Review: Vision Vodka
This boutique vodka comes from a curious pedigree: It’s the brainchild of awards designers, the team that created the Golden Globe statuette and the MTV Video Music Award. What do they know about vodka? Nothing, really, but it turns out the spirit they’ve come up with — produced in small batches at the rate of…
Review: Camus Cognac, Complete Lineup (2010)
You have certainly never heard of Camus cognac. But what if I were to tell you it was a major worldwide brand, the fifth largest cognac house on the globe — with its major markets Asia and Eastern Europe. Now Camus is coming to America at last, with retail in 15 states and more to…
Review: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon 2010 Edition
Four Roses is back with another Small Batch release, of which a mere 3,600 bottles will be made, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the distillery’s Lawrenceburg structure. Crafted from three of Four Roses’ recipes, it includes whiskeys aged 15 years, 11 years, and 10 years, married together and bottled at barrel strength — 110.1 proof,…
Review: Feudo Arancio 2008 Dalila and 2007 Cantadoro
Feudo Arancio makes a variety of traditional and international wines in its Sicily-based winery. We tried two of the more noteworthy bottlings, both blends. 2008 Feudo Arancio Dalila is a blend of 80% Grillo — a native Sicilian grape often used in Marsala wine — and 20% Viognier. The body is reminiscent of Pinot Grigio,…
Review: Cardhu 12 Years Old (2010)
Cardhu Single Malt — a major component of Johnnie Walker blends — has been out of U.S. liquor stores for years — not since 2003 has a single malt version of Cardhu been for sale in the U.S. (A controversial “pure malt” expression of Cardhu — a blend of single malts from various distilleries —…
Review: 2007 Villa Mt. Eden Pinot Noirs
Two new Pinot Noirs from this ancient Napa Valley winery (founded in 1881) — and from two very different parts of California — arrived this week. Here’s what we thought. 2007 Villa Mt. Eden Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Vineyard – This southern California Pinot offers a bright cherry nose, with a tart…
Review: Laurenz V 2008 Singing and 2006 Charming Gruner Veltliner
I expect (and hope) that most readers of this blog are old enough to remember when Gruner Veltliner was going to be the Next Big Thing in wine. I’d peg that date at about 1998. And then the Next Big Thing really did come along. It turned out to be Pinot Grigio. Oh well. The…
Review: The Bitter Truth Bitters Lineup
Hey Mr. Sheriff, there’s a new gun in town in the bitters category. Called The Bitter Truth (get it?), this brand hails from Germany and now spans eight types of bitters. The house style is, how shall we put it, bitter. Strong on the bitterness, less of a focus on the fruit or other components…
