largest whiskey industry, and its largest by a huge margin. Also, the state is home to large and influential groups of Protestant teetotallers. An old axiom in the state is those folks don’t want liquor sold in their counties, but they are more than happy to collect taxes from the whiskey business.

Barrel taxes are used to fund the schools, police, fire and other services in the counties they are collected from, and rural counties in particular are heavily dependent to fund their essential functions. In the run-up to the passage of HB5, this issue was often simplified into counties that were home to distilleries and those that hosted only bourbon warehouses. It was presumed the former would be fine, since the distilleries provided dozens or hundreds of permanent jobs. The latter would suffer upon losing the barrel tax because it was the only revenue they derived from the industry, because warehouses create fewer jobs and those are often not permanently assigned to a given storage property in any case. Indeed, many county officials from these warehouse-only counties said losing the barrel tax would make the bourbon industry a fiscal parasite on their communities, since they would still be stuck holding the bill for the wear and tear on their roads caused by barrel-hauling trucks and the additional fire protection the warehouses require.

Maker’s Mark, still one of the prettiest distilleries in Kentucky
(Credit: Richard Thomas)

The reality, however, is worse than that. Marion County is home to Maker’s Mark, Limestone Branch and the cooperage Independent Stave Company, so the bourbon industry creates plenty of permanent jobs there. Yet the barrel tax represents 70% of the budget for the county seat of Loretto. Leaders like Marion County Judge Executive David Daugherty question why the industry needs tax relief when it has been experiencing record growth and investment for the last several years, and he has a point. Again, those of us with long memories can fairly posit that a better time for tax relief might have been during the Whiskey Bust of the 1970s and 1980s.

Besides, HB5 is that this is only the latest tax break received by the bourbon industry during the modern Bourbon Boom. A previous measure was passed in 2014. Since that measure was passed, most Kentucky distillers haven’t even been paying the full barrel tax each year.

I think the real divide is between rural and urban or suburban counties. Places like Woodford, Jefferson and Boone counties have a far larger and more diversified tax base than Anderson, Bullit or Marion counties. I suspect in the long run, something will be done to bail out the counties losing their barrel money, if for no other reason than the statehouse is dominated by Republicans, and those rural counties are where the Republican voters live. Yet what that means in practice is that barrel tax will de facto be paid by other taxpayers in the state.

Kentucky corn farming
(Credit: CraneStation/Wikimedia Commons/CC By 2.0)

Asking Questions
One of the problems with looking at these issues is just how many variables contribute to them. For example, those same rural counties that complain about losing the barrel tax are home to farms that grow the corn that is ravenously consumed by the bourbon industry or feed their cattle for free off the spent grain waste of the distilling process. Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Shell said, “Kentucky farmers sold nearly 19 million bushels of corn and 2.6 million bushels of other grains to Kentucky distillers last year. The economic effects on our industry are building a stronger agricultural community for years to come.”

I don’t pretend to have all the data, let alone all the answers. But as I wrote at the beginning, I have sufficient insight to look at all this and be left scratching my head. Some years ago, the Bourbon Boom was attended by the constant question of “yes, it’s all very well and good, but when and how will the good times end?” I don’t hear that worry much anymore, but looking at these numbers, perhaps I should be. It looks more like a relative (emphasis on that word “relative”) slowdown than a continued surge. And as a Kentuckian, I can’t help but wonder if there won’t be a sales hike tax coming in the 2030s to offset the loss of barrel tax revenue for those bourbon industry counties that find they can’t pay to fix their roads anymore.

The New Sober? More New Age Narcissism

By Richard Thomas My initial reaction upon first reading about the emerging California Sober movement was thinking “You have got to be f***ing kidding me.” My disbelief was that even in an era when people love to cloak their bad behaviors behind a thick layer of phony moral superiority, disinformation and deflection, the hypocrisy of …

By Richard Thomas

(Credit: Wikimedia Commons CC by SA 2.0; Star 5512

My initial reaction upon first reading about the emerging California Sober movement was thinking “You have got to be f***ing kidding me.” My disbelief was that even in an era when people love to cloak their bad behaviors behind a thick layer of phony moral superiority, disinformation and deflection, the hypocrisy of this particular trend was so blatant I spent a few minutes believing it was a joke. Then the reality of people shifting their substance abuse problem from alcohol to marijuana and psychedelics settled in: yes, there really was a sanctimonious trend out there that was that stupidly, flagrantly insincere and duplicitous.

Since learning of California Sober in 2018, the idea of sobriety being trendy has taken root and grown into The New Sober, a vague concept that embraces everything from a rejection of mind and body altering substances that would make a conservative Mormon applaud to mere flirting with reducing one’s intake of one or more said substances. The New Sober is so lacking in definition that even I could claim to be an adherent, simply by choosing to put a new label on an existing preference: I rejected coffee in my teens and been a lifelong tea drinker instead, so my reliance on caffeine is much, much lower than that of most people on the planet. I could therefore claim to be “Caffeine Mindful,” to use the language of The New Sober, which should illustrate just how dumb a conception of sobriety is being foisted on society at large.

