You can thank George Washington Vanderbilt III for putting Asheville, North Carolina on travelers’ radar. After the Manhattanite visited and fell for the Blue Ridge Mountains, with their dreamy splendor and curative climate, he built the Biltmore House between 1889 and 1895. At 178,926 square feet it was, and remains, the biggest privately owned house in the U.S. Where once it drew throngs of guests, now it draws tourists. Walk through the banquet rooms overlooking the mountain range, and it’s clear this setting was designed for socializing over drinks. But Asheville’s imbibing legacy extends far beyond posh parties. It’s said...

Millions of us spend our weekends grilling various forms of meat over open fires. Mostly, though by no means exclusively, those meats take the form of sausage, from the humble all-beef hot dog to bratwursts, chorizos, spicy Italian sausages, and the odd lamb merguez or Dutch boterhammenworst.

Enjoyed alongside all those wursts and foot-longs will be plenty of cold beer, principally lager, or in a pinch, chilled white wine. What will only rarely merit grill-side consideration is whisky, and it’s time to rethink that position.

“Every kind of sausage is an emulsification of fat and protein,” explains Jesse Vallins, executive...

Playing a successful stock trader on TV has its perks. For one, David Costabile , who plays Mike ‘Wags’ Wagner on Showtime’s Billions , is able to unfurl expletive-laden turns of phrase at knee-buckling speed. For another, he has access to an enviable array of whiskey.

Billions  (which returns for its fourth season on mars 17) follows Wall Street stock traders and the U.S. attorneys investigating them, and over the course its run, both sides have reached for seriously badass bottles of whiskey. They toast over Johnnie Walker Blue Label , unwind with Kavalan , and celebrate with Michter’s 20...

Before we get to the week’s newest releases, an update: Following up on the news we published previously about Macallan 52 year old , the distillery has confirmed that 42 bottles (out of 250) will be available in the U.S. The price is, as reported earlier, $53,500.

Another very old whisky is coming out, but at a much lower price. Independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail has unveiled a 70 year old Glen Grant, distilled in 1948 and matured in a sherry butt. Priced at £17,500, just 210 bottles are available, including some for the U.S.—although the exact amount and price...

The wash that goes into a whiskey still is sometimes called distiller’s beer , but this un-hopped fermented liquid tastes nothing like your favorite IPA. Now though, some craft whiskey producers are distilling the same craft beers you could buy off the shelf, with tasty results. “The overarching philosophy behind it is if you have a good product going in, you have a good product going out,” says Clint Potter, cofounder of San Francisco’s Seven Stills Brewery & Distillery .

At Berkshire Mountain Distillers in Massachusetts, founder and distiller Chris Weld finds fodder across the panorama of American craft beer—everything...

The Boulevardier has a slight a case of mistaken identity. Although many refer to the cocktail as a twist on the Negroni, the Boulevardier actually came first.

At the dawn of Prohibition, American bartender Harry McElhone left for Europe, first to England and then France, where he opened an American bar called Harry’s Bar, explains Ted Haigh, a.k.a. Dr. Cocktail , author of the award-winning Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails and a founder of The Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans. “He really promoted the idea of cocktails in Europe and had a certain amount of success,” Haigh...

The annual Special Releases from Diageo’s stable of scotch distilleries are a focal point for many whisky lovers—and not just collectors. Many drinkers anticipate buying a special bottle from a beloved distillery—for example, Lagavulin or Talisker—that’s a little out of the ordinary. Others splash out for a super-aged scotch to celebrate a birthday or anniversary.

Whatever your motivations, the 2018 Special Releases offer a little something for nearly everyone—and the scores are, as expected, quite high. Three of the ten releases are not available in the U.S., including the blended malt Cladach—a disappointment for fans of coastal distilleries , which...

There’s plenty of new whisky on the horizon this week, from the U.S., Scotland, and beyond.

Old Forester is debuting its first new mashbill in a century and a half with the launch of a rye whiskey. Bottled at 50% ABV and priced at $24, the whiskey is widely available.

Another brand from Brown-Forman, Coopers’ Craft , is also adding a new whiskey. Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve was aged in a new charred oak barrel that was chiseled on the inside to create more surface area for the wood and whiskey to interact. At 50% ABV, it’s also higher proof...

Learn how to make a Sour, and you open yourself to a world of cocktails. The simple combination of spirit, sugar, water, and citrus can be mixed in almost endless ways. But the best base is, of course, whiskey.

