Guests happily paying whatever it costs have discovered leading chefs challenged to excel in a smoky mode. They also find superb wines and great after-dinner drinks. Cognac and Armagnac', of course, but single malt scotch, single vat and small batch bourbon too. The end result of this, and other effective communication by a tightly regulated industry, has led to a remarkably well-informed body of drinkers. Kansas City's Leonard Mirabile notes a change in bourbon demand in the past two years.
More people request it and drink it straight or on the rocks.
On the Beverage Black, And Other Premium Prizes Garden Stater Mort Hochstein, an eminent beverage scribe, reports that small batch and single barrel bottlings are bourbon's answer to single malt scotch. Maker's Mark was first off the mark with small batch bourbon only after 35 years ago. Ancient Age produced the First single barrel bourbon 12 years ago. This does not hold a candle to the 250-year heritage of The Glenlivet, America's most popular single malt scotch, or Royal Lochnagar's 130 years of distilling tradition. But both super-premium products of Scotland and the American south are on the march.