Review: Laird’s Apple Brandies – 10th Generation 5 Years Old and 7 1/2 Years Old
It’s not every tasting event where you encounter distilling royalty. Laird’s — famed for its apple brandies — is reportedly the oldest distillery in America, a family business that has been in operation for nine generations. Lisa Laird Dunn, a current VP at the distillery, was on hand to pour various expressions of Laird’s applejacks,…
Bar Review: Floodwater, Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley’s Floodwater has been open for a few months now, and we finally had the opportunity to pay the new establishment a visit. It’s a sizable space with an expansive bar, cozy booths, and plenty of television — all blasting basketball during our recent idyll. While Floodwater feels appropriate for families (and guests at…
Review: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple
Following up on expressions like its Tennessee Fire and Tennessee Honey, Jack Daniel’s continues to tinker with adding flavored expressions to its repertoire. The latest: Tennessee Apple, which is exactly what you think it is, a heavily flavored mix of JD and apple liqueur. It tastes exactly like you’d expect, too, starting with a nose…
Review: Guinness Stock Ale Aged in Bulleit Bourbon Barrels
Ready for more magic from our pals at Guinness? The latest expression from the outfit (produced at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore) is this: Guinness Stock Ale Aged in Bulleit Bourbon Barrels. So says the company: The newest beer is the endgame of a Guinness Barleywine and a Guinness Imperial Stout – both…
Review: Booker’s Bourbon “Booker’s Country Ham” 2019-03 and “Beaten Biscuits” 2019-04
Lately the Booker’s special edition bourbon releases have hit us faster than we can keep up. Our overload is your gain, as we take the opportunity to do a head to head of the two most recent whiskeys in this burgeoning collection, both of which dropped in the latter months of 2019. Booker’s Bourbon “Booker’s…
Review: 2017 Tornatore Etna Bianco DOC
This wine, hailing from the slopes of Mt. Etna, is made from 100% carricante, a grape indigenous to Sicily. Fans of pinot grigio and other floral/fruity wines will find this agreeable. Boldly acidic, the wine kicks off with notes of grapefruit and fresh lemon and orange notes, before finding a groove that runs to mineral,…
Review: El Mayor Tequila Cristalino
El Mayor has been on a tear lately, with two special edition tequilas landing spots in our Top 10 Tequilas of 2019 list. Up next for the brand is an on-trend Cristalino bottling, taking its anejo tequila (aged 12 months) and filtering the color out using charcoal. Let’s take it for a spin. The nose…
Tasting Persedo’s “Polished” Spirits
Persedo isn’t a spirit brand you can go out and buy. Rather, it’s a technology, known in full as Persedo Polishing Technology, which spirits producers can use to improve their finished product — the proverbial Philosopher’s Stone that can take rotgut and turn it into top shelf hooch. The proprietary system is not an accelerated…
