Review: Balblair Vintage 2000
Balblair is a Highland malt, and a relatively obscure one at that. The squat bottle and modern label design don’t even look like your typical Scotch — not even Glenrothes. You could be forgiven for presuming you were looking at an obscure herbal liqueur when you spy this across the room. But you’re not, and…
Review: Tres Agaves Tequila – Blanco and Reposado
The spawn of some old-school tequila execs (and a spinoff of the Tres Agaves restaurant, now just called Tres), Tres Agaves burst on the scene last year as another producer of high-quality, 100% agave tequilas. The company also makes a very good agave nectar and naturally-flavored margarita mix, with key lime and agave nectar as…
Review: Old Pulteney 12 Years Old (2011)
My favorite Old Pulteney has always been old Old Pulteney: At 30 years old, Pulteney takes on the essence of a longshoreman, but at a young 12 years old, as we have it here, it’s but an innocent seafaring lad of a whisky. Hailing from the Highlands, Old Pulteney is the northernmost distillery on the…
Review: 2010 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais, Moulin-a-Vent and Morgon
2010 vineyard-designated cru Beaujolais is starting to hit the scene, and Duboeuf is (as always) one of the first out of the gate with a range of Gamay-based wines from the major Beaujolais regions. We took a stab at tasting a couple of representative bottlings. 2010 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Moulin-a-Vent – Young, but not without…
Review: HealthGuard Be Happy Mood Booster
Most “relaxation drinks” require consuming 8 to 16 ounces of sugar water to deliver their dosage. Be Happy comes in a much more manageable shot format — a good thing considering many of these concoctions are not the best tasting beverages in the world. Be Happy, designed by a doctor, is careful to note it…
Review: 2010 Esporao Verdelho
Portugal doesn’t just do fortified wines, it also has a wide array of dry table wines, many quite affordable. Esporao, one of the country’s top table wine producers, brings us this wine produced from the Verdelho grape, a hot-weather grape widely planted in the Alentejo region. The wine: Lemony, moderate body, almost Chardonnay-like in the…
Review: Jarritos Mexican Cola
Hipsters who want a soft drink know how to order their fix at any taqueria: By asking for a Mexican Coke instead of a can of domestic crap. Why? Because in Mexico the Coca-Cola is made with real sugar. Here, of course, it’s made with corn syrup. Is that worth the extra buck? You be…
Review: Skyy Infusions Blood Orange Vodka
Skyy already makes a fine citrus vodka, so why mess with things by introducing a Blood Orange version? Because it’s even better. The juicy blood Orange is the king of citrus fruits, and sure enough it makes for a mighty fruit-infused vodka, too. This one if amazingly fruit-forward, really lush with authentic orange notes: Tart…
