Review: Carpathian Romanian Single Malt Whisky – Romanian Wine Cask Feteasca Negara
If you still need proof that they’re making whisky just about everywhere in the world, check out Carpathian, which makes a range of single malts distilled, matured, and bottled in Romania. Carpathian launched in 2017 and made it to U.S. shores last year. All 100% single malt whiskies made with local grain and water, most…
Review: Firestone Walker Parabola and Paraboloid 2023
Firestone Walker’s beloved Parabola, the crown jewel in their Proprietor’s Vintage Series, is back for 2023, and it boasts an impressive origin story sure to excite bourbon fans and beer drinkers alike. Continuing a trend of using older bourbon barrels to age its iconic stout, Firestone turned to Buffalo Trace to craft this year’s release…
Review: Dunce Whiskey
What are you, stupid? No! You’re drinking Dunce Whiskey, a relatively tame product from the loonies at Tamworth Distilling. This product doesn’t have a whole lot of mystery to it. It’s MGP bourbon, 4 years old, made from a mash of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. And the front label is a…
Review: Song Cai Viet Nam Floral Gin
Vietnam makes some interesting spirits, and now it can add gin to the repertoire. Sông Cái was founded in 2018 and launched in the U.S. in 2021. It exclusively makes gin for now — in fact, it makes three of them — all designed to “bottle the taste of Vietnam’s biodiverse terroir.” Its botanicals are…
Review: Filibuster Triple Cask Bourbon Tokaji Finished and Moscatel Finished
We’ve sampled a few of the rarer offerings from Virginia’s Filibuster Distillery in recent years, and today we’re looking at a pair of extremely limited-release whiskeys from their Triple Cask line. The more readily available core expressions include a Dual Cask rye and bourbon finished exclusively in French oak, but for the Triple Cask offerings,…
Review: 4 Stone Buenafiesta Margaritas
The latest company to enter the ready-to-drink space is Stone Brewing, which recently dropped this quartet of canned RTD margaritas: all sparkling, and made with real tequila. We got the full lineup to try, so let’s serve the salsa and get started. Each is 12.5% abv. Stone Buenafiesta Margarita Classic Lime – Things kick off…
Review: Maker’s Mark BEP 2023 Limited Release
Stop me if this sounds familiar: For its latest entry into its Wood Finishing Series, Maker’s Mark is analyzing the impact of barrel entry proof — aka BEP. Maker’s is famous for entering the barrel at a low 110 proof instead of the more typical 125, which was legalized in 1962. (It’s the only major…
Review: Hendrick’s Flora Adora Gin
Hendrick’s is cranking out special editions like gin is going out of style, the latest being the Harry Potter-esque Flora Adora, the fourth installment in the Hendrick’s Cabinet of Curiosity lineup. Designed by master distiller Lesley Gracie, Flora Adora is built around flowers, though details beyond that are sketchy. The base spirit includes all the…