Introduced in the year 1988 – over a century since the distillery last introduced an expression to their existing portfolio; the Gentleman Jack was poised to sit a notch higher than the Old No. 7 giving customers an opportunity to experience something more premier and upscale. These first generation bottles were initially sold exclusively within the United…
Tag: american oak
Review : Jim Beam Original
Over 220 plus years of bourbon history started by the son of a German immigrant all began at the ‘Old Tub’ family distillery, now better known as the Jim Beam distillery. Passed from one generation to another, a total of seven, and very much still a family owned business, this rebranding took place after prohibition….
Review : Johnnie Walker Double Black
Great whisky does not have to be top dollar; and to amass a number worthy fan following doesn’t require it to be a single malt either- The Johnnie Walker Black Label. This blended scotch has successfully captured the Highlands and the West Coast with decent complexity without really drilling a hole in your pocket, and…
Review : 100 Pipers Blended Scotch Whisky
The sound of bagpipes as it cut through the cold, dark, intense and hostile air; the myriad of black polished boots clickety clacking against the earth in unison. White socks, kilts, sporrans, bagpipes – a hundred that marched leading the militia towards war; a piece of history that has inspired and made its way into…
Fun Facts – Japanese Whisky
In continuation to our whisky fun facts write up, I thought of including another post that involves a genre that had critics and distillers alike left in awe, jaws dropped and taken aback. The awards were almost always ‘reserved’ for the Scots and the Irish, but all heads turned towards this entrant from the East…
Review : The Glenmorangie Original
It’s surprising how the mind and the many plethora of human senses perceive an event that takes you back a few decades. In this specific instance, it was the scent of dust as it gets lifted off the earth with every drop of rain hitting the arid, seared soil. So much did this sound of…
Review : Teacher’s Highland Cream
It all started in the early 1830s when William Teacher began making blends and selling them at his grocery store. After he was granted a license in 1856, he opened a ‘dram shop’ and with time, the number of such establishments grew to eighteen. Although there were several of his blends sold over the counter,…
Review : Cutty Sark Blended Scotch Whisky
A lot can happen over coffee they say…and in the case of the Cutty Sark, it happened over lunch between Francis Berry, Hugh Rudd (partners of Berry Bros. & Rudd) and James McBey. The idea was to introduce a whisky that could be mixed into a cocktail or sipped as an aperitif, a move from…
Review : Glenlivet 12 YO
At a time when liquor was produced illegally and the need to push against all the competition meant licensing the means to produce spirits – George Smith an illicit distiller formed the first licensed Distillery in the parish of Glenlivet, the year being 1824. The Glenlivet is one of the few that survived the Great…
Review : Yamazaki 12 Year Old Single Malt
Never before have I waited this long for a bottle that I’ve heard so much about. Since my interest for whisky had spurred a different direction and the mysteries of the Japanese juice had made rounds in the various books, forums and websites; I had my mind set in getting a taste of that oriental…
Review : Jameson’s Original
With Christmas and the New Year nearing by, I certainly didn’t want to pen a review on the usual Scotch or Bourbon. And it was then that I had realised something rather dumbfounded and to be quite honest …stupid! I kept telling myself how could I be so daft that I happened to overlook one…
The Wood in Whisky
Every once in a while at the liquor store, I get stumped each time I come across whiskies that are tagged with sometimes mind numbing phrases such as being Solera Vatted, or matured in Triple Casks, PX or Select Casks. And I’m sure other novice drinkers like me do find themselves in the same predicament…