Review: 2008 Vionta Albarino Rias Baixas
Crisp and alive, this Spanish white (from the north of Spain on the Atlantic coast, directly above Portugal) offers a nice balance of fruit and minerals — not as light as Sauvignon Blanc but not as overpoweringly perfumy as, say, Viognier. Minerality is big to start, and then the berries kick in: apple, some fig,…
Review: Smirnoff Dark Roasted Espresso Vodka and Spiced Root Beer Vodka
A new flavored vodka is not normally cause for celebration or alarm, but kudos to Smirnoff for doing something a bit different. These flavors may have been done before but the alcohol level has not. With its new espresso and root beer renditions, Smirnoff is releasing overproof flavored vodkas that hit a full 100 proof.…
Review: 2009 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages
By my math, winemakers like to declare a “vintage of a lifetime” once every five or six years, but with Duboeuf’s 2009 Beaujolais-Villages bottling, this might actually be legit. For the Beaujolais newbie, Beaujolais-Villages is not the same thing as Beaujolais Nouveau. The latter is an incredibly young wine meant to be consumed within the…
Book Review: Japanese Cocktails
I love the idea of Japanese Cocktails, the look of it, and the author Yuri Kato, who has obviously toiled for some long months to come up with a succinct list of Japanese-inspired cocktails that you won’t find in any other cocktail recipe guide. And therein lies the problem with Japanese Cocktails: Unless you have…
Review: Marzadro Le Diciotto Lune Stravecchia Grappa
Ah, grappa. Brandy’s skunky cousin. I’m still a bit lost on the appeal of grappa — which is made from grape pomace — skins, seeds, and stems leftover from the winemaking process, rather than the grape juice itself, as brandy is made. But even I will recognize there are some fine grappas out there, especially…
Review: Absolut Brooklyn Vodka
The latest Spike Lee joint has nothing to do with the movies but with vodka: Absolut’s latest entry into its city-themed series of limited edition spirits. Lee worked with Absolut to come up with the flavors infused into this vodka, and worked on the design of the bottle, which features an iconic “stoop life” scene…
Review: G’Vine Floraison and Nouaison Gin (2010)
In the beginning, there was just G’Vine. This upscale gin hails from France and is distilled from grapes, making it unique in the gin world, and its mild citrus-forward flavor made it a hit with Drinkhacker in the early days of the site — where it was one of the first spirits we reviewed back…
Review: Batch 19 Beer
Curious about that new brew on tap at your local watering hole? MillerCoors is testing a new beer called Batch 19 in just five cities (Chicago, Milwaukee, San Francisco, San Jose, and Washington DC) and in limited quantities. According to the company, Batch 19 is based on a pre-Prohibition recipe found in brewery archives predating…
