Here’s an interesting article published by Reuters over the weekend. Positive signs for American whiskey, thanks to demand overseas.
October 2nd, 2009
More varieties of Maker’s Mark bourbon please!
Last week, I participated in a live webcast at the Maker’s Mark distillery with Kevin Smith (Master Distiller, Maker’s Mark) and John Campbell (Distillery Manager, Laphroaig). If you haven’t seen the video yet, here’s the link.
During the webcast, we tasted three different Laphroaig whiskies, including the new 18 and 25 year old expressions. We also tasted the one and only one expression of Maker’s Mark bourbon.
I was once again reminded how much I enjoy Maker’s Mark. It’s very gentle, smooth and easy to drink. This is partly because Maker’s is one of the few bourbons that use wheat as the spice ingredient rather than rye.
For those of you who haven’t been drinking whisky as long as me, there once was a time when there were three different Maker’s expressions: the standard one at 90 proof, a gold label 101 proof (which was the same formula as the standard bottling), and 95 proof black label called “Maker’s Mark Select,” which was a different formula (aged a little longer). The latter two were essentially for Travel Retail and the export markets.
Bottom line here: I liked all three, and I wish we still had all three! I have a bottle of Select which I’ve been hanging on to, but my bottle of the gold label 101 proof is long gone.
I kept thinking this past week how nice it would be to have more than one Maker’s Mark expression to chose from–especially given that there are so few wheated bourbons on the market.
I asked Kevin Smith about it before the webcast. He said that they are having enough trouble just making enough of the standard Maker’s to put out anything else. He also told me he would pass my comment on to Bill Samuels. (And I also hope he passes it on to Beam management, who now controls Maker’s Mark.)
It was nice to taste and enjoy the three Laphroaig whiskies. I wondered what life would be like with just one version of Laphroaig? Or to broaden this thought a little more: “What would life be like with just one Beatles album?” I think you get my picture.
Maybe we can start a petition or something?
September 26th, 2009
Here’s the video link of my live webcast with Laphroaig and Maker’s Mark
For those of you who missed the live webcast at the Maker’s Mark distillery Friday night, here’s the video link so you can watch it now.
The live webcast featured Distillery Managers John Campbell (Laphroaig) and Kevin Smith (Maker’s Mark) and me at the Maker’s Mark distillery. We tasted some of the Laphroaig single malt scotch line (10, 18, 25) along with Maker’s Mark bourbon. We also taste some cocktails and food made with whiskies from both distilleries.
There’s lots of great stuff in this webcast. I think you’ll enjoy it and maybe even learn a thing or two.
Have a look. Let me know your thoughts. And let me know if you have any questions we didn’t answer.
September 25th, 2009
Laphroaig, Maker’s Mark, me, tonight
I’m heading down to Kentucky today (Friday) to the Maker’s Mark distillery. Tonight I will be joining Kevin Smith (Maker’s Mark Master Distiller) and John Campbell (Laphroaig Distillery Manager) for a LIVE webcast @ 8pm EST. We’ll be tasting some of the new expressions of Laphroaig, including the 18 year old and 25 year old, along with Maker’s Mark bourbon. You can find the complete details here.
If you’re not doing anything tonight, join us. (The two good-looking guys will be John and Kevin. I’m the other guy 
)The direct link to the webcast is here.
P.S. I’ll be on the road most of today and tomorrow, so this will be my last blog post probably until Sunday or Monday.
September 11th, 2009
John Campbell (Laphroaig) Kevin Smith (Maker’s Mark) and me LIVE in two weeks
I’ll be with John Campbell (Distillery Manager of Laphroaig) and Kevin Smith (Master Distiller of Maker’s Mark) at the Maker’s Mark distillery two weeks from tonight. We’ll be doing a LIVE Webcast at the distillery on September 25, 2009 @ 8pm EST.
This should be fun. If you’re not doing anything at that time, tune in. We’ll be tasting Maker’s Mark bourbon, as well as several Laphroaig expressions (including the new 18 and 25 year old whiskies). Here’s the link to the site with all the details.
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