A Spirits Journey Goes Back to its Roots

I love it when things come full circle. When I began my journey in distilled spirits in 2013, the first major brand I worked with was Jim Beam. So when I recently had the opportunity to dust off some of my notes and write some copy about Jim Beam – and other brands – for…

Vatted Whiskey — And you can too!

You know what is a fun game to play? ‘Vatting.’ Vatting is a term for blending together whiskeys. It came from Scotland. “Vatted Malt Whisky” used to be the legal category name for what was changed to “Blended Malt Whisky” with Scotland’s passage of the Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009. Today, people use it to…

Wigle releases Straight Whiskey line

Pittsburgh’s Wigle Whiskey recently released a pair of straight whiskey expressions. Wigle Straight Rye Whiskey and Wigle Straight Wheat Whiskey are each sold in 750 ML size bottles, come with a 3-year age statement and were matured in standard 55-gallon sized barrels. By law, “Straight” whiskies are made from at least 51% of the predominant…

Suntory Whisky

Man, they love this whisky in Japan, especially served in a tall highball. And I don’t blame them – Suntory Japanese Whisky is f*cking delicious! Called “Kakubin” in Japan, which roughly translates to “tortoise bottle,” Suntory Whisky is bottled at 80 proof. The bottle I used for this tasting was purchased at a 7-11 near Tokyo…

Glen Breton Rare 10 Year Old

I licked a drop off of my thumb I had spilled while pouring my first dram. Tastes… somehow Canadian… I hesitate to say this because it’s ludicrous. But it somehow jogs a memory of a stolen CC from a buddy’s father’s stash sometime in the 1990s. (Note: Bodacious Booze only encourages the consumption of beverages…

Green Spot Single Pot Irish Whiskey

Let’s just take a moment to speak about Irish Pure Pot Whiskey. Before the rise of Premium Single Malt Scotch Whisky in the 1980s, before Japan had developed her first still, before Prohibition ruined American Rye for nearly a century, it was Irish Pure Pot that was on top of the world. In fact, it…

Whisky Traveler

Travel is a double-edge sword. On the one hand, I have not had the ability to update this blog. My sincerest apologies. On the other hand, I’ve been able to bring back some world-class whiskies that are not available in the U.S. So, if you can bear with me for a couple more weeks, I’ll have some…

Much Ado About Grain Whisk[e]y

There’s been a lot of noise about Single Grain Whisk[e]ys. In recent months, I’ve seen launches, blog posts and promoted features highlighting Single Grain whiskies from Ireland (Teeling, Greenore), Scotland (HAIG Club) and Japan (Nikka Coffey Grain). The most prominent of these launches may have been for HAIG Club, which featured David Beckham as the brand’s global ambassador….