Sure, Justin Timberlake may be a good entertainer, but he is terrible at pretending to be a bourbon snob. When asked in a recent interview by Men's Journal, "What whiskey are you drinking right now?" the Memphis-born singer showed some real ignorance with his response. Try not to cringe: "I mean that depends. I think with whiskey, if I’m in Montana, I want a Montana whiskey like Blanton’s...

<p>Ye of simple taste, read elsewhere. The culture of whiskey is strong, spawning frequent tastings, clubs and societies, tools like ice cube trays with intentional shapes and even scientific studies to confirm the proper way to drink it. Naturally, with a popular hobby, aficionados are willing to invest money into their passion. But would the most ardent whiskey lovers be willing to drop a...</p>

While the Western world organizes dates by Before Christ and Anno Domini (BC and AD), the year 2018 might mark a milestone for Northern Kentucky’s hospitality sector, which already bursts with attractions that account for 20 percent of Kentucky tourism and nearly 10 percent of its hospitality jobs. Bourbon is “officially” arriving in Northern Kentucky and the economic implications may separate...

I cannot remain silent about this any longer. In the weeks since word leaked out about Diageo’s new Crown Royal Bourbon Mash Blended Canadian Whisky, I have grown increasingly alarmed about people who cannot understand that Crown Royal Bourbon Mash Blended Canadian Whisky is an AFFRONT to our national SOVEREIGNTY, a cynical and cowardly ploy to steal our NATIVE HERITAGE, a GRAVE THREAT to...

When it comes to making great bourbon, five sources of flavor determine its future. Some argue six or seven, but really these five are the core. If you’re planning to take the next step into bourbon, understanding how it’s made is crucial. 1. Grain According to U.S. federal laws, bourbon must be made from at least 51 percent corn. Most brands usually pack roughly 70 to 80 percent corn and are...

Wilderness Trail Distillery in Danville plans to release its first bourbon after four years of aging. The distillery will release the first bottles, beginning April 28, to a select group of initial investors and supporters. “While our goal is to age much longer, these are special barrels that really shined at a little over four years of age,” said Shane Baker, co-owner of the distillery with...

The sweet vermouth is a blend of Merlot and Petite Sirah, combined with fresh Tartarian cherries form Lodi in California, smoked black cardamom, star anise, Indian coriander, allspice, blessed thistle, eucalyptus leaf, fennel seed, cinchona bark and wormwood. It has been designed to drink neat, over ice or mixed in cocktails. “Vermouth is fortified wine infused with botanicals, which dates back...

If you’ve ever wanted to buy a classic bottle of booze that isn’t on store shelves anymore, now you can. Legally. And this goes beyond the unattainable Pappy Van Winkle ... imagine buying and drinking Pappy’s “spiritual” ancestors. The Kentucky Legislature passed a law last year to let those with alcohol licenses buy and sell “vintage” spirits, which are those not readily available from...

Champagne might be more traditional, but we’re celebrating this Valentines’ Day with whiskey. Here are five sweet, silky, crowd-pleasing options that are just right for spending some quality time with your sweetheart.Valentines’ day is all about pairs, and this whisky is all about the harmonious pairing of ex-bourbon casks and sherry casks. Sweet, smooth, and mellow, Balvenie Doublewood is...

Happy International Scotch Day to all the whisky connoisseurs in the world. Whiskys come in many forms and can be enjoyed in a myriad of ways such as with ice (‘on the rocks’), with a splash of water, with a mixer (or in cocktails, Old Fashioned anyone?), or of course for the purists, straight up – ‘neat’. To celebrate the occasion we wanted to find out what exactly the difference between...

Unlike spirits investors who seek out rare bottles based solely on their potential for monetary appreciation, collectors are interested in distilled rarities for their own sake, either as a special spirit to personally enjoy and share with others, because of a brand’s interesting history, or simply as a hard-to-find bottle that fills a niche in an already well-stocked home bar. “Start with...

Earlier this month, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DSCUS) released its annual economic report for 2017. Whiskey drinkers, you deserve a round of applause. Whiskey sales in the United States had yet another stellar year, with American, Irish, Canadian, and Scotch products all seeing significant growth. The story DSCUS told during their scheduled economics report call was all...

