Review: Wine Wipes
Red wine stains teeth, there’s no way around it. Wine Wipes are not a new idea, but they are a new implementation of that idea: Using many of the same ingredients in tooth-whitening formulas, Wine Wipes are little, circular, fabric pads infused with stain-scrubbing ingredients designed to get rid of those purple stains on your…
Review: 2010 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau and Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau
Beaujolais Nouveau has a bad reputation as being cheap and often undrinkable wine, and in many cases that’s indeed the case. Beaujolais is supposed to be cheap, and it’s meant to be consumed in the year it was produced: Come New Year’s, no one is supposed to be drinking Nouveau any more until next November,…
Tasting Report: Single Malt Scotch Whisky Extravanganza Fall 2010
As previously discussed, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society doesn’t just sell unique single-cask whiskys to its membership, it also throws whisky events around the country. I had the fortune to attend the Society’s San Francisco shindig, and can highly recommend it to anyone, especially the whisky novice. Unlike Whiskyfest or Whiskies of the World, the…
Review: 2009 JJ Vincent Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay “J.J.”
Don’t look now, but more and more French wine producers are putting the varietal of their wines right on the label. Look no further than JJ Vincent’s Bourgogne Blanc, where “Chardonnay” is in lettering almost as large as the year of the vintage. This wine from southern Burgundy is crisp with green apple and tart…
Review: Glen Garioch Founder’s Reserve and 12 Years Old
This Highlands malt (prounounced “Glen Geery”) is relatively unknown in the U.S. Closed briefly from 1995 to 1997, it is the easternmost distillery in the Highlands and is unpeated. Glen Garioch Founder’s Reserve – This un-age-statemented bottling is a fine everyday dram, sweet and warming, with a bit of floral character, some hay, and a…
Drinkhacker’s 2010 Holiday Gift Guide – Best Alcohol/Spirits for Christmas
Another holiday season is upon us here at Drinkhacker HQ, and again we take the opportunity to look back at the best — and most gift-worthy — spirits the year had to offer. Don’t settle for giving your boss a bottle of Crown Royal again (not that we don’t like Crown Royal). Step lively and…
Review: Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
The most celebrated beer in the world, Guinness Extra Stout, has a baby brother: Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. What is it? Guinness brews “Foreign Extras” for a number of countries, and the U.S. had one in 1817. It was discontinued during Prohibition and has been off the market ever since. Now it’s back, and bolder…
Review: Wines of Arkenstone, 2007 Vintage
2007 Arkenstone Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Howell Mountain – Huge body, rich gold color, tastes slightly woody. I would not have guessed this was Sauvignon Blanc, it’s so buttery and creamy. No zip and low in acid. Very strange for Sauv Blanc, but certainly unique. B+ / $45 2007 Arkenstone Vineyards Syrah Napa Valley…
