Category Archives: Whiskey

Seven Whiskey Trivia Items

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Mic Lowther

1. Proof: In the US, the proof value of a spirit is stated at double its alcohol content. According to a story distillery tour guides tell, farmers distilled whiskey to 50% alcohol by volume and sold or traded it by … Continue reading →

Posted in Whiskey | Tagged bootleg, bootlegger, bottled in bond, chill filtering, george dickel, jim beam distillery, moonshiner, rumrunner, spirit proof, spirit safe, sweating the barrel, whiskey year | Comments Off

The Whiskey Rebellion

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Mic Lowther

THE WHISKEY TAX OF 1791 George Washington’s new Federal Government assumed Revolutionary War debts of the 13 States as part of compromises leading to adoption of the US Constitution in 1789. To help pay the resulting national debt, Congress used … Continue reading →

Posted in People and Places, Whiskey | Tagged braddock's field, george washington, revenuers, using whiskey as currency, whiskey rebellion | Comments Off

Hangover

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Mic Lowther

SYMPTOMS – But I had Such a Good Time Your head pounds, you’re desperately thirsty, you ache like you’ve been tackled by Roosevelt Grier. Bright lights and loud noises hit you like harpoons. You’re sweaty, shaky, sick, crabby, and so … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Bourbon, Canadian Whisky, Cocktails, Gin, Irish Whiskey, Rum, Scotch Whisky, Tequila, Vodka, Whiskey | Tagged acetaldehyde, anxiety, black coffee, blurred vision, breathing difficulty, burnt toast, cottonmouth, cysteine, dehydration, don't mix beverages, drink slowly, eat something, glutamine, greasy foods, hair of the dog, hangover causes, hangover symptoms, headache, increased blood pressure, mental confusion, nausea, restless sleep, tremors, vasopressin | Comments Off

Why Whiskeys Taste Different

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Mic Lowther

Nearly all the world’s whiskey is made in the US, Canada, Scotland, and Ireland. Bottles stand side-by-side on liquor store shelves in their various shades of amber, each with its own provenance, some with a list of awards it has won, … Continue reading →

Posted in American Whiskey, Canadian Whisky, Irish Whiskey, Scotch Whisky, Whiskey | Tagged barley, barrelhouse, blended whiskey, bourbon, bourbon barrel, Canadian whisky, corn, Irish whiskey, Macallans Scotch, Madeira barrel, malted barley, port barrel, rye, scotch, single barrel, small batch, wheat, why whiskeys taste different | Comments Off

Moonshine

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Mic Lowther

Making moderate amounts of beer or wine at home has been legal since the 1970s. Unlicensed distillation of liquor in any quantity, however, is not. Home or backwoods stills are illegal because: 1) the process can be unsafe and can easily … Continue reading →

Posted in Whiskey | Tagged copper kettle, moonshine, still | Comments Off

Liquor Taxes, Taxes, and More Taxes

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Mic Lowther

TAXES WHILE LIQUOR IS BEING MADE Distilleries pay property taxes on land, buildings, equipment and also on their inventory. For every year a barrel of spirits ages in its warehouse, a distillery pays property tax to the US State in … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Whiskey | Tagged excise tax, liquor tax, proof gallon, property tax, retail sales tax, sin tax, taxes on things that are bad for you | Comments Off

The Life and Times of a Whiskey Barrel

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Mic Lowther

A NEW BARREL IS BORN Whiskey barrels are built from American white oak, wood used exclusively because of its strength and tight grain. Trees selected are cut during autumn or winter when sap is low, then sawn into staves of varying … Continue reading →

Posted in American Whiskey, Canadian Whisky, Irish Whiskey, Scotch Whisky, Whiskey | Tagged american white oak, barrelhouse aging, how a whiskey barrel is made | Comments Off

Alcohol in the Movies

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Mic Lowther

Beer, wine, whiskey, and cocktails in movies illustrate everything from people having a boozy, brawling good or bad time, to the affectations of high society, to the ravages of alcoholism. In some cases a particular drink is identified with a certain … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Cocktails, People and Places, Whiskey | Tagged absinthe, animal house, arthur, beer, blues brothers, boilermaker, bottle shock, casablanca, casino royale, cat ballou, chianti, cognac, cosmopolitan, days of wine and roses, fear and loathing in las vegas, french 75, i'll cry tomorrow, leaving las vegas, lost weekend, manhattan, martini, moulin rouge, my favorite year, orange whip, pinot noir, rye, scotch, sex and the city, sideways, silence of the lambs, singapore sling, some like it hot, the bad news bears, the big lebowski, the thin man, vesper, whiskey, white russian | Comments Off

A Whiskey Festival

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Mic Lowther

“How’d you ever find a room?” the hotel shuttle driver asks. “Springsteen has a concert here tonight, the Steelers are playing, and there are conventions of tattooed people, high school science geeks, and who knows what-all everywhere. Every hotel within … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish Whiskey, People and Places, Scotch Whisky, Whiskey | Tagged Buffalo Trace, Dalmore 12-year, Johnny Walker, Knob Creek Rye, Laphroaig Scotch, Macallan, Michael Collins single malt, Pittsburg Rivers Casino, whiskey tasting, Woodford Reserve | Comments Off

Do You Know Jack?

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Mic Lowther

Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel began work in a whiskey distillery owned by a family friend at the age of 13. Seven years later, in 1866, he bought the operation and registered it as the Jack Daniel Distillery. Located in Lynchburg, … Continue reading →

Posted in American Whiskey, Bourbon, People and Places, Whiskey | Tagged how is tennessee whiskey made, how tennessee whiskey is made, jack daniel distillery, jack daniel products, lincoln county process | Comments Off