Skip to main content

The North American Whiskey Guide From Behind the Bar

north american whiskey guide behind bar
We know that the majority of you love your whiskey. We also bet that most of you could use a little help in deciphering your ryes from your bourbons. So did Chad Berkey, the general manager of the Aero Club Bar in San Diego, which serves around 900 whiskeys, and Jeremy LeBlanc, the head mixologist at the Altitude Sky Lounge in San Diego. That’s why they decided to create The North American Whiskey Guide From Behind the Bar: Real Bartenders’ Reviews of More Than 250 Whiskeys–Includes 30 Standout Cocktail Recipes. The book has eight chapters on each whiskey variety — Bourbon, Tennessee, Rye, Canadian, Blended/Other, Wheat, Corn/White and Malt. Plus, it has chapters on whiskey cocktails, the best cigar pairings, and for those of you hardcore whiskey enthusiasts, The North American Whiskey Drinker’s Bucket List.

Each entry shows a photograph of the bottle of whiskey, a summary, a fun fact, along with all the other things you want to know about a whiskey — its age, origin, bottle, alcohol, proof, price, and other brands that are similar to it. Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, for instance, has a “unique, tall sleek bottle bearing angel’s wings,” while Berkshire Mountain Distillers Bourbon Whiskey is made at what was Massachusetts’s first legal distillery after prohibition. Then the authors had a panel of professional bartenders blind taste test each whiskey variety and give their take on it. Berkey and LeBlanc reviewed around 250 different whiskeys.

Related Videos

The result is a book that is sure to make you a whiskey expert in no time, so you that you can find your ideal bottle to share with your friends, and so that on your next visit to the liquor store, you’ll know which bottle to try. This guide is a must-have for both whiskey enthusiasts and novices.

The North American Whiskey Guide from Behind the Bar: Real Bartenders’ Reviews of More Than 250 Whiskeys–Includes 30 Standout Cocktail Recipes, $15.96 at amazon.com.

Editors' Recommendations

This NYC restaurant’s $518, 19-course tasting menu of Chinese cuisine is amazing
Chef Guo in New York is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a feast for the senses and the palate
Chef Guo food.

Butterfly Falls in Love with the Flower.

Step inside the restaurant Chef Guo, and the first thing you'll be greeted with is a majestic model of a ginko tree, the national tree of China, complete with brightly colored golden leaves. The tree cascades over the dining room, a space filled with Chinese calligraphy on the walls and regal Indonesian Zi Tan rosewood chairs. Soft and pleasant Chinese instrumental music plays in the background, an oasis in an otherwise hectic Midtown Manhattan.

Read more
This St. Patrick’s Day, grab an Irish beer from one of these 5 craft breweries
Irish beer: Celebrate the luck of the Irish in the best tasting way possible this year
Group of happy friends drinking and toasting beer at brewery bar restaurant.

The annual celebration of St. Patrick’s Day comes with a few guarantees. Green t-shirts will be adorned with obnoxious sayings. Leprechauns will be blamed for causing mischief. And the dry Irish stout Guinness will be inescapable on tap, in bottles, and in cans from coast to coast.
Guinness is so synonymous with Ireland, it is practically the national beverage. However, this mindset overlooks the dozens of smaller craft breweries found throughout Ireland’s cities and townships, and dotted along its famously beautiful countryside. If you’re ever lucky enough to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland, enjoy your token Guinness in the airport and then head out to experience one of these independent breweries for an Irish beer you haven't tasted yet.

Galway Bay Brewery
Ballybrit, County Galway

Read more
The best Irish whiskeys come in these 12 bottles
Looking for a great Irish whiskey to try? Start with this proper list of a dozen best bets.
whiskey bar

Ireland knows a thing or two about whiskey. After all, it's home to the oldest commercial whiskey distillery in the world, dating back to 1608. But with such a rich heritage and plethora of options, where should you direct your glass?

Well, Irish whiskey is actually a pretty manageable category, unlike the endless seas of, say, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon or Scotch. Despite its massive popularity, Ireland hosts a relatively small amount of distilleries. But there's plenty of variation and quality within that span and we have our favorites.

Read more