Review: Ancient Peaks 2019 Renegade and 2018 Oyster Ridge
You just can’t stop these guys. We’re back again with two fresh looks at the wines of Paso Robles-based Ancient Peaks, both red blends. 2019 Ancient Peaks Renegade Paso Robles – A weird blend of 57% syrah, 33% petit verdot, and 10% malbec. Initially daunting, I slowly gravitated to this wine with ample time in…
Review: 7 Malibu Rum Expressions (2022)
Once synonymous with coconut rum — and only coconut rum — the Malibu Rum empire now spans 9 different flavored rums, ready-to-drink canned cocktails, and even punch-in-a-bag concepts. The catch? Today, very little of this has coconut flavoring in it. What’s Malibu made of? You might be surprised to know for starters that it’s made…
Review: 2015 Cambria Syrah Sicilia DOC
Here’s an unusual bottling of 100% syrah from Sicily, which is kind of a stealth grape for the Italian island. It has all the intense currant, black cherry, and beef boullion notes of your typical New World syrah, but the heavy berry notes are studded with notes of green olives, graphite, and an intense tannin…
Review: Distillery 291 Bad Guy Bourbon, High Rye Bourbon (2022), and E Series Batch 9
For the latest releases from Distillery 291 Colorado Whiskey, the baton has been passed on to me from Drew and Christopher as Drinkhacker revisits the latest batch of HR (High Rye) Colorado Bourbon Whiskey and takes a first look at the Bad Guy Colorado Bourbon Whiskey and limited release of E (Experimental) Whiskey. Let’s see what…
Bar Review: Easy Rider, Petaluma, California
Petaluma is one of the gateway towns leading to California’s wine country, and it’s a surprisingly bustling little burg with a vibrant, river-set downtown. Packed with bars and restaurants, there’s no shortage of selections when it comes to going out. The latest fixture in Petaluma is Easy Rider, a southern-inspired restaurant that, on a recent…
Review: Glenmorangie The Cadboll Estate 15 Years Old 2021
In 2020 Glenmorangie dropped a curious limited edition expression called the Cadboll Estate, the first single estate whisky created by Glenmo, made entirely onsite “from grain to glass.” A 15 year old expression, it was aged exclusively in first-fill bourbon barrels — no funky wine cask work here. Now Cadboll is back for a…
Review: 2018 Kukkula Aatto and Pas de Deux
Finnish for “the hill,” Kukkula hails not from Scandinavia but from California’s Paso Robles region, where owner/winemaker Kevin Jussila has been organically dry-farming his estate for 16 years. Today we look at two Rhone-inspired reds from the 2018 vintage. 2018 Kukkula Aatto Red Wine Adelaida District – Aatto is Finish for “eye.” A blend of 45%…
Review: Highland Park Viking Heart 15 Years Old (2022) and Cask Strength Release No. 2
Highland Park continues to refresh its venerable whisky lineup, its most recent update being the introduction of Viking Heart, which replaces its old 15 year old. This is entirely new liquid — bottled in a ceramic decanter from Wade Ceramics, no less — and includes a “high percentage” of first-fill sherry casked whisky. Today we…