Woodford Reserve, Brown-Forman’s popular premium bourbon, is hosting an all-day bourbon academy in June with master distiller Chris Morris and master taster Elizabeth McCall. You’ll get to learn the art of crafting and appreciating bourbon — America’s native spirit. The day includes an extensive behind-the-scenes tour of the Woodford Reserve Distillery outside Versailles. You’ll also learn about...

From floral touches to smoke and fog, there seems to always be a new trend in the world of booze — but some cocktails simply stand the test of time. Drinks International has released its list of the best-selling cocktails around the world in 2018, and it proves that most of today's popular drinks are new takes on the classics. The website compiled the list by asking 106 of the best bars in the...

Lonely Planet’s travel experts have scoured the States to bring you our top 10 underrated, rejuvenated and out-of-this-world spots to visit in 2018. From natural wonders to captivating coastlines and up-and-coming cities, these destinations promise big things this year...

It's an oft-cited fact that Kentucky is home to more barrels of bourbon than people, and this little bit of trivia is emblematic of the symbiotic relationship that exists between humans and bourbon in the Bluegrass. While bourbon doesn't legally have to be made in Kentucky, the state is responsible for 95% of the whiskey's production, and Kentuckians are fiercely proud of their prized export...

In the waning months of 2017, the Elijah Craig brand completed the fifth year of its tradition of tri-annually releasing separate batches of uncut 12-year-old bourbon. Released three times per year under alphanumeric tracking code, this year’s Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon series included A117, B517 and most recently C917. While the code sounds vaguely like a naval vessel naming...

I was recently hired to accompany group of people from an out of town bar while they were in Kentucky to learn more about Bourbon. It was a fun couple of days and I feel they did learn quite a bit, but I feel they could have learned more if they had planned a little better. Most out of town people don’t realize how much travel time there is between destinations. Much of your day will be spent...

As frigid weather swept the country—even the Deep South, where I live—this month, my taste turned to bold, high-alcohol bourbons. I found myself drinking even the most intense bourbon undiluted, out of my Glencairn glass, rather than with an ice cube or two. Had I gone over the edge? It turns out that I hadn’t, at least when it comes to bourbon. “It’s a human response to the climate,” said Bert...

Oh, what the Bourbon Trail hath wrought. Filmmaker David McCracken was doing some research for a documentary about bourbon and invited a friend, producer Josh Riedford, along on a tour of some distilleries. “We both grew to really, really love everything about bourbon, and not just the taste, but the history of it and how it’s so earthy and natural,” McCracken says. “That kind of appealed...

Forget the beer and chips this Sunday. For this year’s big game let bourbon influence the Super Bowl food. While the Super Bowl commercials focus on beer, chips and all types of snacks, these options aren’t the only Super Bowl food served. Still, no one wants the same old chicken wings or boring pizza at his Super Bowl party. Football gatherings, especially for the big game, are culinary...

Our editorial published in Wednesday’s State Journal requires an update. Simply put, Frankfort is unlikely to officially become the “Bourbon Capital of the World.” The city may be able to better utilize its bourbon history to its economic gain, but the exclusive title is firmly in the grasp of Bardstown. Brought to our attention by the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, Bardstown actually owns...

With a worldwide boom in bourbon consumption, master distiller at Wild Turkey, Eddie Russell, has been in Hong Kong this week touting his brand of American whiskey with master classes and food pairing events. He is fourth generation in the bourbon industry. His father joined Wild Turkey in 1954 and is still there, and Eddie in 1981. Here are some little known facts you may not know about...

1. “Never delay kissing a pretty girl or opening a bottle of whiskey.” – Ernest Hemingway. The author’s proclivity for both women and whiskey is not exactly a secret – after four wives and a persistent folk tale that he “wrote drunk and edited sober,” its not surprising that Hemingway didn’t delay his gratifications. While collectors nowadays have shelves full of limited edition bottles...

The Second World War had a huge impact on the distilling industry. It was an industry that had just come out of Prohibition in December 1933. It was 1935 before many distilleries were back up and producing whiskey. When the war started in 1939 these distilleries were just beginning to get their first crop of bonded whiskey in the market. The bigger companies such as Schenley were...

