Review: Karbach Cerveza Especial, Crawford Bock, and Ranch Water Seltzers
Houston’s Karbach doesn’t just make beer, it also cranks out a variety of popular canned Ranch Waters, four in all, based on the Texas-favorite blend of tequila, sparkling water, and lime. Mind you, the canned Ranch Waters are all made from malt beverages — not tequila — and are sweetened with a combination of cane sugar,…
Review: 2021 Domaine Bousquet Alavida Malbec
Alavida is a wine carrying an impressive roll call of health-conscious bona fides. More specifically, it’s USDA-certified organic, vegan, gluten-free, and kosher. Quite a bit of effort goes into the production of this Malbec. Grapes are harvested from the higher-altitude vineyards of Domaine Bousquet’s estate and must be high in acidity as there is no…
Review: The Kraken Gold Spiced Rum
After a sleepy decade with no new products, The Kraken has suddenly awoken from its slumber. A coffee-and-spice flavored rum hit in 2020. Now a new gold spiced rum has arrived. The concept seems pretty obvious: Spiced rums from the likes of Sailor Jerry and Captain Morgan are lighter in color and perhaps less daunting…
Review: 2021 Flora Springs Soliloquy Napa Valley
Flora Springs‘ sauvignon blanc-heavy blend Soliloquy returns for another round, again hitting the ground with its unique blend of acidity and fruit, this year showcasing peaches and tropical notes, heavy on the pineapple. A touch of hospital character evokes a bit of petrol, though gratings of lime zest and a curious touch of kiwi offer…
Review: 2020 Graffinga Glorious Selection Malbec
No matter the subject, anytime “glorious” is interjected into a product’s brand name, hopes are elevated rather highly that it will live up to its intended promise. What’s more accurate, however, is the label on this wine’s declaration that it is a “wine of character for those who embrace their own.” You’ll find no argument…
Review: Kentucky Peerless High Rye Bourbon
Kentucky Peerless has released its share of specialty finishes and single barrels over the years, but the Louisville-based distillery hasn’t added a new recipe to the portfolio since its first small batch bourbon debuted in the summer of 2019. Kentucky Peerless High Rye Bourbon is, as the name implies, a higher rye version of their…
Review: Yeti Rambler Beverage Bucket
Coolers. Those bulky, heavy, unattractive things that get loaded into and out of trunks and boats and backyards everywhere this time of year. We love them and yet we hate them. Sometimes our party is so popular or our thirst so insatiable that only a big cooler, or multiple big coolers, will do. Yeti has…
Review: 2018 Bodegas Valdemar Conde Valdemar Crianza
With Father’s Day right around the bend, some fatherly types might indulge in a nice snifter of bourbon from Kentucky, a dram of from Islay, or just a plain old beer from the craft brewery or gas station around the corner. However, if you’re looking for something for the dad who likes a bit of…
