Review: 2019 Piquitos Moscato
Piquitos are little kisses, and that’s an apt description for this frizzante moscato from Valencia on the Mediterranean Coast. Bold with fruity peach and apricot notes, this low-alcohol bottling is kept on its feet thanks to a healthy level of fizz, which allows some of the more floral and slightly grassy elements to show. There’s…
Review: Mahon Gin (2021)
Chris first reviewed Mahón Gin back in 2015, just as it started to finally hit American shores. A new packaging upgrade inspired me to revisit this one to see if anything has changed in six years. Admittedly, the packaging isn’t terribly different. The bottle itself, green glass with a unique jug handle, is still the…
A Glenmorangie Retrospective, 2021
Recently, we enjoyed a survey of the Glenmorangie core range while chatting about giraffes. With this in mind, the time felt appropriate to clean off the shelves, empty some bottles, and engage in a quick survey of other Glenmorangie expressions, both recent and past (as of 2021). Glenmorangie “A Tale of Cake” – A 10-year-old…
Review: 2019 Sosie Red Blend Rossi Ranch
The new Rossi Ranch Red Blend from our friends at Sonoma’s Sosie is here. This year the Rhone-style wine is a blend of 51% grenache, 34% mouvèdre, and 15% syrah, all sourced from the organic Rossi Ranch vineyard. Let’s dig in. Hugely fruity, almost pruny at times, this is a bold expression from Sosie, loaded…
Review: 1911 Established Hard Cider – Shandy, Tropical and Blueberry
1911 Established is the spirits project of Beak & Skiff, a five-generation family-owned and operated apple orchard in upstate New York. It was founded by George Skiff (originally an onion farmer) and has since become a destination with a full service tavern and music festivals hosted on premises. The distillery has become prolific, experimenting and…
Review: Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Bourbons 5 Years Old and 6 Years Old
Kentucky’s Willett Distillery continues to periodically release cask strength, single barrel bourbons under its Family Estate label, with some releases now approaching 8 years of age or older. Last year, we reviewed the earliest of these, an impressive 4-year-old bottling available only at the distillery (and not for very long). Today, we’re checking in on…
2 Texas Wines Reviewed: Aire y Sol and Bent Oak Winery, 2021 Releases
How far has Texas come as a wine producer? Let’s find out with these two recently released bottlings. 2018 Aire y Sol Viognier Texas – Not immediately recognizable as viognier; I probably would have suggested a funkier, greener sauvignon blanc had I tasted this blind. Fairly astringent with ammonia notes, the wine is pungent with…
Review: M&H Elements Red Wine Cask, Elements Peated, and 3 Single Cask Whiskies
We’ve covered the whiskies (and gin) of Israel’s Milk & Honey (aka M&H) several times. Now we’re back with a look at five new expressions, including a pair from the Elements Series which we hadn’t previously seen and two single cask, barrel-proof releases. Let’s dive in. M&H Single Cask STR – Aged in bourbon barrels…
