Review: Martini & Rossi Rosato Vermouth
Ladies and gentlemen, we now have a new kind of vermouth to contend with. Joining Dry, Sweet, and the rarely-seen Bianco, Martini & Rossi has launched another expression: Rosato. Rosato falls somewhere between the red and white spectrum — indeed it’s a blend of red and white wines, plus a lot of spice. The pink…
I Took the Cachaca Challenge
There is nothing more fun – or terrifying – than doing a blind head-to-head tasting of wine or spirits. What if everything you thought you knew was wrong? What if it turns out you like Gallo from a jug better than Screaming Eagle? (Answer: Well, then, you’re lucky. You’ll save a lot of money down…
Review: 2007 DiamAndes Gran Reserva Mendoza Argentina
This Mendoza wine is a blend of 70% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. The result: Though now four years old, it still feels young. A light, reserved nose gives way to a lot of grip on the palate, an almost chalky, dusty wine. There is a solid fruit core here, but it’s tight and not…
Review: Chopin Rye Vodka
This could be a first for vodka makers: A company releases a second, unflavored vodka, different only because it was produced with a different base grain. Chopin is a relatively uninspired potato vodka, and now the company is back with a vodka made from rye. Chopin “Red Label” is crafted from 100% Polish rye and…
Tasting Report: 2011 Good Eats Zinfandel & Food Pairing
Rarely is a bottle of wine consumed on its own, and the folks at ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers) know this. A smaller part of the monumental ZAP event is this annual shindig, an event that pairs every winery exhibiting with an area restaurant, the idea being to show off how well Zinfandel wines go…
Review: PreToxx Hangover Remedy
PreToxx — now reformulated and repackaged since our 2009 review and featuring a capital T instead of a lowercase one — still has one great thing going for it: It’s a pill, so choking it down is easy. Designed to be consumed before you drink, one PreToxx pill contains the following: Vitamins B1, B6, B12,…
Review: Kilchoman Winter 2010 Release
We last encountered Kilchoman only a few short months ago, when its Summer 2010 Release single malt whisky was still on the shelves. Now those days are gone, but Kilchoman is back with another semiannual release. Winter 2010 finds Kilchoman still at three years on the barrel, and as big and burly as that youth…
Review: Manana Tequila, Complete Lineup
Mañana, of course, means tomorrow in Spanish. Maybe the name foreshadows a simple reality that you should wait to buy the stuff. (You certainly won’t miss those brightly colored bottles, though, each featuring a tiny metal sculpture of a man in a hammock, which swings back and forth inside a recessed portion of each bottle.…
