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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · 14d

Dickel is huge for sure. I’m not optimistic about the pause being temporary (I’m positive it is not at Balc though).

It seems Teaninich did double capacity around 2013, but perhaps that’s why they’re shuttering now—plenty of stock available.

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · 14d

Including a substantial portion of the 10th anniversary Garryana 😢 www.seattletimes.com/life/food-dr...

How did 12,000 bottles of award-winning WA whiskey disappear?

In July, 12,000 bottles of whiskey went missing from a warehouse operated by Seattle’s Westland Distillery. The Skagit County sheriff's office is investigating.

www.seattletimes.com

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · 14d

Yeah, this is not a surprise. If Balcones restarts production again under Diageo ownership that WILL be a surprise.

Bill Linnane @billlinnane.bsky.social · 14d

Diageo has temporarily ceased whiskey production at its Balcones and George Dickel distilleries with the loss of 17 jobs, as it re-evaluates its ‘productivity goals’ www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2025/09/diag...

Diageo halts production at Balcones and George Dickel - The Spirits Business

Diageo has temporarily ceased whiskey production at its Balcones and George Dickel distilleries with the loss of 17 jobs.

www.thespiritsbusiness.com

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · 15d

Fascinating thread about the evolution of alcohol metabolism in primates.

Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 15d

Last week a paper came out, showing that chimpanzees daily consume significant amounts of alcohol. A thread where I walk through why the paper matters, then the paper itself.

Screenshot of: "S c i e n c e A d v A n c e S | R e S e A R c h A R t i c l e1 of 10B I O L O G I C A L A N T H R O P O L O G YEthanol ingestion via frugivory in wild chimpanzeesAleksey Maro 1,2*, Aaron A. Sandel 3, Bi Z. A. Blaiore4,5, Roman M. Wittig5,6,John C. Mitani7, Robert Dudley1,8Human attraction to alcohol may derive from an evolutionary association between ethanol and fruits consumed byanimals in nature. Fermentative yeasts are widespread in the terrestrial biosphere, and simple carbohydrates un-derpinning ethanol production are commonplace within fruits. We determined ethanol concentrations withinfruits representing a substantial portion of the diet of our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees. Ripe fruit pulpfrom 20 angiosperm species in Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda contained an average value of 0.31 (± 0.21 SD) and 0.32%(± 0.20) ethanol (weight/weight), respectively, as scaled by annual chimpanzee feeding time per species at eachsite. Chimpanzees typically eat ~4.5 kilograms of fruit per day, corresponding to an estimated ethanol ingestion of14 grams (±9), or the equivalent of 1.4 (±0.9) standard drinks by international standards. These findings are con-sistent with the hypothesis that ethanol is widespread within tropical fruits and that modern predisposition to al-cohol consumption derives from ancestral exposure to this psychoactive substance among frugivorous primates."

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Reposted by Susannah SB

Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 16d

[tapping the sign] vinepair.com/articles/hop...

America’s brewers: Brew protest beer. Advertise the cost increase of your aluminum cans on your aluminum cans. Sell an India Pale Ale called Trade War Casualty. Print your next run of 12-pack cartons with a callout that reads “Tariffs Are Killing Craft” right next to the alcohol-by-volume statement and the phone number for the Capitol switchboard. Dipshit right-wingers have been trying to smuggle their politics into the beer aisle for at least half a decade. It hasn’t really worked, because the liquid inside the cans tends to suck as much as the ideology on the labels. But the general thesis is sound. Beer can be a vehicle for relaying political messaging directly from brewers to drinkers, with neither journalistic interlocutors, costly advertising, nor billionaire-controlled algorithms in between. It has been before, and with Trump’s tariffs walloping the struggling craft beer segment, it can be again.

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · 21d

Can confirm, we had lunch once and i he went deep into talking about his grandfather who was into the occult and how that influenced Dan’s artistic career and other endeavors. Fascinating, cool, kind man.

Eize Basa @eizebasa.baby · 21d

A producer told me once she has to warn young crewmembers to avoid being alone with Aykroyd. "Not because he's a creep, he's a gentleman. But if you let him strike up a conversation the next thing we know all the PAs will be huddled in his dressing room learning how humans evolved from dolphins."

Col. Boozy Badger @boozybadger.lawyersandliquor.com · 21d

I love Dan Aykroyd because he has very clearly entered the stage in his life where he is going to make sure everyone knows about his special interests and he has the profile and resources to do it in a high profile manner. You are GOING to hear about rocks, dinosaurs, vodka, and ghosts dammit.

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Sep 9

As an American whiskey writer who’s gone on weird press trips/to OTT events, some of the details in here are all too familiar. Others made my eyes pop. Kudos to Claire for recognizing in advance what a shitshow this was bound to be and declining to be part of it.

Can't See The Wood For The Whisky @clairev.bsky.social · Sep 7

Hello BlueSky... I kind of forgot about you today. Anyway, have a read, share etc before the attention gets too much and I take it down....

clairevokins.substack.com/p/when-saltb...

When Saltburn comes to Edinburgh...

