All Star Lanes has launched what must surely be the most in-depth American whiskey menu in the country.

Created by ex-bar manager Joe Stokoe, it comes in three versions (one for each of the All Star sites) that combined list 130 American whiskeys ranging from bourbons and rye whiskeys, to Tennessee whiskeys and rare and unusual curiosities. It also includes an abundance of notes, maps and anecdotes to help answer some of the questions that Stokoe was asked every day by All Star customers.

‘American whiskey is the category that’s the most misunderstood and I wanted to clear a few things up,’ says Stokoe who spent a year on the project. ‘It’s about making whiskey easier to order and understand’.

More controversially, the menu also includes a star rating for every product – ‘to prove that price doesn’t necessarily tell you how good it is’. Top scorers include a George T Stagg rye bourbon and an AH Hirsch Rye Bourbon from 1974 ‘that makes you glad God gave you tastebuds’.

And if you don’t know what to order get a shot of the month and a beer, a combo also known as a Boilermaker, and a favourite of US steelworkers including one whose testament to the drink features in the menu. For more information visit www.allstarlanes.co.uk

News item from Imbibe.com, 17-05-2010