Review: Highclere Castle Gin
Highclere Castle is a brand new gin line that hit the scene only a few months ago. Its striking purple bottle with an incredibly familiar castle etched into the front immediately begets curiosity. Where did this spirit come from? Here’s the official backstory: Home to the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, this exquisite country…
Review: Maraska Slivovitz 10 Years Old and Orahovac Green Walnut Liqueur
Maraska isn’t just the distiller of my favorite brand of Maraschino liqueur, it also makes a variety of other fruit brandies and nut liqueurs in its homeland of Croatia. Today we look at two of them, both traditional offerings but new entries into its catalog, a Slivovitz plum brandy and a green walnut liqueur. Let’s…
Review: Los Vecinos del Campo Mezcal Ensamble No 1 and Tobala
Los Vecinos Mezcal hit the scene last year with a killer expression made from espadin agave, produced by its independent co-op (of sorts) comprised of 10 mezcaleros. Now it’s back with two new mezcals, a blend called Ensamble and an expression made of 100% tobala mezcal. Let’s give them both a try. Los Vecinos del…
Review: NV Champagne Henriot Blancs de Blancs
Henriot’s flagship Champagne is 100% chardonnay, and it’s a fantastic expression of Blanc de Blancs, lightly nutty with a fresh punch of lemon, apple, and almond. Clean and refreshing, with a moderate to heavy level of fizz, it’s never heavy, with a lingering brioche character that hangs around forever. A- / $55 / champagne-henriot.com [BUY…
Review: Aerstone 10 Years Old – Sea Cask and Land Cask
It’s not every day that a Scotch distillery launches a new single malt whisky brand, but here we are: William Grant & Sons, best known as the producer of Glenfiddich and Balvenie, has dropped a pair of 10 year old single malts under the name of Aerstone. The two expressions focus on “the impact of…
Review: Wines of Three Sticks, 2020 Releases
We’ve got a full sextet of wines from Sonoma’s top-shelf Three Sticks on tap for today, two chardonnays and four pinot noirs. 2017 Three Sticks Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Durell Vineyard – On first blush this wine hits the nose as an unadulterated oak and butter bomb, though there’s a tropical edge underneath that lifts things…
Review: Hatozaki Japanese Whisky and Small Batch
Japanese whisky isn’t easy to come by these days. As such, it’s always exciting to see a new brand hit the market, and here we have a new bottling, complete with kanji script on the label: Hatozaki. Hatozaki is made at Kaikyo Distillery (location: unknown), but it isn’t all distilled here, including both malt and…
Review: 2017 Tayson Pierce Chardonnay Napa Single Vineyard
Winemaker Jeff Ames, ex of Opus One, is the producer of this Rutherford-based chardonnay from Tayson Pierce, and fans of ultra-bold California style, heavily-barreled chardonnay won’t be disappointed. It’s a powerhouse from the start, intensely creamy and buttery on its unctuous palate. Here, notes of baked apples, lemon curd, and oak-driven vanilla immediately come alive,…