Bettering Your Life Is A Worthy Thing
Before I go any further, I do not mean to belittle the demanding struggle of those overcoming real substance abuse or similar problems. Whether it is alcoholism, anorexia and other food compulsions, smoking and opioids or other forms of addiction like gambling or porn, anyone trying to put an end to their self-destructive habits and addictions should be encouraged and applauded. This editorial is not about that; instead, I am mocking a group of people who indirectly belittle those very real struggles in the name of smugness.

In fact, the one part of the new notion in sobriety that I respect is the trend for systematically eliminating a reliance on any mind- or body-chemistry altering substance. In one sterling example, over the Pandemic I listened to Katie Toupin detail how she struggled with alcohol abuse and eating disorders, which led her to get sober. From there, she went after other perceived substance issues, and at the time of the podcast, she identified smoking as her last demon to exorcise; she had moved from smoking to vaping, and had decided the time was soon coming to drop vaping and quit nicotine altogether. Toupin is not the first person I’ve been aware of who mounted such a campaign, but she is the most famous and sympathetic figure I know of to do so. Rather than being preachy or making it a social marketing point, she is comes across as simply practical about her efforts.

When it comes to breaking habits, standing still while struggling with temptation is strenuously difficult. Momentum is crucial, and sometimes the best way to consolidate success in changing a facet in one’s life is to move onto a new, similar challenge. Following that path isn’t new, trendy or preparatory to joining the Church of Mormon. Also familiar is replacing one addiction with another, in hopes the new one is a better master. This is why, for example, it is a familiar story for a gambling addict to become ardently devoted to fitness or religion instead.

Replacing One Substance With Another
That replacement pattern is what makes California Sober and whatever versions of it have sprouted since so execrable. No one who replaces alcohol by leaning more heavily on THC or magic mushrooms has actually accomplished anything difficult, and certainly aren’t leading an objectively superior lifestyle. Yet that crowd spills a lot of ink and pixels in the regular media and on social media trying to sell it as exactly that: demonstrably superior in terms of not just health, but even morals or spirituality.

If trends like this were rooted in mere preference, this op-ed wouldn’t exist, but it so often isn’t. Comedian Katie Boyle has a bit I’m fond of about people giving her side-eye for smoking out on the sidewalk while they are tripping on mushrooms. That is the point for almost everyone doing The New Sober. They aren’t minding their own life and pursuing improvement; instead they’ve adopted a new tool for bolstering their narcissistic pretensions.

The world we live in today is crammed with examples of what I’ve taken to calling New Age Narcissism: trends drawing on themes that were last popular in the late 1960s and 1970s, the broader purpose of which is to give their followers something to be puffed up and self-approving about. It’s ironic that Millennials created modern veganism, anti-vaxxing and polyamory, invented new terminology and pseudo-science to enable the attached gaslighting, and claimed it all to be completely new and a superior way of living. Yet all they accomplished was reviving the selfishness they supposedly despised in their Boomer parents while making it into something even more toxic. The New Sober is cut from the same cloth.

After years of this silly proposition being a lesser annoyance that would appear from time to time in my news feeds, I was prompted to write about it by something that I witnessed the other night. I was at Whiskey Bear, a local bar I’m fond of, and found myself sitting next to a trio of under-25 year olds. They were sipping on mocktails, which is fine. Yet they were talking about how alcohol is so bad for one’s health, loudly enough that they clearly wanted to be overheard. The conversation ended with a review of what kind of edibles were waiting for them at the one woman’s home. My eyeroll had the heft of an 18 lbs bowling ball. That I overhead all this at bar with the word whiskey in its title just underlines the silly pretension of it.

If a person prefers pot to booze or wants to pay for $15 soft drinks at a bar, fine. That is a preference. I won’t argue drink is superior to edibles anymore than I would argue whiskey is superior to tequila. Whiskey is my preference. My preferences and tastes don’t make me intrinsically better than anyone else. Neither do yours. Those who think otherwise have only proven they are a lesser person, not a better one.

A Curious Tale Of Old Barterhouse

By Richard Thomas A recent scroll through my Instagram yielded a picture of a bottle of Old Barterhouse bourbon, which had been trotted out by the poster to share at a gathering of fellow enthusiasts. He declared it one of his favorite pours, whenever he can snag a bottle that is. I have a long …

By Richard Thomas

Barterhouse and Old Blowhard aged bourbons
(Credit: Diageo)

A recent scroll through my Instagram yielded a picture of a bottle of Old Barterhouse bourbon, which had been trotted out by the poster to share at a gathering of fellow enthusiasts. He declared it one of his favorite pours, whenever he can snag a bottle that is. I have a long memory, so that Insta post caused me to pause and reflect on just how startling that opinion really is, or rather would have been nine years ago. Back then, posting such a thing on a bourbon forum or Reddit probably would have gotten you dragged across that corner of the internet, and then back again for good measure.

