Review: Herbsaint Original
There is one known use for Herbsaint, and it’s a big one: In the classic Sazerac cocktail, in which the glass is washed with Herbsaint before rye, sugar, and Peychaud’s bitters are added. Now Sazerac (the company) is relaunching the venerable spirit with its original 1934 recipe, called Herbsaint Original, aka Legendre Herbsaint. Neither the…
Three Ways to Spend 10 Grand and Get Engaged
Valentine’s Day approaches, and that means bartenders and home mixologists galore will be breaking out the Chambord to create V-Day cocktails. Or perhaps you’d like to find a way to get drunk and get engaged at the same time. It will cost you, of course — at least $10,000. The funny thing is this is…
Review: Deschutes Brewery Cinder Cone Red and Red Chair NWPA (2010)
Two more new releases from our good friends at Deschutes (and many more Deschutes brews in the hopper to write about). These two are seasonal-release bottlings that, while fancier than the brewery’s year-round ales, are less complex than some of Deschutes’ more exotic concoctions. They are however much easier to track down than those very…
Review: 2007 HammerSky Vineyards Zinfandel Reserve Paso Robles
Yay, more zinfandel! HammerSky made just 294 cases of this reserve Zin, a textbook example of California zinfandel that’s worth a look. Jammy with plums and cherries up front, it reveals an intricate structure underneath, with leather, tobacco, and some raspberry notes, too. A very easy-drinking wine but one which is decidedly zinfandel at heart.…
Tasting Report: ZAP Zinfandel Festival 2010
Zinfandel enthusiasts have a… how you say… an interesting reputation. I’m not sure if it’s the mystique of the wine or the generally heavy alcohol content, but Zin fans are unique among the wine enthusiasts of the world. Judging from some of the costumes at this year’s ZAP Zinfandel Festival (men in hula skirts, home-made…
Original Recipe: The Magnificent Bastard
Our friends at Magnificent Bastard announced a contest to create a namesake cocktail for them late last year. After giving it much thought, here’s what I came up with and submitted. I wanted to create something that’s very easy to make, uses relatively common ingredients, and, in keeping with the name of the website, is…
Review: Allday Energy Shot
All day I’ve felt barely awake… so an “energy shot” was probably in order to feel awake enough to make it through the evening. Allday Energy (their spelling) relies on L-Carnitine, L-Arginine, and D-Ribose — three things I’ve never heard of — to pump you up. Presumably lots of caffeine, too. Naturally, that comes at…
Review: Matusalem Gran Reserva Rum 15 (2010)
First produced in Cuba, Matusalem now hails from the Dominican Republic (after a stint in the U.S. — presumably Puerto Rico), but claims to hold fast to its original Cuban recipe dating back to 1872. This is the company’s top-end bottling, aged for 15 years using the solera style of barrel aging (though what exactly…
