One can only hope for less taxes,sadly thats not the directions taxes go.
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Itās a 25% tariff on single malt Irish and Scotch whiskies (among many other things), that tariff went into effect mid-October of last year.
We almost got shafted with a 100% tariff in February of this year, but luckily USTR backed off.
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Sucks for us as well as a lot of whiskey is exported from Scotland. A lot to the US from what I know.
Not to mention Scotch is commonly aged in ex bourbon barrels.
Hurray Capitalism
What also boned a lot of organizations was how short notice it was, IIRC we had about 9 or 10 days notice before the tariffs went into effect. Shipping product from Europe by boat generally takes longer than that.
If itās like the 25% tariff EU imposed on American whiskey a couple years ago then itāll probably be a 20-30% drop in UK whiskey exports to the US.
This is an awful lot of talk about whiskey.
Oh wait, I must be drunkā¦ Itās all talk about taxes.
@mutation666 When it comes to whiskey, you sound like a libertarian.
Only whiskey? There are probably some other things too
Like taxes, apparently.
Na but thats /pol stuff
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Anyone here play with blending or have an infinity bottle?
Been thinking about getting into it.
What ABV is that?
Na rather drink it by its self maybe mix ones you donāt really like till you get something you like more
Hi, thatās me.
And rather than specific recommendations Iām more unsure of what to look for when acquiring whiskey? Basically I want to buy something from one of the local distilleries, but I know next to nothing about whiskey other than some of the basic terms and that Irish, Scotch, and Bourbon are definitely not the same things. And that Fireball is an abomination and should be purged.
I could write post after post on beer or wine, but I havenāt specād into the spirits knowledge tree yet.
These four were the places I was eyeing
https://mainecraftdistilling.com/our-products/
https://newenglanddistilling.com/spirits
Or should I skip it and try to work through all the wine I have?
Many places (not sure about outside Scotland) will give away or sell wee dram bottles. Letās you get a lot of different whiskys to try and see what you like without a large cost.
Bourbon
Legal:
- Produced in the United States
- Made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn
- Aged in new, charred oak containers
- Distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof 80% (alcohol by volume)
- Entered into the container for aging at no more than 125 proof (62.5% [alcohol by volume]
- Bottled (like other whiskeys) at 80 proof or more 40% (alcohol by volume)
Side notes: Kentucky, and Indiana are the two major producers of bourbon. Texas is a new player to the scene. Tennessee Whiskey is nearly the same thing as bourbon but they charcoal filter it.
Becuase temperature swings are more drastic in most bourbon making areas it ages much faster than Scotch or Irish whiskeys.
Most of the flavor is derived from what other grains than corn was used in the āMash billā. How much the barrel was charred and temperature conditions on the barrels matter as well. Also, normally distilled with a column still.
Brown sugar, cherry, apple, vanilla are common notes.
Rye whiskey is similar to bourbon except it is 51% rye instead of corn. Has a baking spice, tea, eucalyptus notes
Scotch:
Legal:
- Produced at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) all of which have been:
- Processed at that distillery into a mash
- Converted at that distillery to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems
- Fermented at that distillery only by adding yeast
- Distilled at an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 94.8% 190 US proof
- Wholly matured in an excise warehouse in Scotland in oak [casks] of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres 154 (imp gal) for at least three years
- Retaining the colour, aroma, and taste of the raw materials used in, and the method of, its production and maturation
- Containing no added substances, other than water and plain (E150A) caramel colouring
- Comprising a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40% (80 US proof)
Notes:
You have Single Malts which means only uses malted barley as itās grain and came from one distillery. Normally made with a pot still.
Blended means it came from multiple distilleries and may have other grains. Blended Malt is a blend of only malts.
Many times the barely is malted with peat that give that smokey seawater flavor.
Age: the age is determined by the youngest wiskey in the bottle. Almost all whiskey is a blend of multiple barrels unless it is a single barrel.
Scotch normally uses used oak barrels from Bourbon, Sherry and/or Port. But othe exotic stuff like ice wine has been used. I find scotch to have more fruity notes.
Irish
Basically has to be made in the island of Ireland.
Normally barley like scotch. Can be either pot or column still and is labeled when pot stilled because it fetches a higher price.
The barely is not normally smoked with peat.
Irish whiskey is normally distilled three times to give it its bright flavor.
Normally uses same age rules as Scotch
Canadian
Not many rules outside it must be made in Canada.
Normally corn based. And mainly aged in oak barrels. Column still is common.
Coloring and flavoring is allowed.
Lends itself to a smooth single or two note drink. The focus is easy drinking but that has been changing lately.
Japanese
Must be made in Japan.
Normally they use the same standards as Scotland.
Most whiskeys a blend of malts from multiple distilleries owned by one company. I.E Suntory
Single malts do exist as well.
Not normally peated.
Lends itself to floral notes.
Normally uses same age rules as Scotch
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That first one seems the most interesting not sure if you like peat though.
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+1 sadly its lumped in that catagory
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All the ones I linked have tasting rooms, but due to recent events those are all shut.
Well, that covers probably everything Iāll ever need to know. Thanks!
I like smokey things (e.g. smoked meat, lapsang souchong, rauchbier), so possibly? The canned cocktails from that distillery are pretty good, so Iām hoping their actual spirits are as good or better. Plus they also have fermented carrot spirits I want to try too.
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It looks like they made a whisky in the Scotch style using local peat and mash. Neat idea. My current favorite Balcones Single Malt does the same thing but with Texas ingredients. So it could be pretty good.
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