Review: Wines of HobNob, 2010 Releases
Can the French go toe to toe with the Australians at their own game: Putting out cheap and simple varietally-focused wines that consumers will lap up? All that’s missing is the animal on the label. Here’s how the five wines of the HobNob label — sometimes seen as Hob Nob and all hailing from “the…
Review: Parker’s Heritage Collection Golden Anniversary Bourbon Whiskey (2009)
Malt Advocate‘s John Hansell called this whiskey the “American Whiskey of the Year” (2009), a heavy honor from a man who samples hundreds of whiskies a year and certainly knows his stuff. I finally tracked down a bottle — not an easy task — to see what all the fuss was about. The idea: To…
Happy Absinthe Day
Yeah, it’s about as made-up a holiday as you can get, but March 5 is Absinthe Day, which means you should be mixing up a little green fairy concoction in honor of the misunderstood spirit. Don’t know where to start? Here are some of my favorite absinthes on the market: Obsello – Spanish. Fragrant, silky,…
Review: Wines of Tré, 2010 Releases
Tré means three, and if the faux-talian didn’t tip you off to the threeness of this wine, perhaps the silhouettes of the three men walking along and drinking it will. Tré is a budget wine through and through: Each of these four varietals sells for $9.95. Produced by the Guglielmo Winery in Morgan Hill, California,…
Science: Oxygenated Booze = No Hangover
Some people swear by the “don’t mix alcohols” or “only clear alcohols” technique in their quest to avoid a hangover. Now scientists say they have a new method for limiting the negative effects of alcohol consumption: Imbuing alcohol with oxygen bubbles. To wit: The drinks with the added oxygen content sobered people up 20-30 minutes…
Recipe: The Corned Beef Collins
St. Patrick’s Day is always good for dozens of recipe submissions from companies hopeful to have their (invariably green) cocktails featured here. None have come anywhere close to the audacity of Richard Blais’s concoction, which is reprinted here for your shock and awe. Cabbage water, people. Cabbage water. Corned Beef Collins 1 ½ oz. Michael…
Tasting Report: Tre Bicchieri Italian Wines 2010
Gambero Rosso puts on a tasting event of its most highly rated Italian wines — tre bicchieri, or three glasses — every year. I was fortunate to be able to sample 41 different wines from this elite event, with wines from all over the country. There’s no rhyme or reason to what’s on tap at…
Review: 2007 Rocca Family Vineyards Bad Boy Red Napa Valley
As a general rule of thumb, I never drink wine with a picture of a cowboy on the label*. Rocca Family Vineyards’ Bad Boy Red just might deserve an exemption from that rule, however. This red wine is a blend of 40% cabernet sauvignon, 33% cabernet franc, 17% merlot, and 10% petit verdot. That should…
