Mash Bill

The recipe of grains used to make whiskey. A mash bill lists the percentages of corn, rye, wheat, or barley in the mix. That balance shapes the flavor: sweeter with corn, spicier with rye, softer with wheat.

Mash

The mixture of crushed grain, water, and heat that becomes the base for whiskey. The mash is cooked and then left to ferment so yeast can turn sugars into alcohol.

Fermentation

Yeast eats the sugars in the mash and makes alcohol. This stage also creates flavor compounds that shape much of the whiskey’s character before distilling even begins.

Distilling

Distilling is the step that turns mash into spirit. A fermented mixture is heated until the alcohol rises as vapor, then condensed back into liquid. What comes out is clear and strong, ready for the barrel.

Distillery

A distillery is where the full process lives. Grain is milled, mash ferments, stills run, and barrels are filled. Every distillery leaves its mark, shaped by choices in water, yeast, and climate.

Rickhouse

A rickhouse is the warehouse where barrels age. Stacked high, they breathe with the seasons. Heat pushes spirit into the oak, cold pulls it back, and that slow cycle builds flavor over time.

Barrel

A barrel is built from oak, charred on the inside and bound with steel hoops. It does more than store whiskey. It adds color, softens edges, and layers in vanilla, caramel, spice, or smoke as the years pass.

Char

Char is the blackened layer inside a barrel, made by burning the oak. Fire cracks the wood and pulls sugars to the surface. Spirit soaks into that layer and draws out caramel, sweetness, and depth.

Aging

Aging is the time spirit spends in a barrel. A few years may give it brightness and sharp edges. A decade or more adds richness, oak, and smoothness that lasts.

Finish

The finish is the echo that remains after you swallow. Some whiskeys close clean and quick. Others linger with warmth, spice, or sweetness that roll on like the end of a track.

Whiskey

Whiskey is the spirit we stay with most. Made from grain and aged in oak, it softens with time and builds flavor as it rests. These are common styles:

Bourbon

Bourbon is America’s whiskey. By law it must be made in the United States, with at least 51% corn in the mash bill, and aged in new charred oak barrels. Corn gives bourbon its natural sweetness, often showing up as vanilla, caramel, and oak.

Rye

Rye whiskey uses at least 51% rye grain in its mash bill. It runs spicier and sharper than bourbon, often carrying pepper, cinnamon, or dry herbal notes.

Wheated Bourbon

A softer style of bourbon where rye is replaced with wheat. Wheated whiskeys are rounder and smoother, with flavors that lean toward bread, honey, and warmth.

High-Rye Bourbon

Bourbon with a higher than usual percentage of rye in the mash bill. Still at least 51% corn, but the added rye lifts spice, snap, and energy.

Single Malt (Scotch style)

Whiskey made from one malted grain, usually barley, at a single distillery. Scotch is the most famous single malt, though American versions are growing. They are often rich, complex, and layered with fruit and malt sweetness.

Proof

Proof is how strength is measured. It is double the alcohol percentage, so a whiskey at 100 proof holds 50% alcohol. Proof hints at how hot, bold, or soft a sip will feel.

• Low Proof: usually 80–94. Softer entry and easier sipping.
• High Proof: often 110 and up. Bigger flavor, more heat, sometimes benefits from a splash of water.
• Bottled in Bond: a U.S. standard at 100 proof. At least four years old, from one distillery and one distilling season, aged in bonded storage.

Neat

Whiskey poured straight into a glass with nothing added. Neat shows the spirit at full strength, the way it was bottled.

On the Rocks

Whiskey served over ice. Cold softens the edges, and the slow melt shifts flavor as you go.

Nose

The nose is the smell before the sip. Oak, fruit, spice, or smoke rise from the glass first, setting the stage for the taste to follow.

Palate

The palate is what happens on your tongue once the whiskey lands. Sweetness may show up first, spice next, oak and depth behind it. Flavors rise and fall as you hold the sip.

Mouthfeel

Mouthfeel is the texture of a whiskey. Some feel light and crisp, others oily, creamy, or heavy. It is how the spirit moves and rests in your mouth, shaping the experience beyond flavor alone.

How Tasting Works on the Tongue

Flavors do not land in one place. Sweetness often shows up on the tip, spice and salt along the sides, bitterness at the back. Whiskey moves across the tongue in layers, giving each sip a rhythm of its own.

Tasting Notes

Tasting notes are the words we use to share what is in the glass: vanilla, caramel, oak, fruit, spice. These notes come naturally from grain, yeast, barrel, and time. Vanilla comes from oak sugars, caramel from heat, fruit from fermentation, spice from rye. Tasting notes are subjective. One person may call it vanilla, another might call it honey. They are not rules or answers. They are a language for describing what each drinker experiences.

