bringing drinks to life

If you’re a regular follower of b&t you’ll no doubt have noticed I have a fondness for American Whiskey. I’ve written about visiting Kentucky, various Bourbons, Tennessee Whiskey and the like on many occasions, and in fact our drinks room boasts around 80 American Whiskies, from new made corn, through to prohibition bottles of ‘medicinal whiskey’. Somehow though, I’ve managed not to write about Rye, even though it’s an old favourite of mine… I think it’s time to set that situation right.

You see the ‘rediscovery’ of Rye Whiskey, and its growing popularity with bartenders is having a huge effect on the drinks industry as a whole at the moment. Somewhere between bartenders searching out and rediscovering classic cocktails, and American micro-distilleries opening up left right and centre, the face of American Whiskey is changing.

Until just a few years ago there were only a handful of distillers producing and marketing Whiskey in the States, and a few more that were bulk producing whiskey to ship mainly to Canada for blending in their domestic blends. Now however it seems like every month sees the launch of a new ‘small batch’ or ‘artisanal’ Whiskey to the market in the US. After many years without a hint of change, there’s new life being breathed into this category.

So what makes a visit to an Area of Outstanding Alcoholic Significance (AOAS) an exceptional experience? Why would you want to give up your precious holiday time for a busman’s holiday? Would it really be worth your time to travel half way around the world to have a booze related holiday?

I guess for me the answer depends on how seriously you take your interest in spirits. If you are a bartender who likes to party hard then visiting a small city with a small nightlife may not be your scene. If you are a cocktail snob, then visiting the places where drinks were once made famous can be a disappointment when you realise their glory days are long since over. If however you are willing to invest a little time to meet a few interesting characters and can have an open mind about learning a thing or two about your favourite spirit, then the idea of visiting an AOAS might not be so crazy!

This will be a brief blog for 2 reasons...

Firstly, the really interesting updates will be made over the next 5 days from New Orleans so honestly there is not much I can write now that will top that. The whole B&T team will be attending Tales of the Cocktail so hopefully we will end up with a stack of stories, ideas, thoughts, pictures and tasting notes to throw at you over the coming months!

Secondly, I still need to pack!