Review: Cincoro Tequila Gold
Michael Jordan’s Cincoro Tequila brand continues pushing upmarket, it’s latest being a curious blend called Cincoro Gold. This luxe offering blends all four of Cincoro’s other expressions — Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, and “a generous proportion of” 40-month old Extra Añejo — into a product that doesn’t have any official categorization. “Gold” of course has a dangerous…
The Top 10 Tequilas and Mezcals of 2022
2022 has been another big year for tequila, with extra-old expressions coming from every corner – and spending time in all manner of barrels – as well as cristalino bottlings becoming suddenly, incredibly popular. Mezcal continues its rise in popularity, with celebrity mezcal now becoming a thing. We drank a lot of tequila and mezcal…
Review: 2019 Sonoma-Cutrer Grand Brut Rose Russian River Valley
This new sparkler is part of Sonoma-Cutrer’s Winemaker’s Release line and is composed of pinot noir and chardonnay grapes. There’s nothing not to like here, kicking off with a pretty and vibrant attack that bursts with floral notes, backed by hints of strawberry. Rose-infused vanilla notes linger on the finish, along with a touch of…
Review: Contraluz Mezcal Cristalino
Aged mezcal is hard enough to find. Now Contraluz has dropped a first for us: cristalino mezcal (in this case a reposado that’s been filtered to clear). The innocuous looking spirit — which is not quite clear but rather a very pale yellow — offers plenty of surprises in the glass. The nose sees plenty…
Review: Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Unforgotten
Twelve years ago (though I thought it was in 2013, 9 years back), Wild Turkey put out a whiskey that was pretty groundbreaking at the time, blending bourbon and rye and claiming it was all the result of a happy mistake. Forgiven has never been my favorite whiskey, but it did spur a whole lot…
Review: 2021 Tangent Albarino Edna Valley
No longer a single-vineyard wine since our last review, Tangent’s Edna Valley-sourced albarino remains on par with the 2018 release we covered a few years back. Specifically, it’s quite mild and gently sweet, offering notes of sesame oil paired with white flowers. Quiet throughout, with notes of guava on more white flowers on the finish.…
Review: Namazake Paul Sake Advent Calendar 2022
You know whiskey advent calendars and wine advent calendars and beer advent calendars. Now sake gets its due, courtesy of Namazake Paul, perhaps the most noteworthy online seller of sake in the U.S. Namazake Paul’s advent calendar — the only one of its kind — is quite the production, featuring 23 180ml cups of sake…
Review: Pendleton Directors’ Reserve Canadian Whisky 20 Years Old
Hood River Spirits, based in Oregon, has been slowly moving upmarket with its Pendleton Canadian Whisky brand, which we’ve covered at length. Recently it dropped its oldest expression ever, a blended whisky carrying the name of Directors’ Reserve and a 20 year old age statement. (The directors in question are the heads of Oregon’s annual…
