Top 10 New Craft Distilleries in the United States according to USAToday(October 4) – The number of craft distilleries in the United States grew by more than 11 percent between 2018 and 2019; the country now has more than 2,000 of them. With so many distilleries opening up each year, we decided to highlight some of the best on the scene. Complete Story
The World’s Most Underrated Bourbon—According To A Whiskey Expert(September 30) – The rumors are true: bourbon keeps creeping up in cost these days. It wasn’t long ago that some of our favorite bottles collected dust on the shelf at prices south of $40. Complete Story
Another rare Buffalo Trace bourbon will be coming to U.S. shelves for the first time(September 23) – The Frankfort distillery announced last week that it will release a limited quantity of Blaton’s Straight From The Barrel in the U.S., something fans have been asking for for years. Complete Story
Bourbon Pricing Is Getting Out of Control, and Only the Consumers Can Stop It(September 2) – It’s no shock, or particularly astute observation, to note the way that American whiskey prices have climbed in the last 15 years. The brown liquor revival brought along a boom period for the industry as a whole, and many of the largest and most popular American distilleries responded to this new wave of interest by embracing an increasingly premiumized model for their whiskey lineups. Complete Story
Peyton Manning, Andy Roddick stake claim as Tennessee’s premium bourbon with Sweetens Cove(August 30) – With a limited release strategy, Sweetens Cove’s partners — including Tennessee Vols and NFL legend Peyton Manning and tennis great, Andy Roddick — hope to stake a claim as Tennessee’s signature premium bourbon, rather than a celebrity brand. Complete Story
This Entrepreneur Owns Pennsylvania’s First and Only Black-Owned Distillery(August 24) – The wine and spirits industry has a longstanding problem with diversity. Many disruptors have sought to change the face of ownership from wineries to local brands. One Black male entrepreneur has succeeded in turning his vodka brand into Pennsylvania’s only Black-owned distillery, Mishka Premium Vodka. Complete Story
Drinking in Providence’s first distillery since Prohibition at Industrious Spirits Company(August 17) – Offering sustainably sourced artisan spirits from scratch seemed like a fine idea to Manya Rubinstein, Dan Neff and Doug Randall. Making their Industrious Spirits Co. the city’s first distillery to open since Prohibition would be a notable achievement, taking five years from concept to reality. Complete Story
New England Living: Creating Craft Spirits At Deacon Giles Distillery(July 21) – In a city known for its spooky history sits a modern distillery serving up some ‘wicked’ good spirits. Founded by two former colleagues from the craft brewing industry, Deacon Giles Distillery is reviving the art of distilling in a city once rich with them. Complete Story
Spirit Works Distillery Named “2020 Distillery of the Year”(July 14) – California grain-to-glass craft spirits pioneer Spirit Works Distillery has been named “2020 Distillery of the Year” by the American Distilling Institute (ADI), winning its prestigious national Bubble Cap Award. Complete Story
Longhorn Alums Foley, Glass Bring Swimming Culture to Nine Banded Whiskey(July 7) – For University of Texas alumni Sean Foley, a 2003 grad who was a part of three national championship-winning teams, he’s taken his experiences with the Longhorns and parlayed that into developing a successful whiskey business in Austin, Nine Banded Whiskey. Complete Story
Notre Dame Magazine’s Whiskey Business(July 6) – When Charles Florance ’13MBA was attending Notre Dame and aiming to found his own local business, he gave some thought to Indiana’s strengths as a state. Two things came to mind: manufacturing and growing corn. Thus, The Indiana Whiskey Company was born. Complete Story
A New Program Aims to Fix American Whiskey’s Diversity Problem(July 1) – “American whiskey is unlike any other industry,” says Fawn Weaver. “If you buy Levi’s or Nike, it’s not about history, it’s about a cool product. But American whiskey, the entire business is based on heritage. You have to hook them with heritage. Complete Story
A New Bourbon Whiskey Named After a Golf Course Is One of the Best Things I Drank Last Month(June 30) – Sweetens Cove is a new spirits label and its first product is a 13-year-old bourbon blended by Marianne Eaves, a former taster at Brown-Forman (the company that owns Old Forester, Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve and others). Complete Story
