Review: Mount Gay Master Blender Selection – Madeira Cask
For its fifth annual release, Mount Gay’s Master Blender Selection takes a cue from a newly popular whiskey finishing option: the Madeira wine cask, which seems to be popping up just about everywhere. The twist? This isn’t finished in Madeira, it’s fully aged in these casks. Here’s some extra info to dig into: For this…
Review: Wines of Ventisquero, 2022 Releases
Felipe Tosso, head winemaker at Chile’s Ventisquero, was recently in town to showcase his wines. Our schedules didn’t align, so we did the next best thing: Connecting over Zoom to discuss his approach to winemaking in this 2600-mile long country, his philosophy running to low intervention, basic production techniques, and minimal filtration. Tosso is all about…
Review: Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch C922 (September 2022)
Ready for the third Larceny Barrel Proof for 2022? C922 has arrived, and we’re ready to dive in. The wheated bourbon’s nose is agreeable but initially indistinct, as if it’s being experienced through a coffee filter. A splash of water really helps bring it to life, where notes of peanut brittle, some coffee bean, and…
Review: 2021 Dobbes Family Estate Grenache Blanc
As you might expect, Grenache Blanc wine is typically made with Grenache Blanc grapes, a white varietal related to the red Grenache grape. Dobbes winery, however, makes their Grenache Blanc using red Grenache grapes, but excludes the skins. The grapes for this wine are harvested from the Crater View Vineyard in the Rogue Valley of…
Review: The Gospel Straight Rye Whiskey
Here’s a fun fact: The Gospel Straight Rye Whiskey is the first Australian whiskey that is legally labelled as “straight,” following the strict distillation and maturation rules required of American whiskeys. The whiskey is made form 100% unmalted rye grown on a single farm in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia, said to be…
Review: Famiglia Pasqua 2019 PassioneSentimento and 2012 Mai Dire Mai Amarone
Two new autumn releases from Italy’s Famiglia Pasqua — well known in these parts for its dazzling Amarone — have hit our desk. Let’s give ’em a try. 2019 Famiglia Pasqua PassioneSentimento Veneto Rosso IGT – A dense blend of corvina and croatina, with some merlot in the mix, this is a hearty wine thick…
The Top 10 Wines for Winter 2023
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some cooler weather — and with it, some heartier, fireside-friendly wines. For the latest installment of our annual Top 10 Wines for Winter roundup, we’ve scoured our prior coverage for top selections as well as surfacing a few wines we haven’t formally reviewed, all in order…
Review: Sante Bourbon Pecans
OK, spoiler. There is no bourbon in Sante’s bourbon pecans. In fact, there are only five ingredients, though one of them — “natural flavor” — could at least refer to a bourbon-like flavor, no? Sante makes a whole bunch of candied nuts, but these bourbon-ish pecans are one of their best products, and the only…
