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Sippin’ Around the Globe: The Insider’s Guide

Hey Barrelhead 🥃
In today’s newsletter:
Crazy sales, crazy pours, and budget buys
All the Wellers ranked from best to worst
A chance to win a Stagg JR
What people drink around the world — It’s not always Bourbon 😱
And more …
PROOF OF GENIUS
THE STILL THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
Which country invented the continuous still—revolutionizing modern whiskey and spirit production worldwide? |
THE WEEKLY POUR
🥂 Historic Sale: From complete sets of Pappy Van Winkle to Prohibition-era pours, Buffalo Trace is unloading its crown jewels for a cause.
🙈 Yowza: A $2,000 pour? Now that's living large…
💰 Best Buy: 17 Whiskeys under $35 actually worth trying
⚖️ Smooth Sippin’: All the Wellers ranked from best to worst.
A MESSAGE FROM RICKHOUSE
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TOP SHELF
Cheers Around the World: What Everyone’s Really Sippin’
Every country’s got that bottle.
The one that shows up at weddings, late-night poker games, and awkward family dinners.
This is your insider cheat sheet to what pours are actually king around the globe.
🇺🇸 United States: Bourbon Runs the Block
Let’s be honest, bourbon is America.
From Buffalo Trace to Four Roses, we’ve got charred oak running through our veins.
Legally, it’s gotta be 51% corn and aged in new charred oak. Spiritually, it’s caramel, heat, and “hell yeah.”
But here's the twist: vodka still outsells it.
Because America also loves quick wins, vodka-cran hacks, and anything that disappears into a Red Solo cup.
🇲🇽 Mexico: Tequila > Church
Tequila’s a religion.
And yes—there are two types of drinkers down there:
The tourists: “Can I get a Patrón shot?”
The locals: laughs in El Tesoro
But real ones know: no “100% agave” on the label? Trash it.
Also: Mezcal is tequila’s smoky older brother who rides motorcycles and has stories he won’t tell.
🏴 Scotland: Whisky, No “E,” No Mercy
Peat monsters. Highland elegance. Liquid campfire in a glass.
Scotch isn’t just a drink …
It’s a rite of passage.
Glenfiddich. Lagavulin. Macallan. You know the drill.
Bonus trivia to drop at your next bottle share: “Uisge beatha” (pronounced OOSH-ka BAE-ha) means “water of life” in Gaelic.
Drink too much? Feels like death.
🇯🇵 Japan: Quiet Confidence in a Glencairn
Japanese whisky doesn’t shout.
It sharpens its blade in the corner and wins every blind taste test.
Yamazaki. Hibiki. Nikka.
It’s Scotch with samurai discipline.
Meanwhile, umeshu (plum wine) is the sweeter sleeper. Serve it on ice. Or with soda. Or next to your regretful Tinder date 😉
Pro move: Stick to bottles with an age statement. Some of the non-age-stated stuff? Dicey.
🇷🇺 Russia: Vodka, Straight. No Mixers, No Mercy
Vodka in Russia is not for mixing. It’s for toasting. Repeatedly.
Beluga. Russian Standard. Stolichnaya. Pick one.
Also: if you’re not chasing it with pickles or herring, you’re doing it wrong.
🇰🇷 South Korea: Soju Nation
Fact: Soju outsells everything.
Yes—even your precious bourbon.
It’s cheap. It’s strong. It’s everywhere.
And when paired with Korean BBQ?
Game over.
Jinro sells over 100 million cases a year. Let that marinate.
🇫🇷 France: Cognac’s Global Glow-Up
France sips Cognac.
America raps about it.
Thank Henny for that.
Breakdown for beginners:
VS (Very Special) = 2+ years
VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale) = 4+ years
XO (Extra Old)= 10+ years
XOXO Not a Cognac. Just what you write after three glasses and a risky text to your ex.
Drink it neat, or drop it in a Sidecar and pretend you’re royalty.
🇧🇷 Brazil: Cachaça and the Caipirinha Come-Up
Rum’s chaotic cousin.
Made from sugarcane juice.
Served best in a caipirinha that slaps harder than Carnival drums.
Two sips and suddenly you know how to samba.
🌍 The Wild Cards
🇨🇳 China: Baijiu. Funky. Strong. Smells like regret. Sells like crazy.
🇩🇪 Germany: Schnapps. Fruit or herbal. Always follows a meat-heavy meal.
🇮🇳 India: “Whisky”—but made with molasses. Basically budget rum in disguise.
TL;DR: Raise It Like the Locals
Country | Spirit | Rick-Worthy Fact |
---|---|---|
🇺🇸 USA | Bourbon | Must be made in America. |
🇲🇽 Mexico | Tequila | Made legally in 5 states only. |
🏴 Scotland | Scotch | Minimum 3 years in oak. |
🇯🇵 Japan | Whisky | Modeled after Scotch. |
🇷🇺 Russia | Vodka | Drink it straight, comrade. |
🇰🇷 South Korea | Soju | Best-selling spirit on Earth. |
🇫🇷 France | Cognac | Aged grape luxury. |
🇧🇷 Brazil | Cachaça | Built for caipirinhas. |
Final Pour
Every bottle tells a story.
Some start in Kentucky rickhouses. Others in Seoul’s street bars.
But no matter where you are …
Barrelheads knows the best spirit is the one shared with people who get it.
Skål. Santé. Na zdorovie. 🥃

POUR DECISIONS

LAST CALL
Last week we asked:
What landmark 1897 legislation, championed by Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr., established the first consumer protection law in the United States—ensuring bourbon was aged, bottled, and stored under government supervision?
The Whiskey Purity Act
The Bottled-in-Bond Act
The Bourbon Quality Act
The Distiller's Integrity Code
The Correct Answer: The Bottled-in-Bond Act
Signed into law in 1897, this act guaranteed that a bottle labeled “Bottled-in-Bond” was the product of one distillation season, one distiller, one distillery, and was aged at least 4 years in a federally bonded warehouse—bottled at exactly 100 proof. It was the original “government seal of approval” long before the FDA even existed.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS WEEK'S BOOZELETTER? |