This month we get peaty. Or is that smoky? And if it is, then what…
Tag: blind tasting
There’s been resurgence in all things Irish whiskey of late, so we put together a panel to assess some of what was out there. For something a little different we conducted this tasting at the Argyle’s new dumpling bar in The Rocks, because despite the geographical distance between Asia and Ireland, we think there’s a damn fine affinity between dumplings and whiskey.
With all the talk about mezcals these days, could it be that tequila has become mainstream? Has the zeitgeist moved on? Has tequila sold out?
We gathered together a panel of five bartenders to plough through a tasting of six tequilas to find out.
For bourbon to be labelled as such, US regulations state that it must be distilled to not more than 160-proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51 per cent corn and stored in charred new oak. But this still leaves a lot of room for different styles, as were to find out with the line-up of bourbons here.
Rum, Ron, Rhum — it’s the spirit that goes by many names, depending on where it’s found. Because it is found throughout the world — really, anywhere that has produced sugar has some sort of rum industry happening — what constitutes a rum can differ according to the local regulations.
Poor old blended whisky. In this brave new world of boozing, where ballsy ryes proclaim their 95% rye mash bill, of high proof spirits and super-hopped IPA’s, spirits like blended whisky can get a little lost in the noise. It’s not that the spirits aren’t well made — on the contrary, really, because the art of blending and creating a consistent product year in and year out is one of the toughest gigs in the business.
Over the past two months you will have noticed Australian Bartender has started doing ‘Blind Tastings’ of products and wait for it… actually reviewing and rating brands! In April we looked at Australian craft beers and this issue we step it up and review both absinthe and rye spirits.
This was an exciting blind tasting to watch unfold. As our 150th issue approaches we’ve responded to the feedback from readers and our advisory panel. Bartenders are having a greater say in the mag and we think that is great. We also think that the Australian craft beer scene is growing stronger and more and more bars are expanding their range, so we thought we’d put together a panel and a tasty beer line up to see just what was out there and hopefully identify some beers worth packing in your fridges
Not long ago, while sailing on the electric Interweb, a wee notice caught my eye. Among the many other internet advertisments promising to enlarge (or reduce) parts of my body I myself consider to be perfectly formed and correctly proportioned, this one was about a spirits competition.