The practice of adding citrus juice to spirits maj have started in the 1700s when British sailors began consuming lemons and limes to prevent scurvy. Rum was part of their rations, and made a natural companion to the tart citrus, sometimes with water or sugar added. The concoction eventually made its way to shore, where drinkers weren’t limited to a single...

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When it came to naming the Whisky of the Year in the 2018 Top 20, one contender stood out for its balance, complexity, and elegance—hallmarks of the best Japanese whiskies. A blend of over 100 different malt and grain whiskies, Nikka From The Barrel showcases the blender’s skill at its peak. Widely available and priced at $65 on the shelf, this whisky proved itself worthy of our number-one spot. For more details about Nikka From The Barrel and the other 2018 winners, check out the full Top 20 list .

The post Nikka From The Barrel Showcases the Best...

A snifter of whisky by the fireside is a wintertime cliché for all the right reasons. Nothing quite enhances the smoke of a single malt scotch or the warming jolt of a barrel strength bourbon like a flickering flame. Not fortunate to have a real fireplace in your home? Before you resort to the looping Yule log on your television, consider one of these bars. With stand-out fireplaces and fire pits, and great whisky selections, they are well equipped to warm you—both inside and out.

Bull & Bush —Denver, Colo. Built in 1971 by twin brothers, this welcoming, British-style brewpub...

Some familiar names pop up in our Winter 2018 Best Values, with a little of both fire and ice. Tullamore D.E.W. has impressed us with their aged whiskies and cask finishes, but sometimes, you just want the original, and at 88 points, it registers on par with the brand’s 15 and 18 year old expressions. Johnnie Walker, meanwhile, would like to reserve a spot in your freezer for White Walker, which indicates its prime serving temperature by changing the appearance of the striding man on the label. But if it’s heat and peat you seek, Glenfiddich Fire and Cane combines...

There are whisky trends, and then there are staples we hope never go away—like cask-strength whiskies, or 16 year olds that cost just $100, or blended malts whose quality and flavor blow the single malt competition out of the water. If you can’t find us this winter, odds are good we’re laying low with one of these excellent drams. These are the issue’s most impressive whiskies considering score, price, and availability. For all whiskies reviewed in the Winter 2018 issue, visit our Buying Guide .

Redbreast Cask Strength 12 year old (Batch B1/17) Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey 95 points...

Get to the chopper! The same bottling company that brought us Star Trek-themed James T. Kirk bourbon and Montgomery Scott scotch is now offering Dutch bourbon, named for the tough soldier played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 action movie Predator. The bourbon is sourced from South Carolina-based Terressentia Corp., which uses its patented TerrePURE process to filter and smooth out harsh alcohols using ultrasonic waves. (I reported on Terressentia and other companies maturing whisky through alternative means in the Spring 2017 issue.) Available for pre-order now at $35 a bottle, the whiskey will begin shipping in april.

One of...

Troy Gregory is an English professor at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. But when the school day is done, he puts on the hat of a whisky short story writer, crafting what he calls “interconnected original stories featuring the culture and lore of the brown spirit.” No, his students don’t know.

Gregory’s interest in alcohol-laced fiction began as a doctoral student when reading Dickens. “I noticed there that alcohol exerted not merely an influence on character, but a considerable influence on plot,” he explains. “I was curious how and why that happened.”

Although he couldn’t convince his advisor to...

The floor was buzzing and the whisky was flowing at WhiskyFest New York , which took place at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square on december 4, 2018. Thousands of attendees—newcomers and returning fans alike—enjoyed over 475 different whiskies, poured by master distillers, blenders, and other experts.

Each WhiskyFest is full of highlights, and this year was no different. The Bowmore booth included an oyster luge where guests could sip scotch from an oyster shell, while Blackened American whiskey offered the chance to taste the effect of Metallica’s music on barrel maturation. Attendees sampled whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Japan,...

Whisky is always a good reason to get people together, and a cocktail party makes it even more fun. “Whisky is great for a cocktail party because it’s so versatile,” says Pamela Wiznitzer, mixologist at Henry at the Life Hotel . Everyone from connoisseurs to brown spirit newbies can enjoy trying new flavors and learning about whisky—and you don’t need to be a pro bartender to pull it off.

As the host, you get to decide what theme—if any—you want for the night (perhaps one style of whisky or one region) and what tempting libations to serve. That also means...