Review: Lucid Absinthe

People of the Internet, you have been heard! I had intended this to be a weekend full of absinthe reviews, based on crushing, popular demand for more absinthe coverage, but the overwhelming heat in San Francisco (both yesterday and today were all-time-high record breakers here) kept me off of spirits and into lighter stuff. Finally,…

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Review: 2005 Hall Wines Cabernet Sauvignon “Jack’s Masterpiece”

Very young but full of promise, this Napa Cabernet created by Hall Wines president Mike Reynolds is a potential keeper, though I fear it’s far too young to drink today. The 2005 Cab is locked up tight as a snare drum. Even after several hours in the glass, it still hasn’t opened up much for…

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10 Drinking Achievements Before You Die

While we try to at least give lip service to “discriminating” drinking around here, this list of essential boozehound exploits is if nothing else lots of fun to read. Perhaps the toughest: Case In A Day – 24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I prefer to think not. You need…

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Strike!

From the wires: Pending Strike Threatens Distribution of Coors, Miller Beers in San Francisco Distributor’s Attack on Workers’ Job Security, Retirement May Cause Service Disruptions SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Miller and Coors delivery drivers represented by Teamsters Local 278 in San Francisco, California are preparing to strike DBI Beverage Corporation, to protest…

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Review: Cruzan Guava Rum

Pity the guava. No one really understands this tropical staple (go to Hawaii and you’ll be inundated with it), but it’s really quite good. A lot like a passion fruit, really, but with a decidedly unsexy name. Despite the lack of erotic appeal in the phrase “guava rum,” when you’re on your 12th flavored rum…

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Review: Zen Green Tea Liqueur

Green tea isn’t a flavor that most mixologists look to for creating cocktails, but Zen green tea liqueur is nonetheless an intriguing option for making something a little off the beaten path. Bottled at 40 proof, Zen is a shade of green that I’ve never seen in a cup of tea. The color is perhaps…

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Review (Plus Live Tasting): Laphroaig 10 Years Old (2008) and Quarter Cask

One of the great things about this job is getting to meet the people (like Dan Gordon and Jameson’s Brendan Monks) who actually make the wine, beer, and spirits we so lustily consume. But not every distillery can send their masters on a flight around the world to meet with writers, so classic Scotch bottler…

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Review: The Yamazaki 12 Years Old

“For relaxing times, make it Suntory time.” With those words, Bill Murray (in Lost in Translation) immortalized Suntory whiskey, a brand that few had heard in the U.S. and even fewer had actually tasted. Japanese single malt whisky? When it comes to alcohol, wasn’t Japan all about beer, plum wine, and sake? In truth, Yamazaki…

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