Review: Alchemia Czekoladowa Chocolate Infused Vodka
This new flavored vodka brand hails from Poland, is thrice distilled from 100% rye grain, and is small-batch infused (by macerating raw ingredients instead of using flavor extracts), which leaves natural color in the spirit instead of being filtered to the usual clear. The vodkas are then finished in oak barrels, giving a little twist…
Review: Campo Azul Tequila – Blanco and Extra Anejo
Campo Azul is a 100% blue agave from the Jalisco Highlands, most notable for the hologram that wraps around the neck of the bottle. We sampled both the blanco and extra anejo expressions of the spirit (sorry, reposado!) — two tequilas as wildly different in quality as they get. Both varieties are 80 proof. Campo…
Review: Kilchoman 100% Islay Second Release
Kilchoman has recently updated its 100% Islay bottling — a whisky made from barley grown, malted, distilled, aged, and bottled all at the distillery on Islay — with a slightly different variation. The difference with this 2012 Second Release is that the whisky is a blend of 3 year old and 4 year old spirit,…
Review: Prevu Sparkling Liqueur
Blackberries, currants, and raspberries, all steeped in vodka and Cognac and given a light sparkling fizz — every component organic — what could go wrong? The intriguing Prevu, made in the Cognac region, is a super-sweet concoction ready-made for the Alize set, where a touch of Cognac and a whole lot of fruit flavor rules…
Review: Parker’s Heritage Collection Master Distiller’s Blend of Mashbills Bourbon (2012)
Every year Heaven Hill puts out a limited edition — and highly sought-after — Bourbon, each with a unique spin under the Parker’s Heritage Collection label. Invariably they are awesome. This year, the 6th edition of the Parker’s Heritage Collection is a unique release called the Master Distiller’s Blend of Mashbills. As the name implies,…
Review: The Balvenie DoubleWood 17 Year Old
The latest whisky to enter the Balvenie core range is this number, a 17 year old version of the distillery’s classic 12 Year Old DoubleWood. Like the original DoubleWood, this expression starts in Bourbon casks (for 17 years) then spends 3 to 6 months in Oloroso sherry casks. Yeah, “DoubleWood” is just a fancy way…
Tasting Olson Ogden’s 2012 Lineup with Proprieter John Ogden
After seeing the praises heaped upon Olson Ogden’s most recent vintages, I finally pestered proprietor John Ogden into getting a look at them firsthand. In fact, he invited us over for dinner and a tasting, where we walked through all six of the winery’s current releases, all 2009 releases save for the lone white wine.…
Review: Plantation 3 Stars White Rum
Plantation is known for its double-aged, high-end rums from all over the Caribbean. So it comes as a surprise to find the company producing its first ever white rum. Called three stars because the blend is mixed from rums from Barbados, Trinidad, and Jamaica. And rest assured, this isn’t straight off the still. Unaged rum…
