Review: Wines of Alex Elman, 2011 Releases
Sometimes the wines we get aren’t our favorites. But we review them anyway, especially when the story behind them is so lovely. This line of inexpensive whites and reds from Argentina are created by a young, blind winemaker (Alex Elman, of course) and are produced sustainably (and affordably). The inaugural releases arrive this month on…
Review: Remy Martin 1738 Accord Royal Cognac
I regret to inform the reader that Remy Martin’s new Cognac, 1738 Accord Royal, is not 273 years old. It is rather a new blend of some 240 eaux de vie, 65% Grande Champagne and 35% Petite Champagne grapes, aged between 4 and 20 years in Limousin oak barrels. The name derives from a 1731…
Tasting Report: Nicolas Feuillatte Champagnes, 2011 Releases
Nicolas Feuillatte has appeared a few times in this blog, but at a recent event I had the chance to taste through a wide range of offerings from the upstart Champagne house — it got its start in 1976 but is no the #1 Champagne merchant in France and the #3 seller in the world…
Review: iX MiXers
One way to prevent a hangover is to try any number of hangover prevention products before you go out. (I’ve reviewed dozens of them on this blog.) Another idea: Drop your poison into a hangover-stopping mixer directly, bypassing the need for a preliminary (and often nasty-tasting) pre-cure. That’s the idea with iX MiXers, a pair…
Top 10 Geek Beers
Love this story about the geekiest beers on the planet, from Bachelors Degree Online (which apparently also has a lot to say about booze). My favorite on the list is actually #10: Sapporo Space Barley: Japanese brewery Sapporo holds the honor of making the first beer with space-grown ingredients. The barley that’s used for Sapporo’s…
Review: Koval White Whiskeys, Rye, Millet Whiskey, and Ginger Liqueur
To call Koval Distillery an “artisan” operation would be the understatement of the year. Koval, based in Chicago, is a microdistillery of the bizarre: It takes organic, single grains — not just wheat and rye, but stuff like oats, millet, and spelt — and makes booze out of them. Bottled without aging (under the Koval…
Review: Lixir Vodka
Wow, a powerful gut-puncher of a vodka from Michigan, artisanal, organic, and all that good stuff. Distilled from local (Michigan) red wheat, plus a little rye and barley from Minnesota, it goes through a continuous column still, purportedly a total of 88 times. It translates bizarrely: Not into a smooth operator with all the nuance…
Review: Bootlegger 21 Vodka
The speakeasy craze has migrated from the bar world to spirits makers: From New York’s Prohibition Distillery comes this new vodka, Bootlegger 21. Its Old School aspirations aren’t easy to miss: From the retro paper label to the etched, green-glass bottle, Bootlegger will look right at home next to your rotary dial telephone. It takes…