Coffee Inspired Whiskey Line Up Debuted By Barista Spirits(June 24) – Denver, Colorado-based Deviation Distilling has been in play only since 2019, primarily focused on its flagship series of gins. It recently drifted into whiskeys, however, launching a new line up of coffee whiskeys known as Barista Spirits. Complete Story
American whiskey distillers are down $340 million thanks to Trump’s trade wars(June 22) – US whiskey distillers have lost out on nearly $340 million in sales to the European Union over the past two years because of a tit-for-tat trade spat between Washington and Brussels. Exports to the European Union of bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and rye whiskey have declined by a third since a 25% tariff went into effect in June 2018. Complete Story
Brown-Forman Sells 3 Whiskey Brands to Sazerac(June 17) – Brown-Forman had announced that it is selling its Canadian Mist, Collingwood and Early Times whiskeys, furthering its push to concentrate just on its top brands. Privately-held Sazerac Company will be purchasing the three brands. Complete Story
Cedar Ridge Out Of Iowa Debuts A New American Single Malt(June 16) – The Cedar Ridge distillery is something of a pioneer when it comes to the American craft whiskey scene, having been established by Jeff and Laurie Quint in 2005. Located in Iowa, bourbon made from local corn has long been their signature whiskey, though they also have other offerings such as a malt whiskey and a celebrity tied expression known as Slipknot N0. 9 Iowa Whiskey. Complete Story
First distillery on Kentucky Bourbon Trail reopens to tourists with new safety measures(June 10) – BOYLE COUNTY, Kentucky — “The focus is back on getting people in here and enjoying themselves,” said tour guide Xavier Tomlin. Wilderness Trail was the first to reopen for tours on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, but not without some safety measures. Complete Story
The Story Behind Gordon Ramsay Helping Make Whiskey With Sheep Poop For Nat Geo’s Uncharted(June 8) Gordon Ramsay’s Uncharted has returned to National Geographic for a second season. Season 2 premiere of Uncharted saw him helping to make whiskey with a very unique source of fuel: sheep poop. Complete Story
Peyton Manning, Drew Holcomb and others launch top-shelf Tennessee bourbon whiskey(June 2) – Sweetens Cove Tennessee Bourbon Whiskey is meant to be an authentic spirit that stands on its own, a “love letter” to Tennessee in a market largely dominated by Kentucky products, primary investor Mark Rivers told The Tennessean. Complete Story
Catoctin Creek’s Newest Rye Whiskey Mimics An Infinity Bottle(June 1) – The new Catoctin Creek Infinity Barrel #InThisTogether Rye Whisky, according to those behind it, is a blended expression consisting of leftover whiskies in barrel that were previously part of its barrel selection program. Complete Story
Grant View Distillery to rebrand, change name to honor Rockford’s history(May 18) – A well-known Rockford distillery will now go by a new name. The Grant View Distillery is rebranding and changing its name to Barnstormer Distillery. The name is after the 1920’s Barnstorming Pilots, and to honor Rockford’s history in aviation. Complete Story
Skunk Brothers Spirits ‘excited’ to begin welcoming tourists back(May 17) – KOIN 6 News spoke with the owner of Skunk Brothers Spirits about their plans. Co-owner Dan “Skunk” Donoho said they have been making hand sanitizer and working on their online sales while the distillery has been closed. Complete Story
New 18-Year-Old Colonel E. H. Taylor Jr. Bourbon Whiskey Costs Only $70, But For How Long?(May 7) – Paying homage to the former owner, Colonel E. H. Taylor Jr., Buffalo Trace has announced a new 18-year-old bourbon created from a marriage of three mashbills. The release will drop in June and features two rye bourbon mashbills, and one wheated bourbon mashbill. Complete Story
WhistlePig and other Distilleries Are Turning Stale Beer Into Coronavirus Whiskey(April 29) – In New England, at least, brewers now have an option, thanks to Jeff Kozak, WhistlePig’s chief executive officer. “We are tentatively calling the project the ‘Great Beer Rescue,’” Complete Story
New Riff Distilling Drops A New Smoky American Whiskey Duo(April 27) – New Riff Distilling, located in the northern part of Kentucky, likes to focus its whiskeys being made in what is described as “the traditional, time-honored sour mash Kentucky regimen, which utilizes a portion of grain ‘backset’ from a previous distillation in the mash of the new batch.” Complete Story
