Review: Michael Collins Single Malt Irish Whiskey (2009)
We’ve looked at Michael Collins’ blended Irish before, and now we turn our attention to the distillery’s single malt, presumably a higher class of spirit and one which is winning lots of awards these days in spirits competitions. On first blush, I found Collins’ single malt hotter than expected, with a distinct alcohol kick at…
Review: Jones Soda GABA Lineup
The ever-innovating soda engineers at Jones have just put out a new line of four new beverages: Combinations of brewed tea and juice, not carbonated, and sweetened with cane sugar and natural flavors. The sell: All of the varieties include GABA, or Gamma Amino Butyric Acid, a “smart drug” neurotransmitter said to “improve mental focus,…
Review: Code Blue Recovery Drink
Billed as “the world’s first complete recovery drink,” Code Blue launched earlier this year with the goal of pre-de-hangover-izing the youth of America. (As with most modern hangover remedies, the idea is to drink this stuff after drinking alcohol — or during, or even before — and you’ll feel fine the next day.) And I…
Review: Charbay Pomegranate Dessert Wine
Yes, pomegranate rage has now reached all the way to the wine world, with Charbay knocking out this non-vintage, pomegranate-based dessert wine (the company makes two other pomegranate products already), ready to give your digestive system a kick in the glands. Charbay starts with 100% organic pomegranates, ferments them, then arrests that fermentation when there’s…
The Booze Hall of Fame
In 1991, the Guiness Book of World Records got rid of all its alcohol-oriented drinking records (you can figure out why, I’m sure). So leave it to Sloshspot to revive the category — most of which it culled from a 1979 edition of the book. Fun stuff! So who out there can drink a liter…
Review: Tres Generaciones Anejo Tequila
As promised in February, we finally got our hands on Tres Generaciones’ Anejo tequila, so we could finally round out the line we first examined here. Though it spends six times the amount of time in oak barrels as 3G’s reposado (“at least” 12 months vs. about 2 months), this anejo is barely darker in…
Review: Absolut Mango Vodka
Now out of vaguely northern European ways to spell the names of fruits, Absolut turns the mango (mangeaux?) for its latest infused vodka. The contents of Absolut Mango should not surprise you in the slightest: Absolut Swedish vodka, infused with natural mango flavor. There are no artificial additions or sugar or anything else in the…
Tasting Report: Whiskies of the World Expo San Francisco 2009
What I liked about WotW 2009: It was held on a boat and, despite my usual seasickness, I didn’t get ill at all. Lots of great whiskey being poured. Despite the stairs (three levels) and the crowds (big), relatively compact venue was easy to get around in. What I didn’t like: Inexplicable 30 minutes spent…
