The Whiskey Wash News Round Up – Whiskey Soldiers Line Up Edition

What helps you sleep a night? Whiskey can be a good bedtime companion, at least according to Scottish inventor Alexander Fleming, who was once quoted as saying “a good gulp of hot whiskey at bedtime—it’s not very scientific, but it helps.”

• What does a $25,000 Scotch whisky taste like? A group of intrepid writers (this one sadly not included) recently got to find out.
• Got a hankering to own a bottle of whisky at the uber premium level? An auction in Edinburgh on October 1 will give you the chance to bid for over 3,000 rare and select bottles.
• Looking for some tips on how to improve your whisky knowledge? You couldn’t ask for a better person to give these to you then Johnnie Walker’s master blender Jim Beveridge.
• Whiskey packaging came sometimes make the difference in standing out on a crowded retail shelf of spirits. Here are 10 unique bottle designs.
• Scottish farmers, looking to meet a growing demand for whisky, are ramping up to plant more barley, a key ingredient.
• Australia is a region whiskey lovers should take note of for its increasing quality of offerings.
• A class action lawsuit filed against the makers of Templeton Rye is claiming those behind it “misled drinkers with stories of its whiskey’s prohibition-era origins.” Some have asked the question though if it really matters.
• Are you a fan of the Old Forester bourbon brand or being a bourbon tourist in Louisville? Either way you’ll be happy to know about a planned distillery in the heart of the city’s historic Whiskey Row.
• Whisky and haggis flavored potato chips, anyone?
• As Jim Beam master distiller Fred Noe gets ready to retire, he is pondering what his legacy bourbon creation will be.

image via Joe Pitha/Flickr