Why Genever Is Still Misunderstood
It was 2008 when Lucas Bols came to the States and made a big splash in cities like San Francisco and New York. The legendary genever/jenever (pronounced juh-NEE-vuhr) has been produced since 1575, the world’s oldest distilled spirits brand....
Cannabis — the Botanical
Cannabis sativa L. is one of the world’s most recognizable plants, from both a visual and aromatic perspective. It is also an extremely useful plant. While much of the popular focus is on the use of cannabis as an...
Heirloom Grains
Like a piece of weathered old hardwood furniture that’s been restored to its former glory, distillers are rediscovering heirloom grains and finding that they have character and story that commodity grain just can’t match.
Some distillers and farmers are focusing...
The Power of Color
Naples, Italy, is vibrantly orange. Bars and carts dedicated to serving Aperol spritzes are tiled and canopied with Aperol orange — a universal language that makes it easy for any tourist to find refreshment in the bustling city. Yes,...
The Return of Rosen Rye
While observing her mother’s nonprofit, Flint Hill Farm Educational Center in Coopersburg, PA, Laura Fields noticed that, although the adults were happy to buy lots of cheese, they weren’t benefiting like the kids from the educational programming. Already keyed...
Japanese Whiskey and the Art of Blending
Talk to the typical person who’s a fanatic about Japanese whiskey and you’ll hear a level of reverence that few other spirits ever receive. It is a veneration that is difficult to put into words. There is just something...
How Do You Define an “American-Style” of Rum?
Rum is the most malleable of spirits. It’s a liquid shape-shifter that can vary by region and culture, from the full-bodied double-retort pot still rums of Jamaica to the grassy agricoles of Martinique to the crisper, dryer rums of...
A History of Rye in the US: Part I
Virginia lays claim to the birthplace of American distilled spirits as the first batch of whiskey, albeit from corn, was documented to have been produced as early as 1620 by English settler George Thorpe near Jamestown. Rye’s presence and...
