75th Anniversary of Prohibition’s Repeal
75 years ago, this blog would not have been possible. Never mind that computers and the Internet didn’t exist — alcohol was illegal, too! On December 5th, Prohibition’s Repeal celebrates its 75th anniversary: It was 1933 when we were finally cured of our disastrous 13-year run of bathtub gin and bootlegging. Colorful times, to be…
Review: Boru Vodkas
The only vodka I’ve sampled from the country of Ireland, Boru is named after a legendary Irish king… who probably wouldn’t have been caught dead drinking vodka. No matter. Distilled five times (from unspecified grain), this vodka hits 80 proof in its unflavored and three flavored incarnations (all use natural flavorings). We sampled all four.…
Review: Havana Club Anejo Reserva Cuban Rum (2008)
The Havana Club name is one of some confusion. This venerable Cuban brand is also (arguably) owned by Bacardi, which released its own Havana Club rum (made in Puerto Rico) a couple of years ago. But the Havana Club we’re talking about here is the original — a joint venture between Pernod Ricard and the…
The 21 Best Movie Alcoholics of All Time
Today Filmcritic.com offers the end-all be-all list of the best movie booze addicts: Something tells us that when the Oscars next televise one of their precious “tribute montages” — like they do for “comedy,” “westerns,” or “trains” — it won’t be to honor that most essential of cinematic characters: The drunk. And yet, flip through…
Review: Knappogue Castle 1993
Amazing aromas of fresh banana and bubble gum punctuate this vintage single malt Irish whiskey (a rarity from Ireland), its malt playing against the fruit like you’d get in a malted milk ice cream sundae. Chocolate is surprisingly strong as well, coming up to tease you after the initial spicy fruit notes fade away. And…
Review: 2006 Dos Cabezas WineWorks Red
Dos Cabezas stands as the only wine brand I’ve consumed to hail from the great state of Arizona. No, really: They grow grapes and bottle wine in every state in the U.S., so why not sweltering Arizona, too? Dos Cabezas is based in Sonoita, a mountainous region (nearly a mile high, where it gets awfully…
Review: Four Compass Box Whiskies – Peat Monster, Peat Monster Reserve, Oak Cross, and Hedonism Maximus
Happy St. Andrew’s Day! Here’s a little Scotch coverage to honor the occasion. Many critics and distilleries use the phrase “peat monster” to describe their heavily-peated malts. Compass Box, which hails from the Islay area, actually gave the term to a couple of its products. Here’s how the two real Peat Monsters, plus two more…
Happy St. Andrew’s Day
St. Patrick gets all the press, but Scotland has its own patron saint: Saint Andrew (who else?), and he has his own day of celebration, too: November 30. Pick up a glass of your finest single malt and raise it toward our neighbors across the pond. Even if you aren’t Scottish, good old Andrew is…
