Craft Distilled Spirits
Craft distilled spirits from CrushBrew — small-batch whiskey, gin, agave, and the independent distillers redefining what American spirits can be.
Woody Creek Distillers: Keeping Things Clean for Top Quality
2026 Update: Woody Creek Distillers is still going strong — and has an exciting new chapter. The distillery is now women-owned, operating out of Basalt,…
What to Serve Guests with Dietary Restrictions
CrushBrew Editorial · Hosting & Pairing · 6 min read Planning a dinner party used to mean picking a wine that paired with the entrée.…
A Spirit for the Dry Season
CrushBrew Editorial · Spirits · 7 min read In 2014, a teetotaling English farmer found a 17th-century distillation manual in his family’s stone cottage and…
How to Drink Ouzo Like a Greek
Most people’s first encounter with ouzo goes one of two ways: they’re handed a shot glass on a Greek island, knock it back, and spend…
The Whisky You Drink Cold: A Guide to Japanese and Light Styles
For a long time, the default whisky conversation centered on bold, assertive expressions — heavily peated Islay Scotch, barrel-forward Kentucky bourbon, cask-strength single malts that…
Is Rum the Next Whisky? The Case Gets Stronger
In 2016, a writer for HuffPost UK posed what seemed like a speculative question: is rum the next whisky? A decade later, the answer has…
Boone County Distilling: The Kentucky Bourbon Story That Sat Silent for 105 Years
< In 1880, the Petersburg Distillery in Boone County, Kentucky was the largest distillery in the state. It produced four million gallons of bourbon a…
Bourbon vs. Rye: What’s the Difference and Which Should You Drink?
Pour a bourbon and a rye side by side and the difference is immediate — one is round, sweet, and caramel-forward; the other is drier,…
The Berkshires’ First Distillery Since Prohibition — and the Whiskey Distilled from Beer
In the eighth grade, Chris Weld tried to build a still for a class science project. His mother found out, realized it was a federal…
Kangaroo Island Spirits: Fifteen Years Ahead of the Boom and Still Leading
In 2002, Jon and Sarah Lark started a gin distillery on Kangaroo Island — a pristine wildlife sanctuary 150 kilometers southwest of Adelaide — using…
The Vodka Paradox: Why Tasteless Spirits Cost $50
Vodka is legally defined in the United States as a neutral spirit “without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color.” The entire premise of the spirit…
Jack Daniel’s: The Real Story Behind Tennessee’s Most Famous Whiskey
In 1884, Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel paid $2,148 for a patch of rocky Tennessee land that most people thought he was crazy to want. The…
Beer Cocktails: Beyond the Shandy and the Boilermaker
In August 2025, a bartender posted a video making something he called a Beericano — an Americano cocktail with a layer of frothed lager foam…
How Derek Grout Changed New York Spirits Law and Built the Hudson Valley’s Most Personal Distillery
In 2007, Derek Grout drove to Albany and lobbied the state legislature to create a new license category that didn’t exist: the New York Farm…
How Uncle Benny’s Apple Schnapps Became a Finger Lakes Wine-Spirit Hybrid
It started with Uncle Benny. In 1986, Herman Young visited his wife Wilma’s uncle in Germany and spent a day tasting the neighbor’s apple schnapps.…