FROM THE BARLIST JOURNAL
Barlist
The history of Charbay Distillery begins long before the family established itself in California. The Karakasevic family traces its winemaking and distilling tradition back generations in Europe, with the family recognised by the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Court of Empress Maria Theresa in 1751 as makers of wines and brandies. That inherited knowledge eventually travelled across continents […]
July 28, 2026
Barlist
In a city that rarely slows down, Bar Leone opened in Hong Kong in 2023 with a notably different rhythm. There was no attempt to compete through spectacle or technical theatre. Instead, the bar established itself through clarity of purpose, disciplined execution, and a deeply human understanding of what a bar should feel like. Within […]
July 4, 2026
Barlist
The old map of global spirits influence was drawn around familiar export categories. Scotch whisky, international vodka, Caribbean rum, Cognac, and American whiskey appeared to define scale because they travelled widely, occupied prominent back bars, and were supported by multinational distribution. The largest volume brands tell a different story. The 2026 edition of The Spirits […]
June 30, 2026
Barlist
At Springbank Distillery, barley still arrives at one end of the production process and bottled whisky leaves at the other. Between those points, the grain is steeped, spread across malting floors, dried in the kiln, milled, mashed, fermented, and distilled. The resulting spirit is filled into casks, matured in Campbeltown, bottled, and labelled by the […]
June 24, 2026
Barlist
On the northwestern edge of Glasgow, close to the Kilpatrick Hills and the industrial history of the River Clyde, Auchentoshan Distillery has built its identity around a third passage through copper. Most Scotch malt whisky is distilled twice. At Auchentoshan, every part of the spirit passes through a wash still, an intermediate still, and a […]
June 16, 2026
Barlist
The southern coast of Islay has long been associated with peat smoke, maritime weather, and some of Scotland’s most influential whisky distilleries. Yet few names have acquired the near-mythical status of Port Ellen Distillery. For more than four decades, the distillery existed in an unusual state: closed, silent, and unable to produce a single drop […]
June 2, 2026
Barlist
The Southern Japanese Alps do not suggest whisky at first glance. The air is thinner, filtered through dense forest, and the terrain isolates rather than connects. Yet in 1973, Hakushu Distillery was established here under the direction of Keizo Saji, marking a decisive departure from the logic that had shaped earlier whisky production in Japan. […]
April 23, 2026
Barlist
By the early 1950s, San Juan emerged as a premier tourist destination shaped by air travel and hotel development, serving as the backdrop for the origins of the Piña Colada. This transformative era, which redefined the local bar as a crucial point of introduction for Puerto Rico’s culture, laid the foundation for the cocktail’s history. […]
April 22, 2026
Barlist
The Long Bar at Raffles Hotel Singapore was built as much for observation as for drinking. In the early 20th century, it functioned within a colonial framework where behavior, appearance, and consumption followed unwritten codes. What a guest ordered mattered. How it looked mattered more. Around 1915, Ngiam Tong Boon is widely credited with creating […]
April 21, 2026
