Was 361 a Good Year?
I’d be afraid to touch it, too. It looks possessed. Scientists want to study samples of the world’s oldest wine, currently on display at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in the western German city of Speyer. There’s just one problem: everyone’s afraid to open the bottle. The glass bottle, thought to be at least…
Review: Powell & Mahoney Bloody Mary and Bellini Mixes
Complex cocktails in ready-made form won’t ever lose their popularity, and bottled Bloody Mary and Margarita mixes will probably forever be at the top of that heap. Powell & Mahoney makes more than 10 such mixes, including a Bloody, Margarita, Mojito, and even a Hot Toddy. We sampled two of them — the Bloody Mary…
Review: Bytox Hangover Prevention Patch
Say what you will, but I am an unabashed fan of the Zaca Hangover Patch. Every time I’ve worn one, I’ve woken up the next day refreshed and feeling fine. Now there’s another hangover-slaying patch on the market: Bytox. How would it measure up? The idea is exactly the same: Put the patch on before…
Oddity of the Week: Benny’s Bloody Mary Beef Straw
You love beef. You love straws. Now you can get the two together, in the form of Benny’s Bloody Mary Beef Straw. As the name implies, this unique “straw” is designed to accompany Bloodies, but enterprising cocktail types will likely find myriad uses for it — not the least of which is simply consuming them…
Review: Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Rare Rye Selection – New Cask Rye and Aged Cask Rye
Every year Woodford Reserve releases a limited-release Bourbon, usually with a special finish or mashbill. This year it’s not releasing a Bourbon. It’s releasing a rye. Or rather, two of them. I caught a sneak peek of this being prepared for bottling when I visited Woodford this summer. Now here it is, on my kitchen…
Review: Bell’s Winter White Ale
While some breweries use the holiday season as an excuse to release heavily spiced or cloying sweet beers, Bell’s deviates from this track with its Winter White Ale. Styled as a Belgian-yeast fermented witbier, Winter White pours cloudy and straw-colored before being capped by snowy head. The yeast imparts the strongest aspect to this beer…
Tasting Report: The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza 2011
The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza is the smallest of the whisky shows, but that doesn’t mean it has something to prove. With fewer crowds and more thoughtful selections — no white dog here, folks — you can find quality whisky (overwhelmingly Scotch) at every table in the room. This year the Extravaganza seemed…
Review: Pearl Wedding Cake Vodka
Is it too late to celebrate that Kardashian wedding? Not in my book, and while it may be gauche to send a set of knives, why not honor the happy couple privately with a bottle of Pearl Wedding Cake Vodka. Yes, vodka flavored like wedding cake. I didn’t know wedding cake had a flavor —…
