Review: Nashville Barrel Co. Single Barrel Rye, Bourbon, and Rum
Earlier this year, David introduced you to Nashville Barrel Co., a new, non-distilling producer based out of Nashville’s Railyard District that offers an impressive portfolio of single barrel whiskeys and rum, as well as a small batch rye, the second batch of which thoroughly impressed us over at Drinkhacker HQ. In addition to their own…
Review: 2019 Echolands Cabernet Franc
The Walla Walla AVA encompasses both Oregon and Washington wineries, where the days are warm and sunny and the nights are cool. Overall, this climate is a great recipe for grape growing. Cabernet franc is a finicky grape and can show itself quite differently depending on the climate in which it is cultivated, vineyard sites,…
Review: Compass Box Artist Blend, Glasgow Blend, and Orchard House (2021)
Compass Box never seems to slow down its efforts, and when it’s not releasing new spirits, it’s revamping old ones. The Great King Street collection dropped between 2011 and 2014, launched to celebrate the preferred whisky styles of the people of Edinburgh and Glasgow (at least according to a book published in 1930). In 2021,…
Review: Wines of The Vice, 2021 Releases
The Vice is a new wine brand that focuses on Napa Valley — almost all of it, bottling wines representing (at least) 16 different varietals from 14 of Napa’s 16 AVAs, including some truly odd, even unique offerings. We received a smattering of current releases for review, five in total. Thoughts follow. 2020 The Vice…
Review: Future Gin
Future Gin hails from Southern California, where four women distilled a spirit that combines typical gin botanicals with a few particular to California, some of which are grown in their own backyards. In total, 14 botanicals flavor this gin: juniper, coriander, angelica, black pepper, cassia, fennel, orris, avocado leaves, elderflower, honeysuckle flowers, Meyer lemon peel,…
Review: Pratt Standard Agave Spice Old Fashioned Syrup
It was only just this summer that I was waxing poetic about the many merits of a tequila-based Old Fashioned cocktail, and here we have the latest and greatest from the syrup wizards at Washington, D.C.’s Pratt Standard: Agave Spice Old Fashioned. Per Pratt Standard’s founder, Tory Pratt: The flavor profile was driven first by…
Review: Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Pittyvaich
The Jonnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare series continues with this fourth installment, Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost & Rare Pittyvaich. As with the prior Ghost and Rare releases, this limited edition is blended with “irreplaceable ‘ghost whiskies’ from Scotch whisky distilleries that have long since closed.” The centerpiece of this one is Speyside’s…
Review: Wines of Meyer Family Cellars, 2021 Releases
Meyer Family Cellars is operated by Karen and Matt Meyer, a husband-and-wife winemaking team that sources grapes from a range of California’s AVAs, including Yorkville Highlands, Anderson Valley, and Oakville. Its operations are in Yorkville and its tasting room is further down the road in Mendocino. Recently we received three new releases from the operation.…