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The Cornerstone of Good Taste

Ahh, the Welcome Box. La grande entrée into the world of fine Spirits. A paragon of good taste and a harbinger of your membership journey with Flaviar. Once you’ve savored its contents, there’s no turning back—the rabbit hole is deep and Wonderland awaits. It’s going to change the way you taste. 

When picking the right Spirit for the job, Whisk(e)y became the obvious choice. It’s a charming and sly devil that fires on all cylinders when on your lips, and it goes down smoother than Don Juan’s most precious pick up lines. In short, it’s a proper badass.

There are many countries capable of making excellent Whisk(e)y and eventually you’ll get to know them all. But for now, you have three to kickstart your journey of spiritual enlightenment. The spirits we chose are not necessarily established, but they’re young and brilliant—and that goes perfectly with the Flaviar creed.

You’ll start by getting a taste of some real sugar straight from a young prodigy distillery that’s already earned quite a few stripes—Breckenridge. Their Bourbon is their signature product and it sets the bar sky high for all blended spirits, so ready your rockets.

 

Now, let’s make a giant leap for mankind and head all the way across the pond to the U.S.. FEW Rye Whiskey heralds the renaissance of Rye. Aye, Rye is making a comeback and we found one that’s young, fierce yet really smooth around the edges. It fits this Box like a glove.

 

But to really know Whisky you’ve got to go back to the roots… Scotch. Bruichladdich is a Scotch with a peaty twist. We love it and so will you. But beware—you might love it too much!

 

And with that, ladies and gents: Slàinte & Cheers!

 

SmartAss Corner

 

1. If you can’t take the heat, well… make some Bourbon. Temps inside American warehouses are much higher than in other Whisky-making regions, so the pace of maturation for a Bourbon is much faster than, say, for a Scotch Whisky.  

 

2) What separates a Bourbon from the rest of the Whiskies? Well…

It has to be made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn.

It must be distilled to no more than 80% ABV and entered into the barrel for aging at no more than 62.5% ABV.

It must be aged in a brand-new, charred white oak barrel.

It has to be be matured—even if it’s only briefly. If a bottle does not bear an age, it’s at least four years old. If it’s been aged for a minimum of two years and does not have any added coloring, flavoring or other spirits, it may be called straight Bourbon.

Bourbon that has an age stated on its label must be labeled with the age of the youngest Whiskey in the bottle.

It must be bottled at 40% ABV or more.

 

3) The craft Bourbon boom is very real. The number of craft distilleries in the U.S. exploded from around 50 to well over 1,000 in just ten years.

 

4) Seems like wealthy tycoons John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie knew how to take a joke. During one Christmas exchange, Carnegie sent a fine Whiskey to Rockefeller—a devout baptist who had given up drinking.

 

5) Rye—think of it as Bourbon's edgier, spicier cousin (you know the one… ahem). It’s known for imparting what many call a spicy or fruity flavor to the Whiskey. Rye (distilled from at least 51% Rye), is not very sweet and tends to have a spicier body. That’s why your Rye cocktail tastes a bit drier than it’s Bourbon counterpart. 

 

6) Evanston, Illinois—the home of the Temperance Movement—remained dry for over a century. You can thank the master distiller at FEW for overturning those laws and becoming the city’s first distiller of grain spirits. Someone start working on a statue of this man, ASAP.

 

7) Rocky Mountain… high? Yep. Breckenridge Distillery is located at an altitude of 9600 feet in the Rocky Mountains, high enough to earn it the title of “World’s Highest Distillery.” And yes, we’re pretty sure that the irony was intended. 

 

8) When it comes to welcoming people, Tibetan monks stick their tongue out. But in the U.S., it’s probably a good idea to leave that behavior to the toddler set.

 

9) What’s in a name? When it comes to Whisky (or Whiskey), turns out it’s quite a bit. The spelling differs geographically. Countries that have E's in their names (like the United States and Ireland) tend to spell it WhiskEy. Countries without E’s in their names (like Canada, Scotland and Japan) spell it Whisky. Hope that clears a few things up. 

 

10) Nikola Tesla was convinced that if he drank Whisky every day, he’d live to be 150. Hey, no harm in trying.

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