Review: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Special Release 2023 – Twice Barreled Heritage Barrel Rye
Jack Daniel’s whiskey is hardly ever difficult to find, but the brand’s annual Single Barrel Special Release collection is so highly allocated and fervently sought after that it defies those expectations. It also treads the road less traveled in that, aside from their Distillery Series, Jack Daniel’s Special Releases have represented some of the wildest…
Review: 2021 Post & Beam Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
This second label of Far Niente will surprise no afficionado of the Napa cabernet style, plump with notes of currants, backed up by cherry cola notes. Silky chocolate notes evoke a wine that might pair better with a cream pie than a filet mignon, though there’s a gently beefy quality that builds with time in…
Review: Patron El Cielo Tequila
Patron’s latest ultra-luxe tequila launch is El Cielo, a silver tequila that stakes its claim that it is “the first four-times distilled prestige tequila on the market.” There’s not much more of a twist on the theme than that, so let’s just dive into the tasting. Slightly yellow in hue, but only faintly. The nose…
Review: Green River Bourbon Full Proof Single Barrel
Green River made welcome waves last year in the world of affordable bourbon with the launch of its first eponymous, house-distilled offering, a rye-heavy mashbill, five-year-old bourbon costing all of $35. At Drinkhacker HQ, we were impressed. And apparently, we weren’t the only ones, as Bardstown Bourbon Co. acquired the distillery that summer. For 2023,…
Review: 2019 Barone Montalto Ammasso Rosso Sicilia DOC
Ammasso is a curious blend of Nero d’Avola, Nerello Mascalese, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, all grown in Sicily in the vineyards of Vinicoltori Contalto. As hearty as any pure-Nero Sicilian wine you’ve probably encountered, this brooding bruiser takes its time to come into focus, letting dark fruit notes of overripe plum, currants, and dark chocolate…
Review: The Balvenie Madeira Cask 15 Years Old and Pedro Ximenez Cask 18 Years Old
Earlier this year, we had the chance to review Balvenie’s new French Oak 16 Years Old aged in Pineaus des Charentes casks. That bottle is actually part of a trifecta of new cask-finished releases launched in the spring of 2022. Two others, a 15-year-old expression finished in Madeira wine casks and an 18-year-old expression finished…
Book Review: A Passion for Whisky
The tiny Scottish island of Islay counts around 3,000 people as full-time residents but welcomes tens of thousands of tourists annually and counts hundreds of thousands, if not more, fans around the globe swearing regional allegiance. That may prove to be an unsubstantiated hot take in the end, but right now Islay seems to be…
Review: Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye
It seems Jack Daniel’s is capitalizing on momentum after successful releases of their Bonded and Triple Mash whiskeys in 2022, both of which carried bottled-in-bond designations. While on a recent trip to their Lynchburg, Tennessee distillery, company reps told me both releases received better-than-expected responses from consumers and critics alike. Now, the Brown-Forman owned whiskey…
