Blending Whisky with Bruichladdich’s Adam Hannett
Along with Compass Box, Bruichladdich has been at the forefront of the Scotch transparency movement, a rejection of the intense secrecy rules that the Scottish government has long demanded around the production of whisky. For those not in the know, it’s actually illegal to share too much information about the components of a Scotch whisky.…
Book Review: The New Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Think Like a Master Mixologist
Some recipe books end up dog-eared and well-worn beyond acceptable levels for even book lovers to keep on shelves. However, for those who call upon their wisdom with regularity, they become a badge of honor and reliable wisdom on which to lean. They are filled with Post-It notes of numerous colors peeking out from the…
Review: Chairman’s Reserve 1931 Rum
At the top of the Saint Lucia-based Chairman’s Reserve rum lineup is this bottling, Chairman’s Reserve 1931, “a tribute to the rum philosophy and craft” of its founder, Denis Barnard, who founded the distillery in 1931. This blend of column and pot distilled rums spend 6 to 11 years in a combination of bourbon and…
Review: 2017 La Crema Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
La Crema’s more entry-level bottlings always tend toward beefiness, and this expression is no exception, kicking off with a somewhat tough and decidedly meaty character that feels like it will never let up. Give it some time in glass, and the picture changes, albeit slowly. Notes of blackberry and blueberry cobbler emerge, alongside notes of…
Review: Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2020
Kilchoman’s release of Loch Gorm — number 9 as far as I can tell — is a vatting of 21 casks of the Islay distillery’s production, variously hailing from 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011. As usual with Loch Gorm, all were fully matured in Oloroso sherry butts. 15,500 bottles were produced for worldwide distribution, 1,920 of which…
Review: 2019 Maison No. 9 Rose Mediterranee IGT
That’s right folks, this is Post Malone’s rose, a Provence-style bottling of 45% Grenache Noir, 25% Cinsault, 15% Syrah, and 15% Merlot that carries the unusual Mediterranee IGP regional designation on its label. (Mediterranee spans Provence, parts of the Rhone, and Corsica.) A very floral rose, there’s so much perfume in this glass that it…
Review: Booker’s Bourbon “Boston Batch” 2020-02
It’s shaping up to be an understandably light year for Booker’s special editions, but I suppose we’ll see. Here’s a look at 2020’s second release, “Boston Batch,” named not after Boston, Massachusetts but rather Boston, Kentucky, where Booker Noe began his career in distilling. This batch spent 6 years, 3 months, and 10 days in…
Review: Founder’s Brewing Marvelroast
Founder’s Brewing apparently really likes to put coffee in their beer. Just earlier this year we told you about the KBS Espresso Stout and Underground Mountain Brown, both beers with a serious java dimension to their profiles. Now we have the cheekily named Marvelroast. Unlike those buzzy beers, however, Marvelroast starts out life as a…
