I think, particularly whiskey, that people started embracing the food culture and started appreciating the handcrafted whiskeys out there. There’s such a devotion to the craft and the history and the heritage.

The expansion of demographics – women, young people, minorities, etc. It’s great! It used to be an old man’s drink, something your father or grandfather would drink but now everyone is getting into it.

The development of all the small distilleries having aged whiskeys. There is such a large breadth of profiles & tastes. It’s just amazing! I think it is very exciting!

It’s obviously a great glass for whiskey, because it channels the aroma up to the nose and the clarity of the glass lets you see the quality of the whiskey. We use the Wee Glencairn Glasses on our tours!

Visit limestone Branch distillery website here

On top of being the first legal whiskey ever made in Texas and the first of the regional bourbon makers, we only make bourbon whiskey. We see beauty in the process as much or more than the end product. The product is simply a validation of the process and place.

I think there are two main reasons – the first is wood. It’s the common denominator. There is something special that wood imposes into whiskey – it does the same thing with BBQ and smoked foods. It’s not just a “good” flavor, It’s complicated and it makes you think.

The second is time. Making whiskey is special because it takes time. Investing years making whiskey gives it a sense of pride and purpose. It creates its own tradition. To be honest I think that is why so many of us get emotional about the makers vs the fakers argument. The fakers just don’t see the beauty in the process.

I don’t see whiskey’s growth as a trend. I think its part of the societal changes that have come about due to the internet and social media. As I mentioned, whiskey is a product that makes you think about it. It makes you want to understand it. Social media gave whiskey drinkers a chance to start asking questions and learning. The more they posted the more people became interested. In all the years I have been in this I have never come across a podcast devoted to unflavoured vodka. I’ve come across hundreds about whiskey.

That one is easy. There are whole lot of bees at the picnic table now. It’s pretty easy to chase off a single bee but chasing off hundreds of bees is damned near impossible. We bees are starting to work together to change this industry. I think it’s just a matter of time before the end consumer will get to decide when, where and how they buy their spirits. The free market will win the day.

Elegance. Plain and simple. Glencairn was there long before peanut flavoured whiskey and it will be there long after beef flavoured rum. There is something calming and thought provoking about looking into a Glencairn glass filled with a damn good whiskey.

A couple of things. The use of heirloom varietal grains. Marcia just planted some atomic organic corn for us to use. We have used bloody butcher corn, purple corn, flint corn… You name it. What we are most known for is the use of French techniques in our whiskey distilling and maturation.

We are very involved in the individual barrels thus being able to control the extraction & maturation. The French method was a natural progression since Denison, TX is a sister city to Cognac in France. This is where they retrieved the vines to replenish the vineyards in the late 1800s after the blight hit the Cognac region.

There is a romanticism to whiskey due to the artistry & length of labor that goes into making the spirit. There is also a link to past generations. There is also a new interest in flavour, not only spirits, but also food, with such things as the Food Network. You can have a wider variety in the whiskey category with everything from lighter nuances to bigger heavier flavours.

The trend over the last few years has been experimentation and innovation.

You are starting to see single barrels, higher proofs and the use of different barrel types.

We have single malt that has been aging for 3 years now, so the American single malt movement has been exciting. We have begun playing with a number of malts in anticipation of this coming about.

We are also interested in the potential for rum to come into its own.

We use different Glencairn Glasses for different parts of our process. Typically for distilling, I (Jonathan) use the traditional Glencairn on the still, as well as during the blending process. If something has a smoky character, I (Jonathan) prefer to use the Glencairn Mixer Glass.

As far as seeing the spirit and getting a full picture of the aroma & nose, it is the best. The whiskey clubs love the Wee Glencairn, so much so that they buy them by the box. We had a call the other day from a guy who said he was in desperate need of a Glencairn.

Whiskey Acres is Illinois’s first estate distillery and was the second ADI certified estate distillery in the United States. We grow all of our own wheat, corn & rye and soon all our own barley. We have total control of everything that ends up in the bottle.

