How the Whiskey Making Craft Came to America
Few know the controversial history that surrounds American whiskey pioneers. Forced to migrate from their homeland, this new breed of European settler brought with them the secrets to making whiskey.
Chef Traci S. McIlwain’s Whiskey Food Pairings
It’s always difficult when pairing food with libations. There are so many things that come into play, notably the contrast between ingredients. But I tend to stick to the same formula I use for pairing wine with food. Once you know which flavors are involved, you can go to work creating food and libations pairings […]
Whiskey Making Essential ingredients
Distillers are using science and traditional methods to take advantage of the infinite range of tastes, tones, colors, aromas, but it still begins with the combination of grains used in the mash.
The Medieval Medical Guild that Invented Scotch Whisky: The Water of Life
Scotland owes much of its whiskey know-how to a guild of medical practitioners that famously served Scottish royal families for centuries. The Beaton Medical Kindred also known as Clann Meic bethad or Clan MacBeth, were a kindred of professional physicians that practiced medicine in the classical Gaelic tradition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era. The Beatons emigrated from Ireland to […]
The Birth of American Whiskey
A Brief History of American Whiskey The birth of the American whiskey can be traced back to 1791, when the wildly unpopular tax on whiskey was imposed to pay down debts from the war for independence with Great Britain. The Excise Whiskey Tax applied to all distilled spirits, but with consumption of whiskey on the rise in […]
What Makes A Whisky Real Japanese: Top 7 Things To Know
Wine & Spirits Journal top 7 list of what makes a whisky 100% real Japanese.
Ancient Alchemy: The Secret History of Distilled Spirits
The secret processes of distillation and other alchemic processes were not taught in universities, but were instead transmitted in secrecy from teacher to apprentice and student.
How a 19th Century Whiskey Pioneer Became Japan’s First Cultural Ambassador to New York City
In the late 19th Century, Dr. Jōkichi Takamine tried to teach the American liquor industry how to use koji to make whiskey more efficiently. But things did not go as planned––when rivals from the powerful Maltsters Union were accused, but never convicted of burning his Peoria, Illinois distillery to the ground in 1890. Destined for success […]
Our Most Popular Pours at Whiskeyfest NYC 2022
Rare and popular whiskey makers from around the world descended on the Marriott Marquis in New York City’s Times Square for Whiskeyfest 2022! Wine and Spirits Journal was there to taste and lend a helping hand with the most popular pours for New York City. With hundreds of distilled spirits available at Whiskeyfest, the most difficult […]
Japan: The Land of Rising Whisky Spirits
Within the brief history of Japanese whisky, one hundred years later in the land of rising whisky spirits – a new masterclass of Japanese distillers has emerged. Names defining what it means to be real 100% Japanese whisky. A Brief History of Japanese Whisky The method of fermenting rice into a alcoholic beverages was believed […]