Review: Highland Park Cask Strength Release No. 4
It’s been three years since Highland Park inaugurated its Cask Strength Release — the first full-proof release the distillery had ever put out. We reviewed the second edition a year later, and now we’re finally on to Release No. 4. It’s not the same old story, by the way: Cask Strength No.4 is quite a…
Review: Riedel Cocktail-Specific Glassware
Over a decade ago, Riedel made us believers in the power of quality glassware to enhance our wine drinking experience. We should have expected nothing less from a centuries-old Austrian crystal maker whose motto is “The Wine Glass Company.” Fast forward to the present, when Riedel is applying its glassmaking expertise to a new line…
Review: 2022 Kenefick Ranch Sauvignon Blanc Calistoga
Sauvignon blanc can be ultra-grassy, ultra-fruity, or ultra-ammonia-driven, but Kenefick Ranch’s Calistoga-grown release manages to be none of the three. Moderated pineapple and mango lead the way to notes of baking spice and white flowers, evoking a traipse through wildflowers — all without ever coming across as overly acidic or grassy. Well balanced amongst its…
Review: Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Batch Proof 2023
While Woodford Reserve’s Batch Proof has been an annual release since 2018, we’ve reviewed it only once, in 2020. The whiskey isn’t designed to change dramatically from year to year, however. It’s a mingling of standard Woodford Reserve barrels all pulled into a single batch, then bottled at barrel — or, in this case —…
Review: Martell Cordon Bleu Cognac
While we’ve regularly covered Martell‘s various special edition Cognacs, we’ve never taken a stroll with Cordon Bleu, which sits just below Martell XO on the quality and price band. It’s made with a high proportion of Borderies eaux de vie, but otherwise Martell doesn’t offer a whole lot of information about the product. We won’t…
Review: Wicked Weed Strawberry Kiwi Burst and Dr. Dank Mango Wowie
We continue to work our way through Wicked Weed’s extensive tap list with this pair of fruited, summery offerings, one a session sour and the other a hazy India Pale Ale. Wicked Weed Strawberry Kiwi Burst – The beer pours an almost cranberry red with a fluffy, pink grapefruit-tinged head. The aroma is big and…
Review: Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Ryder Cup Edition
Golf+whiskey mania continues this month with the arrival of a special release of Elijah Craig, designed to pay homage to the 2023 Ryder Cup. This isn’t just another spin on Elijah Craig Barrel Proof but rather quite a unique product, starting with fully-matured Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon that is then finished in, and I…
Review: Heimat Liqueurs – Nectarine, Cranberry, Elderflower, and Black Currant
With this latest feature, we finally get caught up to the full offerings of the New York-based Heimat distillery, which produces farm-to-glass, fruit-only-no-additive liqueurs using fruit sourced in their “backyard” of New York through partnerships with family-owned farms. We first covered their limited edition Barrel Finished Bosc Pear early this year, followed by a profile…
