Review: MacKinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky “Shackleton”
In 1907 Ernest Shackleton was setting off on his “Nimrod” expedition to the South Pole. Along for the ride: 25 cases of whisky from the Glen Mhor Distillery, to keep the spirits of the sailors up. Shackleton didn’t quite make it to the Pole on this trip, and he had to leave behind some of…
Review: Wente Heritage Block Series Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011 Releases
These two new releases come from Wente’s Heritage Block series of simpler, everyday wines. 2010 Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay Arroyo Seco Monterey – Traditional in style, with that hugely buttery body, grilled and smoked meats on the nose, and a long, savory finish. B / $20 2009 Wente Charles Wetmore Cabernet Sauvignon Livermore Valley –…
Review: 2007 Conn Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Lineup
Conn Creek is a Napa-based winery founded in the 1970s that makes wines almost exclusively from Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux grapes. Today it produces dozens of wines, including many single-vineyard wines from all over Napa Valley (called the AVA series). We checked out four of these wines, plus the less expensive, blended “Napa Valley”…
Review: Zenify: The Live Stress Free Drink
How stress-free to you get if you drink Zenify? So stress-free that you stop using capitalization. I swear — outside of the nutrition facts box, there’s not a capital letter to be found on this can of relaxation beverage. It’ll knock the shift right out of you! Zenify is designed to “get you focused” by…
Review: Edinburgh Gin (2011)
What a fool I am. Here’s yet another Scottish gin, with the name of a Scottish town right there in the branding. Don’t I feel smart? Edinburgh Gin is distilled with classic gin botanicals, plus the addition of Scottish juniper, pine, heather, and milk thistle. The pine is a bit eyebrow-raising, and sure enough this…
Review: Germain-Robin Absinthe Superieure
My, absinthe, what a long while it’s been! Germain-Robin’s Absinthe Superieure (via Greenway Distillers) is a blanche (clear) spirit, distilled not up to a blazing 140 or so proof, but down to about 90 proof, making it perhaps the least alcoholic absinthe I’ve ever sampled. The spirit is infused with wormwood, rose geranium, lemon balm,…
Review: Murray McDavid Mortlach 1997 13 Years Old Chateau d’Yquem Finish
I’m currently so infatuated with Bruichladdich’s 16 Year Old Yquem-finished “Cuvee E” whisky that I recently did the unthinkable: I bought a bottle of it. Curing my search I also found another Sauternes-finished whisky, a 13-year-old Mortlach privately bottled by Murray McDavid… and less than half the price of the Bruichladdich. Certainly worth a try,…
Review: Russian Standard Gold Vodka
First there was Russian Standard and Russian Standard Imperia. Now there is Russian Standard Gold. Because that’s how Russia works. The bottle design of this new vodka line extension is less imposing but still hangs on its Russian street cred, all Cyrillic lettering and Old World nostalgia. Inside, yep, it’s vodka, and while it’s unclear…
