NAS

Lot No. 40

The original Lot No. 40 was released by Corby Distributors in the late 90s under the Canada Whisky Guild series but discontinued it a few years after the turn of the century. Because of the small window of release and amount produced, bottles of it became rare and highly sought after. The brand was reintroduced in 2012 as a premium rye and has continued ever since to great acclaim. Unlike some Canadian whiskies called ryes, Lot 40 is made of 90% rye and 10% malted rye. Nothing that isn’t rye, in other words! Lot No. 40 supposedly refers to a plot of land in Ontario that was the home of Joshua Booth, a Canadian pioneer and politician, and an ancestor of one of Hiram Walker’s distillers. Recently, Hiram Walker has released a cask strength Lot No. 40, which quickly sold out its initial first run.

By Adam | December 26, 2017 | Foreign | No Comments |

The Irish whiskey tradition is every bit as proud – and sometimes convoluted – as their Scottish neighbors to the east. Distilled at the New Middleton Distillery for Irish Distillers, an arm of the Pernod Recard, and distributed by Mitchell & Son of Dublin, keeping track of the Green Spot from barley to bottle can be an adventure in and of itself. Regardless, Green Spot is a bonded whisky and one of the few remaining pot still whiskies left in Ireland, deriving its name from the practice of marking casks of different ages with a spot of colored paint to tell them apart. At one time a 10 year old whiskey, the current iteration is made up of whiskies aged 7-10 years. The whiskey has been steadily popular over the past century and more. An older sibling, the Yellow Spot, is aged in Malaga wine casks.

By Adam | December 5, 2017 | Foreign | No Comments |

John Glaser and Compass Box have been pushing the bounds of scotch since the beginning, often winning awards and angering conglomerates along the way. One of their long staples (Signature Range) has been the Peat Monster. This monster is, despite the name, not built to overwhelm. Rather, the stated purpose is to take those Islay elements and enrich them with fruits and malt. In other words, to create something that is far more than a two-dimensional scotch. There is also a 2013 release of a 10th anniversary edition of the Peat Monster we hope to try in the future. We also raise a special glass to John Glaser, as he is a native son of Minnesota.

By Adam | March 3, 2017 | Blends | No Comments |