Notes from Domaine Select Wine Estates Pop-Up Tour, October 2012
Our friends at Domaine Select Wine Estates (which handles a lot more than wine) are on the road, “popping up” in a half-dozen cities to let their producers show off their wares. I recently dropped in on the San Francisco installment to experience a few wines that were new to me (1982 Borgogno Barolo, yes…
The Pisco of Chile: Control C and Espiritu de Elqui Reviewed
Chile celebrates its Independence Day on September 18, and this year the country took the opportunity to revive the battle its been locked in with Peru over who originated — or makes better — the South American spirit of Pisco. Distilled from grapes, Pisco is essentially unaged (usually) brandy, though in Chile they are more…
Review: Jim Beam Jacob’s Ghost White Whiskey
Is anyone not getting into the white whiskey game? JD, High West, Buffalo Trace… everyone’s got one. Why not Jim Beam, then? Jacob’s Ghost — named after the founding father of Jim Beam, Jacob Beam, who distilled his first whiskey in 1795 — is a white whiskey with a twist. Made from the same mashbill…
Review: 2010 Clarksburg Wine Company Chenin Blanc Wines
Chenin Blanc is far from what anyone would consider a Big Wine in the U.S. right now, but that hasn’t kept the Clarksburg Wine Company from releasing not one, not two, but three takes on the grape, a standby of the Loire Valley in France. Based in the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg, near Sacramento,…
Review: Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection “Four Wood”
Every year Woodford Reserve launches a limited edition (and quite expensive) whiskey that shows off the creativity of its master distiller, Chris Morris. This is Woodford’s seventh iteration of the Master’s Collection. As the name implies, Four Wood is a Bourbon with a unique finishing program. Standard Bourbon, finished in newly charred American oak, is…
Tasting Report: WhiskyFest San Francisco 2012
Another sold-out show this year for WhiskyFest San Francisco, and yet it didn’t feel overly crowded. I missed out on some of the whispered highlights by arriving late, when the rarities were all gone. (John Hansell has some coverage, which I hope to catch up with in coming months.) Otherwise, good times all around. While…
Review: Pomagria Pomegranate Sangria
Pomegranate remains the hottest superfruit out there, mainly because, unlike a lot of these fruity-come-latelies, pomegranate tastes good. Not a bad idea then to add a little super-juice to your sangria, no? Well, Pomagria — not the best name, to be honest — doesn’t quite work, landing in a no man’s land between fruit juice…
Review: Kahlua Midnight Liqueur
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang out… and we’re gonna drink this new liqueur from the increasingly huge portfolio of products from Kahlua: Kahlua Midnight. Midnight is a major departure for Kahlua, which has to date been happy to create new versions of its signature coffee liqueur by adding additional flavorings like you’d…
