Review: Bushmills Irish Honey
Now the Irish are getting into the honey whiskey thing. Bushmills Irish Honey is the first honey-flavored spirit (to my knowledge) from the Emerald Isle, a simple blend of original Bushmills, Irish honey, and Irish water, bottled in the traditionally squared Bushmills-style bottle. The results are solid. As Jack Daniels proved with its Tennessee Honey…
Review: 2010 Banfi Rosa Regale Sparkling Wine
Banfi’s Rosa Regale is unusual to the point of uniqueness. A deep red sparkling wine, it is made in Acqui in the Piedmont region of Italy from Brachetto grapes. Ferment in the Italian sparkling method (in tanks, not in bottle), it is bottled at all of 7% alcohol. You would swear by the nose and…
Tasting Fladgate Ports with CEO Adrian Bridge, 2012
With 320 years of history and 11 generations under its belt, the Fladgate Partnership is a family business like few you’re likely to deal with. As CEO of the company that makes Croft, Fonseca, and Taylor Fladgate Ports, Adrian Bridge oversees one of the most renowned wine brands in the world. Bridge recently hosted myself…
Tasting Report: Tre Bicchieri Italian Wines 2012
Each year Gambero Rosso tastes some 20,000 Italian wines, and about 375 earn the “tre bicchieri” (three glasses) award from the panel. These wines then hit the road, and we get the chance to taste them in the U.S. Some are classics (Sassicaia), some don’t even have distribution. I found this year’s crop on the…
Recipe: Shamrock Sour
Most St. Patrick’s Day cocktails are nasty concoctions of Midori and other mystery liqueurs. This recipe from Julie Reiner has nothing remotely Irish in it, but it actually sounds good. Shamrock Sour 2 parts Basil Hayden’s Bourbon 1/2 part Green Chartreuse 1/2 part Lemon Juice 1/2 part Grapefruit Juice 1/2 part Agave Syrup (to make,…
Review: Sparkling Moscato Roundup, 2012 Releases
Moscato continues to prove how popular this grape has become when used as a low-alcohol, fruit-forward, and sweet alternative to other sparkling wines. These Moscatos show just how inexpensive and far-flung this wine is, hailing from eastern Europe and Australia, while not exactly proving how great it can be. NV Esti Exclusiv Rose Moscato –…
Seminar and Pairing: German Wine + Asian Food = Love
When you eat sushi, Chinese food, or pad thai, what’s your drink of choice? If you’re like most: Beer, maybe sake, if you’re feeling adventurous. Why not wine? The general dearth of wine options on most Asian food beverage lists is a good reason, but a more common one is that consumers just have no…
Tasting Report: Italian Wine Masters, 2012
Sangiovese is the king of all Italian grapes, so much so that if you’re drinking a wine from Italy but aren’t sure what it’s made from, there’s a good chance it’s Sangiovese, usually 100%. Three of Italy’s big names in wine are all based on Sangiovese: Brunello, Chianti, and Montepulciano. I was excited by this…
