Review: Bruichladdich Bourbon Cask 16, 2001 Resurrection Dram, 21 Years Old, and 1984 Golder Still
Bruichladdich — a perennial favorite at Drinkhacker HQ from Islay — recently released a number of new expressions of its classic whisky, some with surprising compositions. We got our mitts (and tongues) on four of them: Bruichladdich Bourbon Cask Aged 16 Years Old – No big surprise here. 97 percent of Scotch whisky is matured…
Review: NV Lucien Albrecht Cremant d’Alsace Brut Blanc de Blancs (2009)
Produced in a style similar to Champagne and made just around the corner in the Alsace region of France, Lucien Albrecht’s Cremant d’Alsace Brut Blanc de Blancs is a very lovely sparkling white wine that won’t break the bank. Elegant and moderately to heavily fizzy, the nonvintage Brut has a very sharp apple nose to…
Review: Citadelle Gin (2009) and Citadelle Reserve Gin 2008 Vintage
One occasionally gets in the mood for gin, and when one does, said mood hits hard. Citadelle is a relative newcomer to the scene… with not one but two gins for your drinking pleasure. These gins hail, unusually, from France, and both are 88 proof, distilled from wheat. Up first is standard Citadelle Gin (2009),…
Review: Fighting Cock Bourbon
One approaches a spirit called “Fighting Cock” with tempered expectations. The name does not suggest smoothness or elegance, but rather an old-school saloon bourbon that will probably encourage you to get into a situation in which you end up bleeding before the night is out. Fighting Cock is not as scary as it sounds —…
Review: Springbank 21 Years Old
Dug up this old bottle at a friend’s house last night… one whiff and I knew I’d found something special. Springbank isn’t a big name in Scotch whisky in America, but if its younger (and less expensive) bottlings are anything like this one, it really deserves to be. Located in Campbeltown (on the little peninsula…
Review: McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt 3 Years Old (2009)
One sip — heck, one sniff — of McCarthy’s whiskey and you’d swear it was fresh off the boat from a foggy distillery on the shores of Islay instead of in Portland, Oregon. The only hint that you’re drinking something different is the pale gold color, a signal of a relatively short time in cask…
Buy Some Wine, Do Something Good
Benefiting The Young School in St. Helena, California… some pretty impressive auction items, including: 2005 3L Harlan Napa Valley Red Wine 1.5L horizontal collection of 2005 Bond (Melbury, Vecina, St. Eden, Pluribus) 1.5L Levy & McClellan 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon 1.5L Sloan Red Wine vertical collection (2003, 2004, 2005) Check out the full catalog at the…
Review: Amarula Marula Fruit Cream Liqueur
“This natural fruit cream is produced from fresh cream and the unique fruit of the marula tree.” That pretty much means nothing to me, but that’s not going to stop anyone from drinking Amarula, a cream liqueur that hails from South Africa. You can functionally replace Irish Cream in any drink with Amarula, but the…
