Review: Few Spirits Four Grain Bourbon 10th Anniversary Edition
For its recent 10th anniversary, Evanston, Illinois-based Few Spirits dropped a special edition bottling, a bourbon made from a four-grain mashbill (no breakdown specified), aged six years in oak. It’s available exclusively in Illinois and on Few’s own direct-to-consumer channel, BuyFewSpirits.com. The bright, burgundy-hued whiskey keeps things on the level, aromatically. Peanuts and caramel corn, laced…
Recipe: Pop Quiz
Pop Quiz! Nah, I don’t have any actual questions for you, just this cocktail recipe created in 2010 by Devon Tarby of New York’s infamous Death & Company. As the story goes, someone challenged her to create a cocktail that used mole bitters (hence the name). Which, well, I’m not sure that’s much of a…
Review: J. Rieger Caffe Amaro
J. Rieger is based in Kansas City, Missouri, where it produces a variety of spirits that includes vodka, gin, and whiskey. Oddly, its best-known is this, a coffee-infused amaro made with local coffee and a blend of botanicals, including juniper berries, cardamom, orange peel, star anise, spearmint leaves, gentian, and vanilla beans. Aiming to combine…
Review: Bruichladdich Octomore 12.1, 12.2, and 12.3
Octomore — the self-proclaimed world’s peatiest whisky — is back for round 12, this time with a twist. While the “x.2” release is usually a duty-free release, Octomore 12.2 is available for the first time in general retail. Details from the distillery: This twelfth series of Octomore returns to explore a delicately balanced, soft smoke…
Review: Hella Cocktail Co. Bitters & Soda, Complete Lineup
Hella Cocktail Co. is leaning into the spirits-alternative category with five bitters-centered non-alcoholic sparkling beverages. The Bitters & Soda expressions all feature “gentian tincture,” aka a tincture (medicine) made from the root of flowering plants in the Gentiana genus. Gentian root has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries across the continents. Let’s dig right…
Review: Old Line Aged Caribbean Rum – Single Malt Cask Finish
In addition to an impressive and diverse line of single malts (see here), Baltimore’s Old Line Spirits also includes several rums in its portfolio. Sourced from an unspecified Caribbean producer and aged in the Dominican Republic, Old Line’s founders reportedly worked with master rum blenders Luis and Margaret Ayala to finalize their rum blend, which…
Review: Luretta NV Principessa and 2018 Gutturnio Superiore
Luretta hails from the Gutturnio region, a new DOC in northern Italy, south of Milan. Frizzante style wines are most common here, and while the winery produces sparkling wine — in the metodo classico style — it also produces a still red wine, also reviewed here. NV Luretta Principessa Blanc de Blancs – A brut…
Review: The Real McCoy Distiller’s Proof Rum 5 Years Old
We’re finally working our way through the Real McCoy Rum portfolio. Chris enjoyed the distillery’s 5-year-old flagship offering (nearly a decade ago), and next up is this bottle, the Distiller’s Proof version of that same rum. As a reminder, Real McCoy is sourced from the well-known and well-loved Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. Unlike the standard…
