Review: Oronoco Rum
This distinctively packaged rum comes from the mountains of Brazil, a land known mainly for cachaca, not rum. It’s a pity: Based on Oronoco’s showing, Brazil really ought to be making more of the stuff. This white rum is exceptionally smooth and creamy, offering an immediate vanilla nose. On the palate is offers a big…
Photos from La Soiree 2008
This weekend we dropped by the French American Chamber of Commerce’s La Soiree event. Quite a hopping event — a soiree, even — packed with people and with some interesting wines on hand to try. (I even managed to hunt down an unusual and rare Audry cognac.) As for the food, well, this being a…
Review: Crown Royal Cask No. 16 and XR “Red Label”
Two additional Crown Royal bottlings for your consideration. This classic Canadian whisky continues to expand its portfolio upward and onward, with rarer and more expensive blends. (See also our review of Crown Royal Reserve.) Both of the below whiskies land at a perfectly accessible 80 proof. Crown Royal Cask No. 16 – This is a…
Review: Parasia Digital Wine Thermometer with LED Light
Many wine bottles and reference guides helpfully offer an “optimum” temperature at which a wine should be served. Sticking the wine in an ice bucket is easy. Actually measuring the temperature it’s at is the hard part. Parasia’s Digital Wine Thermometer looks a lot like an oversized pen. Uncap it and dip the probe in…
Review: 2004 Santa Rita Pehuén Carménère
What the heck is Carménère, you ask? It’s a wine grape that, if importers have anything to say about it, will be taking the States by storm in short order. (Of course, they’ve been saying that about Grüner-Veltliner for at least six years now, and look where that’s gotten to.) Carménère is mainly a blending…
Review: Nine BenRiach Scotch Expressions (2008)
Nine tiny bottles representing the heart of BenRiach’s line of Scotches have been staring me down for weeks now. Finally I’ve embarked on the massive tasting effort to review each of them. Also known as “The BenRiach,” this Speyside outfit produces at least 18 regular bottlings, plus dozens of special, limited releases. The nine reviewed…
1800 Tequila Releases Essential Artists Series Bottlings
The cool cats at 1800 are taking their tequila to new heights: By adding to the artistry of what’s in the bottle through a series of prints that adhere to the bottle itself. For its first round, 1800 has commissioned nine artists to produce original works which are then recreated on the back of the…
Did I Say “Discriminating”?
Not only is there a World Series of Beer Pong, but it’s about to have its fourth annual showdown: BPONG.COM is hosting the 4th annual World Series of Beer Pong in Las Vegas from January 1-5, 2009. The event is held at the renowned Flamingo casino and hotel right on the Vegas strip. BPONG.COM has…