Back When You Could Buy 20 Year Old Bourbon By The Case
Old Barterhouse 20 Year Old Bourbon was the inaugural release of the Oprhan Barrel Project from Diageo, with the first batch coming out in 2014. The marketing story behind Orphan Barrel releases is that they are drawn from “forgotten” stocks of whiskey. Reading that, the imagination leads one to notions of barrels missed in some long ago inventory count, left sleeping in a dark and dusty corner of a warehouse until some eager beaver notices the discrepancy decades later. One can be forgiven for having a cynical chuckle at this yarn, but what we knew about the original Old Blowhard is that it was distilled at New Bernheim and aged at the defunct, but hallowed Stitzel-Weller.

This bourbon brand emerged during the early stage of the Bourbon Boom, when Pappymania had just become firmly ensconced. Just a few years before, one could still get a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Old at regular retail price by signing up for a waiting list; the late Josh Ozersky would label W.L. Weller 12 Year Old “Baby Pappy” (and thereby kick off a spiral that has lately placed almost everything Buffalo Trace does out of reach) the next year. The demand for bourbon with Scotch-like age statements was there, but still in its infancy. The 2014 Old Barterhouse had an MSRP of just $75, and a lot of people paid that much in getting it (or less!).

Headline: Angel’s Envy Distillery was NOT a publicity stunt
(Credit: Angel’s Envy Distillery)

Those early days of the Boom were also a different time because whiskey writing’s negative streak was, relatively speaking, much wider back then. In 2013, one could hear bar owners spin bizarre conspiracy theories about the whiskey business, theories that had a peculiar, odious quality one only finds at CPAC nowadays. My favorite from that brand of crazy was that Angel’s Envy spent millions buying an old, defunct paint factory in downtown Louisville not because they wanted to build a distillery in it, but as a mere publicity stunt. That old paint factory has been a gorgeous distillery since 2016, and many, many people have seen it was no publicity stunt.

You Can’t Grind An Axe Without Throwing Sparks
The Orphan Barrel Project was initially met with some hostility from among enthusiasts, and I believe the source can be traced to noted bourbon author and blogger Chuck Cowdery. He was known to have something of a feud going on with Diageo at the time (for all I know, the feud may still be ongoing), which led him to label the Orphan Barrel Project of “disrespecting American whiskey,” as well as declaring it a “failure.” Rumor at the time had it that Diageo returned the shade by naming Old Blowhard 26 Year Old after Cowdery, but that has remained mere rumor. As to whether the series is a failure, well, it’s still with us, selling rather well, and many of the releases are well-regarded. Orphan Barrel Scarlet Shade is sitting on my kitchen table, waiting for my attention.

Cowdery has produced solid works of history and journalism, but is also well-known for his caustic opinions, and a decade ago those caustic opinions had lengthy reach. An example were his past criticisms of Michter’s. At the time, I regarded these as either unfair or misdirected, and while few were willing to stand up for the company in print, there were plenty bloggers who took Cowdery’s opinions, ran with them, and carried them off into 4chan territory. Much to his credit, Cowdery eventually changed his tune, especially after Michter’s opened their distillery in Shively, Kentucky.

The 2014 release of Old Barterhouse 20 Year Old was treated with a spectacle one would never see today: there were social media reports, backed by photos, of cases of the stuff sitting in Costco marked down to $60 a bottle (about $75 in 2023 dollars). I attribute that to three factors: first, the demand for any bourbon with a high age statement was not what it would become just a few years later; second, the production run for that first release of Old Barterhouse was quite high; and third, a large chunk of the people who would have bought Old Barterhouse were discouraged from doing so by all the croaking, negative chatter from the bloggers they read. Again, it had few defenders, and there weren’t as many enthusiasts, clubs or alternative, reliable sources of information about what was in the bottle to dispel the invective.

Oh, how things have changed, and that is the point of all this. Wine-Searcher’s retailer average places the market value of a bottle of Old Barterhouse at $627. Nowadays, whenever I see a good review of Old Barterhouse or a post like the one on Instagram mentioned in the introduction, it is met with this thought: I wonder how many people took some wretchedly bad advice, motivated by little more than someone else’s grudge or a lust for internet clout, passed on that $60 bottle from Costco, and are kicking themselves over it today while shelling out ten times that? At least a few, of that much I am absolutely certain.

The Passage Of John Lunn

By Richard Thomas John Lunn could be fairly described as the giant of Tennessee Whiskey that the average enthusiast has never heard of, and he passed away on March 30, 2023. He was 53 years old. In an era when veteran master distillers are revered by a large and growing fan base as rock stars, …

By Richard Thomas

John Lunn in his George Dickel days
(Credit: Diageo)

John Lunn could be fairly described as the giant of Tennessee Whiskey that the average enthusiast has never heard of, and he passed away on March 30, 2023. He was 53 years old. In an era when veteran master distillers are revered by a large and growing fan base as rock stars, Lunn’s lower profile has always struck me as remarkable, so his story is worth telling.

A Tennessee native, Lunn graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1992 with a degree in chemical engineering. His initial work after earning his degree was in environmental engineering. * From there, he joined George Dickel Distillery in 2004, a time when there were just three distilleries running in what was then and now America’s second-ranking whiskey state: the large veterans of Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel, and the smaller, newer Prichard’s Distillery. Lunn was recruited as apprentice and successor by Jennings Backus, the Master Distiller at Dickel who would retire the next year. For the next decade, Lunn was the chief whiskey-maker down in Cascade Hollow, Tennessee, during the years when the Bourbon Boom steadily gained momentum.

