Review: On The Rocks Cocktails – Aviation, Cosmopolitan, and Mai Tai
Launched in 2016, On The Rocks ready-to-drink cocktails seem to have held a solid footing in the RTD space and chances are high that you have already seen bottles of On The Rocks at your neighborhood stores. The beverages aim to stick with traditional recipes and start with premium well-known branded spirits as their base.…
Review: Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B522 (May 2022)
Larceny Barrel Proof #2 for 2022 is here, and it offers only a few moderate surprises compared to its predecessors. For starters, the experience feels quite a bit more youthful than prior releases. Notes of peanut brittle and milk chocolate give the whiskey something of a Mr. Goodbar aroma to start, punctuated by red pepper…
Review: 2018 Chalk Hill Syrah
We are big fans of Chalk Hill around these parts, and with good reason: It’s one of the more engaging and consistent vineyards in the Sonoma region. But don’t just take my word for it: Chris has been shouting about their greatness for years now, most recently with its 2020 Estate Sauvignon Blanc. Today we…
Review: Diageo Orphan Barrel Project Fable & Folly Whiskey 14 Years Old
Diageo’s latest Orphan Barrel Whiskey is a curious blend — a marriage of “the last remaining stocks of Barterhouse, Forged Oak, and various Rhetoric releases with a proprietary blend.” Bourbon and rye, a minimum of 14 years old, all mixed together into a wild infinity barrel. Like most of the Orphan Barrel releases to date,…
Review: 2018 2Hawk Malbec
2Hawk swoops in (sorry) via the Rogue Valley of southern Oregon, 81% Malbec, 19% co-fermented Cabernet Franc & Merlot, aged 21 months in 29% new, 30% 2-year old, and 41% neutral French oak. Like other Malbecs originating stateside, this is quite fruit-forward up front with notes of plum and raspberry and a secondary layer of…
Review: Alias Straight Rye Whiskey
MGP had a busy 2021. It began the year with the acquisition of Luxco and its impressive family of spirits producers which now manage the George Remus and Rossville Union whiskey brands. Then they finished the year with a wholesale renaming of their campus in Lawrenceburg, Indiana where those brands are produced. While the new…
An Insider’s Look At Spirits Sourcing: An Interview with Obtainium’s Gene Nassif
At just 28 years old, Iowa’s Gene Nassif wears a lot of hats. By day, he’s a practicing attorney focusing on family law. By night — and on the weekends and whatever other spare time he can muster — Nassif is co-owner of Cat’s Eye, a Bettendorf, Iowa-based micro distillery more widely known for its “Obtainium”…
Review: American Highway Reserve Route 1 and Route 2
Country music star Brad Paisley must like Jefferson’s Ocean, because he decided to use a similar approach when crafting his new bourbon in partnership with Bardstown Bourbon Co. But instead of using various waterways, Brad stuck to the roads, aging his American Highway Reserve Bourbon in barrels stored inside a 53-foot semi-trailer, dubbed the “rolling…
