Every American whiskey bottle embodies a distiller’s legacy. The names of Jack Daniel, Jim Beam, Evan Williams, and Henry McKenna are just a few you will find etched in glass and honored on labels. Their legacies are sealed for the ages, but we’ll never taste any whiskey they actually touched.

There are more recent American greats, with legacies just as strong. Although not always easy to find, their whiskeys still lurk behind the bar. To have a sip is the closest many of us will ever come to meeting an American distilling legend, to revel in their life’s work, created...

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Looking for a new whisky to pair with the chocolate you got for Valentine’s Day? Or perhaps you’re just in the mood for something different. There’s a lot to choose from in this week’s newest releases.

Glen Grant recently rolled out a 15 year old single malt exclusively for the U.S. market, stepping up the bottling proof to 50% ABV. The distillery’s presence in this country has been quiet in recent years, but global brand ambassador Robin Coupar recently told Whisky Advocate that Glen Grant’s parent company, Gruppo Campari , aims to establish the brand as a reputable, high-quality whisky....

Does anything go better with golf than a glass of scotch? After all, both the drink and the sport originated in Scotland, so it stands to reason that they would make a perfect pairing. And at golf’s most prestigious tournament, The Open , whisky lovers can now enjoy a variety of whiskies from Loch Lomond Distillery , which has been named the official spirit of The Open.

A five-year partnership between Loch Lomond and The Open, including the Ricoh Women’s British Open , will highlight the distillery’s core range of single malts: Loch Lomond Original , 12 year old ,...

Cognac maj be distilled from grapes rather than grain, but its similarities to whisky are hard to ignore. Like whisky, its popularity is booming and Cognac exports to North America jumped 14.2 percent in volume last year. Increasingly, Cognac makers are also expanding the French brandy’s stylistic boundaries. They’ve taken a page from the whisky playbook, making Cognacs with special finishes and adding numerical age statements. Small producers are releasing their own Cognac labels alongside the large, historic Cognac houses.

Cognac’s appellation of origin regulates everything, from which grapes can be used and where they’re grown to how they’re vinified,...

George T. Stagg master distiller Elmer T. Lee’s legendary career nearly ended before it began. His 1949 encounter with Col. Albert B. Blanton, the George T. Stagg president, concluded with, “Son, we’re not hiring…” Fortunately, distillery worker Orville Schupp insisted Lee ignore the company president and show up to work anyway.

Known for his kindness and humility, Lee rose from plant engineer to plant superintendent, then plant manager until earning the master distiller title. Lee’s crowning achievement was bringing the single barrel to the masses, a first for bourbon, in 1984, with Blanton’s.

He retired the next year and that’s...

Diageo , which owns about a quarter of Scotland’s single malt distilleries, is reportedly planning new products and processes that could fundamentally change the nature of scotch. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal (paywall), the company formed a “secret task force” last year to determine how Scotch whisky is “constrained” in regulatory, legal, technical, and other ways, and to explore the “scope for reform.” That means Diageo is hoping to use its clout to force changes or adaptations to the rules set down in the Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009 and upheld by the Scotch Whisky Association...

The biggest news of the week comes from the UK, where Diageo reportedly is exploring ways to innovate Scotch whisky that could fall outside the regulated boundaries of the style. Whisky Advocate took an in-depth look at why “scotch infusions” and whisky finished in tequila barrels might not meet the standards set down in the Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009.

Meanwhile, new whisky releases are headed to shelves from Scotland, the U.S., and Japan. Independent bottler Chapter 7 has two 9 year old single cask single malts from the Allt-á-Bhainne and Aultmore distilleries. (If you’re wondering what independent bottlers are...

Drinking whiskey is experiential and requires almost all of the senses—you see the color and clarity, feel the glass in your hand, smell the range of aromas, and of course taste the final product. Other than an initial splash, you can’t much hear whisky, but adding music can elevate the experience.

The 60th Annual Grammy Awards take place on januari 28th (7:30 p.m. EST), and—much as every whisky is unique—the nominees for Album of the Year show off a range of diverse talent. We found a great whisky for every album, from the layered lyricism of Kendrick Lamar to the...

It’s not too late to get into collecting whisky. While the likes of Karuizawa and Macallan in Lalique might be out of reach for most whisky lovers, there are plenty of up-and-coming styles, brands, and bottles that experts predict will appreciate in value. With their fingers on the pulse, five auctioneers share what’s trending now and what they believe is up next.

