Review: Old Forester Single Barrel Bourbons – 100 Proof and Barrel Strength
For those of you who read our interview with Old Forester Master Taster Jackie Zykan last month, you already know the back story on these bottles. For those who haven’t been following along as closely, here’s the short version: things are about to change with Old Forester’s private barrel program. The old 90 proof offerings…
Hands on with WhistlePig and Flaviar’s HomeStock Project
Blending whiskey is tons of fun. I’ve done blending sessions with Johnnie Walker and Woodford Reserve — but those were just for kicks. With HomeStock, WhistlePig and partner Flaviar are doing something quite a bit different, setting up about 1000 drinkers with kits that let them blend up a whiskey that WhistlePig will bottle and…
Review: Suze Liqueur
Outside of Chartreuse, French amari are uncommon in the U.S., but one you’re likely to encounter on the occasional upscale cocktail menu is Suze. (Pronounced basically as it’s written, one syllable.) Originally Swiss (originating in 1889), the brand relocated across the Alpine border at some point, and it’s now part of Pernod Ricard. Suze is…
Review: M&H Whisky in Bloom Israeli Single Malt – Double Cask and Lightly Peated
Need further proof that whiskey is taking over the world? Witness M&H — aka Milk & Honey — the first and so far only whisky distillery in Israel. M&H broke ground in 2014, and the launch was overseen by veteran distilling consultant Jim Swan, who has been part of Kilchoman, Kavalan, Amrut, and many other…
Review: 2019 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
As in prior years, this sauvignon blanc from New Zealand’s Whitehaven it a powerhouse of flavor, this vintage showcasing overwhelming tropical notes and quite a heavy level of ammonia. Notes of white peaches, tangerines, and veil of flowers attempt to pierce that pineapple skin, but it’s tough going due to the mix of sweetness and…
Review: The Finnish Long Drink
As any drinker knows, a “long drink” is one made with a nonalcoholic mixer — gin and tonic, Scotch and soda. What then is the Finnish Long Drink? It sounds like it ought to be made with some kind of dried fish, but rest easy, the Finnish Long Drink will fit right in at any modern…
Review: Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Batch Proof 2020
Normally we see Woodford Reserve’s Master’s Collection Series releases in the fall — like late 2019’s Chocolate Malted Rye Bourbon — but lately Master Distiller Chris Morris has been dropping a spring surprise: Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Batch Proof. (Versions of Batch Proof were previously released in 2018 and 2019; this is our first encounter…
Review: Krater Noster Gin
Krater Noster Dry Gin is made in Bavaria, Germany, and a small bottle of this gin — not available in the U.S. — was gifted to us by a friend of the site, visiting from overseas. The gin draws its name from its unusual source of juniper berries: The edge of a local meteorite crater,…
