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You’ve heard it before: “Don’t judge a whiskey on the neck pour—the first pour is always off.” As someone who operates in the spirits industry—and holds a degree in chemical engineering —I wanted to believe there was something real behind this. After all, the logic sounds plausible: There’s air in the neck of the bottle Oxygen interacts with the liquid Therefore, the top layer must be chemically different That’s a clean hypothesis. The problem? It doesn’t hold up under actu

Should You Trust Spirits Awards? Fully Blind vs. “Blind-ish” Competitions Explained Walk into any liquor store and you’ll see it: Gold medals. Double gold. Best in Class. Platinum winner. World’s Best. It can start to feel like everyone  won something. So here’s the real question consumers should be asking: Do these awards actually mean the spirit was the best… or just the best marketed? The answer depends entirely on how  the competition was judged. And most consumers have n

What the heck is a “cigar‑malt” whiskey/whisky? Picture this: you light up a fine cigar, settle into your chair, and reach for a dram that says  it’s made for that moment. Enter the “cigar‑malt” – a whisky/whiskey (usually malt or single‐malt, but there’s crossover) marketed as the ideal partner to a cigar. The label might read “Cigar Malt”, “Cigar Blend”, “Cigar Reserve”, etc. The promise: a spirit heavy enough in body, rich in flavor (often sherry, dark fruit, tobacco, oak,

So many “craft” whiskey labels are owned by big companies. Learn what truly counts as craft, how to read labels, and how to find bottles worth buying. Keywords:  craft whiskey, craft whisky, bourbon, bottled in bond, straight whiskey, mash bill, label decoder, how to read a whiskey label Introduction If you’ve ever fallen for a “small‑batch” story only to find out the brand is part of a global portfolio, you’re not alone. Big‑owned “craft” isn’t automatically a bad thing—scal

From Barrel to Buzz — We Cover It All Your Daily Shot of Spirits, Strategy, and Style Hey there — I’m Lizzie , founder of My Whiskey Sherpa and co-founder of the Evel Spirits brand and American Icon Spirits Company, professional whiskey wrangler, spirits storyteller, and unapologetic neat drinker. You might know me from the book Whiskey Business which is releasing Christmas 2025 or my best-seller, Mission to Million$, or maybe you’ve heard of our gold medal-winning lineup we

Whiskey has long been steeped in myths and legends, with stories passed down through generations about its origins, production, and even...

Whiskey aficionados, rejoice! If you're looking to elevate your whiskey knowledge while embarking on an adventure, look no further than a...

Are you a newcomer to the world of whiskey, eager to unlock its secrets and enhance your tasting experience? Look no further than a...