Review: Canadian Mist Black Diamond Whisky
Canadian Mist is known as a smooth, very simple, and, above all else, extremely cheap Canadian whisky. Now the company is trying to expand, broadening its product range and upgrading its image with more premium bottlings. Canadian Mist Black Diamond is billed — alongside a gold-etched autograph from the distiller — as “a richer, more…
Review: Deschutes Brewery Jubelale Winter Ale 2010
I’ve still got Modelo in my fridge but the first winter beer has already arrived: Deschutes’ annual Christmas brew, Jubelale. Not to be confused with Jubel 2010 (a special, aged version of Jubelale), this year’s Jubelale is as easygoing as the 2009 edition. Sweet on the tongue, it’s balanced with just the right amount of…
Review: Brinley Gold Shipwreck Spiced Rum
More spiced rum (check out the chatter on the BlackBeard coverage here, and keep the fun going below) from the folks at Brinley, which makes some very good flavored rums. Shipwreck hails from St. Kitts and is aged for four years before being juiced up with exotic (and unnamed) spices. Brinley’s rendition of spiced rum…
Review: ResQwater Peach and Pomegranate
Once a sweetened but otherwise unflavored hangover remedy, ResQwater now comes in flavors. Much like, say, a bottle of Vitamin Water, the flavoring part is pretty mild, giving the new ResQwater a pale, pastel complexion. The flavoring doesn’t appear to have any basis in actual fruit — aside from “natural flavors” — and, more importantly,…
Review: 2009 Vina Costeira Ribeiro
This Spanish white hails from Galicia, and is in fact the best-selling white wine from that region. The wine is a blend of lots of Spanish “heirloom varietal” grapes: Treixadura (which is 70% of the blend), Torrontes (20%), and smaller amounts of Loureira, Godello, and Albarino. Bright and fresh, any fan of modern Albarino will…
Review: Kanon Organic Vodka
Kanon combines the old world with the new. Made in Sweden (and heralding 1580 as the distillery’s date of opening and the fact that it was founded by the King of Sweden), it’s old-world tradition meets nouveau chic: It’s organic, distilled from local, organically-grown wheat. Sounds good, but how’s it taste? Kanon has a distinctively…
Review: 2008 un4seen Red Wine California
This wine represents the debut of this Lodi-based winery, premiering with an oddball blend of Zinfandel, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Merlot. un4seen’s debut is intensely raisiny, with serious menthol notes. It’s jammy and more Zinfandel-like in its character (out of the four grapes in this blend) but ultimately it’s decidedly plain, not the complex beast…
Review: Bossa Nova Juices
Bossa Nova juices are now well entrenched among the Odwallas and Naked Juices of the world. These 80% to 100% juice blends — all heavy on superfruits and antioxidant-laden goodness — come in right-sized, ergonomically-shaped, 10 oz. bottles. Many of the blends are 100% juice, but some are sweetened with agave nectar to improve the…
