The whiskey you choose deserves a vessel that complements its flavor. But, then again, if discretion is required, a Solo cup will do.  To me, a Snüte nosing glass is an engineering marvel.  How did they manage to put glass inside a glass?!  I have no idea how they did it.  But, it’s pretty great.  Conceptually, it’s similar to a Glencairn whisky nosing glass, but with air insulation.  The Glencairn has been the preferred nosing glass for more than forty years and was designed

Santa Claus, like all pilots, is required to receive an annual checkride from an FAA evaluator. But to Santa’s surprise, they decided to give him a no-notice check ride on his busiest night. Santa got his log book out and made sure all his paperwork was in order. He knew the evaluator was serious and would examine all his equipment and truly put Santa’s flying skills to the test. The evaluator walked slowly around the sled. He checked the reindeer harnesses, the landing gea

ABC - $64.99  TW - $61.99 Class VI - Not Available ABV - 50% 6 Years 15 Dec 25 New Riff Distilling Company From the VA ABC website:  “ An extremely approachable yet complex expression of American Rye. Made from 100% Malted Rye, this unique whiskey offers a gateway to the Rye category as well as new experience for connoisseurs. ” I’d agree - it’s very approachable. My first sip was genuinely surprising. I hadn’t tasted a rye quite like this, and I was impressed. This is what I

Got a whiskey drinker in your life and looking for something fun and reasonable to give them?  Whiskey and Politics is here to help.  Here are some suggestions: GLENCAIRN Whiskey Glass Water Pipette  - $14.99 I don’t normally add water to my neat whisk(e)y, but I think I’ve been missing out especially with the higher-proof whiskies.  The next time you have a 50% ABV whiskey, take a sip then add a few drops of water and sip again.  Continue until you notice a difference.  Many

1 Dec 25 I got a great Christmas present from my lovely and talented wife:  A whiskey advent calendar.  It’s not the first time she’s gotten me an advent calendar that featured booze.  One year it was a gin calendar, another a scotch calendar.  I really enjoyed them all.  I didn’t know much about gin but enjoyed the few gins I’d tasted up to that point.  Some were amazing, others - not so much.  But the chance to try so many different brands without having to buy a fifth of e

ABC - $59.99   TW - $64.99 Class VI - $54.90 ABV - 45% NAS ( Aged at least 4 years  per TTB regulations) 18 Nov 25 Bulleit Single Malt Whiskey From TW :  “Bulleit Single Malt is made with a Bulleit-curated malt barley strain aged in Bulleit Bourbon barrels. This whiskey offers an aroma of sweet vanilla and toasted oak, light and fruity on the palate with hints of red fruit and pear.” While we’ve talked plenty about the legal definition of “bourbon,” American Single Malt has n

21 Nov 25 Whisky Advocate Magazine used to host WhiskyFest in Washington, DC - a yearly whisk(e)y extravaganza that truly had to be experienced to be believed. I attended every DC event and learned something new each time. It was always a great night. Unfortunately, Whisky Advocate eventually decided the DC market wasn’t profitable and stopped bringing the event here despite plenty of protests on my part. About a month ago, I stumbled across a Facebook ad for Whiskey Washback

The Little Mod Hotel. Credit: The Little Mod Hotel 2 Nov 25 Several years ago I was listening to a podcast (turns out, it was April 2021, though it feels like yesterday).  It featured an interview with Congressman Denver Riggleman .  He seemed pretty smart.  Knew a lot about a lot of different things - many policy issues and some, well, more esoteric  topics.  You’ll have t

The entrance of The Copper Fox Distillery Travel west on the Fairfax County Parkway then west on I-66, then the Lee Highway takes you the rest of the way.  A turn onto Sons Lane leads to a quiet alley lined with parking areas and a cluster of old barns that have been repurposed into shops. Each barn now houses something different - The New Iberia Kitchen and The Copper Fox Antiques Store , among others. For clarity, that last one isn’t associated with our destination - The

Beautiful building. Credit: The Silverback Distillery website. Silverback Distillery My wife and I travel well together. We’ve always been a good team - no bickering, just easy conversation and a lot of laughs. She’s one of the smartest people I know, so the one-hour drive from our first distillery flew by as we wound through Virgi

