World Whisky Day

Alberta Rye Dark Batch

Alberta Rye Dark Batch

Loved or hated, flavored whiskies have been on the market for quite some time in various guises. This particular dram is pretty unique. In Canada, it is called Dark Horse but a conflict of trade names in the US means the version we picked up goes by Dark Batch. Made by the largest rye whisky producer in North America, it is a 50-50 blend of two Canadian ryes, aged 6 and 12 years. This rye blend makes up 91% of the total. Another 8% is Old Grandad bourbon, with the last 1% sherry. Yes, not ex-bourbon or ex-sherry casks for finishing, but actual bourbon and sherry. This whisky is so unlike anything we’ve ever tasted, we simply had to try it for ourselves. Of note, the majority of its marketing promotes it primarily for cocktails.

Scotchology: Year Four

Scotchology: Year Four

Against all expectation, the end of this past June marks the fourth anniversary of the first time the original group of us got together, before we even called ourselves Scotchology. Before all kinds of hi-jinks, travels, and tastings. And despite the best of intentions to make this an annual sort of thing, it has been two years since the last update. It seems like a long time since June of 2013, when four of us began to regularly meet for the expressed purpose of exploring single malt scotch together. We’d never have dreamed we’d find ourselves where we are now. Wait, where are we?

World Whisky Day 2017

World Whisky Day 2017

Scotchology is celebrating World Whisky Day for the fourth year in a row by offering a tasting on June 3 in Minneapolis, MN (past events in 2014, 2015, 2016). But the official World Whisky Day is on May 21 this year. What gives? You’re absolutely right, but various and sundry reasons have forced us to push our own tasting back a couple weeks. We promise, it’ll be worth it. This wondrous day was started in 2012 by Blair Bowman and is supporting Just A Drop, a charity designed to get a village in Kenya safe access to that most precious of commodities: water.