..

clairevokins.substack.com

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Sep 8

This is my go to podcast for when I can’t fall asleep—I call it “soothing British academics”—but it is unfortunately often too interesting, thus prolonging my insomnia. Lovely tribute from @brandyjensen.bsky.social

Brandy Jensen @brandyjensen.bsky.social · Sep 8

wrote a little bit about the greatest to ever do it

Thank You, Melvyn Bragg | Defector

Melvyn Bragg, host of the BBC Radio 4 programme In Our Time since its very first episode back in 1998, has greeted me in the same delightfully brusque manner hundreds and hundreds of times. Hello. In ...

defector.com

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Reposted by Susannah SB

Seabird @seabirdreader.bsky.social · Aug 31

On aging whiskey in unusual woods, by @whattastesgood.bsky.social:
imbibemagazine.com/distillers-l...

Distillers Are Crafting Character With Alternative Woods

Contributing writer Susannah Skiver Barton examines the role that alternative woods can play in aging your favorite spirits.

imbibemagazine.com

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 29

If you've ever had an amburana whiskey and thought, "Huh?" you'll want to read my latest piece for Imbibe. Whiskey distillers and blenders weigh in on using non-oak woods for aging. imbibemagazine.com/distillers-l...

Distillers Look to Create Unique Flavors With Alternative Woods

Contributing writer Susannah Skiver Barton examines the role that alternative woods can play in aging your favorite spirits.

imbibemagazine.com

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 25

News I didn't expect to see in 2025: Another historic Scottish distillery revival, Coleburn, closed in 1985. Most American drinkers will never have had a chance to try the old stuff because v little seems to have made it to the 21st century. I tasted it once, iirc around 25 yo, & it was tremendous.

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 22

Thanks for sharing!

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Reposted by Susannah SB

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · Aug 22

Nice look at an aspect of the booze-o-sphere I knew nothing about!

Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 22

I've been wanting to write about the weird world of military liquor sales for years and @theassemblync.bsky.social gave me the chance. Please read for the insane quote about how overthrowing a country was easier than getting placement on base: www.theassemblync.com/culture/food...

Vets Put Their Stamp on Startup Whiskeys

While military liquor stores have been slow to warm to the trend, veteran-owned distilleries offer something unique for the armed forces.

www.theassemblync.com

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 22

I've been wanting to write about the weird world of military liquor sales for years and @theassemblync.bsky.social gave me the chance. Please read for the insane quote about how overthrowing a country was easier than getting placement on base: www.theassemblync.com/culture/food...

Vets Put Their Stamp on Startup Whiskeys

While military liquor stores have been slow to warm to the trend, veteran-owned distilleries offer something unique for the armed forces.

www.theassemblync.com

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 21

I just really miss public transportation, and the food options of Jackson Heights.

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 21

Shoulda flown into LGA! You can get a free express bus straight from the airport to the Roosevelt Ave. subway station, pick up some tacos from the street cart or momos from Nepali Bhancha Ghar, and then hop an express train into the city.

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 19

Whiskey from Tennessee =/= Tennessee whiskey. Let me 'splain it to you. vinepair.com/articles/whi...

Tennessee Whiskey Is Evolving. Is That a Bad Thing?

Not too long ago, “Tennessee whiskey” was a synonym for a single brand: Jack Daniel’s. Although Tennessee had a robust whiskey industry prior to Prohibition — which started in 1909 and ran until 1937 ...

vinepair.com

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 11

Time to re-up this article from a couple years ago. Currently considering my options for that first post-partum pour. www.businessinsider.com/professional...

I'm a professional whiskey taster — and I'm pregnant. I'm worried about how motherhood will affect my career.

A professional whiskey taster who's kept her pregnancy under wraps explains how she's adapted her job and worries about her career prospects as a mom.

www.businessinsider.com

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 9

At least they had an auto-reply set up! Half the time there’s nothing and I follow up for weeks on end until they’re back in the office and my C deadlines has passed.

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 6

They do seem to have the opposite of a Midas touch

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Reposted by Susannah SB

Josh Wright 🪦🪦🪦🪦 @joshwri.bsky.social · Aug 5

Constellation selling a brand is always good for that brand.

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 5

It feels too soon to call on Compass Box. FEW is still making great stuff, it's just all small scale—so, same as it was. And I think Old Potrero has benefited hugely from its corporate ownership, in the form of more scale and more mature product. High West though... :(

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 5

Ain't that the truth. There's a good number of B2B companies that help brands do direct-to-consumer in a majority of states but it keeps prices high and a lot of the smaller producers aren't seeing the math add up to where contracting with them is worth it.

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 5

Constellation has sold off Copper & Kings to a newly formed spirits company called Bourdon (not a typo, the founder's surname). Maybe a positive move considering the brand has languished since Constellation bought it five years ago, though I don't see ppl flocking to American brandy en masse.

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Susannah SB @whattastesgood.bsky.social · Aug 2

In 20 years, if universities still exist, MBA candidates will study the breathless blind greed inspired by the bourbon boom and similarly scratch their heads

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