#whisky-blending

#whisky-blending

Diageo's dividend situation has deteriorated sharply, with a rebased interim payout of $0.20 per share and a new policy establishing a minimum annual floor of $0.50, indicating a focus on debt reduction over income.

Mizunara is the third release in the distillery's Oak Masters' Series, which also includes White Oak and White Oak 24-Year-Old expressions. Mizunara is native to Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. It's an extremely rare oak and quite difficult to work with because it's very porous, making it difficult to craft into casks. But the effort is almost always worth it, as the oak brings out sandalwood, incense, floral and even tropical notes.

Along with the challenges of operating any new business, making good bourbon takes time and expert craftsmanship. It's for this reason that many new "distilleries" aren't distilleries at all (non-distilling producers, blenders, rectifiers). Instead, they source bourbon and then sell it as their own. That's not inherently a bad thing, as some expertly blend whiskey or add extra maturation to create a genuinely impressive bourbon, but there is a clear difference.

If you are new to whiskey, the barrel a whiskey ages in matters almost as much as the liquid itself. Black Cask whisky is aged only in American oak barrels that previously held bourbon, a choice that tends to create flavors many U.S. drinkers already recognize, such as vanilla and caramel, characterized by a gentle sweetness.

You'll no doubt appreciate the balance with classic flavors of caramel, toffee and vanilla, with a backbone of light spice and oak. In many ways, it's the epitome of a well-made bourbon. Yet, there's a whole world of whiskey out there to explore. Sometimes this world can feel a little too big. With so many options available, it's hard to know where to turn. Whether buying for yourself or looking for a special gift, I've got you covered.

The U.S. version lists 73 grams of sugar per 20-ounce bottle. The U.K. version lists 4.5 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters. Crunch the numbers, and you'll find the American Fanta has nearly three times the sugar as its counterpart across the pond - 12.4 grams per 100 milliliters versus 4.5. The thing is, the British version doesn't taste like it's missing anything.

Matured for 16 years in bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, the finish is equal parts spicy and smooth, offering rich notes of honey, fruitcake, and dark chocolate. Since this whisky has extra time maturing in the Oloroso sherry casks, some of the honeyed, fruity notes step to the foreground. The nose delivers caramel and brown sugar plus subtle whiffs of green apple and dried fruits.

The U.S. spirits landscape has evolved far beyond the recognition of simply being the birthplace of bourbon. In recent years, we've seen a transformation in both the quality and individuality that the country's craft distilleries have been able to produce. While previous decades were dominated by the big-name distilleries, far more awards are going to craft distillers who have mastered the art of producing high-quality whiskeys, rums, gins, and more.

Contrary to popular belief, rye was actually America's native spirit. George Washington owned the largest rye distillery in the country after he left the White House. Historically, it was a very important cocktail ingredient. But by the end of the 20th century, rye had practically disappeared from stores and bars.

Starbucks' Reserve Roasteries sell whiskey barrel-aged cold brew, some beer is aged in bourbon barrels, and wine is an obvious beneficiary of this method too. Though the practice of aging wine in bourbon barrels is contested by some consumers - naysayers say the process diminishes the flavors that come from thoughtfully growing and sourcing the grapes, thus undermining the farmers - others are staunch fans of the finished product.

"I wouldn't say the bramble is the only way to enjoy contemporary gin, but it's absolutely one of the most flattering cocktails to highlight the category," says Justin Lavenue, co-owner of Austin's famed cocktail bar The Roosevelt Room. "Contemporary gins, which tend to lean away from heavy juniper and more toward citrus, floral, root, and herbaceous notes, shine in cocktails where those subtleties have room to breathe. Unlike many other gin-based classics, the bramble gives them exactly that platform."

With Bruichladdich, we've built it up over the years by experimenting with barley and grains and being unpeated. And with Octomore, you've got extreme heat and a concept that shouldn't work. But Port Charlotte was actually us getting back into peated whiskey when we reopened in 2001. Everyone was keen to make peated whiskey again, because if you go back to our history, around the 1950s and early '60s, it would have been heavily peated.

We had a plan [to only use Islay barley], but as we grew, we moved beyond being able to do that,

Following what was a period of high sales and rapid expansion, the market is contracting for a number of reasons. Alcohol consumption has declined in recent years, for one thing, but international response to U.S. tariffs has also hit bourbon sales hard, with exports of the liquor dropping significantly in 2025. Many icons of American whiskey have been affected, with Brown-Forman - parent company to Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve, and Old Forester, among others - laying off a significant portion of its workforce.

Growing numbers of Scottish spirits producers are showing signs of financial strain as weakening export demand, rising costs and trade barriers squeeze margins across the sector. Research by restructuring specialist BTG Begbies Traynor found that 69 Scottish distillers were facing "significant" or "critical" financial distress at the end of the year, up from 49 in the previous quarter. According to the Scotch Whisky Association,

If you're a true whiskey fan, you may have pondered what you could do with a used whiskey barrel. Specialist artisans called "coopers" painstakingly craft whiskey barrels, which then become vital drivers of flavor, aroma, and color for the whiskey. These barrels cannot be reused for bourbon in particular, though they're often repurposed. Other distilleries use them to age other spirits, and breweries use them to mature beer. But these long-lasting barrels with their rustic aesthetics also make their way into bars and restaurants as furnishings, which may get you thinking about how cool a whiskey barrel would look in your own home. If that's the case, you'll need to know how to actually procure one.

The lighting is low, the walls are dark wood, the back bar glows with premium bottles. You could be in London, New York or Tokyo. But then you notice that very few people are wearing much at all, even though there is snow on the ground outside. That's because around the back of this bar is a fully-functioning sauna. This is the Kyrö Sauna Bar, a pop-up in central Helsinki, now in its second year, and it is exactly what it sounds like.