Slipknot’s No. 9 Iowa Whiskey Reserve was chosen as the “best celebrity-related whiskey” by Forbes Magazine(April 16) – The band’s No. 9 Iowa Whiskey Reserve was chosen as the “best celebrity-related whiskey” by Forbes, particularly noted in taster Fred Minnick’s “Best American Whiskey: A Taste Off.” If you missed your shot at grabbing a bottle in 2019, you have another chance! The liquor goes on sale for the first time this year on April 17. Complete Story
How Bob Dylan Is Rocking American Whiskey(April 9) – In 2018, American folk-rock singer and composer Bob Dylan joined the ranks of celebrity liquor brands when he launched Heaven’s Door. While hardly the first celebrity to do so, he does have the distinction of being one of only two Noble Prize winners to be personally associated with a beverage brand. Complete Story
Kentucky Bourbon Company Looking For “World’s Top Whiskey Taster”(April 9) – Calling all whiskey and bourbon enthusiasts – both fans and pros – the contest offers connoisseurs a chance to win $20,000, plus a scholarship to Moonshine University’s executive bourbon steward program, and a contract position as a distillery ambassador to some of the world’s most preeminent whiskey festivals in 2021. Complete Story
Veteran buys $20K bottle of bourbon for $40K to help the restaurant stay open(April 8) – The Perrys have a prized liquor collection that they opted to put up for sale, an effort to keep current staff employed and perhaps bring back some furloughed staff. A bottle of Pappy Van Winkle Kentucky Bourbon is the gem of the collection, aged 25 years. A post on an online site included a sizeable price tag. Complete Story
A Stay-at-Home Whiskey Project: The Infinity Bottle(April 3) – Enthusiasts around the world post their personal blends of various whiskeys to social media under the hashtag “infinitybottle.” Complete Story
Coronavirus Pandemic: Popular Bluegrass Lounge Sells Rarest Bourbon To Pay Employees(March 29) – Many Colorado companies are looking into government-issued loans to make it through the economic downturn from COVID-19, but one restaurant in Arvada is doing whatever it can to meet payroll. The Bluegrass Lounge has come up with several different ways to keep making money including unloading its prized collection of rare whiskeys. Complete Story
A twist of fate: Unexpected bourbon discovery rekindles family legacy(March 28) – The family certainly had had its share of disaster. Henry Edgar Pogue in 1876 bought the Maysville, Kentucky, distillery where he worked and re-established it as Old Pogue Distillery, only to be killed on site in 1890, when a tail on his suit coat – distillers dressed formally back then – got inextricably caught in machinery. Complete Story
The 10 Best Whiskeys for Your Bar Cart: Bourbon, Rye, Scotch and More(March 27) – At its heart, a properly stocked bar cart is an all-in-one tool for entertaining. And although our ability to collectively entertain and have people over to our homes has become much more difficult in the era of coronavirus/COVID-19, you can still get the most out of your bar cart by keeping it well stocked for when we finally reach the light at the end of this tunnel. Complete Story
San Diego distilleries are making hand sanitizer to respond to COVID-19(March 26) – Distilleries across the country are pouring out some love by making hand sanitizer in order to respond to the shortage during the coronavirus pandemic. The hand sanitizer being made at San Diego distilleries is being given to help non-profits, healthcare workers, and shoppers who can’t find it on retail shelves or online. Complete Story
Redbreast Irish Whiskey Releases Oldest Expression Yet(March 23) – Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey has introduced Redbreast 27 Year Old, the oldest permanent expression in the Redbreast series. Redbreast 27 Year Old includes a portion of whiskey that was matured in ruby port barrels from Portugal’s Douro Valley. Altogether this new expression joins Redbreast 12, 15, 21 Year Old and Lustau. Complete Story
Jack Rose Is Selling Off One of the World’s Largest Whiskey Collections(March 19) – Jack Rose in Adams Morgan built a reputation as destination for whiskey aficionados and rare spirits specialists, touting its massive bottle collection as one the largest in the western hemisphere. Now, with an escalating health and economic crisis, all 2,700-plus bottles are up for sale starting Friday, March 20. Complete Story
Kentucky bourbon distilleries announce no more tours as COVID-19 precaution(March 15) – Some of America’s most popular whiskeys announced on Thursday they are closing their distilleries to the public in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Brown-Forman, based in Louisville, announced it will be suspending tours at its Woodford Reserve Distillery outside Frankfort and Old Forester Distillery in downtown Louisville beginning March 15. Complete Story