Review: The Singleton of Dufftown 17 Years Old Limited Edition 2020
Last year’s Diageo Special Releases bottling from The Singleton was actually from Glen Ord, not Dufftown Distillery, which is in a completely different part of Scotland, so it’s a bit of a cheat to call this one from the same distillery, though it is from the same brand. This bottling is the first ever Singleton…
Book Review: The Japanese Sake Bible
Sake has been on the rise with champagne cellar master collaborations and delivery services. There is also a growing number books to build upon the foundations set by John Gauntner’s The Sake Handbook and Sake Confidential. The latest book is The Japanese Sake Bible by Brian Ashcraft. The title reminds me of Karen MacNeil’s The…
Review: Hooten Young American Whiskey 12 Years Old
Hooten Young is a new whiskey brand founded by Tim Young and former Special Operations officer Master Sgt. Norm Hooten who was famously part of the ‘Black Hawk Down’ operation. (Eric Bana played him in the movie.) But that’s in no way the most interesting thing about this brand because the whiskey in this bottle…
Review: Cragganmore 20 Years Old Limited Edition 2020
Next up for the 2020 Diageo Special Releases is a bottling from Cragganmore, unique because a 20 year old expression has never before appeared as a distillery bottling. (It’s not nearly as unique as the 2019, however, which was an experimental, moderately peated edition.) This 2020 expression is matured in refill ex-bourbon and new fresh-charred…
Review: 2019 Attems Pinot Grigio Friuli DOC
Attems is a classic pinot grigio producer from Italy’s Venezia region. This 2019 vintage release is surprisingly dry — very crisp, with lots of mineral notes I don’t usually expect to find in pinot grigio. Fruit percolates as the wine warms and opens up, but it keeps the focus on lemon and grapefruit, with a…
Review: Barrell Bourbon Batch 25
Hot on the heels of so many recent whiskey releases, Barrell has added to the annual fall bourbon frenzy with its 25th bourbon batch. That’s a lot of batches, and while there’s never been a real formula to these releases, you have to go back pretty far in the lineup to get a blend with…
Review: Dalwhinnie 30 Years Old Limited Edition 2020
Last year’s Dalwhinnie (which wasn’t available in the U.S.) was also a 30 year old. This one, drawn from refill hogsheads (mix of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry refills, though predominantly ex-bourbon) filled in 1989, carries an unusual backstory. I’ll let Diageo Global Master of Whisky Ewan Gunn explain: Dalwhinnie is known for distilling a fairly robust…
Recipe: Singapore Sling
The iconic Singapore Sling was invented at the famed Raffles Hotel in Singapore around 1915, and the Long Bar there still seems to be cranking them out over 100 years later. Reportedly one of Hunter S. Thompson’s favorite cocktails, the Singapore Sling doesn’t get much play in many bars, and it’s easy to see why:…
