Spirits Trends for 2022: An Interview with Moët Hennessy’s Allison Varone
2022 is shaping up to be an unusual year for the spirits industry. “Learn to live with the pandemic” has become a frequent, optimistic refrain, but what does it mean for an industry that saw many of its customers completely change their drinking habits over the last two years? Never mind the welcome return to…
Review: 2007 Chateau de Lacquy Single Cask, Single Varietal Armagnac
Armagnac is commonly made from a blend of grapes — four are commonly used, but 10 are approved. What does each varietal add to the blend? To explain, Chateau de Lacquy has created a range of single cask Armagnacs, each made with a single varietal of grape. These three bottlings all hail from the 2007…
Review: 3 Affordable Spanish Reds, 2022 Releases
The wines of Spain can be ultra-luxe, but most of the time you’ll find amazing values from this warm region, known for its aggressive reds. Today we look at a trio of wines from España for your springtime enjoyment. 2018 Clos de Nit Montsant – Montsant is the region surrounding Priorat. A blend of 40%…
Review: Solento Tequila, Blanco and Reposado
Solento is a new brand of organic tequila, made from agave grown at a single estate in Amatitán, Jalisco, in the Lowlands of the region. Packaged in striking rectangular decanters, they’re statement bottles… with statement prices. We received two of the three expressions, a blanco and a reposado, for review. So let’s dig in. Both…
Review: 2018 Hess Select North Coast and Lion Tamer Cabernet Sauvignon
The brand formerly known as The Hess Collection — now officially Hess Persson Estates — will be familiar to most readers, but many don’t realize that the brand bottles wine under a number of different labels. In fact, “The Hess Collection” no longer appears on either of the bottlings reviewed below, which includes a look…
Review: Blue Run Golden Rye and High Rye Bourbon 4 Years Old
Blue Run hit the scene with a splash in 2020, a collaboration between Jim Rutledge, the famed former master distiller at Four Roses, and Nike brand designer Devon McKinney. Since then, a smattering of whiskeys have been released by the brand, but they’ve all had a catch: All were sourced, none had any of Rutledge’s real…
Review: Dogfish Head Let’s Get Lost Single Malt
The beer maestros at Dogfish Head continues to expand their distilling operations, their latest innovation being this new single malt, called Let’s Got Lost, which is “distilled from a custom blend of malted barley (Pale Malt, Crystal Malt, Coffee Kiln Malt, and a high ratio of Applewood Smoked Malt) and aged onsite for more than…
Review: Compass Box No Name, No. 3
Compass Box’s No Name — which we’ve encountered only at tasting events like WhiskyFest — was envisioned as a one-off in 2017, built on a base of Ardbeg but showcasing the lighter side of peat. The original spawned a sequel, and now this third edition has arrived — the final in a series that was…
