Renita Reavis 
School is back in session for the youth in our community. Many adults take continuing education courses to maintain their licenses. I signed up for a whiskey course as something fun to do the first time. It ended up building my confidence and showed me that I did know quite a bit about whiskey and … Read more
A Trip of a Lifetime – Edinburgh, Scotland Ever have a trip you dreamed about? One you just knew you would take someday, when you had the time. I completed my Whiskey Sommelier Level 3 certification a week before my family’s 10-day trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, in late May. Every person in our group had … Read more
Our whiskey grain choices reflect our agricultural history. Whiskey preferences are closely tied to the grains used in production. Mashbills show the mix and amounts of different grains in the whiskey. The location helps identify various styles within whiskey categories, but mashbills are what truly define whiskey. **Barley** is fundamental to many Scotch, Irish, American … Read more
By: Renita Reavis Wandering the numerous bottles in the American whiskey aisles of any whiskey store can be overwhelming, with label graphics and words that catch the eye and grab your attention. One of the boldest typefaces and words out there is “Bottle-In-Bond”. Whiskey menus will shorten it to “BiB”. What does this mean? Why … Read more
New Year’s resolutions can fill us with hope for achieving our goals. Have you ever found yourself only making it through part of January before losing confidence in your ability to reach them? What if your goal was something simple, achievable, and whiskey-related? Here are some whiskey-related resolutions that have helped me year after year. … Read more
TTB The acronym that sends shivers through distilleries everywhere is the dreaded Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau under the U.S. Department of the Treasury. No one likes mentioning TTB, but they oversee our industry. However, this TTB actually refers to the Taxes, Troops, and Barrel fight, which is better known as the Whiskey … Read more
Memories are instant flashes where all our senses converge, transporting us back to another moment in our past. The smell of an ingredient while cooking. The color of a stranger’s hair. The perfect summer coastal breeze in the evening. A song is playing overhead while shopping at HEB. Each of these brief things invokes an … Read more
We all have our preferences on how to enjoy a pour of our favorite whiskey, but have you considered whether you are drinking it correctly? Are special glasses to sip on whiskey only for those who, like me, enjoy being full-on hobbyists who might have taken things too far? Your preference is correct. There are … Read more
We are entering a time of year when special bottles are bought to honor our loved ones or celebrate milestones. Stores will see an increase in demand preceding Father’s Day. Wedding seasons are next in the lineup as brides search for the special bottle for their grooms or the grooms look for the special bottle … Read more
There are never any doubts about the uniqueness of Texas or Texans. We claim every single item that is Texan is as different as each one of us that calls it home. Texas whiskey does not imitate. Each microclimate adds a stamp that cannot be replicated anywhere else. The grains we grow add to the … Read more