Review: 2020 Holiday Cocktail Kits from Cocktail Courier
With the imminent demise of the pandemic on the horizon, gathering together in favorite establishments will hopefully return to a state of safe and normal sometime in 2021. Until then, there are plenty of options: pre-made cocktails to go from small businesses or chain stores, attempting to make them independently, or a delivery service bringing…
Review: Ninkasi Steady Orbit Grounded IPA
Ninkasi’s latest, Steady Orbit, is a low-abv session IPA meant to invoke a “feeling of escape, exploration, and a sense of accomplishment” — without much booze in the mix. Flavored with Mosaic, Amarillo, Citra, and Galaxy hops, it drinks more boldly than expected, with a big punch of lemon peel and orange peel, bitter…
Review: Lyon Rum – White, Dark, and Sailors Reserve
Lyon Rum is the flagship brand of Windon Distilling, a craft distillery located in the Chesapeake Bay vacation town of Saint Michaels, Maryland. While the distillery dabbles in the occasional whiskey or liqueur, the bread and butter of their portfolio is America’s original favored spirit, rum, and they’ve been distilling it in small batches on…
Review: 2018 Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir Carneros
This pinot noir from the Carneros region is a step up from Mondavi’s more typical Napa Valley bottling, but only barely. The straightforward wine features a bright note of raspberry and some spice, with a more classic cherry note building toward the finish. A touch of clove and cinnamon inform the finish, which is gently…
Review: Beers of Almanac, Holiday 2020
This quintet of beers is available as part of a Christmas-themed collection from Alameda, California-based Almanac Brewing, complete with holiday-friendly labels. We received five of the dozen brews for review, all tasted from 16 oz cans. Almanac Love Hazy IPA – I like my hazy IPAs to be hazy, and this super-juicy offering really does…
Review: 2019 Famille Perrin Nature Cotes du Rhone Blanc
This affordable Rhone Valley wine is a blend of grenache blanc, viognier, roussanne, and marsanne from vineyards in the Northern part of the region and is certified organic. Boldly fruity and floral at once, the wine bounces from notes of pears and lemon curd to coconut, sesame, and green figs. It’s slightly redolent of damp…
Review: El Tequileno Blanco
El Tequileno is an affordable brand founded by Don Jorge Salles Cuervo in 1959 that bills itself as “Mexico’s best-kept secret.” It’s made from blue agave from Los Altos de Jalisco (the Highlands) and volcanic spring water from El Volcan de Tequila. Unusually, this blanco (sometimes billed as Platinum on the label) is rested for…
Review: Cool Cat Citrus Wine Spritzer
In the fast-growing wine spritzer category, there’s another new kid on the block, Cool Cat. How cool you can actually look drinking it is a question I’ll let you, dear reader, answer on your own time, but there’s no denying that canned alcohol is here to stay, at least until we all start drinking marijuana…
