Here Comes the King Here Comes the Big Number One
“Anheuser-Busch reportedly has agreed to be acquired by Belgian brewer InBev for $49.9 billion.” America’s biggest brewer is now… Belgian. Related posts: Review: 8 Beers from Sun King Brewery (Late 2021 Releases) Review: 6 Beers from Sun King Brewery (2023 Releases) Review: King of Kentucky Straight Bourbon 15 Years Old (2022) Review: King Robert II…
Review: Cielo Tequila, Complete Lineup
The tassels. All month long they’ve been talking about the tassels, the ones that adorn the three bottles of Cielo tequila that have been anxiously awaiting review on the bar. But there’s more to Cielo than just a pretty face. This is good tequila across the line. All are 80 proof and, of course, 100…
Review: Lillet Rouge
The charms of Lillet Blanc have been adequately covered in this blog. But there’s another Lillet — Lillet Rouge — which is considerably harder to find even though it’s been on the market since 1962. There’s not a lot of mystery to what Lillet Rouge is: As the name implies, it’s pretty much the same…
Review: 2005 Brancaia Ilatraia
Brancaia (sometimes indexed as “La Brancaia”) is regularly touted as one of the great Super-Tuscan wineries, yet the wines, while expensive, are generally in reach of the average wine buyer. Though in production for only a few years, the $70 Ilatraia is already one of Brancaia’s signature bottlings, a 60-30-10 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese,…
Review: Agua Luca Cachaca
Cachaça continues its run for the It Spirit of the ’00s. Here’s another contestant: Água Luca, an otherwise standard cachaça with the distinction of being filtered twelve times en route to the bottle. Maybe that filtering robs Água Luca of some of its character? Água Luca has a very typical cachaça profile, with a strong…
Review: 2005 Robert Craig Affinity
Robert Craig has been making wine on Mount Veeder for 30 years. Exactly. This year, Craig celebrates its 30th anniversary as a creator of “mountain Cabernets.” In honor, here comes his 2005 Affinity, a Bordeaux-style blend from Howell Mountain, on the other side of the valley. Affinity is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and 1%…
Review: 2004 Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley Reserve
Looking for a solid Zinfandel at a good price? Check out Rancho Zabaco’s Dry Creek Valley Reserve. Rancho Zabaco’s wines are classic, old-school zins, less blatantly jammy and fruity than most modern Zinfandels. The Dry Creek Valley Reserve has an earthy, plum character, with hints of smoke and tar. On the nose this is still…
Review: Tru Organic Vodka Lineup (2008)
Organic spirits continue to swing as a trend: Tru was the first USDA-certified organic brand of vodka in the U.S. Made by Modern Spirits (now known as Greenbar Distillery) in Monrovia, California, these high-end spirits don’t just pay lip service to social consciousness. The bottle uses 25% less glass, the label’s made from corn fiber…