Lunn departed Dickel abruptly in March 2015, with Lunn’s hiring by the Newport, Tennessee-based Popcorn Sutton Distillery announced the same day as his departure from Dickel. The next year, Lunn’s former deputy at Dickel, Allisa Henley, followed him out of Cascade Hollow and down to Newport. Despite being the #2 distiller at Dickel at the time of Lunn’s departure, Dickel’s parent company Diageo had not seen fit to promote her to the top job. Indeed, Diageo wouldn’t appoint a formal successor to Lunn until Nicole Austin was hired in 2018.

To this day, no on-record, authoritative statement as to the reasons for Lunn’s and Henley’s departure has been made by any party concerned. However, most observers at the time felt that Dickel parent company Diageo was neglecting the brand in the midst of the accelerating Bourbon Boom. A global drinks giant, Diageo has a reputation with observers for sometimes puzzling business moves and byzantine corporate politics. It’s not hard to see how that situation could lead to a pair of talented distilling veterans either leaving in search of better opportunities or being forced out after some internal clash.

Popcorn Sutton, however, was already known to be an over-ambitious and troubled project. Two years before Lunn came to work there, the company was sued by Jack Daniel’s for bottling its products in a fashion that was nearly identical to the style used by Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7. Folks who visited the distillery often commented on the gorgeous, expensive distillery equipment, built to a scale more suited to a medium-sized distillery than a start-up, craft outfit, and wondered how it was all paid for. Lunn was later reported as saying that equipment was running at 20% capacity.

Everything changed when Sazerac, parent company of Buffalo Trace and Barton 1792, decided to get into the Tennessee Whiskey business. They acquired Popcorn Sutton, moved the distillery from Newport to Murfreesnboro, and eventually renamed it to A&J Bond Distillery, after the partnership between Allisa (Henley) and John (Lunn). It went operational in 2017. At the time, Sazerac indicated they were less interested in the excellent Vendome-made equipment, as much as they were interested in acquiring the services of Lunn and Henley.

As I observed at the beginning, Lunn was the major master distiller that most enthusiasts had never heard of. In conversations at bars and events, it always amazed me how many folks outside of the industry and media had never heard of him. I pin the lion’s share of that obscurity on the low profile of both the A&J Bond Distillery and Lunn himself. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the obituaries that I’ve read feature either a candid photo of Lunn taken by the author or his official photo from his George Dickel days, a photo at least seven years old and perhaps older.

Also, A&J Bond is doing things the old fashioned way: they’ve been making Tennessee Whiskey down in Murfreesboro for six years now, but haven’t released any product. Although the tried and true way in the craft sector is to build a brand using sourced whiskey while also building up a distillery and in-house spirits, Sazerac isn’t a start-up and A&J Bond isn’t a small distillery. Arranging a press visit A&J Bond isn’t easy, and the distillery doesn’t even have a website or even a listing on the Sazerac company homepage. Apparently, Sazerac will launch their Murfreesboro-made whiskey when the whiskey is good and ready.

This story underscores what to me is the saddest part of Lunn’s passing away at such a young age. After several years of work, he won’t be there to see the project he worked so hard on reach its first launch, let alone its fruition.

* Coincidentally, Lunn’s eventual and formal successor, Nicole Austin, also went from environmental engineering to whiskey-making.

Scarce, High End Bourbon Drives American Scandals

By Richard Thomas High end bourbon has been rocked by twin scandals in 2023, and while they are taking place on opposite sides of the country, all of it lies in the realm of bottles that are either truly finite (i.e. no more are coming) or those commanding demand that far outstrips supply. Collectables, in …

By Richard Thomas

Justins’ House of Bourbon in Lexington, KY
(Credit: Richard Thomas)

High end bourbon has been rocked by twin scandals in 2023, and while they are taking place on opposite sides of the country, all of it lies in the realm of bottles that are either truly finite (i.e. no more are coming) or those commanding demand that far outstrips supply. Collectables, in other words.

Things Go Downhill For Justins’ House of Bourbon
The investigation of Justins’ House of Bourbon is much larger than originally reported in the wake of raids by Kentucky state authorities on the retailer’s Lexington and Louisville stores. On that same day, a similar raid was undertaken in Washington, DC on a warehouse used by the business. Unlike the Kentucky action, which was reported to have taken away a small number of bottles as evidence, the DC operation is stated to have found hundreds of what could be illegally transported bottles of bourbon.

At a closed-door hearing of the DC Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on February 8, the DC authorities ordered Justins’ House of Bourbon to “show cause,” meaning to appear and argue why they should not be cited for violations. It was also revealed that these actions in Kentucky and Washington, DC are part of a wider interstate investigation into illegally transported alcohol, one that also involves Pennsylvania, Texas and federal regulators. The bottles found in the warehouse are alleged to have been brought into DC using illegal channels, including both illegally bringing the bottles to DC and their illegal import into the US. Reports state that hundreds of bottles of Blanton’s were confiscated by ATF agents.