The renewed packaging has been designed to match the style and colour of the brand’s other expressions, including Four Roses Small Batch and Four Roses Single Barrel. The upgraded Four Roses Bourbon bottle features a wooden closure with a cork finish and new labels. The brand’s rose cluster design is featured both on the label as well as embossed on the glass. Four Roses master distiller...

The sap is beginning to flow in Highland County, Virginia, which means it's getting time to tap the trees. That's something Valerie Lowry and her husband, Pat, have been doing for 17 years in the usual way, until their son-in-law brought a gift of an old bourbon barrel. "Got bored one day," Pat Lowry remembered. "The maple season was over and I had a can of syrup outside, and it was a dark. And I thought: this ought...

Chocolate has a rich history that begins in Mesoamerica with the Olmec, the Maya, and the Aztecs, all of whom believed it to possess mystic qualities (hello mood enhancer). The Olmec drank it thick, frothed (reminiscent of Cha Yen, or Thai iced tea), and cold, but it was the Aztecs’ King Montezuma II who drank it hot with vanilla (among other spices)—which is the version of the potion the...

In the market for a fun cocktail that uses whiskey? Well, Robbie Rice has the perfect cocktail for you. Granted you’ve got to have a bit of foresight to freeze the cocktail a day before, but we guarantee that everyone will love it because each batch serves 14!...

Bourbon distilleries in Kentucky are reporting a record number of visitors. A statement from the Kentucky Distillers’ Association says nearly 1.2 million people visited distilleries along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour last year. That comes on the heels of a milestone in 2016, when visitors made more than 1 million stops at distilleries. Officials say along...

There are Masters of Science and Masters of Arts, and then there are Masters of Distilling and Masters of Blending. Which two do you think we’re going to be talking about There’s a maze of terminology to sort through in the whiskey world, and job titles are right up there with them. Along with master blenders and master distillers, at some typically larger and older brands you may find titles...

It’s hard to mess up bourbon: America’s favorite whiskey is great straight, on the rocks, or in a highball. (Just make sure you give it proper respect in a nice glass.) But what if you want to go beyond your weeknight standard of booze-in-a-glass-with-ice? To answer that very pressing question, we asked bartenders across the country what they would do with a bottle of bourbon...

It’s hard to believe that our Manhattan study is drawing to a close. Seven months ago Rosemary Miller and I embarked on our journey to find our favorite Manhattan recipe. Along the way we created controversy, but we also learned a lot. The most important thing we learned, however, is that we could genuinely continue with this study until the end of days and never exhaust the possibilities...

For the second year in a row, visitors made more than one million stops at Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® distilleries as the thriving tourism attraction continues its record growth. Now at an all-time high of 23 participating distilleries – with more coming this summer – attendance along the amber adventure has grown by a phenomenal 314 percent in the past...

Speaking to the Nikkei Asian Review, Suntory president Takeshi Niinami said the majority of funding will be invested in Kentucky distilleries operated by Beam Suntory, which produce brands such as Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark. The money has reportedly been earmarked to improve capacity usage, and increase storage space for barrels of ageing whiskey. However, a spokesperson for Suntory refuted...

In the summer of 2016, Naomi Karzai, the bar manager of Pen &amp; Quill — a slightly upscale restaurant blocks from Baltimore’s Penn Station — heard an unwelcome rumor from a bartender friend. “I didn’t believe him,” she recounted later, “but I was nervous.” Word was that Pikesville Supreme — a solid, unassuming, spicy yet smooth rye whiskey born in Maryland and beloved by Baltimoreans — was going...

For the second year in a row, visits to the distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail topped 1 million. The number in 2017 hit almost 1.2 million, a 12 percent increase over 2016’s visits to the major distilleries and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour of smaller distillers. Altogether, the 23 distilleries on the two tourism attractions drew 1,194,233 visits last year. That includes 940,780...

Four Roses’ regular bourbon, long known as “yellow label,” has redesigned its iconic bourbon package and the yellow label isn’t yellow any more. The new package for the straight bourbon made in Lawrenceburg, which will roll out in the spring, keeps the cluster of roses on the glass and the label. Now known as just Four Roses Bourbon, the new label matches that of Four Roses Small Batch and...

