Book Review: In Fine Spirits: A Complete Guide to Distilled Drinks
The pull quote on the back cover of Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley’s In Fine Spirits declares “The culture of enjoying quality spirits and liquors is in a new golden age.” While economic reports from Discus and crisis clickbait headlines from major media outlets would suggest otherwise, the appearance of new distilleries and breweries (macro-…
Review: Bruichladdich Octomore 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3
After 15 years of Octomore, it feels like they must have burned through all the peat in Scotland to produce this ultra-smoky whisky. Apparently that’s not the case, as the Octo-trio is back again with one question on its mind: How much peat are you ready to handle? As usual Octomore has plenty of surprises…
Book Review: One Thousand Vines: A New Way to Understand Wine
This translation of Pascaline Lepeltier’s One Thousand Vines is dense (the original French edition was released in 2022). Every chapter is its own college course part of a larger, self-taught degree in oenology, every sentence is worth re-reading and committing salient details to memory in the event they reappear when explaining concepts deeper into the…
Review: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Special Release 2024 – Coy Hill Barrelhouse 8
Jack Daniel’s latest Single Barrel Special Release harkens back to what is arguably its most prized, sought-after release of all time: 2021’s Coy Hill High Proof. That release was famous for being one of the highest-proof bourbons ever commercially released (and was followed by a 2022 re-issue of additional stock). You can’t really follow that…
Review: 2021 Booker Wines My Favorite Neighbor
We always get a kick out of the unique wines coming out of Paso Robles-based Booker, and My Favorite Neighbor is invariably a worthwhile experience. This 2021 cabernet sauvignon is surprisingly light on its feet and ready to go, a stark contrast to the 2018 expression we previously reviewed. Lush notes of cherries and currants…
Review: Westward Single Malt Whiskey Bottled in Bond
Westward Whiskey quickly established itself as one of the premier American single malt distilleries. The Portland distillery releases numerous excellent expressions for wider distribution, but saves some of its more limited and unique whiskeys for paying members of the Westward Whiskey Club. The newest offering for Whiskey Club members is a bottled in bond expression…
Review: 2018 Famiglia Pasqua Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG
Famiglia Pasqua’s wines are always exciting, whether you’re sipping on the luxe Mai Dire Mai Amarone or its more affordable Amarone della Valpollicella. It’s the latter we’re tasting today — the 2013 Amarone, which we reviewed last year, is still the current vintage. For the Valpolicella, we’ve skipped ahead from 2016 to 2018 — note…
Review: The Glenrothes 25 Years Old (2024)
In late 2023, storied Speyside single malt producer The Glenrothes announced a new bottling of their oldest core expression: 25 Years Old. It’s aged a full quarter century across first-fill sherry (“a high proportion,” according to the brand), American oak, and European oak barrels. We’ve reviewed The Glenrothes 10, 12, and 18 year releases before.…
