Review: Xanté Liqueur
If you’d have told me someone was going to try to blend cognac with the essence of pears and bottle it as a liqueur, I’d have told you that was nuts. But Xanté isn’t nuts, it’s real. And it is indeed a lot like pears, defying all logic and expectations about what a deep brown…
Review: Finlandia Tangerine Fusion
Not sure if Finlandia’s Tangerine Fusion is the solution to the energy crisis, but it’s a catchy name nonetheless. Many orange (and related fruits) flavored vodkas give off a vague citrus character that lies somewhere between orange and lemon, which is never altogether satisfying. Finlandia eschews both major ends of the citrus spectrum in favor…
Revisiting Absinthe: Seven Bottlings Re-Sampled
Absinthe is the subject that keeps on keeping on — some of the forum battles over the intricacies of the subject here are legendary — and in honor of Vieux Carré‘s fine showing, I thought it would be personally instructive to revisit some of my most highly rated absinthes — and a few I didn’t…
Review: Vieux Carré Absinthe
It is fortunately far easier to drink Vieux Carré Absinthe than it is to type Vieux Carré Absinthe. This absinthe is produced by Philadelphia Distilling (which also created the fine Bluecoat Gin) and is composed, as the bottle tells us, of “grain neutral spirits distilled with herbs with additional herbs added.” No mention of artificial…
World’s Worst Diet: Red Bull for Eight Months
There are bad diet ideas, and then there’s this one: A woman lost 99 pounds over the course of eight months by consuming a diet consisting solely of up to 14 cans of Red Bull a day, “often accompanying them with nothing more than a handful of dry Honey Puffs.” From Stuff.co.nz: “I just continued…
Review: Vermeer Dutch Chocolate Cream Liqueur
Chocolate-based liqueurs are hardly a new phenomenon, but few spirits we know of have works of art reproduced on their labels. In this case, it’s Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with the Pearl Earring” gazing out at you while you get your chocolate fix. Now we don’t know what kind of a drinker Vermeer really was —…
Review: Scorpion Mezcal – Silver, Reposado, and Anejo 1 Year Old
Mezcal (aka mescal) gets quite the rap. To set you straight, mezcal is made from a number of different types of agave (whereas tequila is only blue agave). The agave (or maguey) is roasted in a wood-fired pit for several days (whereas with tequila the agave is generally cooked in ovens), then fermented — a…
Review: Crispy Green Apples, Pears, and Pineapples
Recently we looked at the new banana version of these tasty dried fruit snacks. Crispy Green was kind enough to send along the rest of the line for our consideration too. (Note: Peaches and Apricots have since been discontinued.) Crispy Pineapple (A-) is everyone’s favorite, with fresh pineapple flavor and a solid crunch — though…
