Review: Gekkeikan Zipang Sparkling Sake
Sake continues its slow but inexorable push into American cocktails and bottles, this time with Gekkeikan’s Zipang Sparkling Sake beverage. Like saké2me, Zipang is a single-serve bottle (though larger, at 250ml). Unlike saké2me though, Zipang isn’t flavored, it’s literally just sake given a light carbonation. If you like sake, you’ll really enjoy Zipang. Served nice…
Review: Whitley Neill London Dry Gin
For a spirit inextricably associated with England, how surprising it was to read on the bottle of Whitley Neill gin: “Inspired by Africa.” Apparently Mr. Neill’s (Johnny Neill, actually) wife is originally from Africa, which is why a baobab tree appears on the label and in the bottle, in the form of its fruit used…
Review: 2005 Luke Donald Collection Napa Valley
For those whose TVs remain off on Sunday afternoon, Luke Donald is a PGA golfer, and Luke Donald Collection is his new wine label. Produced in the Rutherford region of Napa Valley (and blended from grapes grown throughout Napa), the otherwise unnamed Luke Donald Collection red is a Bordeaux-style blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43%…
Review: Jetset Energy Mixers
Jetset advertisements have been pummeling the magazine world of late. How do they stack up? I recently tried all five versions. Jetset Energy Original is your standard, skinny-can energy concoction, a guarana-ginseng-taurine-caffeine soda with a lemon-lime kick. It’s better than Red Bull, and better than most energy drinks out there. It’s a pretty clean drink,…
Review: Van Gogh Flavored Vodkas, 2008 Releases
Maybe if Vincent Van Gogh had had vodka like this he wouldn’t have had to cut off his ear. Van Gogh makes a standard vodka, but it’s best known for its flavored offerings (it currently has 17 of them, plus a gin). The company recently sent a pack of five sample-size bottles for me to…
Review: Tequila 7 Leguas (2008)
7 Leguas or Siete Leguas (“Seven Leagues”) was the name of Pancho Villa’s horse. How does such a moniker bode for the tequila named after him? Well, I guess I’d rather drink tequila named after a horse than something named after Pancho Villa himself. (Really, think about it…) 7 Leguas offers the three traditional (all…
Review: 2005 Caduceus Cellars Naga
I doubt I’ll be dropping by Caduceus Cellars any time soon. The wine is made in northern Arizona, far away from the Wine Country as I know it. Fret not: Caduceus is not trying to make wine from local desert grapes: M.J. Keenan brings in hand-picked grapes from Ranchita Canyon Vineyard, in the well-regarded Paso…
Review: Absolut 100 Vodka
With its black label and silver cap, Absolut 100 is an ominous spirit to face down, which probably explains why it’s been sitting on my kitchen counter for three weeks: It scares me. 100 proof of pure vodka, this is a higher-test version of the Absolut that everyone knows so well. Absolut’s characteristic heat is…
