Drinking Scotch with The Dalmore’s Richard Paterson
After spending some time with Tom Bulleit yesterday, I moved on to lunch with another whiskey world celebrity, Richard Paterson of Whyte & Mackay, which produces The Dalmore line of single malt Scotch whiskys, among other spirits. Paterson is serious about his passion and is renowned for his olfactory skills: At one point, the author…
Drinking Bourbon with Tom Bulleit
Bulleit Bourbon is incredibly popular in San Francisco, and yesterday I got to spend a little time with the man behind the brand, Tom Bulleit. A Vietnam vet and reformed attorney, Bulleit waxed philosophical on his whiskey, an adaptation of a mid-1800s recipe passed down from his great great grandfather. Bulleit is a spicy, citrus…
Review: 2007 O’Shaughnessy Merlot Howell Mountain
I’ve waxed poetic on O’Shaughnessy’s cabernet, but its merlot (100%, nothing blended) is, to be frank, not to be missed either. This wine is huge with chocolate notes, backed with raspberry character that immediately recalls a classic dessert. Perfect texture, this is a wine that proves that not only should merlot not be shunned, in…
Review: Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Tequila 2010 Edition
Each year our friends at Cuervo release a special edition tequila called Reserva de la Familia. We missed out on a review in 2009 but still have a bit of 2008 left for sharing with special guests which we guard like Gollum watches over his Precious. Well, 2010’s Reserva just arrived and it’s a real…
Review: Dundee Brewing Irish Red, Pale Bock, and IPA
Had the pleasure of attending a “virtual tasting” of Dundee Brewing Company’s beer lineup today: The drinking was real but the walkthrough was online, with a group of beer and spirits writers being introduced to these beers via webcam session with Dundee’s brewmaster Jim McDermott. Comments on the three beers tasted follow. Dundee Irish Red…
Review: 360 Cola and Double Chocolate Vodkas
It’s flavored vodka night here at Drinkhacker, as we continue with a lesser-known brand: 360, an eco-obsessed brand that donates money from each bottle sold to enviro causes and includes an envelope to let drinkers recycle the bottle closures. Two years after our original review, 360 is launching two flavored vodkas (which is what vodka…
Review: Absolut Berri Açai Vodka
Rest assured, açai mania is not yet over. Swedish vodka giant Absolut is just now getting into the game with this antioxidant-loaded flavored vodka, just in time, probably, for açai fever to finally run its course. (The future is yumberry, people!) Açai is not exactly known for being a delicious berry on its own, and…
Review: 2006 John Tyler Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Bacigalupi Vineyard
A classically styled pinot, John Tyler comes not from the tenth president of our country but rather from a partnership between John Bacigalupi and Tyler Heck. Here they use Bacigalupi fruit to produce a wine with a big strawberry attack, which quickly gives way to earth, meat, and smoke flavors. A leathery finish belies the…
