Review: Glen Grant V Five Decades
Glen Grant master distiller Dennis Malcolm brings us this unique and very limited edition offering, a vatting of his favorite casks, laid down over his 50 years of service (which he celebrates this year). Malcolm says, “Glen Grant Five Decades is the embodiment of our devotion, being a culmination of each of the best vintages…
Review: Sipsmith London Dry Gin
“The first copper distillery in London for 200 years.” That’s a big deal, and Sipsmith’s London Dry Gin — one of the few London Drys that can claim to actually be from London (the other main one being Beefeater) — stands up to its own self-generated hype. Sipsmith starts with a barley base and is…
Review: Marquis Vodka
Real Polish vodka is becoming harder and harder to come by, but this new brand is the real thing, hailing from a distillery built in 1895 outside of Warsaw. Made in a 100-year-old copper column still from local rye, it is cut to proof with the distillery’s own water from a limestone aquifer. The black-frosted…
Tasting the Wines of Hardy’s Australia, 2013 Releases
Australia’s Hardy’s may be a big producer that competes with the “critter wines” of the world, but considering its wines are this affordable, it keeps quality surprisingly high. Here’s a look at five recently released Hardy’s vintages — bottled under both the William Hardy and Nottage Hill label. Thoughts follow. 2011 William Hardy Chardonnay South…
Review: Wines of Alto Adige, 2013 Releases
The Alto Adige region in the far north of Italy (how far north? two-thirds of its inhabitants speak German) is best known for its most famous son: Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. But there’s a huge diversity of grape varietals grown in this mountainous area — over 20 of them, despite the fact that its size…
Review: Baileys Vanilla Cinnamon
The newest addition to the Baileyverse doesn’t take many pains to hide what’s inside. As the name suggests, this is good old Baileys Irish Cream, plus vanilla, plus cinnamon. Well, Baileys on its own is full of dessert-like flavor, so adding more stuff from the baking cabinet into the mix doesn’t seem entirely called for.…
Review: The Ancient Ales of Dogfish Head
“Not to know what happened before you were born is to be a child forever. For what is the time of a man, except it be interwoven with that memory of ancient things of a superior age?” – Cicero Thankfully, there are modern day custodians of history keeping the past alive and well, presenting long-silenced…
Review: Maurin Dry, White, and Red Vermouth
Vermouth is a beverage on the return, and Anchor Distilling has joined forces with old Maurin (you’ve seen the iconic green devil posters at better French cafes in your neighborhood) to recreate the vermouths once made by Auguste Maurin, back in 1884. The two companies adapted Maurin’s traditional recipe for these new vermouths, which are…
