High-Tech Agitator Distillery Goes After Fast-Maturing Whiskey
Agitator Distillery lives in the shadows. No one knows about the distillery. They distill almost in secrecy. The name means troublemaker or rebel; an agitator makes his own way. Picture a Swedish distiller exploring boundaries, breaking new whiskey ground....
Top 10 of the World’s Best Bars
When you visit over 600 restaurants and bars every single year, some call you obsessed. They aren’t wrong. When it’s your work and your obsession, such relentless pursuit for “the great” is an exhausting joy. I am blessed to...
Turning the Lights Back On at a Historic California Brandy Distillery
Master distiller and blender Hubert Germain-Robin is helping E & J Gallo Distillers bring the historic McCall Distillery in Sanger, CA, out of mothballs. Founded as Crest View in 1935, the facility operated originally as a winery and changed...
Alan Bishop: Alchemist of Spirits of French Lick
Alan Bishop and his family have some history in distilling, and he has grown into someone who embodies the designation “master distiller,” even though he shies away from the tag. I’ve known Alan for over five years, and we...
Whiskey and Cherry Blossoms
“Whiskey and Cherry Blossoms” sounds like an answer from the game show Jeopardy. Connecting the two requires other words that are just as curious: Peoria and the Whiskey Trust, the Empire of Japan, koji, U.S. Patent No. 411231, immigration,...
Savage & Cooke
Dave Phinney didn’t know what to expect when he knocked on the door of a cottage tucked into the hills of California’s Sonoma County.
Phinney, one of the most renowned wine innovators on the West Coast, was totally hungover as...
Unlocking Belgian Distilleries
Belgium, like the United States, has experienced a steady growth in the demand for and production of artisanal spirits over the last decade or so. The typical Belgian consumer is drinking less, and drinking better, and is willing to...
Distiller Interview with Scott Blackwell & Ann Marshall of High Wire Distilling
High Wire Distilling Company, Charleston’s first operating distillery since Prohibition, paved the way for a craft-spirits revival in South Carolina. Husband-and-wife duo Scott Blackwell and Ann Marshall were steeped in the food and drink industries. After selling their popular...
Come Fly With Me or: The Story of the First Aviation’s Gin
The recipe for the Aviation cocktail was first recorded in Hugo R Ensslin’s 1916 book, Recipes for Mixed Drinks.
⅓ Lemon Juice
⅔ El Bart Gin
2 dashes Maraschino
2 dashes Crème de Violette
Shake well in a mixing...
The Story of Black Distilling Is Being Written Now
When I took my first steps into the world of whiskey, let’s be honest: The whiskey was its own reward. But part of the lure for me was also the history. There were tales that I wanted to learn....