Other Aged Spirits

Rum

Made from sugarcane or molasses, then aged in oak. Rum can be light and tropical or dark and heavy, depending on how it is distilled and aged. Oak brings spice, fruit, and depth that echo whiskey, but with sweeter edges.

Brandy

Distilled from wine or fruit and aged in oak. Brandy often carries rich fruit notes, warmth, and sweetness. Cognac is a type of brandy from France, known for its smooth depth.

Tequila

Made from the blue agave plant in Mexico. Blanco tequila is unaged and bright. Reposado and añejo tequilas rest in oak, picking up caramel, vanilla, and spice that bring them closer to whiskey in feel.

Mezcal

Another agave spirit, usually smoky from being roasted in earthen pits before distilling. Mezcal can be aged like tequila, but even unaged it carries depth and fire that pair well with whiskey’s weight.

Hip-Hop

Hip-hop began in the Bronx in 1973, when DJ Kool Herc laid the groundwork for what became a culture. It was built on four elements: MCing, DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing. What started as community expression grew into a global voice, and more than 50 years later, those roots still shape how hip-hop looks, sounds, and moves.

MC

Short for Master of Ceremonies. The MC holds the mic, moves the crowd, and turns rhythm into stories. Their words carry the heart of hip-hop.

DJ

The DJ lays the foundation. Cutting between records, looping breaks, and keeping the groove steady, DJs created the space for MCs to shine.

Graffiti

Graffiti gave hip-hop a visual language. Writers tagged trains and walls with names, colors, and styles, claiming space and telling stories in paint. It stood as rebellion, art, and signature all at once.

Breakdancing

Also called breaking or b-boying. Dancers hit the floor with spins, freezes, and footwork that matched the beat. It turned the energy of hip-hop into movement.

90s Hip-Hop

The 1990s are often called the golden era. Lyrics sharpened, beats grew layered, and artists pushed hip-hop into the mainstream without losing grit. Many new acts still echo its flow to signal authenticity.

East Coast Sound

East Coast hip-hop leans on sharp wordplay and heavy drum patterns. Born in New York, it grew from boom bap beats and MCs battling to prove skill line for line.

West Coast Sound

West Coast hip-hop often rides funk samples and laid-back grooves. It carries sun soaked swagger, telling stories rooted in California streets and culture.

Gangsta Rap

Gangsta rap gave unflinching accounts of street life. It rose in the late 80s and early 90s, turning harsh reality into raw storytelling over hard beats.

Boom Bap

Boom bap takes its name from the sound of the kick and snare. Built on hard hitting drums, it is a style where lyricism stands front and center.

Solo vs. Groups

Hip-hop thrives in both. Some artists carve their path alone, while groups like Wu-Tang Clan, Outkast, and Run-DMC show how chemistry between voices builds something bigger.

Producer

Producers craft the soundscapes. They dig through records, build beats, and set the tone before a single rhyme is written.

Mixmaster / Mixtape

A mixmaster blends songs and beats, keeping the energy moving. Mixtapes became hip-hop’s underground lifeline, a way to spread new tracks and styles long before streaming.

Persona / Alter Ego

Some MCs create characters to expand their art. MF DOOM hid behind the mask, Slick Rick spun stories with flair, and Nicki Minaj shifts between voices and alter egos. These personas add new layers of performance and creativity.

Rap

Rap is rhythm and poetry over beats. It is how MCs tell stories, flex skills, and speak truth in the language of rhyme.

Bar

A bar is one line of rap, usually four beats long. It is the building block of verses, where punchlines, wordplay, or stories land.

Flow

Flow is how words move over the beat. Smooth, choppy, fast, or slow. Flow is what makes an MC instantly recognizable and keeps listeners hooked.

Both are built on time, craft, and truth. Whiskey rests for years in oak, hip-hop sharpens through voices and beats. They may seem different, but together they show how patience and presence create something lasting.

No. Curiosity is enough. The Warm-Up gives you the basics, and the stories carry the rest. You can come in as a fan of spirits, music, or both and still find your place here.

No. The 90s are iconic, and we draw on that era often, but Sips & Bars reaches wider. Modern artists who carry that same flow and honesty are just as impactful, and their stories are waiting to be told alongside the legends.

Whiskey is our main focus, but aged spirits include more. Rum, brandy, tequila, and mezcal all gain depth from time in oak. Whiskey is where we start, not where we end.

No one adds those flavors to the bottle. They come from grain, yeast, oak, and time. Vanilla shows up from oak sugars, caramel from heat, fruit from fermentation, spice from rye. It is a shared language to describe what each sip feels like.

The Warm-Up is where we start together. It lays out the basics of spirits and hip-hop so no one feels left behind, whether you are new to the pour, the music, or both. Think of it as a quick stretch before the main set. Once you are warm, the rest flows easier.