Episode 522: February 21, 2015

For the second straight year, a Texas whiskey has won Best in Show honors at the American Craft Spirits Association competition. San Antonio’s Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling .36 Single Barrel Straight Bourbon beat a field of whiskies and other spirits from around the US. Ranger Creek co-founder Mark McDavid joins us this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth to share the story behind that whiskey and the distillery. In the news, a California law firm is challenging Beam Suntory on two fronts now over claims that Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark are “hand-made”, a distilling prodigy is leaving Brown-Forman for the craft distilling world, and doctors don’t want us to confuse the “Bourbon Virus” with the “Whisky Bug”.

Links: Ranger Creek | Jim Beam | Kazerouni Law Group | Maker’s Mark | Fred Minnick’s Blog | Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame | The Macallan | Duncan Taylor | Highland Park | BenRiach | GlenDronach | Teeling Whiskey Company | Glendalough | Coppersea Distilling | Teerenpeli | Baltimore Business Journal | US Centers for Disease Control | Old Forester | Zuidam Distillers | The Whisky Exchange |