Tasting Report: Wines of Paso Robles, 2013 Releases
Paso Robles is an interesting and surprisingly varied winegrowing region, and recently I had the opportunity to taste through wines from a number of winemakers based in this mid-California coastal region. From Albarino to Petite Sirah, these wines are all over the map, but they share one thing in common: the toasty environment of Paso…
Review: Zone 8 Honey Lemon Tea
Zone 8 is an Illinois-based company looking to bring high-end bottled tea to the masses. It launched on Kickstarter this summer, and though it didn’t meet its funding goals, its future seems unclear. The company is making one expression — Honey Lemon — at present, with seven potential ones to come. This is a blend…
Cocktails for Labor Day 2013
For most Americans, the extended Labor Day weekend is a way to salute those who work tirelessly throughout the year with one last extended weekend before fall hits us, and it’s a great way to celebrate the end of the summer season. We’ve selected a few of the more interesting submissions we’ve received and compiled…
Review: Roundhouse Spirits Gin and Corretto Coffee Liqueur
Roundhouse Spirits, based in Boulder, Colorado (only the 6th licensed distillery in the state), makes a trio of products, a gin, a coffee liqueur, and a “super rare” aged gin. We got to tangle with the first two products on that list. Thoughts, as always, follow. Roundhouse Gin – Overall, a classically-structured, big gin (the…
Review: Magic Hat deVEILed and Seance
Yes, even more new beers from Magic Hat, these two mercifully devoid of flowers and odd vegetables being used as flavoring agents. Alas, neither of them really floated our proverbial boat. Magic Hat deVEILed – An amber ale. Muddy and indistinct, with loads upon loads of malt that drown out the hops. Twigs and earth…
Recipes from the Disaronno Summer 2013 Collection
With summer starting to slowly fade into the distance for parts of America, the good folks in the Disaronno cocktail labs offered us up these cocktails recipes ideal for soaking in the last few days of patio or porch sitting. Look for more cocktail recipes right before the Labor Day weekend! Spiced Anejo Daiquiri .75…
Review: Wines of Balverne, 2013 Releases
Balverne was a well-known wine brand in the 1980s, making estate wines on its Russian River Valley property since 1972. The vineyard changed hands in 1992 and winemaking stopped, the grapes instead being sold to other winemakers. Now Balverne is back, beginning again in 2005 under the name Windsor Oaks — and now as its…
Tasting Report: 2011 Vintage Port (and Beyond)
One of the can’t-miss wine experiences of any year is the roadshow during which the new Vintage Ports are poured. Of course, these don’t happen every year. The last major one was the 2009 vintage, released two years ago. Overall, 2011 is a standout, the first great Vintage Port year since 2003 — which, on…
