Review: Gary Farrell 2019 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Russian River Selection
We’re back with another round with well-regarded Russian River winery Gary Farrell and its 2019 vintage releases of chardonnay and pinot noir. Let’s dive in. 2019 Gary Farrell Chardonnay Russian River Selection – This chardonnay is always a beautiful bottling and the 2019 vintage is no exception. Bright with fresh apple and a touch of gooseberry,…
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Review: Little Book Blended Whiskey Chapter 5: “The Invitation” (2021)
The titular invitation here is less unique than you’d think. It’s basically an invitation to, well, drink this whiskey, again a unique blend of bourbon and rye. What’s in the mix? Four different whiskeys, including: 2-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon 3-year-old 100% malted rye 5-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon 15-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Proportions are unstated, as…
Review: Wines of Alta Colina, 2021 Releases
Alta Colina can be found in California’s Paso Robles region, and recently the winery sent us four of its new releases, overseen by new winemaker Molly Longborg, for review. All were tasted, unusually, from small sample bottles, not commercial bottles, though I don’t think that should overly influence this coverage. 2020 Alta Colina Grenache Blanc…
Review: King of Kentucky Straight Bourbon 14 Years Old (2021)
Brown-Forman’s King of Kentucky brand is back with its fourth release. and like the 2020 and 2018 releases, it’s a 14 year old single barrel bottling made from a 79% corn, 11% rye, and 10% barley mash. Proof varies among the 33 barrels and 2700 bottles, from roughly 125 to 135. All of this is…
Review: Aguamiel Tequila Blanco
Aguamiel is the sap of the agave plant. It’s the stuff they actually make pulque out of, not tequila, but let’s put that aside, since it’s still a pretty good name for a spirit. Aguamiel the tequila is made from a mix of Highlands and Lowlands agaves — 100% Weber, of course — from plants…
Review: Firestone & Robertson TX Bourbon – Bottled-in-Bond and Cognac Finished
Fort Worth’s Firestone & Robertson — aka F&R — is much better known by the branding for its most visible product: the TX Whiskey line. While we previously reviewed TX Blended Whiskey, the brand now has at least nine different expressions of whiskey on the market, most of them bourbon. Today we’re looking at two…
Review: Hardwood Spiked Seltzer Bitter Citrus
Hardwood Spiked has essentially created a cocktail that inverts the role of ingredients where the bitters are featured front and center and the spirit and fruit are mere accoutrements. These 100 calorie seltzers use a corn whiskey base that “extracts 8 organic botanicals prior to oak barrel aging… balanced with organic maple syrup, though dry…
Review: Westland Outpost Range Garryana 6|1 (2021)
In 2020 we mentioned how Seattle’s Westland is evolving its special edition whiskeys, expanding its Outpost Range to cover (eventually) three different expressions. At the core of these is Garryana, now in its 6th edition, which has long been an exploration of Quercus garryana, the rare oak indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. (The second edition…
