Review: Masterson’s Straight Rye Whiskey 10 Years Old
100% rye: an oddity. 100% rye from Canada, blended with Colorado-sourced water, and bottled in Sonoma, California — a real oddity. Technically a Canadian whisky, this big rye is named after Old West lawman William “Bat” Masterson — a man who, somehow, has returned from the grave he entered in 1921 in order to put…
Review: Isle of Skye 12 Years Old (2011)
Ian MacLeod’s 12-year-old Isle of Skye whiskey — an upscale blended malt whisky — makes the move from Britain to the U.S. this month, following the 8-year-old version that arrived in 2009. This is an intriguing whisky on its production alone: Using (various) Island and Speyside malts, it is put back into cask after the…
Why Aren’t You Drinking Beer?
Beer sales continue to fall in the U.S., according to data compiled for the 2011 Beer Handbook — although craft beers continue to do reasonably well. Has beer become boring? The outlook for the industry is “not promising,” according to the study. Perhaps they should bring back Zima? Who’s with me?! For the fourth year…
Tasting Report: Momokawa Sake, Complete Lineup, 2011 Releases
When he stopped by with six bottles of domestic rice wine, I asked Dewey Weddington, VP of Marketing for Momokawa, why anyone would want to drink an American sake. The answer was not exactly surprising: Because it tastes good… just like American red wine is as good as French, just as American beer is as…
Review: Buffalo Trace White Dog Wheated Mash and Rye Mash
White dog whiskeys aren’t usually very exciting, but these are more so, since I got to try Buffalo Trace’s white dog right off the still when I visited there. With these two bottlings, Buffalo Trace offers a look at the differences between wheat-heavy and rye-heavy whiskeys, sans aging time. If this sounds familiar, it’s because…
Why People Get Tanked at the Office Party
Ever wonder why demure Katie gets so wild at the annual office Christmas affair? Blame it on, well, the office. Per the Daily Mail: Drinking in environments not traditionally associated with alcohol leaves us far less able to control our behaviour, [researchers] claim. While alcohol does lower our inhibitions, over time the brain learns to…
Tasting Report: Brugal Rums Complete Lineup – Blanco, Anejo, Viejo, and 1888 (2011)
The Dominican Republic’s Brugal continues its march into America — it’s the #1 selling rum in the Caribbean currently — with another offering, bringing its total portfolio to four rums and, for the most part, rounding out its offering with a complete lineup of rums from silver to extra-extra-old. I sat down with maestro ronero…
Review: New Holland Knickerbocker Gin
This gin from Michigan’s New Holland Brewing boasts a dozen herbs and spices, but it’s the juniper and some orange peel that will hit you at the start and don’t let go til you reach for a glass of water to smooth it out. At 85 proof, it’s not particularly hot, but it comes across…
