Review: Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
With Dogfish’s fan loyalty, this Imperial IPA from Dogfish Head can be a challenging bottle to find. The brewing process for this expression in the Dogfish lineup is quite intense, and so goes the flavor and the alcohol content. 120 Minute IPA goes through a unique brewing process that incorporates a massive amount of hops.…
Review: Bowmore Dorus Mor Small Batch 10 Years Old
Known overseas as “Tempest,” this limited edition of Bowmore has an unfortunate trademark issue in the U.S. so, for its arrival on our shores it’s been rechristened as “Dorus Mor,” a tidal gate near the Isle of Mull. Classic, if slightly young, Bowmore, this Islay whisky is an iconic expression of what Bowmore does best.…
Review: 3 Big Bottom Bourbons, 2012 Releases
I’m an unofficial member of the Big Bottom fan club, having gushed about the company’s 2 year old and 3 year old Port-finished Bourbons in the past. The 4 year olds sold out pretty much immediately, but Oregon-based proprietor Ted Pappas just can’t quit. His latest series includes a collection of three 5 year old…
Book Review: The 40 Minute Irish Whiskey Guide
Few books could be more appropriate for the celebration leading up to St. Patrick’s Day than a resource guide to Irish whiskey, one of which conveniently just arrived in our inbox. At a mere 40 pages in length, 27Press’ 40-Minute Irish Whiskey Guide is a brisk read, and could prove debatable as to whether or…
Review: Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin
Monkey 47 is one of those spirits with a really long and involved backstory, but the nut of it is that you’re drinking crazy gin from Germany. Created by a WWII Royal Air Force pilot who settled in the Black Forest after the war, our hero made his own gin out of local ingredients and…
Review: Privateer Rum – Silver and Amber
Another entry into America’s great and belated return to rum-making, Privateer hails from Massachusetts. I’ll spare you the lengthy backstory which includes a discovery of a colonial era flotilla of ships and a distillery owned by the ancestor of the distillery’s current proprietor. The bottom line: They’re making rum in New England again, people. It’s…
Review: General John Stark Vodka
Flag Hill, based in the great state of New Hampshire, makes a wide variety of fruit wines as well as various spirits. That includes John Stark Vodka, which is made from — wait for it — apples and is triple distilled before bottling. Who’s John Stark? A Revolutionary War general from New Hampshire and the…
Review: Knappogue Castle 14 Years Old (2013)
Knappogue Castle is one of the blue chips of the Irish whiskey world, producing well-aged spirits and a variety of rarities, including the ongoing “Twin Wood” series of limited edition whiskeys. Twin Wood is Knappogue’s terminology for Irish that’s been matured in Bourbon casks and finished in Oloroso sherry barrels. The 14 years are spent…