Blanton’s Gold Edition
(Credit: Richard Thomas)

Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon is infamous in bourbon circles for having gone from a relatively available, mid-range product to a scarce commodity commanding more than three times the official pricing in the space of just a few years. Blanton’s is, however, still relatively available and often affordable overseas, where the allocation is more in tune with regional demand.

The available information suggests that, insofar as only the Blanton’s is concerned, Justins’ House of Bourbon could have been buying bottles of bourbon off of foreign markets and bringing them back to the US for sale at a substantial mark-up. At the time of writing, Justins’ House of Bourbon did not have Blanton’s listed on their retail website.

Oregon Regulators Allegedly Rig The System
Part of understanding what “illegally transporting” bottles of spirits means in the United States is also bound up with the unfolding scandal in Oregon. Following Prohibition, the United States instituted what is known as the three-tiered liquor sales system. For the most part, this system separates the production, distribution and sale of liquor; producers can only sell to distributors, and distributors only to retailers. If you’ve ever read about how a pioneering craft distillery had to lobby for changes in local law to be able to operate an in-house bar or sell their own product out their doors, the three-tier system is why.

Some states combine distribution and the retail sale of liquor together by making both the province of the state government. These are called Control States, and there are 17 of them. One such state is Oregon, which means the state of Oregon is both its own liquor distributor and the owner-operator of its liquor stores.

The three-tier system is often criticized, but if you’ve ever wondered why the government split these functions up in the first place, look no further than what has allegedly been going on in Oregon. Top managers at the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) are reported to have abused this consolidated authority to divert the state’s allocation of high-demand bourbon, such as Pappy Van Winkle, away from the general public and toward their own consumption.

An internal OLCC investigation indicates that it has been practice going back for at least the last several years to divert these bottles to particular stores in the state’s retail system, where they could be picked up by senior staff of the OLCC, including former director Steve Marks. Allegedly, the scheme extended to state lawmakers as well. Marks has since resigned as head of the OLCC.
The scandal has prompted Oregon’s elected officials to take a closer look at the project to build the OLCC a new warehouse and headquarters, proposed to handle the increased volumes that came with the legalization of cannabis products in the state, as well as the increased liquor trade. The price tag on this project rose from $62.5 million in 2019 to $145.7 million in 2022, part of which is down to the 33-acre parcel the OLCC purchased for the project. The land was appraised at $22 million, but the OLCC paid $40.7 million. OLCC has argued that there were few locations available for their construction project, and the remainder of the cost overruns can be attributed to the spiraling cost of construction generally since the Pandemic.

This Oregon scandal has been especially painful to bourbon enthusiasts, because Control States are widely seen as places where regular consumers have a shot at buying a prized bottle of bourbon for the official retail price. Pennsylvania and Virginia are Control States that run lotteries for rare bourbons, giving their interested consumers a fair and equal shot at buying such bottles for below open market prices. In other Control States, diehards often camp out at stores, so as to be first in line to get the new pickings when they come in. What the regulators in Oregon have done makes a mockery of such fair measures and devoted acts.

The Price To Be Paid
These scandals are driven by the enormous thirst for bourbon, a thirst that has made the list of difficult-to-acquire bottles lengthen as it has gained steam. Pappygate, a conspiracy led by a Buffalo Trace worker who stole rare whiskey (among other crimes), was uncovered in 2015. Back then, the aforementioned Blanton’s was available on any premium liquor store shelf, and the idea that it would become as scarce as it is today would have been taken as fantasy. Pappygate is now the subject of a two episodes of Netflix’s Heist.

(Credit: Kurt Maitland)

But the insanity surrounding Pappy Van Winkle lies at the root of these evils. When all things Van Winkle became famed, rightly or wrongly, as the best bourbon in the world, some of that luster rubbed off on Buffalo Trace. Although the Frankfort, Kentucky distillery does not own the Pappy Van Winkle brand, it has made wheated bourbon for it under contract since 2002.

Although there are factions of bourbon fandom that hang their hearts at Four Roses, Wild Turkey, Jim Beam, Willett, Old Pogue and other distilleries, a large and important group will insist to their dying days that the only bourbon worth drinking comes from Buffalo Trace. Having watched this situation grow up over this first quarter of the 21st Century, I can tell you the largest part of that esteem comes from Buffalo Trace’s association with Pappy Van Winkle.

Thus, one Trace-made brand after another has become a scarce commodity, either over-fished from the sea, or else hoarded at the retail or distributor level to inflate the price. The craze for Pappy first extended to W.L. Weller 12 Year Old, after said bottle was dubbed (incorrectly at the time, although nowadays the description is accurate) “Baby Pappy.” From there it spread to other Weller expressions, the Col. E.H. Taylor brand and Elmer T. Lee; and now to Blanton’s and even Eagle Rare. Scuttlebutt even has regular old Buffalo Trace Bourbon itself showing up short in some markets.

Although prices for annual release and limited edition bourbons are generally above market price, Buffalo Trace remains the only major distiller to experience this kind of genuine shortage, where even their premium-but-still-regular whiskeys are all but absent from store shelves. It’s a fever, and sometimes fevers make people do crazy things.

