Want to know how to tell yeast and bacteria apart just by looking at them under the microscope? It’s easy!

Recently I was able to spend some time in NYC and was so excited to pop in to Van Brunt Stillhouse located in Brooklyn. They are a farm distillery embracing the fact that whiskey is an agricultural product and they just celebrated their 10 year anniversary the week before we got there. I would highly recommend checking out Van Brunt Stillhouse! You can really taste that each whiskey was artisanally handcrafted.

Proof is simply just twice the percent alcohol by volume (ABV). But it seems silly to have both ABV and proof listed on a bottle of distilled spirits. So how did proof come to be? The development of the term “proof” in reference to alcohol concentration has many stories. Not all of them are historically accurate and I’ve definitely told the more fun ones that may or may not just be myths. Ultimately what it comes down to is taxes. Talking taxes is no fun, so allow me to start with the fun stories!

There are so many meaningless words on whiskey labels that just add more confusion to which bottle you should buy. These frivolous words don’t give any indication to what the whiskey will actually taste like and as consumers, what we really care about is whether or not we’re going to enjoy the whiskey. So let’s go over them!

Last weekend I ventured 1 hour & 45 minutes up the coast to Ventura Spirits, located in Ventura, CA. And it is such a cool, down-to-earth distillery producing craft spirits… I don’t use the word “craft” lightly. All of the ingredients used for their spirits are sourced from local farms around Ventura and they constantly have the goal of reducing waste in mind. If you are ever on the west coast, Ventura Spirits is definitely worth a visit!

This year, I curated four different whiskey advent calendars to choose from. Each one was filled with either 12 or 24 delicious whiskies from all over the world. The advent calendar I chose for my countdown to Christmas was, of course, the 12 Days of Top-Shelf Whisk(e)y. Here are my tasting notes!

This past weekend we ran about 200 miles through Kentucky just to drink bourbon. Was it worth it? Abso-frickin-lutely! We also had some other fantastic experiences that you might not think to do while in Kentucky (not including running). So whether you’re an avid runner or are just interested in unique things to do in Kentucky, here’s a play by play from our neat weekend!

(Image from Lolo Liquor & Wine)

My parents have done every tasting and course that I’ve offered (they’re very supportive). But after chatting with them and essentially giving them a mini pop quiz the other day, I realized that they really needed a refresher on the whiskey basics. In fact, they needed a refresher on the basics of all distilled spirits. We get into so much detail about various whiskey aspects during the tastings, but I don’t always remember to zoom back out. I mean alllll the way out. So this is for not only my parents, but anyone else who feels like they need a refresher. And I hope the illustrations I’m including well help.

I have a challenge for anyone reading this. I’m assuming you have some beverage in your hand, whether it’s whiskey, another spirit, a cocktail, wine or coffee. If not, go grab one, I’ll wait. Now, take a few moments to place all your focus on what it looks, smells, feels and tastes like. Really, commit…

What happens when seven wheated bourbons step into the heptagon to face one another? The battle will be judged on flavors, aromas, mouthfeel and, of course, accessibility. The fate of each bourbon falls on only one taster, so this tasting is entirely biased. And none will make it out alive (because I’ll drink them all). See what happens here!