Review: Bacardi Spiced Rum (2021)
Bacardi Spiced Rum isn’t exactly a new product: Bacardi launched it back in 2011 as Bacardi Oakheart. For whatever reason, the brand is relaunching the product, dropping “Oakheart” and revamping the packaging with a more classical, refined look. It’s still a Puerto Rico-distilled product, aged rum blended with natural flavors and spices — and priced to…
Recipe: Junior
Who doesn’t love a classic daiquiri? And I’m not talking the coconut milkshakes you get at an all-inclusive resort. I mean the original daiquiri, the simple rum, sugar, and lime juice cocktail that helped Hemingway win a Pulitzer. I, for one, really enjoy them, but only when the temperature outside is above 60 and preferably…
Review: Barrell Bourbon New Year 2021
Since 2016, Barrell has ended a long year of whiskey releases with a limited edition bourbon send-off dubbed New Year. When I first discussed this release years ago with the Barrell Team, I was told that the New Year bottling is a much-loved project among Barrell’s blenders because they’re given a little freer rein to…
Review: Westland Outpost Range – Garryana 5|1 (2020) and Colere 1 (2021)
Seattle-based Westland is evolving its limited edition Garryana oak line of single malt whiskeys, folding this line into a broader series of single malts called the Outpost Range. The Outpost Range will include Garryana and a new whiskey called Colere (which formally arrives in Spring 2021). In 2023 a third whiskey is expected to join…
Book Review: The Terroir of Whiskey
The phrase “I know it when I see it” has entered common parlance over the last half century, its origins stemming from a landmark 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case where Justice Stewart used it as a means to categorize observations, even though the category in question could be interpreted through a lens of considerable subjectivity.…
Review: Yellowstone Limited Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon 2020
It’s round five for Yellowstone’s special-edition bourbon releases, which always hits at the tail end of the year and offers a much different experience than the standard Yellowstone Select bottling — as well as the prior year releases. For 2020, Yellowstone Limited Edition is a seven-year old bourbon (younger than last year) that has been…
Book Review: Scotch: A Complete Introduction To Scotland’s Whiskies
With Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland’s Whiskies, Margarett Waterbury has written an inclusive and comprehensive guide to Scotland’s distilling industry that is one third sharp-eyed historical narrative, one third orientation course for casual drinkers and newcomers that is welcoming, and one third directory full of reviews and listings for over 200 single malt, grain,…
The Top 10 Rums of 2020
2020 wasn’t just a great year for whiskey. It was also tops for rum, as is evidenced by the difficulty we had in paring down our rum coverage over the last year to pick our 10 favorite expressions. The good news: All of these are still on the market, though some may be a bit…