What Causes An Increase In The Price Of Whisky?

Whisky is currently increasing in price. In actuality, there has never been a time when rare whisky from Scotland, Japan, and Ireland has been more expensive. But only some bottles that hit the markets cost a lot. Some alcoholic beverages cost the same as they did decades ago, even though some whisky is now more …

(Credit: Richard Thomas)

Some alcoholic beverages cost the same as they did decades ago, even though some whisky is now more expensive than a high-end sports vehicle. What determines the cost of whisky, then?

How do you know that the whiskey you’re buying today will increase in value tomorrow if you want to make a wise investment in it?

Here are the most crucial factors to consider when looking for a collectible whisky or just a bottle to enjoy with your friends after applying Slots Capital no deposit bonus to play roulette online relaxing at home.

1. Cost of production

The cost of manufacturing is a major consideration in all forms of production. Making whisky requires both time and money. Before it can be called whisky, the spirit removed from the still must sit in an oak cask for at least three years (at least in Scotland).

To brew whisky, many small producers invest significant amounts of money. They lack a global market to sell their goods to, in addition to not having the economies of scale that the larger players do. Most of the time, a larger margin is required to maintain the business viability.

2. Whisky brand

Whisky distilleries date back to the 1700s when distillers were granted permits to begin producing alcohol lawfully through brewing and distillation. The more heritage a distiller brings to the market, the more power they have to raise prices, which affects the market.

Since time is a crucial component in the distillation of whisky, distilleries may typically charge more for older casks.

3. Number of bottles

The quantity of bottles a distillery produces greatly affects the selling price. A whisky may cost less if there are more bottles available for purchase. But what factors into the number of bottles?

Since 40% ABV is frequently the required minimum alcohol content for a beverage to be labeled whisky, less expensive whiskeys are frequently bottled at this level.

The whisky released from the barrel after a specific number of years obviously has a lower alcohol content than 40%. Thus the distillery must first dilute it with spring water. Less whisky is available for sale if the alcohol content of the whisky is increased.

Cask-strength whisky is one that has been bottled directly from the cask. The bottles will cost more if the whisky has been aged in a barrel for a long time and is sold at cask strength. When a whisky is offered as a single-cask, this also affects the number of bottles. Numerous commonly available regular whiskeys are blends of various casks of the same spirit. They go for uniformity by blending various casks to produce whiskies that taste exactly like the other batches. You cannot blend it with other barrels in a single barrel, making it more uncommon. Depending on the age, one barrel of single-cask whiskey can only create about 150 to 350 bottles.

4. Marketing cost

The expense of marketing is a factor for distilleries to take into account as well. It is particularly important if the distillery is new or trying to expand into a new market. In order to expand and enter new areas where potential customers can sample its whisky for free, the distillery typically needs a sizable sum of money.

It could be more challenging if the distillery is new and exclusively sells whiskies without an age statement. Many whisky lovers don’t favor non-Scotch whiskies, which adds to the gloom and doom.

Non-Scotch boutique distilleries face a similar global phenomenon, particularly if they attempt to break into new global markets. Therefore, one of the simplest options for these producers is to raise the price of their whiskies to offset the rising marketing expense.

5. Angel’s share

The “Angel’s Share” is a factor that contributes to whisky bottles’ sometimes high prices. A wooden barrel is used to mature premium whiskey for many years. Natural evaporation causes 1% to 2% of the alcohol in the barrel to be lost per year. This percentage is known as the Angel’s share.

About 30% – 40% of the alcohol in a barrel of whisky that has been aged for 30 years evaporates. As a result, older whiskies’ actual liquid content in the barrel is lower than less aged whiskies. Whiskey is becoming harder to get and more expensive as fewer barrels are left to bottle it. Older whiskies are often more expensive for this reason.

The other justification for these rising prices is the risk distilleries face when they have to keep a barrel for longer. The distillery has to pay for the storage space throughout the years, and another barrel cannot be stored in its place. Older whiskies, therefore, cost more to produce at the distillery.

Conclusion

Several factors distinguish inexpensive and premium whiskies from regular ones, but all in all, whiskeys are generally costing more today. These five are the major factors that determine the price of a bottle of whisky.

How Tech Developers Can Make The Most Of Insights From Beta Testers (Even With Whiskey)

Whenever a new invention, discovery, advancement, and enhancement takes place, it takes a good deal of tech development. And this process is not solitary work: it is important to incorporate user needs. It wants into what you are trying to develop and considers how other people will interact with that technology. As everything happens in …

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As everything happens in a hurry, tech developers can make the mistake of forgoing an essential step when testing a new product or technology: the beta phase. This is the second and last stage of testing before releasing your product. The intended audience tests a sample of it, and the comments of these users allow you to fix the latest bugs and smooth out some rough edges.

Let’s take a look at how to do the beta testing efficiently.

Beta to Launch

What’s a “beta” anyway? It’s the second letter of the Greek alphabet and comes right after alpha. That’s why developers call the first product development phase “alpha testing.” But such tests are carried out in a laboratory and by specialists.