Bourbon is perhaps one of the most contentious issue for drinkers as a lot of people struggle to understand this complex liquor. Bourbon whiskey is a type of American whiskey, a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name is derived from the French Bourbon dynasty Bourbon and has been distilled since the 18th century. The use of the term “bourbon” for the whiskey has been...

You know you're in Louisville when you can get local history and bourbon all in one place. Really. The Frazier History Museum, 829 W. Main St., can now offer not only history and context about Louisville and the region's bourbon tradition but also select bottles of our native spirit to boot. And it's coming in hot, introducing the longest-aged Kentucky bourbon on the planet – a whiskey that's...

Redesigned bottle for namesake Bourbon to align with Four Roses Small Batch and Single Barrel products Four Roses Distillery announced the launch of a new bottle design for Four Roses Bourbon, the brand’s namesake offering. ​ The renewed packaging was designed to maintain consistency, in color and style, with the brand’s other signature products – Four Roses Small Batch and Four Roses Single...

I am often asked how I developed my tasting palate and my answer is “practice”. I was fortunate in that when I worked for United Distillers I had many great teachers. I also was fortunate enough to start when the Quality Control people had a trailer set up to taste every barrel in the warehouses for quality. Not every barrel at Stitzel-Weller was a good one and many ended up being musty and taken to be...

The Cocktails Provisions collection includes three flavoured bitters, two different syrups and a tincture, each designed to “elevate the cocktail-making experience”. “We want people to enjoy our Bourbon the way they like it – whether it’s neat, on the rocks or in a handcrafted cocktail,” said Jackie Zykan, Old Forester master taster and Bourbon specialist. “Cocktail Provisions is there to...

Brown-Forman’s bourbon brand Old Forester has teamed up with Bourbon Barrel Foods to launch Cocktail Provisions, a collection of three bitters, two syrups and one tincture, designed to elevate the simplest cocktails into a craft experience. Created by Louisville-based Bourbon Barrel Foods and Old Forester master taster Jackie Zykan, Cocktail Provisions is inspired by the “unique and robust...

It is true in this day and age of the great bourbon renaissance that you can never have enough aging whiskey inventory sitting around to satisfy demand, particularly if you are the likes of Jefferson’s Bourbon. Parent company Castle Brands gets this, and recently ponied up both cash and partnership outside its whiskey making walls to source product from other providers...

Bourbon Tourism continues to be a strong draw for Kentucky distilleries. In fact, Buffalo Trace, a National Historic Landmark in Frankfort set a milestone for visitors this past year. In 2017 the distillery welcomed 201,491 guests. That represents an increase of 18% over last calendar year, and a total increase of 287% since 2010. “It took us 15 years to get to 100,000 visitors, but only three...

Early 2018 finds the already 30+ distillery members Kentucky trade group known as the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) adding yet another bourbon maker to their ranks. With the addition of Rabbit Hole Distillery, the KDA is continuing to reflect the growth of the industry as a whole in its home state. Rabbit Hole Distillery is now the 36th member of the KDA. Founded in 2014 by CEO Kaveh...

Production of Jefferson's Bourbon is going to Bardstown. Castle Brands Inc. (NYSE: ROX), which owns Jefferson's Bourbon brands, is joining Bardstown Bourbon Co.'s Collaborative Distilling Program. Under that program, Bardstown Bourbon Co. partners with brand owners to produce new spirits. Previously, Kentucky Artisan Distillery in Crestwood had produced all Jefferson's Bourbon...

Michelle Gayer of Salty Tart bakery in Minneapolis smothers her monkey bread with honey-laced brown butter before baking then serves the pull-apart bread with a cream cheese–based dipping sauce that’s spiked with bourbon...

Tourism along the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky continues to grow year after year, but sometimes it's nice meet a bunch of distillers and sample their products in one place without having to drive all over the Bluegrass State. That’s just one of the big advantages of the annual Bourbon Classic in Louisville, which has events spread over four days — Feb. 28-March 3. Co-produced by FSA Management and...