Some warming spirits for Winter - by John Mariani for Forbes

It used to be that, with the exception of a few gift bottles shaped like Napoleon or Elvis, liquors didn’t change much from year to year. Fans of, say, Dewar’s Scotch or Bacardi rum or Stoli vodka expected and wanted them to taste the same with every bottle. But marketing new spirits has become enormous business, sometimes just by putting the same old liquor in a brand new bottle. But the most enticing spirits in the market are very new, often depending on “finishes” in various oak barrels previously used for wines of Sherry or even other spirits. Others are special editions from what have been deemed “vintage years,” even though vintages were once disdained for the same reason I gave about fans wanting their favorites always to taste the same.

Here are some of most interesting new spirits I’ve found, not just those that somehow were “discovered” tucked away in an ageing barn.   Read the full story here

I got the chance to take a tour of Reservoir Distillery in Richmond this past weekend. What a nice operation. They have been creating their own product on this site in Scott's Addition (an old soda bottling facility) since 2008. Nick Vaughan, a Head Distiller and Master Blender gave me a nice look behind the scenes, answered a ton of questions and took me through a tasting of their 3 flagship bottlings. All their products are started using corn, rye and wheat grains grown exclusively in Virginia. Everything I tasted was well balanced and done to very high standards, the 100% Rye was my favorite, the 100% Wheat came in an exceptionally close second. I had bought a bottle of their Hunter & Scott Rye Whiskey blend just a couple of weeks earlier and have really been enjoying that as well.

These folks are definitely purveyors of great Virginia Rye. - Dale Neal

https://www.reservoirdistillery.com/