American Whiskey Magazine March 2022

This time of year always brings out a mixed bag of emotions in me, a blend if you will, and for 2022 I’m making a conscious effort to pay attention to what that blend holds. My usual approach to this time of year is to completely wipe the slate clean, to assume that this slight confusion (longsuffering friends, I hope you’re enjoying that understatement of the year) is due to making the wrong life choices. Forgive me for asking this clichéd question, but are you a ‘New Year, new me’ kind of person? If you’ve been reading American Whiskey Magazine for a while now, it will come as no great shock to you that I am one of those people. I love the idea of a fresh start, not in the…

As 2022 has well and truly kicked into gear, it’s time to take a look at some of the events you can expect to see, both in person and at home, from the Whisky Live team. Whisky Live at Home is in full swing, and if you’re looking for something to get through the cold winter months, it could be the perfect companion. You can find out more on the Whisky Live website. With thanks to the ever-changing global landscape, some of the year’s event dates will be a little different to those that long-time Whisky Live attendees have seen before. Whisky Live Dublin, which is usually held in November, will be an in-person event on 11-12 March, 2022. Have no fear, you will still be able to enjoy all of…

I’ve just returned from my first work trip since January of 2020 and I am feeling completely reinvigorated in my career. Last year, by necessity, the World Whiskies Awards judging was carried out via Zoom. It was still great to get to get the chance to do it, and I especially liked that we were split off in groups of judges who worked together remotely so we could still have the conversations about the products we were tasting blindly. But it has to be said that there are some things that are more fun and inspiring in person, and this is one of them. This year we were back, in person, at the Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, DC. There’s a great open-air rooftop space, and even though it was…

Covid-19 and its unwelcome variants have managed to transform the very landscape of our current whiskey imbibing frontier. It has made dining out and whiskeysponsored happy hours more cumbersome as patrons fumble for vaccination cards, or try to recall passwords to open proof of vaccination apps. This change, or tectonic shift, has impacted supply chains at multiple levels–causing delays in deliveries and shortages of supplies. And then there is ‘the great resignation’ or ‘the big quit’; employees with lower-paying jobs like store clerks or bar backs who leave to hunt for ‘better’ jobs or to find their true calling. Braving a new vocation or recommitting to a half-finished degree is a fantastic endeavor that I totally support. The thing is, their current absence creates an added stress to an already strained…

As lovers of the whiskey industry, change and adaptation is something that we all come to expect and encourage. However, if the world of spirits has taught us anything, sometimes it can be the smallest alterations that make the biggest difference in the long run, creating building blocks over time that bring us to moments that are noticeable. During the past two years in particular the industry, and the world, has been journeying on a pretty wild ride and it has inspired us here at American Whiskey Magazine to create ‘The Watch List’. In each issue we will unveil a round-up of the people, places, products, and topics that have captured our hearts, minds and, of course, palates. From travelling across the country to experience new visitor centers, to enjoying the comforts…

When Jim Rutledge retired from his position as master distiller at Four Roses in 2015, he had been in the Bourbon industry a year shy of half a century. He started out in the research and development department at the old Calvert Seagram Distillery in Louisville in 1966, spending time at the company’s offices in New York, and eventually landed at Four Roses Distillery, where he went on to become the master distiller in 1994. Seagram owned five distilleries in the United States, but by the late 1990s the company was facing bankruptcy and sold all but Four Roses, which it had acquired in 1946. The Bourbon downturn eventually forced its sale and Kirin Holdings of Japan acquired it in 2002. That company had been the Japanese distributor of Four Roses…