November 17th, 2009

Whisky. The Wall Street Journal. This Friday!

John Hansell

You would think I have enough to keep me busy with Malt Advocate, WhiskyFest, WDJK, Twitter, etc. Well, I do occasionally take on some freelance assignment.

As you know, I recently participated in the History Channel show on “Whiskey”, which just ran again this past Saturday. Well, this Friday (November 20th) I have a 2,000 word whiskey section going in The Wall Street Journal.

The special whiskey section covers some of the fundamentals (how whiskey is made, what distinguishes one country’s whiskey from the next, appreciating whiskey, etc.). I also address many new trends in whiskey (designer whiskies, artisanal distilling, extreme peating, no age statements, etc).

We even reached out to master mixologist Gary Regan and he added a great cocktail piece to the section, which includes a few really nice cocktail recipes.

Pick up a copy if you can this Friday.

Category: Bourbon, Canadian whisky, European whiskies, Irish whiskey, Media, Rye whiskey, Scotch whisky, Tennessee whiskey 5 Comments

November 13th, 2009

“Whiskey” show on the History Channel: Tomorrow!

John Hansell

For those of you who still have not seen this very informative show, it is running again tomorrow, Saturday, November 14th, at 7 pm on the History Channel’s “Modern Marvels” series.

There are some great distillery tours and interviews, along with some interesting historical discussions about whiskey. And yes, I am peppered throughout the show as the “independent expert”.

Be sure to watch it (or DVR it) if you haven’t seen it yet. I pasted the summary paragraph on the show from the History Channel’s website below.

    Modern Marvels “Whiskey” :
Known to Irish monks as “water of life”, visit some of the world’s finest distilleries to see how each country brews this thousand-year old spirit. Jack Daniels tells the secret of charcoal filtering, Jim Beam shows its premium bourbons and the art of blending is revealed at Canadian Club Whiskey. Cross the Atlantic to get the real deal at Jameson’s Distillery in Midleton, Ireland and in Scotland discover what gives Glenlivet its character. Meet some of the people who are lucky enough to sample whiskey for a living. Cheers!

Category: Bourbon, Canadian whisky, Distillery Tours, Irish whiskey, Media, Microdistilleries, Scotch whisky, Tennessee whiskey Tags: 8 Comments

October 27th, 2009

Single barrel bottling variation: big or small?

John Hansell

The are a lot of single barrel bottlings on the market, from the small independent bottlers to the big multinational congomerates. Evan Williams Single Barrel, Jack Daniels Single Barrel, Balvenie 15 year old Single Barrel: these are just a few of the more familiar ones.

So, my question is this: How much do single barrel bottlings differ from one barrel to the next?

No two barrels are the same, and that’s the charm of single barrel bottlings. But what are the chances that the next bottle you buy from that brand will taste drastically different than the last one?

Is it your experience that the variation from one single barrel bottling to another is relatively small, or have you noticed big differences? Be specific if you can.

Category: Bourbon, Opinions, Rye whiskey, Scotch whisky, Tennessee whiskey Tags: , , 12 Comments

October 12th, 2009

Bourbon, Tennessee whiskey market looking up, thanks to overseas sales

John Hansell

Here’s an interesting article published by Reuters over the weekend. Positive signs for American whiskey, thanks to demand overseas.

Category: Bourbon, Media, Tennessee whiskey Tags: , , , 1 Comment

August 8th, 2009

RIP: Jimmy Bedford, Retired Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller

John Hansell

The whiskey industry lost a legend yesterday. I am very sad to say that the AP reports that Jimmy Bedford, ex-Master Distiller for Jack Daniel’s passed away, apparently due to a heart attack. He was 69.

Jimmy worked at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery for 40 year, the last 20 as the Master Distiller before retiring last year.

He was a great ambassador for the whiskey industry, and was always pouring Jack Daniel’s at our WhiskyFests. In fact, he was at our very first WhiskyFest in New York in November 1998, and he signed and dated a bottle of JD Single Barrel for me that night, which I have sitting on the coffee table in front of me.

I was very sad when he retired. And now this…

Jimmy, I will have a good measure of JD Single Barrel tonight in your name. I encourage the rest of you to do the same for the man who worked tirelessly to promote this great American spirit.

Category: Tennessee whiskey Tags: 15 Comments

March 5th, 2009

History Channel “Whiskey” show rebroadcasts on St. Patrick’s Day

John Hansell

In case you missed it when it originally broadcasted on St. Patrick’s day last year, the History Channel’s Modern Marvel’s series “Whiskey” show will be rebroadcasted on March 17, 2009 at 10 AM and 4 PM. (That means you can learn about whiskey and then still go out later on and drink it!)

If you haven’t seen it yet, it is informative and entertaining. And yes, you’ll have to put up with several quotes from me throughout the show. I tagged some of the distilleries that they visit during the show.

If anyone wants to really see the difference between bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, this is the show to watch. They show the sugar maple charcoal mellowing vats. In fact, they actually show the sugar maple being burned to make the charcoal. Cool stuff!

Category: Bourbon, Canadian whisky, Distillery Tours, Events, Irish whiskey, Media, Microdistilleries, Scotch whisky, Tennessee whiskey Tags: , , , , , 5 Comments

February 2nd, 2009

Hello LA Times: Jack Daniel’s isn’t a bourbon!

John Hansell

Education is key to helping consumers select a whiskey they will enjoy. It’s going to be hard to teach the average whiskey drinker the difference between the various whiskey categories so they can make intelligent, informed decisions if we have major print publications getting it wrong. 

Saturday’s LA Times discusses how “liquor” sales are slumping, with the exception of whiskey. “Sales of bourbons such as Jack Daniels and Maker’s Mark are bucking a slump in demand for distilled spirits…” the article goes on to say. You can read the whole story here.

This isn’t the first time this has happened, and it won’t be the last. I’ve blogged about misleading articles several times over the past year. Some of the other ones were far worse, but I think that perhaps the biggest misconception in the whiskey industry is that Jack Daniel’s is a bourbon.

(For those of you lurking who don’t know the difference, Jack Daniel’s is a Tennessee whiskey. So is George Dickel. They undergo on additional step beyond bourbon–the spirit is charcoal “mellowed” through vats of sugar maple charcoal before being put into barrels for aging. They taste different than bourbon.)

This shows that we still have a long way to go educating the mainstream press who have so much influence on the consumer because what they write is read by so many people.

Category: Media, Opinions, Tennessee whiskey 29 Comments

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