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The North American Whiskey Guide From Behind the Bar

By Ann Binlot Jan 4, 2015 7:04 AM

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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.

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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.

Ann Binlot is a New York-based freelance writer who contributes to publications like The Economist, Wallpaper*, Monocle… Read Full Bio

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