Irish Whiskey

“We’ve seen a big increase in the number of Midleton whiskeys coming through to auction, especially if they carry a vintage statement or it’s single cask. It’s not just Midleton Very Rare; older single cask bottlings...

Never mind Vegas; Montreal is the original Sin City, a nickname it earned during Prohibition when it quenched American thirst with an influx of Canadian whisky thanks to an alleged deal struck between Samuel Bronfman, of Montreal-based Seagram, and Al Capone. Nowadays, Montreal is known for its fantastic wine bars and brewpubs, but its distilling roots are beginning to reemerge. A handful of craft distilleries have opened recently and Sazerac, which at one time operated out of Old Montreal, started distilling there once again this fall. The Old Montreal Distillery will offer visitor tours beginning next spring.

Day One

For...

Just last week, Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown, Kentucky filled its first barrel with new-make spirit. While that whiskey will spend a good couple of years aging, there are plenty of other whiskies to enjoy that are coming out now.

Hot on the heels of Macallan’s special Chinese New Year package , Johnnie Walker has unveiled its annual Lunar New Year Blue Label. Celebrating the Year of the Dog, the bottle’s design features a Shar Pei in an elaborate triptych.

Speaking of Macallan , the distillery is releasing a new single cask bottling in its Fine & Rare Vintage collection....

“There was a fraudster within the Scotch whisky community. We found him, and we’ve taken him out,” says Isabel Graham-Yooll with ice-cool composure. The director of Whisky.Auction in London was instrumental in exposing a forger’s scheme to defraud whisky collectors of tens of thousands of dollars. The one thing collectors and auctioneers are left to wonder: is this just the tip of the iceberg?

“He was the Rudy Kurniawan of whisky and spirits. As we’ve discovered since his arrest, this was a huge crime,” says Graham-Yooll. Kurniawan, an infamous wine counterfeiter, famously duped well-heeled collectors and highly regarded auction houses...

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The problem of fake whisky is very real —and it can cost honest whisky lovers a lot of money, time, and agony. But there are ways to protect yourself from being duped, especially if you can examine the bottle yourself. Here’s how to spot a counterfeit whisky.

Conduct a Strip Search

Counterfeiters often transfer a genuine tax strip from an old wine bottle to cover up a refill. If a tax strip is in place, carefully feel around the neck for sticky patches, which could indicate where the original strip was removed.

Be Level Minded

Fill level is a good...

The whisky industry does invest enormous amounts into detecting fake whisky. However, there’s little to be gained by finding a single fake at auction, or even by taking down a single forger . Efforts are mainly directed against mass volume forgeries being sold in emerging markets. These technologies and tests are helping to thwart whisky forgeries. The Holy Grail remains sealed-bottle testing.

Holograms and UV Security

Invisible photochromic inks appear under UV light and holograms can be verified using smart phones or specialized equipment. Unfortunately, even holograms can be counterfeited, so the mere presence of a holographic image is no...

Bardstown, Kentucky’s newest whiskey distillery quietly filled its first barrel on januari 10th, 2018. Lux Row Distillers , which is located just a few miles from Jim Beam and Heaven Hill , among others, is the first whiskey distillery owned by Luxco , a St. Louis-based spirits company that also sells vodka, gin, tequila, rum, and liqueurs. Luxco’s whiskey brands—which include Ezra Brooks , Rebel Yell , David Nicholson , and Blood Oath —are currently produced for the company at unnamed distilleries.

Although not on the scale of the planned Kentucky Owl Park , which will be located just a...

Norton Christopher, bar chef at New Orleans’s...

If you really want to wow someone, there’s nothing like starting a fire. And when it comes to smoked cocktails, the effect is about much more than presentation—although it’s certainly Instagram-worthy too.

“The aromatic qualities of smoke add a dryness that’s more of a perception, rather than a reduction of sugar. You also get more tannic qualities of the wood,” explains Ben Potts, bar manager and owner of Miami’s Beaker & Gray .

And of course there’s the smell of whatever you smoke, which contributes another layer to your drink. “The aroma excites the palate and adds depth to the...

Perfect for fall, the Solstice Sazerac uses high-rye bourbon rather than rye whiskey, which dampens the spice flavors of the traditional Sazerac. “The cinnamon syrup adds back a baking spice element, and the cinnamon smoke mixed with orange zest adds an interesting dimension to a well-known cocktail,” explains Ben Potts, bar manager of Miami’s...