We may be the only folks who grow rye in Illinois for distilling. We are definitely the only distillery that has an awarded Master Farmer on the team (Jim).

Grain for whiskey can be grown more places than fruits such as grapes or apples, which makes whiskey more common globally.

Distilleries across the world have taken those grains and turned them into unique expressions that drive consumers wanting more.

What I think I’m seeing is that whiskey is following the craft brewing industry in that people are following their local brands and trusting them more.

You are also seeing older, more mature spirits that will attract more consumers. The more they try the little guys the more they can trust the quality.

I’m excited to see what happens to our product as well as other small brands as they grow up and establish ourselves. We have interesting barrel programs and single varietal grain expressions that we are loving watching them mature.

Glencairn just showcases quality. It’s fun to look at, fun to taste from, fun to nose. We love serving our whiskies in those glasses!

Visit Whiskey Acres website here 

I gained a great understanding for the reverence the Scots had for whisky, which turned my head around from what I had learned from the college drinking culture. After coming home to the U.S., I started working at the family banking business, and would later on work in the Chicago restaurant industry with the idea of opening a restaurant of my own. After deciding that the restaurant business was not for me, I circled back with my old friend Greg, who was now starting a distillery of his own in Tasmania, so I went down there for a while to help him get up & running. I spent 8 weeks learning from distilleries on that island, and then came back to Chicago to a kind of paid internship (in that I paid them to be an intern) at Koval trying to learn how to make whiskey, along with reading as much as I could, plus visiting as many other local distilleries as possible.

I had put all my eggs in one basket. I wanted to be part of the family business, so the distillery’s name has a lot to do with life being a journey, with the ups & downs, life is what you make of it, as well as my own actual travels learning the distilling business. With all of this, and local tradesmen, the name Journeyman really has a number of meanings.

If I told you I would have to kill you. Joking. Actually, we are one of the few certified organic & kosher distilleries in the world. We have never sourced a drop of whiskey and are grain to glass, which can’t be understated. We wanted the whiskey to be unique to where we are, so not sourced from Kentucky, Indiana, or Tennessee distilleries. That is what Journeyman is.

That the whole craft distilling industry took off like it did. That was a surprise. When we opened Journeyman in 2010 there weren’t more than 250 distilleries in the U.S., but now there is somewhere between 2000-3000 distilleries. Just surprised that it took off like it did.

We really love the hospitality side of the industry, and feel that it’s one of our greatest strengths and that we have taking the distillery hospitality model further then many distilleries ever have.

We are going to try to do something similar to what we’ve done in Three Oaks in my hometown of Valparaiso, Indiana with a new brewery/distillery/hospitality restaurant and event spaces there. Having lived in Scotland, we even have a homage to a Scottish single malt, so the American single malt category is something we look forward to.

Our family has a farm in Indiana that we have had since the 1930s where we have grain that we started planting in 2015, so we are planning on releasing a 10-year old Farm Whiskey Single Malt using the grain grown on the farm to release in 2025.

I like to tell the story of visiting George Grant at the Glenfarclas Distillery. I wanted to reward my staff so we went to Scotland with our distilling team. George welcomed our distilling team and the guys at that distillery were just above and beyond friendly and welcoming.

George took us to one of his warehouses to look at casks from the 1950s & 60s. He blew our minds when he took a whisky thief and shared whiskies straight from casks of 60-year old single malt. George Grant and their family distillery is a model or ours in that they have created a multigenerational family owned and operated business of which we hope to replicate. George pointed out that the whisky in the 1950-60’s casks were at one time worth next to nothing, but at other times had significant value which reinforced with me the significant risks associated with the whisky business.

Our time with George was great, and his advice that this business can be very good to you but can have major pitfalls, still rings true to me, especially during these times.

