Whisky Magazine

A strange kind of doublethink has a grip on much of the whisky world. We celebrate single malt as the quintessential flavour of a single place and accept that distilleries have quirks of personality which make them, broadly speaking, unique. This is almost completely without controversy. And yet, the open-armed acceptance of the importance of location to distilling does not extend to the growing of whisky’s raw materials. This is something of a uniquely whisky-flavoured paradox. In the world of Cognac, it is so accepted that the location in which grapes are grown will influence the flavour of the spirit that the concept is enshrined in the category’s governing regulations. The soils in which grapes that are allowed to become Cognac can be cultivated are so strictly controlled that the category…

So far, 2022 has been an incredibly busy and fulfilling year for events in the whisky world, thanks to the return of in-person tastings and festivals around the globe. As we enter the second half of the calendar year, the events are showing no signs of slowing down and Whisky Live has two exciting shows coming to Europe this September. Whisky Live Nordics will take place 2–3 September, running alongside the Nordic Rum Fest in Forum Copenhagen. The event will feature more than 1,000 bottles of spirits, 80 exhibitors, distillation experts and masterclasses. Unlimited pourings will be available, as well as ‘practical glass exchange’ stations, ensuring guests always have a clean tasting glass to enjoy as much as possible. Following on from the success of last year’s event, Whisky Live Paris is…

When I teach the agricultural history of bourbon, I start off by explaining that frontier whiskey was nothing more than a way to preserve crops. The agricultural part is something most people don’t think about. In different parts of the country the story was the same, even if the grains were different. Wild Turkey’s Jimmy Russell is famous for saying the reason bourbon isn’t made out of rice is because rice doesn’t grow in Kentucky, corn does. Cover crops like rye, winter wheat, and barley are harder to grow and harvest in Commonwealth, so they would have been more scarce or expensive during the frontier days. The general mash bill for bourbon was more of a foregone conclusion than a deliberate decision. Meanwhile, rye grew amazingly well in the northeastern parts of…

The headline in Bloomberg on 8 June might have had the vague sound of a street-fight challenge: ‘Americans Will Spend More on Mezcal and Tequila This Year Than Whiskey.’ To a whisky insider, it reads like the financial media equivalent of, ‘Come at me, bro.’ The piece was a report on the new data released by IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, the leading authority on data and analysis on the global alcohol market. ‘This year, Americans for the first time will spend more money on mezcal and Tequila, both alcohols made from agave plants, than they will on US-made whiskeys,’ it reads, going on to note that, by next year, the category will surpass vodka to become the most-purchased spirit by value, clocking in at around US$13.3 billion, versus $12.5 billion for…

The organic acids and bacteria that sour or acidify the mash have become synonymous with Tennessee and Kentucky whisky, where distillers use a portion of spent distiller’s wash to lower the pH for fermentation. However, the fog of time makes it difficult to identify the origin of this now well-known practice. Anecdotal evidence indicates German aqua vitae distillers of the 13th century applied the principle of rye sourdough inoculation, and Dutch distillers adapted this method to manufacture their grain spirits in the 1500s. At their Brazilian sugar colony at Permbucco, the Dutch modified it for rum production, later taking it to Barbados and ‘sugar islands’. Called dunder in Jamaica, the spent distiller’s wash obstructs bacterial infections, stabilises flavour, and adds nutrients and microflora. West Indies sugarcane plantation landholders owned property in Colonial…

Dutch football player Johan Cruyff was known for a lot of things, not just his efforts on the pitch. Some of his sayings have gone on to live a life of their own. One of them applies to whisky distillers who have chosen to set up shop in remote or extreme locations. These distillers can be found in distant places where trucks get snowed in on the regular, delaying deliveries of barley or other supplies; where the sun never sets for prolonged periods; rainfall is a rare occurrence; or the angels’ share is often as high as 25 per cent. Challenging? Sure. But these kinds of circumstances offer opportunities too. Or, as Cruyff once so aptly said, “Every disadvantage has its advantage.” This mantra has been embraced by distillers around the…