Review: La Clandestine Absinthe
Part of the rare but growing segment of “blanche” (aka “la Bleue”) absinthe, La Clandestine is a Swiss absinthe with a recipe that dates back to 1935. The main difference: Blanches are clear, without the traditional yellow/green tint that has earned absinthe its noteriety and its famed “green fairy.” (The reasoning dates back to absinthe’s…
Review: Nouvelle Orleans Absinthe
The folks that make the widely available Lucid are expanding their line of absinthes with two new bottlings. At the top of the line is Nouvelle Orleans,a 136-proof traditional absinthe with a yellow-green color straight from the bottle. Fragrant but not overpowering, uncut Nouvelle Orleans offers light, sweetish notes but is far too blazingly alcoholic…
Drinkhacker’s 2008 Holiday Gift Guide – Best Alcohol/Spirits for Christmas
What better gift is there than a bottle of booze? Not only will your giftee think you’re incredibly sophisticated, chances are he’ll let you drink a good amount of it before he realizes his terrible mistake. What’s the best booze to put under the tree this Christmas season? Of course you want to offer something…
Review: Inniskillin Ice Wines, 2008 Releases
Rarely have dessert wines vanished from Drinkhacker HQ so quickly as Inniskillin’s Ice Wines (or Icewines). Traditionally made icewine from Canada, these low-alcohol, high-sugar, high-addiction-level wines vanished in days. Icewine is a very sweet and flavorful wine made from grapes that are left on the vine until winter’s frost arrives, freezing the grapes only after…
Review: Maui Gold Rum and Reserve Gold Rum
Earlier this month we took a look at three rums from the Maui lineup, which (obviously) hail entirely from Hawaii and aren’t readily available in the U.S. Today we got a crack at two of the company’s remaining products, a Gold Rum and a Reserve Gold (both 80 proof), rounding out the rest of the…
Review: Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Tequila 2008 Edition
One of the rarest and most expensive tequilas reasonably available on the market, this is Cuervo’s top of the line. It is produced once a year (each with a unique wooden box to contain it), blended from old tequilas that have been in oak for an average of three years and, in some cases, up…
Review: 2007 Viu Manent Secreto Viognier
This Chilean viognier (85 percent, the other 15 percent is mystery juice) is a lighter style than you usually find from California viogniers: Perfumy, with light peach and apricot notes. There’s a vague meatiness underlying the fruit flavor — which is more than a little strange in a wine like this — and the finish…
Original Recipe: Christmas in Rio
I created this dessert drink to highlight the vanilla and cinnamon notes in the Oronoco Rum, reviewed below. Christmas in Rio 2 oz. Oronoco Rum 1/2 oz. chocolate liqueur 1/2 oz. Licor 43 1/2 oz. half and half Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Sprinkle with a light…