This is why beta testing, also known as “pre-release testing,” is so important: real people and potential users will test all the tools and features of the product in their own homes and tell you exactly what works, what doesn’t, and what can be improved. It will be possible to test the product’s compatibility with other devices, systems, or software and even discover new use-case scenarios that were not even a priority in the first place.

In a world where everything is based on deadlines and money, some companies still consider beta testing unnecessary because of the time, effort, and investment required. A full beta cycle lasts between eight to ten weeks, and spending can be unpredictable.

But don’t be fooled: from beta to launch, you’ll get a better product adapted to different types of audiences.

Beta Testing Applies to Everything- Even Whiskey

Beta testing may seem like it’s only for new technologies and the latest gadgets; however, that is not true. Beta testing applies to every product, including a new whiskey or beer. For example, if your distillery is releasing a new whiskey, try “beta testing” with the public. Create a small batch and invite your regulars to give their opinion before creating too much of the product. This can help save wasted costs in the future.

Getting the Most of Beta

As a tech developer or tech company, you should understand the nuances of beta testing to get the most out of it. One of the first decisions you will have to make is the approach: what kind of beta testing best covers what you are trying to achieve?

The most traditional involves distributing the unfinished product to a target audience and gathering data from their experience with it. Some companies prefer to keep the operation “indoors,” working with an internal group of testers formed by other developers or tech specialists. And others choose to release a “trial version” for free to the general public and just wait for some feedback.

Whichever type you choose, these are some strategies to get the most insight out of beta testers and beta trials:

The More Testers the Better

Usually, the size of the project determines how many testers will work on it. But the more testers, the better. Some companies use more than 100 users per beta testing. Varied users ensure that each aspect of the product can be tested as different people have different reasons to use it. The feedback will be much more detailed than what you get from testing done by technicians.

Don’t Forget Different Scenarios

Tests conducted in a lab take place under controlled conditions and using high-tech equipment. Developers and tech specialists also carry them out. To conduct the best testing of anything, try different scenarios (social classes, age groups, and even several platforms and devices) to better understand the product’s compatibility and usability in the real world.

Each Thing at its Time

Never conduct alpha and beta testing at the same time. Finish the first round of technical testing before moving on to the next. When you do everything at the same time, testers will be confused, and feedback from one step to the next can be compromised.

Try Focused Beta Testing

Instead of putting your testers to work with the product as a whole, try some focused beta testing to evaluate particular features or parts of a familiar product. Some exciting innovations in the tech industry were improved, or even made possible, with this kind of test. For example, the technology of smart glasses was developed after some companies decided to break down and redefine the different parts of glasses and gave rise to a new, smarter product.

Any Change Demands a Reboot

Let’s say you noticed a bug during the beta testing process and decided to add a new feature to the product. Well, even if it is the smallest of changes, it will be necessary to restart the whole cycle so that all testers receive the new and updated version and can use it from scratch.

Not All Feedback Will Be Valid

It’s sad but true: tech developers estimate that only one out of five beta testers will try the product comprehensively, which allows for proper feedback on its pros and cons. In case you distribute free trial versions to the general public, don’t expect every user to give some feedback.

Try to Create Product Awareness

Influencers rule the modern world. While some beta testers may never give you valid feedback, sending some product samples exclusively to influencers can be productive. If they like what you’re developing, they’ll give you valuable feedback and also help to make the public aware of your product and its features.

An Essential Feedback

Beta testing is one of the best methods to test a new product with real consumers and in the real world. Based on the data/ratings you receive from user experiences, you will be able to fix bugs, improve things and even add some new features before the device/app/system is finally released. Even tech giants like Google are doing it.

These tests also require a lot of effort and investment. A product should preferably be tested with different audiences and in different scenarios for better data collection and analysis. But at the end of the day, all this work will pay off: a post-beta testing product is better quality and bug-free.

Without this step, your product will likely reach the consumer with some imperfections that could not be detected before. Alpha testing allows you to get to know your product very well, but only the beta phase enables you to test it with the people who will use the same product when it hits the shelves.

The Benefits Of Drinking Whiskey At The Casino

When you think about drinking and gambling, it’s easy to conclude that they go hand in hand worldwide. They are inseparably linked in Las Vegas, which is famous for its booming gambling resorts. Like in Sin City, drinking and gambling also are inextricably bound in China. However, the Chinese don’t drink to get drunk but …

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While most enjoy pairing gambling with a glass of whiskey, others avoid consuming any alcoholic beverages because of getting intoxicated and perhaps the possibility of making risky bets. Nevertheless, when it comes to whiskey, not many gamblers think about how it can benefit their game or betting. There are more than 550 online games at Captain Cooks casino Canada that you can enjoy without worrying about letting drinking result in losses. But to be certain enough, let’s look at some of the reasons why you should try to combine gambling and drinking whiskey, whether you’re gambling online or prefer brick-and-mortar casinos.

Improves Cognitive Abilities

While whiskey can harm the body and brain, a small amount of it may help you remember the details to win the hard game or make the correct bet. Whiskey is an effective stimulant for gamblers, improving their focus and concentration. When a glass of great whiskey helps you recall the methods you used to win the game, your chances to succeed are higher, so you may increase your profits.

