Blame the new urban bartenders, those pretentiously mustachioed hipsters who’ve sold us on shifting our taste buds upmarket. While once we contented ourselves with a margaritas made from glow-in-the-dark mixers, in today’s cocktail culture we fetishize Manhattans sourced from Brooklyn’s craft distilleries and top them with artisanal, organic cherries.
The result? Sales of American whiskeys are on a tear. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, recent domestic sales (2014) increased 10.2 percent, taking both bourbon and other whiskies into account.
