Review: Auchroisk 30 Years Old Limited Edition 2012
This final installment in the 2012 Classic Malts Selection whiskys is a fat old 30 year old from Speyside’s Auchroisk, aged in a mix of American and European oak. Malty and woody on the nose, it’s interesting but restrained at first blush. The body brings out lots of sherry notes that you don’t really catch…
Review: Glen Garioch 1986 Vintage
This is the fifth vintage-dated expression from Glen Garioch, joining 1978, 1990, 1991, and 1994 on the market. Bottled in 2011, it’s a 25 year old single malt from this Highlands distillery, and it’s a whopper of a whisky. At cask strength, it’s quite a heater. The nose is full of intriguing notes from the…
The Drinkhacker Bookshelf: Celebrating Booze Book Review Month
By happenstance, this past February became Booze Book Review month. We had a pretty generous amount of reading material on our desks, which resulted in roughly 1/4 of our book reviews for the entire 5+ years of the site’s history being published in 28 days. Here’s a quick catch up with links to each review:…
Review: Caol Ila Unpeated 14 Years Old Limited Edition 2012
In January we covered five of this year’s seven Diageo’s Classic Malts Selection. Why five? At the time, two weren’t yet upon our shores, so we’ve been waiting… and waiting… and waiting. Finally they’re here, and first up we look at this unique Caol Ila, an unpeated malt from an Islay distillery that’s synonymous with…
Review: Bell’s Hopslam Ale
Each year Bell’s Brewery releases its version of a double IPA, and luckily for everyone the Michigan-based brewery makes an aggressive effort to get its beers out to as many people as possible. Even some of Bell’s limited beers are not terribly difficult to track down. This year’s Hopslam unleashes beautiful aromas of pine, citrus,…
Review: 2009 Lasseter Family Winery Paysage
Like all good rich guys in the San Francisco Bay Area, John Lasseter, of Pixar fame, has a winery of his own. Mind you, he’s no Johnny come lately to the wine biz. Lasseter has lived in Sonoma for 20 years, and he bought his first winery/vineyard property in 2002. Now, three generations of Lasseters…
Tasting Report: Tre Bicchieri Italian Wines 2013
Man, they make so much wine in Italy. The Tre Bicchieri is one of the world’s largest wine competitions, with some 20,000 Italian wine submissions received every year. The winners of these “three glasses” awards go on a world tour after they’re selected, and the wines represent a who’s who of the great wines of…
Review: 2010 Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon
Robert Mondavi is a name, and a winery, that should need no introduction, yet Mondavi has so many sub-labels you can forgiven if you can’t keep them all straight. The “Napa Valley” label is exactly what it sounds like, a mid-range blend made from 100% Napa Valley fruit. Widely available and consistent from year to…
