Review: 2020 San Felice Chianti Classico
We’ve profiled numerous bottles from Italy’s San Felice in the spring and summer of 2022, mainly on the label’s higher-end price range. Today, we look deeper into one of the label’s more affordable offerings: the 2020 Chianti Classico. It’s easygoing but hearty, with gentle notes of violet and peak-season raspberry on the nose. There’s a…
Review: Sunday’s Finest Gold Fashioned Craft Cocktail (2023)
Remember The Gold Fashioned, unofficially the most expensive ready-to-drink bottled cocktail on the market? Well, it’s back, reformulated — slightly — by adding a touch of 15 year old bourbon to the blend, joining the existing complement of 8 year old bourbon, 5 year old rye, and saffron bitters. The orange oil atomizer included for…
Review: NV Sandeman Founder’s Reserve Ruby Porto (2023)
It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had the privilege to review a port from Sandeman, and thus we felt ready for a refresh. With a deep garnet color in the glass, there is certainly much to appreciate on the nose of Sandeman’s Founder’s Reserve, with roasted plum showing first, along with earthier notes…
Review: Dewar’s French Cask Smooth Calvados Cask Finish 8 Years Old
Round five of Dewar’s “Smooth” whisky series is upon us, this one a “French Cask Smooth” bottling that sees its blended whisky finished in Calvados apple brandy casks. As with the rest of the line, an 8 year old age statement is provided, but no additional details are forthcoming. If you like apples — or apple…
Review: 2019 Baldacci Family Vineyards Stags Leap Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon
This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested from the Baldacci family’s Stags Leap AVA vineyards in October 2019, and spent 24 months in 75% French new oak, and it certainly shows. It starts off in fine form with ripe strawberry, blackberry, and dark chocolate on the nose, but the oak influence makes its presence felt, eventually…
Review: Morris Australian Single Malt Whiskey – Signature and Muscat Barrels
Australia is on the rise as a whiskey producer, and the latest brand to enter the fray is Morris, which was officially launched in the U.S. last September — becoming only the third Aussie whiskey brand to be sold in the country. The goal of Morris: “to capture the provenance, climate, and terroir of Australia.”…
Review: 2021 Charles Krug Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley
We last saw this wine in its 2019 incarnation. Today Krug’s sauvignon blanc is still showcasing notes of peach and a light lemon curd undertone, though its grassy elements seem elusive now. A fresh pineapple note adds a tropical kick, and while there’s the vaguest hint of ammonia late in the game, Krug has wedged…
Review: Celaya Tequila, Complete Lineup
Celaya Tequila is the brainchild of brothers and former NFL Pro Bowlers Matt and Ryan Kalil who tell of their great great grandfather Jose Celaya who, the story goes, was famous in the 1800s for the tequila he distilled in Sonora, Mexico. Since the old recipe no longer exists and the Kalil siblings are not…
