American bourbon now better than Scottish whiskey

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12 years ago

American bourbon now better than Scottish whiskey: U.K.-born expert

Jim Murray, an English writer and one of the world’s top whiskey critics, believes Scottish malt is no match for American whiskey.

“Generally speaking, bourbon … has overtaken Scotch,” he said, according to the Telegraph.

Mr. Murray, who wrote “Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible,” argues that Scotland’s decrease in quality whiskey is due to the use of sulphur candles to sanitize some barrels that have been used to age sherry, giving it a “bitter finish.”

Bourbon, however, is aged in virgin oak casks, which do not require sulphur treatment, the Telegraph said.

“The best whiskey is coming not from Scotland any more, but from Kentucky,” he said, adding that Buffalo Trace, a bourbon distillery in Frankfort, Ky., is “arguably the best distillery in the world.”

Rosemary Gallagher, the spokeswoman for the Scotch Whisky Association, argued that Mr. Murray’s claims are only a matter of his “personal taste.”