Review: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Years Old (2022) and Caribbean Cask 14 Years Old
Naturally we have covered the whiskies of Speyside’s Balvenie on many occasions, ranging from garden variety offerings to the luxe releases in the various Tun series. Today we’re taking a new look at two of the distillery’s entry-level offerings, bottles which we’ve reviewed on various occasions and which deserve tasting again with a fresh palate.…
Book Review: Rare Whisky: Explore the World’s Most Exquisite Spirits
Simply put: Patrick Mahe’s Rare Whisky compendium is an incredibly exquisite coffee table book. It is an absolute delight to get lost in the high-resolution photography of some of the world’s most sought-after bottles while sipping on something which is most likely (more on that in a second) not contained in the book’s 200+ pages.…
Review: Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky – Moscatel de Setubal Cask 6 Years Old
Welsh whisky distillery Penderyn is introducing two exciting, new single barrel whiskies to the U.S. market in very limited quantities with both owing their distinctive character to Portuguese wine casks. The first is 6 years old, aged first in Buffalo Trace Bourbon casks and then finished in Tawny Port casks. Unfortunately, we don’t get to…
Recipe: Good Cork
This is not your typical Irish whiskey cocktail. While plenty of Irish variations exist on classic whiskey tipples like the Manhattan and Old Fashioned, few, if any, call for an equal measure of mezcal. Ordinarily, I would be a bit dubious of such a bizarre recipe, but the Good Cork has a reliable pedigree. It…
Review: Kiss Detroit Rock Rum
Yes, folks, the inevitable has happened. The rock band Kiss now has its own line of spirits (which launched overseas and are now available stateside). Oddly, three expressions of rum and one gin. We got a look at one of the rum releases, Detroit Rock Premium Dark Rum, which is a selection of Dominican rums…
Review: 4 Sierra Nevada “Little Thing” Beers (2022)
Sierra Nevada has four beers in its “Little Thing” series, and recently the brewery refreshed the packaging for all of them, bundling them together in a mixed 12-pack called the Little Things Party Pack. We reviewed a couple of these beers last year, but this is our first look at the quartet together. Let’s try them…
Review: Diageo Orphan Barrel Project Muckety-Muck Single Grain Scotch 25 Years Old
Diageo’s Orphan Barrel Project featured a 24 year old single grain Scotch last year. Now Muckety-Muck returns as a 25 year old — same Port Dundas stock, same pig-inspired name, just one year older. I think it’s safe to say that any opinions you may have had about the 24 year old version of this…
Review: Wines of Gancia, 2022 Releases
Behold, three wines from exceptionally affordable Italian producer Gancia, which has been producing wine for 170 years. 2019 Gancia Prosecco Rose – Rose Proseccos aren’t overly common, particularly at this price level. Gancia’s expression is creamy and lightly dusted with notes of strawberry and baking spice, hints of cinnamon giving a lift to a core that…