Tasting Maker’s Mark’s New Private Selection Stave: Roasted French Mendiant
The Private Selection program at Maker’s Mark is one of the most unique in the bourbon business, the idea being that customers can take a standard barrel of Maker’s Mark, then put 10 additional staves in the barrel, where they finish the whiskey for 9 extra weeks. Private Selection — no longer called Private Select —…
Review: 2018 Aia Vecchia Lagone Toscana IGT
Aia Vecchia is a winery founded by Bolgheri’s Pellegrini family in 1996, and this affordable Super Tuscan is made from a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. An initial, significant heaviness with lots of tannin and turned earth takes its time to show its charms, but it eventually opens up.…
Review: 2018 Casanova di Neri IrRosso Toscana IGT
Established in 1971, Casanova di Neri is top shelf producer of Brunello di Montalcino. With IrRosso, it blends up 90% Sangiovese, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petit Verdot to create a youthful but classically Italian wine that pops with notes of fresh cherry, raspberry, and an herbal layer that offers notes of fresh rosemary, thyme,…
Review: High N’ Wicked The Honorable Bourbon 12 Years Old
High N’ Wicked is a new whiskey brand based out of Jackson, Wyoming, but beyond that, there’s not a lot I can tell you about their operation. It’s almost certainly a non-distilling producer, as their stated mission is to “present and develop unique American whiskies – releasing singular expressions annually that it deems worth of…
Review: Liber & Co. Toasted Coconut Syrup
Liber & Co.’s latest syrupy concoction is virtually unique in the market: A syrup built around toasted coconuts. It’s made with a Fair Trade-certified toasted coconut butter from the Philippines, plus cane sugar, lemon oil, salt, and rosemary extract. That ingredient list doesn’t lie: while a freshly toasted grating of sweetened coconut immediately hits the…
Review: Patron x JonBoy Margarita Collection Kit
For Cinco de Mayo this year, Patron Tequila has partnered with tattoo artist JonBoy and the Cocktail Courier website to produce all the ingredients needed to make a Fresh Ink Smoked Margarita. There’s a choice of JonBoy artwork when you order, and this is included in the package by way of coasters and cocktail stoppers,…
Review: Daddy Rack Tennessee Whiskey
Daddy Rack — yes, I know — is a new craft whiskey out of Columbia, Tennessee, and before you ask, yes, this is a “Tennessee Whiskey,” a bourbon which undergoes the Lincoln County Process of charcoal mellowing before it goes into barrel, which are full-sized barrels which have a #3 char applied. The whiskey is…
Review: Jose Cuervo Strawberry Light Margarita
Almost a decade ago, the proprietor of this site sallied forth into the then-great unknown of light margarita mixes with less than favorable results. Undeterred and out of sheer force of will, tequila juggernaut Cuervo remains a major force in carving a niche market for folks who enjoy a marg or two but who wish…
