Review: Barrell Gold Label Bourbon
Barrell has lately been finding lots of different ways to show off its stocks of older Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee bourbons. For starters, some has been finding its way into their standard Batch blends, which has likely contributed to the consistently high quality of that line in recent years. The introduction of the Gray Labels in…
Review: 8 Beers from Sun King Brewery (Late 2021 Releases)
Indiana-based Sun King dropped a heap of beers on us just before Christmas, and it’s taken us a while to get through them all. Why? Almost all are well over 10% abv, the kind of winter-themed brews that pair best with ski slopes and fireplaces. Clearly, some moderation has been in order. Below please find…
Review: Mezan Chiriqui Moscatel Cask Rum
Mezan produces a range of rums from all of over the Caribbean and Latin America, and its latest is this offering born in Panama, which starts with column-distilled molasses that is aged in second-fill American white oak casks, then finished in Portuguese Moscatel wine casks. No sugar is added. Rich and earthy on the nose,…
Review: 2019 Vurria Di Giovanna DOC
Sicily is an important wine region in Italy, producing mostly red wines with substantial body and flavors. The region has a Mediterranean wine climate, with long, warm and sunny days and an overall dry growing season. Nero d’Avola is the dominant black grape in Sicily and is cultivated throughout the entire island. This grape is apt…
Review: Breckenridge Buddy Pass – Imperial Oatmeal Stout and Stout Finished Whiskey Batch 1
It’s hard to believe but Breckenridge Brewery and Breckenridge Distillery are not owned by the same company. (Breckenridge Brewery is actually part of Anheuser-Busch, while the distillery is still independently owned.) Buddy Pass is nonetheless a natural collaboration between the two operations, a barrel exchange in which Breckenridge Brewery brewed an Imperial Oatmeal Stout which…
Review: One Eight Distilling District Made Ivy City Gin (2022) and District Made Vodka
We’ve covered plenty of whiskeys from Washington, D.C.’s One Eight Distillery over the years, but their earliest spirits, like most craft operations, were of the clear variety. We never got around to their vodka, and although we explored Ivy City Gin in its early days, it has apparently seen some tweaking recently. Let’s tie up…
Review: Rampur Asava Indian Single Malt
This is our third round with India’s Rampur whisky, and I can assure you up front of its distinct uniqueness. The single malt carries no formal age statement, but it’s a double casked expression, spending the bulk of its time in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in Indian Cabernet Sauvignon wine casks. Rampur says that’s…
Review: Dogfish Head Camp Amp Milk Stout
Since its merger in 2019 with craft beer behemoth Boston Beer Co. (maker of Sam Adams), beachy brewery Dogfish Head has added several new offerings but also eliminated some of the old standbys from their initial craft lineup. Lighter pilsners and IPAs, like Hazy-O, have taken the place of darker beers like Burton Baton and…
