Review: Hiro “Blue” Junmai Ginjo Sake
Hiro is a Japanese sake brand that comes in two varieties — “Red” (Junmai) and “Blue” (Junmai Ginjo). We tasted the Blue variety Very fresh on the nose, Hiro Blue offers big cantaloupe character. Some lemon peel notes on the finish, and a mild green character follows. Overall a modest body. Some vegetal character on…
Review: Bormioli Rocco Tre Sensi Wine Tasting Glass
Does the world need a new wine glass? In the world of tastings — where glasses are typically too small — maybe they do. Italian design firm Bormioli Rocco just launched the Tre Sensi, a wine glass designed to enhance the tasting experience. At first glance it looks like any other smallish glass. Further analysis…
Review: Deerhammer Whitewater Whiskey
Here’s a unique offering: 100% malted barley, double pot-distilled, unaged whiskey from Colorado. That’s a unique setup. Here’s how it shakes out. Traditional nose for white dog. Lots of graininess, with aromas of the forest — trees and floor — and diesel-powered vehicles. Plenty more of the same on the body, but sweeter than you…
Review: 2012 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau
Meet the new Beauj. Same as the old Beauj. Beaujolais Nouveau — the French Gamay-based wine that’s released mere weeks after the grapes are pressed — isn’t exactly a challenging wine, and this year’s installment keeps close to the formula. Intensely sugary, it’s like Concord grape jam blended with a little alcohol to make it…
Review: LangeTwins 2010 Chardonnay and 2008 Midnight Reserve
Lodi’s LangeTwins operates in Lodi, California, an area known primarily for its ultra-ripe Zinfandels. (It’s known as “The Zinfandel Capital of the World,” after all.) Oddly enough, we’re not looking at any Zin today. Here’s a couple of new(ish) vintages from these Lodi icons. 2010 LangeTwins Chardonnay Estate Clarksburg – A simple but pleasant Chardonnay…
Review: Pilsner Urquell (And Its New Cold-Shipped Delivery)
Pilsner Urquell is firing a new salvo in the battle for fresh beer. Light-struck, or “skunked” beer is a rampant problem for breweries, especially those overseas that need to ship product over a longer distance than domestic brewers. Pilsner Urquell is packaged in a distinctive green bottle, but, while attractive, it doesn’t do much to…
Review and Giveaway: Skil iXO Vivo Wine Bottle Opener
I’m not one to swoon over the romance of drinking wine, but even I find that de-corking your bottles with a power drill is a little nutty. Skil, unhappy to dominate the world of DIY construction and Ikea desk-building projects, is entering the wine world in the only way it knows how, by offering a…
Review: Ridge Distillery Extrait d’Absinthe Verte
Ridge Distillery makes gin and absinthe in the mountains of Montana. This is the flagship, a classic (green) absinthe imbued with grand wormwood, green anise, fennel, coriander, angelica, elecampane, melissa, and roman wormwood — some of which I didn’t have the first idea what they were until I looked them up. Poured neat into a…
