I'll admit, whisky isn't the first drink that comes to mind when it's hot and sunny. Ice cold beer or a chilled Chardonnay, maybe. After all, it's not the time to be sitting by a warm fire in your smoking jacket, sipping a Lagavulin. But, aside from that, I think that there's a whisky for … Continue reading Summer. The Dog Days of Whisky →

The power of advertising can be, well, powerful. Whisky advertisers like to get you under their influence so that you get under the influence of their product. And there have been some truly great whisky advertising campaigns. Print ads, for example, have been around for decades. Great tag lines such as Black Velvet's "Feel the … Continue reading Under the Influence. Or Not. →

I have been enjoying whisky for a few years, now. When I go to the local liquor store, it's the same routine - stand in front of the whisky section for ten minutes, analyzing every bottle. Hoping the something new or different will magically appear. It never does. So where do I go to find … Continue reading The Thrill of the Hunt →

Today is Saturday, May 16 - World Whisky Day. Started in 2012 by Blair Bowman, a University of Aberdeen student, it has been endorsed by the Scottish Parliament as a day of world wide celebration. In honour of this illustrious occasion, here are a few (non-illustrious) whisky facts;- there are currently 20 million casks of … Continue reading Happy World Whisky Day! →

Part of my home whisky room As a budding whisky enthusiast, or, perhaps as an experienced veteran, at some point you'll want to own some whisky, whether it's one bottle or a whole room full. Most of us settle for something in between. Interestingly, I've found that the number of bottles of whisky that we … Continue reading The Whisky Collection →

The chart above provides a quick look at the flavor spectrum of whisky in Scotland and Ireland. Many of the brands that you might recognize are scattered across a spectrum from Delicate to Smoky and from Light to Rich. If you've been following previous Whiskylove articles, you may remember that all whisky gets its flavor … Continue reading Whisky Flavor – Not Just a Matter of Taste. →

Age is just a number. You're only as old as you feel. Everything improves with age..There are lots of expressions about age. When it comes to whisky age, the debate continues. Here are a few basic generalities about whisky aging;- time spent in a cask is the biggest influence on whisky taste.- the older the … Continue reading Age Statements. What’s the Big Deal? →

If you look back 150 years or so, whisky was just whisky. People took any grain source at hand and mixed it with water and yeast to make an alcoholic sludge that was put thought a primitive still and then consumed - immediately. Technology, powered by the Industrial Revolution, gradually intervened to allow more advanced … Continue reading Blends or Single malts? →

Most of us have a favorite drink. Many have more than one. What is it that makes us prefer one type over another? I started early. My first real introduction to drinking, or to over-drinking in this case, was at my Grade 10 end-of-school party. We were camping. Before heading to the campground, we went … Continue reading So, why whisky? →

I don't generally celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Probably because I'm of Scottish descent. But I have loads of friends who do. With all that's going on in the world right now, St. Patrick's Day celebrations are on hold as we work through the world pandemic crisis. But that doesn't mean that we can't celebrate - … Continue reading A Different Kind of St. Patrick’s Day →