Maybe you’ve seen one proudly declaring Double Gold or a distillery announcing that its bourbon just won Platinum at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Sounds impressive, but what does it actually mean?
Phil Hollenbach came to the United States from Germany in 1869. By the late 1870s he was running a successful blending and bottling operation — and like a lot of ambitious whiskey men of the era, he eventually decided he needed his own supply instead of depending on someone else’s barrels. See where that decision takes Phil by reading more here.
What Is Chill Filtering? So, here is how it usually goes. You pour a bourbon over ice — and suddenly it turns cloudy. Panic sets in. Did my whiskey go bad? Nope. Your bourbon is fine. You just accidentally discovered one of the most debated topics in modern whiskey culture: Chill Filtering. And if you…
Wax Dips — Beautiful or Dangerous? Now we need to discuss one of the most divisive subjects in bourbon culture: wax-dipped bottles. Some people love them. Some people absolutely hate them. To most people, a bottle closure is just a way to keep whiskey inside the bottle. To whiskey nerds, it is part of the…
How Did We Get Here? Most whiskey fans eventually end up with one, a drawer, a shelf, a box in the bar area, filled with old corks. Nobody really plans for this to happen. It just does. Somewhere along the way, certain corks become souvenirs of things like that first allocated bottle, special birthday bourbon,…
Double oaked bourbon sounds simple. Put bourbon in a barrel. Then put it in another barrel. Done. Right? Not exactly. That second barrel can change everything. Bourbon already has to spend time in new charred oak to be bourbon in the first place. That oak gives us the familiar flavors we love: vanilla, caramel, brown…
What It Really Means Some bourbon labels are easy to understand. Single barrel? One barrel. Barrel proof? Bottled close to what came out of the barrel. Bottled in bond? Rules, history, and paperwork. Then there is Cigar Blend. That phrase sounds like it belongs in a dark leather chair beside a fireplace, with a heavy…
Whiskey nerds secretly judge corks. Nobody admits this at first, but after enough distillery visits, bottle shares, and late-night pours, you realize whiskey people absolutely judge bottle closures. A heavy cork with a deep pop feels premium. A cheap synthetic stopper with a squeak doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. That may not be entirely fair. But it’s reality.
A proper cork “POP”! There are few sounds in the whiskey world more satisfying than this.
To casual drinkers, it’s just the beginning of the pour. To whiskey nerds, it’s important.
Some bottles look like they belong in a dusty frontier saloon. Others look like they should sit behind velvet ropes in a luxury hotel bar. Some are square and serious. Some are tall and elegant. Some look like chemistry equipment. And some, the ones that end up in display cases, look like they were made for something more than just holding liquid.
The bottle is the first argument the distillery makes.
