Review: Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition 2011 – Distilled 1995
Day two of our Classic Malts Distillers Edition 2011 coverage continues with this 15-year-old Dalwhinnie, born in the Highlands of Scotland and finished in Oloroso sherry casks. Big honey and nougat notes here, this spirit is showing a lovely maturity and balance, with smoldering maltiness that exhibits a touch of smoke on it. Coconut and…
Review: Cragganmore Distillers Edition 2011 – Distilled 1998
Today we start a six-day series tasting the limited-edition single malt whiskys of the Classic Malts Selection, a consortium of distilleries from all over Scotland. Each year the Classic Malts group put out a very limited Distillers Edition Scotch, typically one from each distillery in the group. This year each is finished in a different…
Review: NV Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port
Cockburn’s is a Port house — like many this year, it seems — attempting to make a resurgence in the mind of the common drinker, and even I have to admit the “Pronounce Responsibly” ad campaign is a clever one. (The ck is silent. It’s pronounced like “Coburn’s.”) Cockburn’s Special Reserve is the bottling you’re…
Review: Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum
Spiced rum continues its move upmarket courtesy of that most massive of standbys: Captain Morgan. The Captain saw a line expansion with a 100 proof version in 2008, and now comes the even bigger gun: Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum. This is actually an American rebranding of a product called Captain Morgan Black which the…
Review: Wines of Batasiolo, 2012 Releases
Beni di Batasiolo is based in the heart of Italy’s Piedmont region, where it makes a variety of wines from the simple to the complex and massive. We tasted four, courtesy of our friends at U.S. import company Boisset. NV Batasiolo Moscato Rose Dolce – Pretty typical of the modern Moscato resurgence: Very sweet, low…
Review: Rums of Rhum J.M (2012)
Along with Rhum Clement, Rhum J.M (a sister distillery) is one of the biggest names in Martinique’s rhum agricole industry. Distilled from sugar cane juice instead of molasses, agricole has a distinctly different character than most rums you’re probably familiar with. Intense with fuel-like flavors when they’re young, agricoles often develop into remarkably complex, world-class…
Review: Four SakeOne Sakes – Momokawa, SakeOne, and Moonstone
We’ve got a sake primer, courtesy of SakeOne and Momokawa, for you right here — and this week the Oregon-based sake empire sent us four samples for our consideration, particularly as cocktail ingredients. There’s a whole bunch of recipes involving these sakes available here. We won’t reprint them all but encourage you to pick up…
Review: Tequila Herradura, Complete Lineup (2012)
This is my second full review of the Herradura line and my third of the blanco. My last review was 3 1/2 years ago, so another spin around the block certainly felt warranted. Why re-review anything? Because, after all, no spirit is made in a vacuum. (Well, OK, some spirits are made in vacuums, but…