Loosens Up

The best way to take a shot at a difficult roulette game is to drink a little. A glass of whiskey with a smoky, nutty, or spicy profile can help you relax and numb your mind a little. Hence, you can easily double down on an 11 in blackjack and play poker with a maximum bet of five coins. As long as you clearly know your drinking limits, the rest will fall into place. When you’re nervous, you can play differently than you usually do. Shake off those nerves and play your game perfectly with a strong glass of whiskey.

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Spirit of Entertainment

Whichever gambling activity you select, consider adding a whiskey. A casino is more than just a place to gamble; it’s an entertainment venue with lots of fun things to do. If you’re a serious gambler, it’s pretty normal that you may sometimes not realize that making friends and having fun with others is just as important as playing. Having a few drinks of whiskey can help you become more open to people. Moreover, if you leave the poker table for a whiskey shot and a quick talk, you can save yourself from possibly losing.

Coming to the Upshot

Now that you know drinking whiskey while gambling has many benefits, you should try it sometime. Nevertheless, keep in mind that it should be consumed within limits. Otherwise, it may have a negative impact on your health.

Ten Reasons Most People Love Whiskey

Whiskey–you either love it or hate it; there’s no middle ground. Those who don’t enjoy the drink often find it too harsh, smoky, or strong. But for those who love whiskey, there is nothing better than a glass of the good stuff after a long day. In fact, there are quite a few reasons why …

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The Smell

There’s nothing like the smell of whiskey to inject a bit of cheer into your evening. Whether it’s the sharp burn of single malt or the smooth, woody aroma of a blended Scotch, the scent of whiskey is enough to invigorate even the weariest of souls.

Different whiskeys have different smells, of course, but all of them share that characteristic smokiness that is so intoxicating. It’s no wonder that so many people love to simply sit and sniff their whiskey before taking a sip.

The Taste

Whiskey lovers will often tell you that once you acquire a taste for it, there’s no turning back. Well, they are not wrong; once you get used to the initial burn, you will start picking up on different flavors, like vanilla, caramel, oak, and citrus. Trust us; it’s worth acquiring a taste for because it is truly delicious.

The History

Whiskey has a long and fascinating history that dates back centuries. It’s believed to have originated in Ireland and Scotland, and there are many stories about its early days. For example, did you know that whiskey was once used as currency? Or that it was once thought to have medicinal properties?

Whiskey has come a long way since then, but its rich history is still evident in the many different types produced today.

The Variety

There are so many different types of whiskey to choose from, which means there’s something out there for everyone. Whether you prefer the smoothness of bourbon, the peatiness of a Scotch, or the sweetness of an Irish whiskey, there is definitely a whiskey out there for you.

Additionally, new brands are popping up all the time; there’s always something new to try.

It Gets Better With Age

You have probably come across whiskey bottles labeled with an age statement, and there’s a reason for that. Like fine wine, whiskey gets better with age; the longer it is left to mature, the more complex its flavor becomes.

So, if you come across an old bottle of whiskey that’s been collecting dust for years, don’t be afraid to give it a try. You might just be surprised by how good it is.

It’s Perfect for Relaxing

Let’s face it, after a long day, all we want is just to relax. And what better way to do that than with a glass of whiskey in hand? Whether you’re enjoying it neat, on the rocks, or mixed into your favorite cocktail, whiskey is the perfect drink for kicking back and relaxing. The good thing is that you do not need to be a connoisseur to enjoy it; all you need is a glass and a bottle of your favorite whiskey.

It Makes You Feel Good

There’s nothing like enjoying a nice glass of whiskey at the end of a long day (or week!). There’s something about its smooth, warming flavor that just makes you feel relaxed and at ease. Relaxing with a drink in hand always seems to make everything feel just a little bit better. If you enjoy online gambling with free casino chips, for example, a glass of whiskey will make your experience even more enjoyable.

It’s Versatile

Whiskey can be enjoyed in all kinds of different ways. Neat, on the rocks, with water or soda—it’s entirely up to you. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even use it in cooking. Add a splash to your next steak dinner, or use it to make homemade chocolate truffles and thank us later. Many recipes out there call for whiskey, so get creative and experiment.

It’s Classy

Whiskey has always been associated with class and sophistication. It’s the perfect drink for a special occasion or a night out. Whether you’re enjoying it in a fancy bar or in the comfort of your home, whiskey always seems to make things feel just a little more special.

Beyond that, the world of whiskey is full of fascinating characters like master distillers and noted collectors. If you’re lucky, you might even get to meet one or two of them along your whiskey journey.

It Has Potential Health Benefits

Whiskey has been shown to have potential health benefits thanks to its antioxidants and other compounds. Some potential benefits include reducing the risk of stroke, improving heart health, and helping reduce the risk of cancer. So, not only is whiskey delicious, but it might also be good for you.

Wrapping Up

There are plenty of reasons to love whiskey — from its rich history and complex flavor profile to its versatility and potential health benefits. So, the next time you go shopping, take your time in the whiskey aisle and explore all the different types that are out there. You might just find your new favorite drink.