The Sperryville distillery is an old apple factory where we still malt our own barley by hand using fruit wood smoke, plus mature our whiskey using applewood, peachwood & oak wood chips that dangle in the spirits through a hole in the top of the barrels (this may account for an Angels’ Share of up to 20%, but a beautiful whiskey).

Our Williamsburg distillery is an old motel that we converted, and now has a malting floor, a speakeasy, a tasting room, a built-in swimming pool, and an insulated barrelhouse (much like the warmer barrelhouses of India), and a string of old motel rooms that may be used for hospitality spaces in the future. We are within a mile of the famed William & Mary University.

Ummm, because it’s delicious?

Ready-to-drinks seemed hot last year, and should be this year as well.

I like seeing all these little distilleries making it, plus what the big guys are coming up with. It’s just great being part of the larger distilling community.

Glencairn is the epitome of whisky glasses! We want to be associated with the best, so why not use the best glassware. Of course, it enhances the whole experience and customers appreciate that we use them.

To find out more about Copperfox distillery visit here.

Our most immediately identifying uniqueness is that our Great-Great-Great-Grandfather was one who produced the Original Tennessee whiskey. He was a merchant & bottler who ended up purchasing the distillery where he sourced his spirit.

He was a contemporary of a couple other well known Tennessee Whiskey makers in George Dickel and Jack Daniel, though Jack was a bit younger and George a bit older. We still have some unopened bottles of the original Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey and other brands that Chas. produced.

The brand started in 1860, he bought the distillery in 1870 and we restarted the company in 2012, with the distillery opening in late 2014 in Nashville.

I think because of the inherent soul of a whiskey compared to a vodka.

There is no romance or history or character therefore soul in a vodka or gin compared to a whiskey. You just get so much more out of a whiskey.

Distilleries producing canned cocktails has been huge. I love the movement to create an American single malt category and don’t seeing that going away.

That should be a popular category in the future.

The American single malt movement. That is a big deal for the U.S.

Also, the overall innovation taking place around the industry. Barrel finishing is great to see as well.

Gosh & schucks! I am so glad that you asked. We used them because they are beautiful & functional. They allow you to nose a whiskey like no other glass.

It is like a work of art unto themselves. Visitors comment on them quite a bit and we talk them up. The Glencairn Glass allows our whiskeys to really shine.

To find out more about Nelson’s Green Brier visit here.

First of all, and arguably most important, is that Heaven Hill Distillery is 100% family owned and family operated by the Shapira family who started the distillery in 1935.

After that, I believe that it is Heaven Hill’s House Style that sets us a part.  Since Heaven Hill owns more barrels of whiskeys six years and older, across our portfolio, Heaven Hill whiskeys are typically aged longer, and bottled at a higher ABV than our competitors.

Bourbon and American Whiskey was over looked for so long due to several events and consumer preferences, but the quality was always there, even during whiskeys decline.

When different Whiskey tastings like Whiskey Fest, Whiskey Live!, Whiskeys Of the World, and others sprung up, folks were so interested in Scotch Malts, and over time, those same folks started to include American whiskeys as one of their regular drams.

Then with the rise of Social Media, more and more Whiskey and Bourbon Society’s sprung up, and that along with many more building blocks has led to this success, but the quality was always there.

Bourbon Tourism
International Market expansion
Home Delivery
Internet Commerce

Bourbon Tourism. Seeing hundreds of thousands of bourbon enthusiasts from all over the world traveling to and visiting all of our visitors centers on the Bourbon Trail is very exciting.

I do believe the Glencairn Glass has been SO embraced by the industry, AND the consumer, that people ask for it by name, or just use the name Glencairn Glass as they do “Xerox copy”.

