Review: Steinlager Pure Lager
The enviro craze has been slow to get to the beer world, but with Steinlager Pure it lands with a vengeance. An organic, touchy-feely vengeance, I mean. This rendition of the classic New Zealand brew Steinlager is all about sustainability. No additives or preservatives. Just, as the label notes, water, hops, malted barley, and yeast,…
Review: Sence Rose Nectar
I’ll admit: This stuff has been sitting on my kitchen counter for nearly nine months. Why? Because I’m a little scared of drinking flowers: 48 rose petals go into each 250ml bottle of Sence Rose Nectar, so Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too. But finally I’m doing it. Wasn’t so scary, really. Sence is exactly…
Review: Wines of Hogue Cellars, 2010 Releases
Hogue may be Washington’s best-known winery. We checked out four bottles from the producer, including two from Hogue’s second-label Genesis. Prices are about the same between the two brands. 2008 Genesis Chardonnay Columbia Valley – A fresh, young, and alive Chardonnay. Why is it so fresh? Because it’s completely unoaked, letting the wine highlight a…
Review: 2009 Big House White and Bodegas Osborne Seven Boxed Wines
Don’t need 130 glasses of wine at once? Octavin’s 3-liter boxes will get you about 20, while saving considerable space through the elimination of glass. We’ve reviewed lots of these boxed wines in the past — with generally awful results — but these two are surprisingly not bad. 2009 Big House White California – The…
Review: Silvertap Keg Wines, 2010 Releases
The world of wine has a lot of mystery and ceremony in it: Dusty old bottles. Corkscrews and sniffed enclosures. Fancy labels with cursive on them. Never mind all that, says Silvertap. This company is putting wine into kegs, much like those that beer is served from, and selling said kegs to restaurants and bars…
Review: Cazadores Reposado Tequila
A common tequila where 100% agave quality is desired but money is tight, Cazadores is a solid choice among budget tequilas, though it’s hardly anything out of the ordinary. Cazadores Reposado is a pungent tequila, with intense agave notes. The two months of aging (in new oak barrels) give it a just a light color,…
Review: Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon
Next January (yes, 2011), the iconic Knob Creek will be releasing a new whiskey, expanding a line that, like Maker’s Mark before it, has resolutely stuck to one single product for all its life — 20 long years. That product is Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve — a single barrel, higher-proof version of its incredibly…
Tasting Four 2006 Cabernets from the Stags Leap District
Our friends at the Stags Leap District in Napa, California, were kind enough to send a smattering of Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the 2006 vintage. We tried them all together to see how this vintage is shaping up. Overall, these Cabs are ready to drink but could stand a little more age. Common threads are…
