Review: Stella Rosa Peach, Rose, and Black
You can’t drive more than 5 miles in California without encountering a Stella Rosa billboard (“It’s a Stellabration!”), and it’s safe to say that the brand has ample production to serve everyone who happens to drive past. Stella Rosa’s bottlings range from traditional blends to various fruit-infused expressions. Many of its wines are very low…
Review: 2017 Bela Ribera del Duero
Here’s a look at Bela, a Ribera del Duero wine newly added to the CVNE portfolio, which has just put out its 2017 vintage release of 100% tempranillo juice. Aggressively fruity with notes of juicy prune, blueberry, and milk chocolate, this wine is atypical of Ribera’s spicy style, drinking with more of a California bent.…
Review: WhistlePig “The Boss Hog 6: The Samurai Scientist” Rye Whiskey 16 Years Old 2019
The sixth version of WhistlePig’s Boss Hog bottling is here, and it’s the company’s most audacious — and likely polarizing — whiskey to date. The Samurai Scientist, officially denoted not as The Boss Hog 6 but rather The Boss Hog [Japanese symbol for 6 which doesn’t show up correctly here], is wholly unlike anything else…
Review: Busch Beer and Busch Light
We’ve spent a lot of digital ink on the products of Budweiser, so why not branch out into some other ultra-mainstream brews? Like Busch? Yeah! Busch recently partnered with the Big Buck Hunter video game to support wildlife conservation efforts, complete with a custom can that features a bevy of bucks just begging to get shot.…
Book Review: Bourbon Justice
There are lots of bourbon books out there but none quite like Brian Haara’s Bourbon Justice. This history of America’s native spirit takes bourbon geeking to new heights, and I mean that in a good way. Plenty of books will give you a history of bourbon, recounting the many embellished stories and tall tales that have…
Review: Virginia Distillery Port Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky (2019)
While the Virginia Distillery Co. gears up for the launch next spring of its new flagship brand, Courage & Conviction, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit its current flagship offering, the Port Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky. With releases now well into the double digits, plenty has changed about this whisky since…
Review: Spirits Network Enthusiast Club
Spirits Network offers a wide range of boozy products, gifts, and even a streaming entertainment network, but it’s arguably best known for its clubs (which it calls memberships), of which it markets two different ones. SN sent us a sample of its Enthusiast Membership (its less expensive of the two subscription boxes) to see what…
Review: Copper & Kings Riding with the King Brandy
Copper & Kings can’t quit with the funky brandy bottlings, the latest being this Elvis-inspired expression, Riding With The King. Nope, it’s not made with peanut butter, bacon, or Quaaludes, it’s a brandy finished (for roughly half its life) in red wine barrels. Details: The brandy is just over five years old, with 29 months of…
