The Bottle Facts

With the popularity of whisky today one can easily be overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices available in the whisky section of the liquor store. A person new to whisky can easily be swayed to buy one bottle over another solely based on its label. This often leads to people getting disappointed with whisky in general because a lot of things written on bottle labels are just marketing terms that say nothing about the quality of the product. This series of posts seeks to help you make an informed decision by identifying popular whisky terms that matter and those to avoid. Hopefully at the end of the post, you are able to make informed purchase decisions based on the bottle facts. Whisk(e)y. Source: crownroyal.com Let us start with the basics - what is Whisk(e)y? When a bottle carries the word Whisk(e)y that means it is a s pirit distilled from a fermented  mash of grain at less than 95%  alcohol by volume (190 proof) having  the taste, aroma and characteristics  generall

You see them everywhere but do you know what they mean? You know they are expensive but do you know why? I am talking about Single Malts. Single Malts are usually in the moderately expensive to super expensive range. Lots of whisky enthusiasts argue that Single Malts are the best and the label Single Malt is a sign of quality. This, they say, is why they command a higher price than blends. In this post, I will explore what Single Malt is and why it is expensive. I will also answer a very important question; is it a sure sign of quality?  Is it just Marketing? Or does it mean something?  The first question any reasonable newbies will ask is whether or not the label Single Malt Scotch means something or if it is just marketing? I will get this question out of the way first and say no it is not just marketing. A distillery cannot just slap the label Single Malt Scotch if they do not meet the legal requirements to have such designation. The fortunate thing about Scotch is the fact

Starting to explore whisky today is hard. Not because there are so few good ones out there but because there is just so many options available. Starting with the varieties of Whisky alone makes things confusion since there are so many available; Scotch, Irish, Japanese, Canadian, Rye, Bourbon, Single Malt, Single Grain, Blended Malt, Belnded Scotch etc. What makes each one unique? What does it mean when the label says Bourbon, or Rye, or Single Malt? These questions are important to answer as it will help you in your whisky journey and make an informed decision on whether or not the whisky is worth its price. Do you buy a $100 bottle of Blended Scotch whisky over a $100 bottle of Single Malt Scotch whisky? Do I like the malt flavour profile or the grains? In this post I will talk about Scotch and its different varieties. What makes a whisky a Scotch whisky? What are the different categories of Scotch Whisky and what makes each one unique? The information contained in thi

Bourbon is the hottest selling brown spirit right now. It is growing in popularity all over the world and more of it is being produced now than ever. You may have seen your favourite movie character talk about it. Some of your friends may already be in to it and are trying to get you to try it. But what is Bourbon?  This is a very simple question and one that also has a lot of misconceptions. This post will talk about the legal definition of Bourbon and some of the misconceptions about this spirit and the biggest misconception of all. I hope that this post will help you better understand the spirit and help you make an informed decision.  Bourbon must be made in Kentucky Some people may claim that for a Whisky to be considered Bourbon it has to be made in Kentucky. This is wrong.  This misconception about Bourbon having to be made in Kentucky is due to the fact that Kentucky produces over 90% of the world's Bourbon.  A lot of the best Bourbons are also made in Kentucky,

Why is Whisky sometimes spelled Whiskey with an "E"? This is a question I asked myself when I first became curious about Whisky. So in this post, I will try to share what I have learned so far after reading up on this magical liquid. According to Master of Malt (see source here ), the difference in spelling originated from the desire of 19th century Irish distillers to differentiate their Whiskey from that produced in Scotland which was deemed a poor quality Whisky. Ireland, having been distilling Whisky way before Scotland, wanted to set itself apart from people they considered copycats. This differentiation was then carried over into the countries that Scotland and Ireland influenced and that is where the difference in spelling started. The argument goes that if the country learned or traces their distilling heritage to Scotland then they will use Whisky but if they trace their heritage to Ireland they will use Whiskey.  So let us look at the major Whisky produc