Review: Stags’ Leap WInery 2020 Chardonnay and 2019 Petite Sirah
The summertime releases from Napa’s Stags’ Leap Winery are upon us — one ready for the pool, the other for the grill. 2020 Stags’ Leap Winery Chardonnay Napa Valley – No surprises here, with this 2020 chardonnay pouring out notes of green apple and lemon curd, filtered through layers of vanilla-heavy oak. A guava character…
Review: Whiskey Jypsi Legacy Batch 001
And the celebrity whiskeys just keep on rolling. A recent addition to that ever growing category is Whiskey Jypsi, brought to us courtesy of country music singer Eric Church and Outsiders Spirits. Read on for a little backstory. Well, maybe a lot of backstory. The first release, Whiskey Jypsi’s Legacy Batch 001…is based on a…
Review: 2020 True Myth Cabernet Sauvignon
Operating out of the Edna Valley in the Paso Robles region of California, True Myth and its various affiliated labels have been offering up sensibly priced Chardonnays and red blends since the early 1970s. But for now, we’re pouring a glass of its Cabernet for consideration. A blend of 85% cabernet sauvignon, 10% syrah, 5%…
Review: Del Maguey Vida Puebla Mezcal
God bless Ron Cooper and Del Maguey for the instruction of “Sip it. Don’t shoot it.” printed directly on the bottle of his mezcals, the latest of which is a single village version of the entry-level Vida called Vida Puebla. Made in — you guessed it — Puebla, Mexico, Vida Puebla joins Vida Clasico and…
Review: Cameron Hughes 2020 Lot 905 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2021 Lot 887 Petite Sirah
For those unfamiliar with the premise behind Cameron Hughes’ operations, it goes a bit like this: Cameron and company scour the world sourcing a wide range of wines from vineyards, bringing them to market under their own label at financially feasible price points. Today, we’re pouring two reds to complement summer grilling, a Sonoma Valley…
Review: Chicken Cock Double Oak 8 Years Old
Chicken Cock‘s latest — billed as Double Oak on the front label and Double Barrel Aged 8 Years on the reverse — is officially a Kentucky Whiskey, not bourbon or rye. The producer doesn’t do a lot of explaining as to what’s going on here, but some internet research reveals the truth: The first 7…
Review: Elysian Odd Water and Hazy ’96
Seattle’s Elysian recently dropped two new beers — or rather, one beer and a hop-flavored sparkling water. Let’s try both. Elysian Odd Water – Pretty simple: This is just moderately sparkling water flavored with Citra and Amarillo hops. Much less overtly hoppy than other hop-flavored waters I’ve encountered, this has a refreshing, lightly fruity quality…
Review: Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B523 (May 2023)
Summer is here, which can only mean that a fresh expression of Larceny Barrel Proof has arrived. Unlike Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B523, there are no big plot twists on Larceny’s latest. As always, it’s a full-strength expression of Heaven Hill’s modern classic wheated bourbon, Larceny. B523 is right on target for the Larceny line,…
