Review: The Glenlivet Illicit Still 12 Years Old
The Glenlivet’s latest single malt is a 12 year old expression called Illicit Still, in honor of founder George Smith, who illegally distilled his whisky in handmade copper stills secreted away in the Glenlivet valley near the river Spey. The first release in what the distillery is calling its “Original Stories” series, Illicit Still is…
Review: 2019 Real del la 8 Rioja Tinto
Alberto Ore should be a name familiar to fans of Spanish and Portuguese wines. His Sierra de la Demanda Tinto and Escalada Do Bibei labels were reasonably smart purchases a few years ago, and I still have a bottle or two hanging back waiting to be poured in a year’s time. Expectations ran high when…
Review: Old Forester The 117 Series – Warehouse K Barrels
Remember the hubbub over Old Forester’s 117 Series? If you don’t recall, it’s a new series of bourbons introduced earlier this year (with the High Angels’ Share expression) noteworthy for the fact that it bears OldFo Master Taster Jackie Zykan’s signature on the label — the first time a woman’s name has ever appeared on…
Review: Wines of Mouton Cadet, 2020 Vintage
A regrettable stretch of time has passed since we last touched based with the Mouton Cadet label from the Baron Philippe branch of the Rothschild family. If you’re unfamiliar with the weight of the Rothschild surname, ask the nearest conspiracy theory loving relative. They will be more than happy to regale you with Rothschild family…
Review: Booker’s Bourbon “Tagalong Batch” 2021-02
It’s time for batch 2 of Booker’s Bourbon for 2021, a bottling aged 6 years, 5 months, and 0 days. It’s call “Tagalong Batch,” not because of Booker Noe’s affinity for the Girl Scout cookies of the same name, but rather a celebration of how Noe learned the ropes of distilling from his grandfather Jim…
Book Review: At Home in The Wine Country
First, a bit of minor housekeeping: there are no wineries or wine to be found within the 240 pages of At Home In The Wine Country. Those would be found in the excellent companion volume The New Architecture of Wine: 25 Spectacular California Wineries which co-author Heather Sandy Herbert published back in 2019. So if…
Review: Diageo Orphan Barrel Project Copper Tongue Bourbon 16 Years Old
The latest round of Diageo’s Orphan Barrel releases is Copper Tongue, a 16 year old cast strength bourbon made at George Dickel’s Cascade Hollow Distilling Company. The whiskey is immediately unusual in that it spent those years in a single-story rickhouse in the Tullahoma, Tennessee facility, which likely explains the surprisingly low abv considering this…
Review: Pastis Henri Bardouin
For those requiring a brief overview: Pastis is an anise-flavored liqueur usually served as an aperitif and served with cold water. Pastis Henri Bardouin arrives from Distilleries et Domaines de Provence and features a secret proprietary blend of 65 herbs and spices. It is not an absinthe but could be considered close kin. The label…