The Murlarkey Still. Murlarkey Distillery 12 Nov 25 Northern Virginia has every kind of food imaginable - except Waffle House.  So we bid farewell to the Little Mod Hotel and restarted our journey towards Murlarkey.  Google Maps helped us locate a WH along the way.  Hopped up on some “Scattered, Smothered, and Covered" (and too much coffee), we were ready for some whiskey.   Murlarkey is an easy trip.  From the south, there were more pleasant country roads for us.  A Google M

ABC - $84.99   TW - $80.99 Class VI - as IF! ABV - 40% 15YO 3 Nov 25 From the ABC website:  “Fifteen-year-old Glenfiddich from three types of casks (traditional American bourbon, Portuguese sherry and new oak) is married in a large Solera vat, made of Oregon pine. The vat is always kept at least half full, ensuring a consistent quality of whisky is maintained whenever it is topped up. Then this beautifully balanced single malt is left to settle in a small Solera tun before bo

25 Oct 25 Catoctin Creek 120 W. Main Street Purcellville, Virginia Cost - FREE! Limits - Must be 21 years old to sip. From their website:  “Catoctin Creek Distilling Company will conduct one of our famous Bottling Workshops! Here's your chance to volunteer and learn how to bottle, cap, seal, and label Roundstone Rye. Get your chance to work the magic "whisky cow"! Or maybe you'd like to try your hands at operating "Ninette", our fancy French labeling machine! These bottles ma

ABC - $37.99  TW - $33.99 Class VI - Not Available ABV - 46% NAS Mashbill  Straight Rye whiskeys:  95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP; 80% Rye, 20% Malted Rye from High West Distillery High West Distillery 21 Oct 25 From the VA ABC website:  High West Double Rye! Barrel Aged Rye is a very spicy rye with a perfect balance of cinnamon, anise and honey. It stands out in cocktails, neat or on the rocks. If you look at the mashbill, you’ll notice that the distillery married some sou

ABC - Unavailable, 10-yr-old is $74.99  TW - $89.99 Class VI - Not Available ABV - 43% 15 Years Glengoyne Distillery 13 Oct 25 From the TW website :  Highlands – A 15-year-old single malt whisky wholly matured in bourbon and sherry casks. Fresh orchard fruit and citrus aromas with sweet gentle flavors of apple pie, tropical fruits, and vanilla. A smooth dry finish complemented by soft spice and lingering oak.  Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd., the independent, family-owned company

Song Dog Farm Distillery 18 Oct 25 It was a beautiful day - high, wispy cirrus clouds stretched across a blue sky, and the temperature hovered around 73°F (23°C). I had recently learned of a local distillery.  While they’d been making whiskey for over five years now, they just opened a tasting room.  Always happy to taste local whiskies, the missus, our dog, and I jumped in the minivan and went for a drive.   Located under a flight path for Dulles, the distillery is also a gr

ABC - $42.29   TW - $53.99  Class VI - Not Available  ABV - 46%  NAS   Mashbill - 100% Rye 6 Oct 26 Catoctin Creek Distillery “ Catoctin...

ABC - $44.99  TW - $51.99 Class VI - Not Available ABV - 43% 12 Years Old Mashbill - 100% Malted Barley 8 Sep 25 Knappogue Castle Distillery Recently, a friend gave me a bottle of Knappogue Irish whiskey—a thoughtful gesture of friendship that I genuinely appreciated. More of you are welcome to show your affection the same way—this hobby isn’t cheap, that’s for sure! I held onto the bottle for several months, hoping to have my friend and the guys over for an evening of shooti

ABC - Not Available  TW - Not Available Class VI - Not Available ABV - 51.1% Age - 7 Years Mashbill - The mashbill is listed as ‘Rye...

ABC - $54.99  TW -  Not Available Class VI - Not Available ABV - 50% NAS Mashbill - Unknown Wilderness Trail This is definitely a sippin’...

ABC - $39.99  TW - $41.99 Class VI - Looks like they only have the Woodinville Straight Bourbon Port Finish - $50.99 ABV - 45% NAS...

ABC - $44.99  TW - Not Available in MD Class VI - Not Available ABV - 45% NAS Highlands Distilling Company , Marion, VA 11 Aug 25 From...

ABC - $39.99  TW - $27.99 Class VI - $36.09 ABV - 43% NAS Mashbill - 100% Malted Barley Monkey Shoulder 5 Aug 25 From the VA ABC  -...

ABC - $179.99  TW - $163.99 Class VI - It’s hilarious that you think the Class VI would sell this ABV - 48.6% 12 Jul 25 From the Dalmore...