Is cask strength whiskey the best whiskey? Seems like a question most people you’d ask would answer “Yes!” to right away. There’s quite a bit to consider here, however. The […]
William McKinley’s Political Cocktail
Today was the day President McKinley was shot… What does this have to do with whiskey, you ask? William McKinley had a cocktail named after him while he was running […]
Old Taylor Distillery Returns…
Old Taylor Distillery is coming back to us! The Old Taylor Distillery was built in 1877 by Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. as his own “personal castle” distillery. The place […]
Japanese Whiskey
I am a huge fan of Japanese whisky… Two of the most influential figures in the history of Japanese whisky are Shinjiro Torii and Masataka Taketsuru. Torii created the Yamazaki […]
Larceny is the new Old Fitzgerald?
The Larceny brand of bourbon by Heaven Hill is a nod to the legend of John Fitzgerald… Max Shapiro’s daughter, Kate Shapiro Latts, is the business savvy designer of the […]
Old Fitzgerald- the Survivor.
Everyone wants Pappy Van Winkle, but Old Fitzgerald came first. The Old Fitzgerald brand (originally Jn.E.Fitzgerald bourbon) was created by S.C. Herbst around 1870. In the 1890’s Herbst purchased the […]
Possible Origin for the Word “Whiskey”?
I discovered a new option for where the word “WHISKEY” may have originated… The word “whisk” (Scotch: quhiske)- to move rapidly, to go lightly-is the word given to to light […]
The Taft Decision
Did you know that President Taft is responsible for defining “what is whiskey?” E.H. Taylor with the help of John G. Carlisle, then the Secretary of the Treasury, enabled the […]
Industry Camaraderie
One of the things I have always loved about the whiskey industry is the camaraderie. The success of the whole industry comes before any one individual. On November 7, 1996, […]
The Myth of Elijah Craig
The story of Elijah Craig becoming the “father of bourbon” is a great story. And that’s what it is…a story. It goes like this…Craig opened his distillery in 1789, and […]