Review: Bender & Cohen Double Barrel Rye
If you recall Bender’s Rye, you know half the team behind Bender & Cohen, which recently added the latter’s name to the brand for Bender’s “experimental playground,” which will be used for oddball, small batch releases — the first of which is this double-barreled rye. Bender & Cohen Double Barrel Rye is made on San…
Review: ArT Wine Preserver
The concept behind ArT Wine Preserver — using argon gas to keep oxygen from getting to your wine — is far from new. Private Reserve has offered a nearly identical canister-based system for well over a decade, and argon’s the same idea in the Coravin preservation system, too. So, what is new about ArT? Well, the canister…
Review: Glenkinchie 12 Years Old
Glenkinchie is another distillery in Diageo’s rather expansive portfolio that doesn’t receive a lot of love or attention from corporate headquarters. It doesn’t have the hype multiplier of a Lagavulin, nor the cult fanaticism of a Port Ellen. The humble little Lowland operation which, according to my faithful 2020 edition of the Malt Whiskey Yearbook,…
Review: Knob Creek Bourbon 15 Years Old
It was only a few weeks ago when we took our most recent look at Knob Creek’s 12 Year Old bourbon expression (and the reintroduced 9 Year Old), but now we’re back again with another three year leap forward. Knob Creek 15 Years Old is the oldest whiskey the brand has ever released, and it’s…
Review: Sacred Sauce
We don’t typically review hot sauces or other condiments, but if you think about it, a bottle of fiery stuff is always important to have on hand when you’re noshing on bar food — or kicking the spice level up on a Bloody Mary. Sacred Sauce can work to both ends, and it comes in…
Review: Old Nation M-43 New Orthodox IPA
When discussing Michigan and beer, the western section of the state has dominated not only Michigan for several decades, but has been a legitimate contender for the best beer scene in the Midwest. The list of reputable breweries reads like a top-tier basketball starting lineup: Bell’s and Founder’s on the back court; Short’s, Dark Horse,…
Review: Jura Journey
Journey is a new no-age-statement release from the island-based Jura Distillery. It’s aged entirely in ex-bourbon barrels, but otherwise details are scarce. As is typical of youthful, bourbon-barreled single malts, the focus remains pretty squarely on the grain. Toasty with a gentle woodiness and just a hint of smoke, it’s wholly, overwhelmingly harmless on the…
Review SoNo 1420 Vodka – We Woodruff/Elder Flower and Bo Blood Orange
SoNo 1420 is — perhaps you’ve guessed — a brand that revolves around cannabis. The Connecticut-based operation uses hemp seeds in its whiskeys and uses hemp flower in its gins. However, its three vodkas — two of which we review here — are hemp-free. Let’s give these spirits a try. Both are 80 proof. SoNo…
