The whisky industry is like multi billions worldwide, it’s not a small industry. There’s definitely some lobbying going on here lol.

Bourbon has to be aged in “virgin oak” i.e. a brand new barrel to be classified as bourbon. Which is why it’s so dark in colour and part of why it’s so sweet. They sell the used barrels off after they’re done with them to get some money back on the now unusable (for them) barrel.

Most Scotch is aged in ex bourbon barrels or ex sherry/port barrels. Using ex bourbon barrels gives the Scotch a lighter, more golden colour, and a more delicate flavour. Notes like vanilla, honey, caramel or florals.

Ex sherry and port give Scotch a darker amber to a deep red colour with rich and sweet flavours like stewed fruits, spices like cinnamon or cloves and a stronger darker caramel.

Most Scotch brand product lines will be like “ex bourbon barrel aged with: no age listed, 12 year old, 15 year old, 21 year old etc”. and then their other line will be the same again but in sherry barrels. They may also have a “sherry finish” where it’s aged for 10 years in bourbon then 2 in sherry, since the barrels impart less flavour the more they are used they can squeeze more out of the sherry barrels.

Sherry barrels cost magnitudes more than bourbon barrels. I was told (like ten years ago so grain of salt on the figures) that bourbon barrels are around 50-100usd per barrel while sherry is close to £1000 per barrel. Hence why the tariffs would be screwing over the industry.

/Rant

Source: I was a whisky bar manager that hosted a ton of whisky events/tastings for a few years.

I had an automatic feeder, he knocked it over a few times and broke it to get to the food. Didn’t bother again.

I tried this among many other techniques. He just simply doesn’t care and will continue screaming until he is fed. It probably doesn’t help I rescued him when he was 1.5 years old and had been from an abusive house. He was skinny, covered in scratches/scabs and shaved in a few spots with stitches. I was told he had to compete for food with other cats and the owner was abusive. 10 years later he’s still a little cunt about food and afraid of women and anyone wearing shoes.

This is rage bait for sure. My dogs will happily snore cuddled in bed all day. My cat is demanding food at all hours even though he gets fed at exactly 8am and 5pm every day. We call the noise he makes machine gun meows because they are fast, loud, and relentless. The spray bottle lives on my bedside so I can get some sleep.