Review: 2007 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône
Parallèle 45 is one of the most venerable of French wines, a grenache and syrah blend from 25-year-old vines in the Rhone valley, and it’s usually something you can find for under $10 a bottle. This 2007 rendition is no departure from the house style, a burly wine with a big herbal punch — rosemary…
Review: 2009 Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau and Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau
November means Beaujolais Nouveau, and, as usual, the first Beaujolais through the door is Georges DuBoeuf’s two bottlings, the standard Beaujolais Nouveau and the more sophisticated Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau. I tried both, with curious results. First up is the 2009 Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau, the entry level expression and a rather crude wine, to be honest.…
Diddy Talks Ciroc
It’s rare that a humble blogger likes myself gets a solo audience with a cultural icon like Diddy, aka Sean Combs, Puff Daddy, Puffy, P. Diddy, and numerous other monikers. AND YET IT HAPPENED. That’s right, folks. Your humble Drinkhacker sat down mano a mano with the man who stands guard behind Ciroc to talk…
Humphry Slocombe’s Ice Cream For Adults
It’s called a “Secret Breakfast,” but tens of thousands of people seem to know about it: Ice cream from San Francisco’s Humphry Slocombe, which operates a tiny Mission shop with about 10 daily concoctions ranging from Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee (better than actual Blue Bottle coffee, IMHO) to Peanut Butter Curry to Pumpkin 5-Spice. But…
Review: Evan Williams Single Barrel Bourbon 2000 Vintage
Here’s an outstanding return to form for Evan Williams’ Single Barrel bourbons, which the company’s been bottling for years, an amazing whisky that I highly recommend. The 2000 Single Barrel shares a lot of DNA with the 1999, but while last year’s version is noteworthy for its lightly bitter, wood and charcoal finish, the 2000…
Review: Deschutes Brewery Hop Trip (2009)
The 2009 edition of Deschutes’ seasonal brew, Hop Trip, is a nice little pale ale. Really easy drinking, but with a good slug of bitter hops character. On first blush it’s strong, almost IPA style, but it quickly settles down into a more nuanced style, with a surprising bit of honey and citrus-like sweetness in…
Review: Woodford Reserve Seasoned Oak Finish Bourbon
Just hitting the market this month comes Woodford Reserve’s latest limited-edition bourbon, aged in specially treated barrels to create a distinct flavor profile. With its Seasoned Oak Finish, Woodford Reserve ages the new make spirit in over-seasoned oak which has been exposed to extreme weather conditions for up to five years before being fashioned into…
Review: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, PortWood 21, Single Barrel 15, and Madeira Cask 17 (2009)
Last night, The Balvenie was kind enough to host a few media types for a dinner and tasting of its four current release Scotch bottlings, including its Madeira Cask 17 Years Old, which just arrived in the U.S. a week ago. Some of these are classic bottlings that have been around for years (seriously —…
