Woodford Reserve recently announced the newest addition to its lineup – Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. Available in March, Woodford Reserve Double Oaked isn’t a limited time release or part of the brand’s Master’s Collection; it’s a permanent line extension. The new whiskey gets its name from its double aging process. Woodford Reserve Double Oaked is first aged in toasted, charred barrels created at Woodford’s cooperage. This initial maturation provides much of the color and flavor, but the second step is what makes the spirit unique. It’s moved to another custom barrel – one that’s been toasted twice as long as the...

The Macallan has become one of the most popular and recognized single malt Scotch whisky brands in the world, enjoying particularly good success in the United States. The Macallan range starts with the entry level 10-Year and includes the pricey 30-year, plus a variety of rare, older expressions and drams aged in different types of oak. The Macallan makes two 18-year-old Scotch whiskies – the Sherry Oak, which is aged exclusively in Sherry oak casks, and the Fine Oak, which is aged in three different types of wood. The Macallan 18-year-old Sherry Oak is mahogany in color and has pleasant aromas...

Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky traces its roots back to 1907, when explorer Ernest Shackleton fortified his Antarctic expedition with several cases of his favorite whiskey from the Glen Mhor distillery in Inverness, Scotland. Shackleton and his men ultimately failed to reach the South Pole, and they sailed for home in 1909, leaving behind three crates of the precious whiskey buried in ice. It stayed this way until 2007, when fortuitous members of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust happened upon the hundred-year-old hooch. Whyte & Mackay – owners of the Mackinlay brand – analyzed the remaining stock, and master...

With the introduction of Heaven Hill’s Red State and Blue State bourbons, voters can now wear their political affiliations on their whiskey bottles. The new bourbons are identical except for packaging, so the politically apathetic can choose based on color or animal preference. Heaven Hill hopes the dueling bourbons will create a lot of buzz going into the 2012 Presidential elections. Chances are good, as political doublespeak and lofty campaign promises often drive people to drink. Whether Red State and Blue State bourbons will fuel the fire or create a more mellow atmosphere for conversation is unclear. But we’ve yet...

The Glenrothes makes a range of fine whiskies, including the Select Reserve. This bottling is a rarity for the Speyside distillery, as The Glenrothes typically releases vintage-dated whiskies, like the 1985 and 1998. Bottled at 80 proof and lacking some of the character seen in its older brothers, the Select Reserve is like an entry-level introduction to the brand. But a good one, at that. The Glenrothes Select Reserve pours light gold and gives aromas of vanilla, malt, ripe fruits and a touch of briny sea air. Take a sip and find lots of malty sweetness, vanilla, zesty orange and...

Last week I sat down with Jeff Norman, Master Taster of Jack Daniel’s. A chemist by trade, consider Jeff to be quality control for America’s best-selling whiskey. First, some background – Each Jack Daniel’s expression begins with the same formula – 80% corn, 12% malted barley and 8% rye. After distillation, the clear spirit goes through a step called charcoal mellowing, which strips the liquid of impurities (this step also differentiates it from bourbon). From there, the filtered whiskey is matured in toasted and charred American oak barrels. That’s where the whiskey gets the majority of its flavors and aromas. The whiskeys carry...

Laphroaig Triple Wood is the Scotch whisky maker’s latest expression, just released three weeks ago into the U.S. market after two years of availability in duty free shops. Triple Wood gains its name from its maturation process, in which the whisky is aged in three kinds of casks. The first maturation is in American oak – ex-bourbon barrels just like other Laphroaig expressions. From there, the best of these barrels is transferred into quarter casks for a second maturation. Finally, the spirit moves to large Oloroso Sherry casks. It’s the mingling of these different woods that gives Triple Wood its...

High Liquors is a new operation producing a range of spirits – including whiskey, tequila, rum and vodka – and the company bills itself as the world’s first full line of ultra premium spirits. Always wary of buzzwords like “ultra premium,” and also wary of whiskey bottles that resemble a cross between vodka and Voss Water, we wanted to take High Whiskey for a spin. But first – High liquors was founded by friends Brad Wright and Chris Lawson. Lawson noted that they were “very frustrated with the vast differences in quality that all of the premium spirits brands possessed. If...

Johnnie Walker Double Black is the newest addition to the Johnnie Walker family of Scotch whiskies. It was formerly only available in global duty-free shops, but it’s just been released, for a limited time, to the mass market. Double Black starts with the Black Label template, and from there, it adds peatier malts and malts aged in heavily charred oak barrels – the result being a smokier dram than the original. And while the Black Label is aged for 12 years, Johnnie Walker Double Black carries no age statement. On the nose, Double Black offers aromas of peat smoke, oak and...

Bowmore Legend is a single malt Scotch Whisky from Islay’s oldest distillery. Legend is the entry-level whisky in the Bowmore lineup, a range known for its peaty, smoky malts that includes the popular Bowmore 12-Year and 18-Year, as well as some very interesting, hard-to-find drams. Unlike the other core whiskies in the Bowmore lineup, Bowmore Legend is bottled without an age statement. It tastes younger and leaner than the other expressions, but it still carries the unmistakable flavors and aromas of Islay. On the nose, you’ll find some peat and briny sea air tempered by a bit of sweet honey....