Review: El Mayor Tequila Extra Anejo – Sherry Cask Aged
El Mayor has been cranking out special editions like mad, including multiple spins on its extra anejo bottling. This one is particularly unique, spending 38 full months in sherry casks. It isn’t finished, it’s completely matured in sherry casks — though the type of sherry is not disclosed. It’s a powerhouse bottling that melds two…
Review: Firestone Walker STiVo Keller Pils, Hopnosis IPA, and Cali Squeeze Beers
Two new brews — neither of which spent a second in a bourbon barrel, for once — from California’s Firestone Walker, plus the introduction of Cali Squeeze, which doesn’t carry Firestone branding and which is confusingly a new line of both beers (all hefeweizens) and seltzers, all made with California fruit. We only received the…
“History Itself in a Bottle”: An Interview with Raj Bhakta
Perennial spirits entrepreneur Raj Bhakta has already cemented himself as one of America’s most ambitious booze salesmen. He founded WhistlePig and helped create an entirely new generation of whiskey drinkers, with a heavy focus on premium rye. His second foray into the premium category took a decidedly upmarket turn with Bhakta, a brand based around…
Review: Rossi d’Angera Genziana Spitz
Genziana Spitz is an Italian-born blend of “hydrated alcohol, sugar, gentian herb, and genuine vegetable natural substances,” per the label, anyway, but what it really is is a lighter, sweeter style of aperitif with its bitterness clearly evident, yet never overwhelming. The distillery offers some additional details, which go like this: This Gentian Root liqueur…
Review: 2021 Sonoma-Cutrer Rose of Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
Sonoma-Cutrer’s pinot-driven rose offers a classic Provence-style construction, a mere 11.9% abv, driven by white flowers, ripe strawberry, and lingering vanilla notes as the wine develops in glass. Lemon notes emerge late in the game, the lightest layer of florals lifting the otherwise vanilla-laden, nougat-like sweetness, just a touch. This wine never tends toward complexity,…
Review: Bently Heritage Juniper Grove Atrium Gin
Do you like flowers? Have I got a gin for you! Atrium Gin — one of three gins from Nevada’s Bently Heritage — is made with 10 botanicals. At first blush, everything seems fairly straightforward and traditional, the botanicals including juniper, lavender, orris root, chamomile, cardamom, grapefruit zest, angelica, gentian, lemon balm, and orange peel.…
Review: Villon Liqueur
This rather ominous looking liqueur launched last year in the United States. In addition to its arresting, black glass bottle, Villon also has quite the backstory. It is distilled, blended, and bottled in southwestern France and is named for the well-known 15th century French poet, Francois Villon, who notoriously vanished after killing a “wicked” priest.…
Review: 2020 Loveblock Pinot Noir Central Otago
We’ve seen Loveblock‘s New Zealand-born pinot noir in the past — like, seven years ago — so it’s time for a refresh. Things, it seems, haven’t changed all that much (though the price has come down quite a bit). Straightforward and mild, this wine has an initial edge of cherry and rhubarb, but things fade…