Vist Heaven Hill Distillery website here

One of the most important things when a distillery opens in what makes it different. We wanted to make whiskey, but not the whiskey everyone else was making. We weren’t going to make Bourbon, because that has already been done. The Scots make Traditional product, the Irish make traditional product, the Japanese make traditional product and that is all great. We, however, wanted to make something different, so we started off making a high-quality beer and distill that into a really different whiskey. Two big decisions that we made was to not make a brewery, but to partner with good breweries and have them make the mash.  We make our beer at three different breweries and use brewer’s yeast, not distillery yeast. Secondly, we rejected the idea of buying a single artisan still that is more versatile, but not specifically designed for each product. Instead, We had our four stills made at Forsythe. One other thing we try to do here is to be mentors to other prospective distillers trying to make their way into the business. We will take someone who is really serious about distilling and have them work with us at the distillery for a week to learn the ins & outs and the mechanics of what it takes to run a company like this and to make spirits.

It is a temporary phenomenon, so there will have a dip again. It has a 30-40 year cycles.  Bourbon is being over-produced so that in 5 or 6 years, it will be difficult to give it away.  American whiskey will have its moment in the sun, but that too will die, and then it just may be Brandy that becomes the next big thing. Bourbon is pricing itself out to most consumers, but brandy is very affordable.  It has a deep, sexy romantic past that consumers will be attracted to. That said, we have no intention to produce brandy, Just to drink it!

In Japan, the trend is to drink in in Highballs as opposed to neatlike is frequently done here in America, I see the trend going away from using small barrels (thankfully) and towards using a variety of barrels for finishing. The other factors that contribute to flavour, and that we are actively pursuing are local malts, and using different yeast strains..  The rapid maturation processes are interesting, but I would caution against putting anything out on the market before it is ready. We’re not interested in trying any rapid maturation processes.

The concept of terroir. Selecting ingredients based on farm, variety, and vintage , and essentially treating grain like grapes, will give us endless ways to express variation in whiskey.

I bought my first glasses for my own personal collection back in 2008.  I recognized that I couldn’t get the aromas & flavors from any other glass. So when we opened our tasting room, we needed a glass that would really showcase our spirits. In fact, our first order of Glencairn glasses came over from Scotland on the same barge as our stills!

If you would like to find out more about Copperworks Distillery or would be interested in purchasing one of their bottles you can check your their website here

I think one of the major things that makes us unique is that we grow our own grain. Yes, we use pot stills and use Minnesota cooperages, but I grow the grain and have complete control over my raw materials by growing them myself.

The only grain I don’t grow myself is my malted barley which I purchase from a farmer 70 miles south of me who also malts the grain, and he does that much better than I could. So all of my malt is custom for Far North Spirits.

A big part of it is complexity. You & I remember when there wasn’t a big flavour range out there in terms of food, let alone whiskey. People’s palates have been expanded over the past 30 years, especially here in the states. For decades the top spirit was vodka, but the complexity of whiskey is just infinite when you look around the world.

As far as ordinary market trends would be the exponential growth of the craft distilleries. It will be interesting to see where we are when the lockdown ends.

I also think that micro-distillers are going to start realizing that their whiskey needs to be better because it’s craft, and that you charge more because it is better, not just because it is craft.

One of the things that excites me is craft whiskey getting older and the next stage of older releases hitting the market. That could really change the landscape. With 6-8 year old whiskeys, that could be really fascinating but the biggest development for me is the upcoming release of our rye study. A 3-year crop research study on fifteen different varieties of rye.

The study not only discusses the agronomic performance of different varieties in the field, but more importantly it presents statistically significant differences in flavor profile based solely on the variety of rye. This could be a game changer, because this kind of research has never been published.

I think it presents a unique opportunity for craft distillers to emphasize the importance of not only raw materials, but the “front end” of the whiskey making process in general. I think this is important because so much of the discussion of whiskey over the years has been taken up by age and proof, when there is a lot more to talk about.

Well, with our whiskies, they have this expanded aroma that needs a glass like the Glencairn. That is why they are so fabulous!

I like to put the Glencairn glass in front of people in the tasting room, but I personally use the Mixer Glass when I am batching the whiskey. I prefer the wider mouth on the higher strength spirit.

Visit the Far North website here