Whisky Advocate Spring 2016

Bourbon has come a long way in the past five years. It’s finally getting its due. Perhaps a little too much due, actually. Five years ago, you could find coveted whiskeys like Buffalo Trace Antique Collection—and maybe even Pappy Van Winkle—on shelves in retail stores. Sure, you had to look for them, but you could still find them in the wild. Back then, bourbon was still underappreciated to the point that whisky auction houses were reluctant to take bourbons for their auctions. Now, these same whiskeys are sold via lotteries, purchased by people who camp out for days to be among the first in line to get a bottle at retailers, or quietly offered to a retailer’s best customers. You won’t even see them on the shelves, and they’re being…

ESCAPIST CONSUMPTION Dear John, Please tell Stephen Beaumont that this column [“The Many Guises of Drinking,” Winter 2015 issue] was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read. Thanks to you and him. Sam Brown, Richmond, Va. Thank you, Sam. We’re fairly certain Stephen struck a chord with most, if not all readers. MAKING A STATEMENT Dear John, I just received my Winter 2015 issue of Whisky Advocate and immediately read the article by Gavin Smith in regard to age statements on whiskies. I have read similar articles in other magazines related to the subject, and find that most of them miss some important points on the matter. I have tasted, and documented, over 220 different single malts, as well as over 40 bourbons. The main issue for a…

If you’re planning a bourbon trip, consider Cincinnati. The Queen City sits on the Ohio River across from Kentucky, is only an hour away from most distilleries, and has a strong whiskey scene of its own. Day One Once you’ve checked in and settled down, your 48 Hours must begin standing next to a bathtub with the words “Since 1861. Arnold’s Bar & Grill.” The tub is symbolic of the restaurant’s Prohibition-era owner, Hugo Arnold, who allegedly made bathtub gin and sold illegal liquor to thirsty customers. Built in the late 1830s, the building is a slice of Midwestern Americana and showcases an old bar that commands the city’s first right of refusal on allocated bourbons. The eclectic menu gives you an inside glimpse of Cincinnati cuisine, with noodles in…

Until recently, bourbon and coffee simply meant a shot poured in your java. Nowadays, with whiskey’s popularity, coffeemakers are creating bourbon-flavored and bourbon barrel-aged coffees. Much like flavored whiskey, flavor houses have engineered bourbon flavors that do not contain actual bourbon. You’ll find bourbonflavored coffee next to the hazelnut and whipped cream flavors. But for the coffee purist, better bourbon flavors are derived from the barrel. Sound familiar? The coffee flavoring debate is as intense as it is in whiskey. “Many people think our coffee is flavored, but it’s not. We use the barrel,” says Tal Fishman, a 30-year coffee industry veteran who founded Whiskey Barrel Coffee. Fishman loves bourbon and became fascinated with the combination of coffee and whiskey. About a decade ago, the former roasting consultant started studying…

Last year Bowmore brought us a Scottish/Japanese collaboration in the shape of its Mizunara Cask Finish expression, but now Adelphi Distillery Ltd. has gone a stage further, creating a true Scotch/Japanese fusion whisky. It is named the Glover in honor of Thomas Blake Glover, born in the Scottish east coast fishing port of Fraserburgh and often referred to as “The Scottish Samurai” due to his major role in the industrialization of Japan during the second half of the 19th century. Both 14 and 22 year old versions of the Glover are available, and Adelphi’s managing director Alex Bruce says, “The 14 year old is a small batch release (no more than 1,500 bottles per batch) that we intend to bottle ongoing. It has been designed to appeal to whisky drinkers…

Crystal clear ice cubes melt a little more slowly than do cloudy ones, and great big ice cubes cause less dilution due to a lower surface area-to-volume ratio than multiple smaller cubes. But honestly, that’s not a good enough reason to go through all the effort to make big clear chunks of ice at home. The choice is mostly an aesthetic one, but as important as choosing to drink out of a crystal tumbler rather than a Styrofoam cup: It makes the whisky look better, it feels better in your hand, and consequently it improves perception of its taste. A nice read-through quality clear cube lets the whisky shine, gives a pleasant weight to the glass, and also provides an excuse to buy yourself the fancy $50 Japanese Yamachu ice…