I cannot speak to the “best” label, but I did enjoy the video, even though it is long.

What is really awesome to me is that this video was filmed in a single 6+ minute take. Take # 40, on the 2nd day of filming. For details, read the interview.

• all whiskey must be distilled from grain (wheat, rye, barley and corn — not to mention the rare uses of oats and buckwheat)
• Bourbon is a minimum of 51 percent corn by law
• Scotch and Irish styles use barley as their base
• Canadian whisky is often mostly corn, but you can find some brands with a stronger rye base
• Scotch and Irish whiskies are made in beautiful copper stills often called pot stills
• American whiskey is usually made in more modern stills — known as column stills — containing copper plates inside
• distilling in a pot still is more labour intensive and much less efficient than a column still
• Bourbon and Scotch are typically double-distilled and Irish whiskey triple-distilled (Canadian law does not specify)
• the more times you distill, the less flavour you have
• Bourbon must be aged in new charred oak barrels by law (the used barrels get sent all over the world for aging other spirits, like other whiskies)
• some whiskeys are aged in used wine barrels
• “straight” Bourbon must be aged at least two years
• Scotch, Irish and Canadian whiskies are aged a minimum of three years
• American and Irish producers usually spell it with an “e.” Scotch and Canadian styles are typically spelled “whisky”
• the word whisky is derived from the Gaelic “uisge beatha” meaning “water of life”

And what is this big opportunity? Lark Distillery has secured a coveted opportunity to exhibit at the 11th annual Whiskies of the World Expo in California from March 25, 2010.

A spokesperson for Lark said that, “We have been told Americans are very anxious to try our whiskies and this will allow hundreds of people to do so.”

The Whiskies of the World Expo is one of the world’s elite whiskey showcase events, and will feature hundreds of whiskies from around the world.

The Lark Distillery is one of Australia’s leading distilleries, producing high quality, premium spirits using traditional time honoured methods.

The first Lark Distillery copper was found at an antiques auction, hidden away amongst the bentwood chairs and mahogany tables. Today the Distillery runs a 1800 litre copper pot still, along with a 500 litre spirit still, and produces ten to twelve 100 litre barrels per month.

The range of distilled products includes the flagship Single Malt Whisky, Premium Vodka, Gin, and a Bush Liqueur, and all are Kosher Certified, making Lark’s one of very few international premium distilleries to be certified.

Located on Hobart’s waterfront, the capital city of Tasmania, the Lark Distillery is found in the home of finishing yachts from the famous Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race.

Any of our readers from Tasmania? Have you tried Lark products? Please leave a comment.

I will warn you that Mr. Paterson is a character. He regularly throws scotch on his very expense rug; expensive due to all the high priced scotch that has been thrown on it! The blog’s main page also states that “Two things to remember though: If you drink the whisky too quickly, he’ll slap you. And if he sees you holding a whisky tasting glass the wrong way, he’ll kill you.”

He subtitles his blog as “Tales from the nose of Whyte & Mackay’s Master Blender”.

You can visit Richard at his blog over at themasterblender.com

That will buy you a bottle of the Highland Park 1968 Vintage.

To quote their website at highlandpark.co.uk …

“The myths and legends of Orkney have inspired the launch in November 2009 of the limited edition Orcadian Vintage Series, of which only a couple of will be released per year. The 1968 Vintage is a vatting of eight casks, yielding 1550 bottles at 45.6%. The Orcadian Vintage Series is easily recognizable as it is bottled in bespoke black glass. The interior hinged door on the box of this expression features a mythical Sea Dragon from a wood carving at the church of Urnes in western Norway. The illustration is a combat motif; a dragon-like creature is shown seizing a lesser beast by the neck. Max MacFarlane, Whisky Maker, has hand-selected casks based on their maturity and character; these have been married together in order to ensure consistency and Highland Park’s trademark balance.”

However, as Steve McCarthy would say, “A lot of guys that don’t like Scotch—they think a great whiskey is Crown Royal—they will not like my whiskey…we don’t dumb it down here.”

McCarthy founded the Clear Creek Distillery in Northwest Portland.

“McCarthy’s is a whiskey that certainly packs a peaty punch similar to Islay Scotches. This is a serious “Scotch” whiskey meant for hardcore Scotch drinkers who like the taste of a campfire in their mouth. Of course that’s an exaggeration—don’t be fooled; despite the peaty nature of McCarthy’s, it is a remarkably smooth drink. Aged three years, it is an unfiltered whiskey that in 2006 Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible awarded best small-batch whiskey in the world.”

Unlike most American whiskies, McCarthy’s barrels use local Oregon oak, which one critic says brings a spicier quality to the whiskey.

To read more about Steve, and Portland whiskey, visit this page at The Daily Vanguard. You should also visit Clear Creek’s webpage at clearcreekdistillery.com.