Review: Lapo’s Aperitivo and Negroni (Non-Alcoholic)
Non-alcoholic amari are on the rise, and Lapo’s — a brand inspired by Italy but based in Atlanta — is the latest to enter the fray. Lapo’s focuses on non-alcoholic options built around designing a boozeless version of the classic Campari and its iconic Negroni cocktail. The brand offers both a straight version of its…
Review: Playboy Spirits Rare Hare The Tempest Tasmanian Single Malt 20 Years Old
And now for something completely different… Playboy Spirits’ Rare Hare line specializes in ultra-luxe, ultra-expensive whiskeys, to date including a bourbon and an old Canadian bottling. The third installment in the series hails from, of all places, Tasmania, Australia. And it’s 20 years old. Here we go: If you didn’t know that Tasmania has a…
Review: Patty Green Whiskey Distillers – Brandy, Multifarious, and Purple Karma Pinnacle
Patricia Green Cellars is one of Oregon’s leading wine producers and now it’s getting into … whiskey! Why not, right? You have never encountered whiskey like these, in large part because none of them are whiskey the way you probably think about them. All of them are made at least in part with brandy distilled…
Review: William Hill 2021 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and 2022 Estate Chardonnay
Part of the Gallo family of wineries, William Hill’s North Coast series focuses on California’s North Coast which comprises six counties north of San Francisco including parts of Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, Marin, and Solano, so your mileage may vary when attempting to dial in for a bit more detail. And unlike some of William…
Review: Sagamore Spirit Rye Small Batch
Before bourbon, rye was America’s whiskey of choice. The early history of rye whiskey was centered around the northeastern United States where rye grain growing conditions were best. Two of the more notable styles of rye were known as Maryland Rye and Monongahela Rye from Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania rye mash bills traditionally consisted of all rye…
Review: Samuel Maverick Private Reserve Bourbon Bottled-In-Bond
Maverick Distilling has graced these pages three times prior to today, with its Private Reserve Bourbon and Barrel Proof offerings classic examples of the Texas whiskeymaking style. Now we’re back with another spin on the bourbon formula: a bottled-in-bond offering of the Private Reserve expression. Private Reserve has a mashbill of 72% Texas-grown corn, 18%…
Review: Wines of Aster, 2024 Releases
Bodegas Áster is a sub-brand of La Rioja Alta, focusing on offerings born in the Ribera del Duero region. These include the more traditionally styled Finca El Otero 2019 and the brand new contemporary El Espino 2020. An entry-level Crianza bottling is thrown in for good measure to round out the trio. All three wines…
Review: Diageo Orphan Barrel Project Indigo’s Hour Bourbon 18 Years Old
Diageo’s Orphan Barrel Project rolls right along with a return to familiar grounds: namely, three bourbon-making regions of the United States. Specifically, the whiskey in this bottle starts as a mash of 68% corn, 28% rye, and 4% malted barley. Distilled in Indiana, it aged 18 years in Kentucky, and was ultimately bottled by Cascade…
