Blog: on whisky, wine, beer and spirits
A new article every day. About a bottle that has just come in and one that has been here for years, about what a label actually means, and about the stories everyone repeats that turn out not to be true.
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How the pear gets into the bottle of a poire williams
The pear in a bottle of poire williams was not pushed in: it grew inside. How that works in the orchard, which pear it is, and what the label does and…
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137 articles
Smoke comes from the maltings, not the cask, and is far from limited to Islay. Where the smoke comes from, what a ppm figure does and…
A narrow glass, room temperature and no rush. How to drink calvados, when the bottle comes to the table and what exactly the trou normand is.
Poland is the only country that has had it formally laid down when a bottle may be called Polish vodka. What the designation requires, why rye plays such a role in it…
'Contains sulphites' is on almost every bottle. What sulphite does in the cellar, how much European rules allow, and what that rule does…
Fruit, herbs, nuts and cream: which types of liqueur there are, where the boundaries between them come from, and how many bottles of each type we…
Highland is the largest protected whisky region in Scotland, from Perthshire to the north coast. What the designation means legally, why by law the islands also…
Gin doesn't start with juniper but with neutral alcohol. How that is made, how the botanicals get in, and what the distiller throws away.
A pilsner wants to be cold, an imperial stout almost cellar temperature. The guideline per beer style, why your fridge is too cold for most beers, and what…
An opened bottle of whisky doesn't go off, but it does change. About the air above the whisky, why the bottle should stand upright and when decanting…
Some bottles of mezcal have a larva at the bottom; tequila never does. What exactly that creature is, how it got into the bottle and…
A teaspoon of whisky from another distillery legally turns a single malt into a blended malt. That is why Laphroaig sometimes appears on the label as Williamson.
An opened bottle of wine usually keeps for three to five days, sparkling wine for less and port much longer. What oxygen does, and how to slow it down.