Irish Whiskey
(n.) Similar in many ways to its Scottish brethren, Irish whiskey generally skews lighter in flavor. Legally, Irish whiskey must be made in Ireland, distilled from a yeast-fermented mash of…
- story: Talia Baiocchi
Gin
(n.) Gin’s legal definition requires it to be a neutral grain spirit flavored with juniper berries and proprietary blends of botanicals and then bottled at over 80 proof. Common botanical additions include…
- story: Talia Baiocchi
Fortified Wine
(n.) Wine that has a distilled spirit added. This loosely-knit family of wines encompasses a wide range of styles. Some are made for fast consumption, others for aging. They can…
- story: Talia Baiocchi
Distillation
(n.) A chemical process used to make high-alcohol spirits, distillation separates ethanol (drinking alcohol) from water. The basic steps: A mix of ethanol and water, usually derived from fermentation, is…
- story: Talia Baiocchi
Cask
(n.) Wooden barrels, or casks, have been used for millennia to transport liquids throughout Asia and Europe, falling out of favor only relatively recently with the advent of modern packing…
- story: Talia Baiocchi
Canadian Whisky
(n.) Legally, Canadian whisky must be distilled from fermented grains, aged for three years in wood casks and bottled at 80 proof or higher. The fermented grain mash—usually made of…
- story: Talia Baiocchi
Bourbon Whiskey
(n.) This American subset of whiskey is made from distilling a fermented mash of at least 51-percent corn and aging the liquor in new charred white oak barrels. Though some…
- story: Talia Baiocchi
Bottled in Bond
(phrase) A legal term referring to American spirits (usually whiskey) that have been processed according to regulation of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, which was created to protect consumers from…
- story: Talia Baiocchi
Age
A quantifiable amount of time between a product’s creation and either its on-sale date or consumption. For spirits, age is generally calculated by the amount of time the product spends…
- story: Talia Baiocchi
