Review: Vermouth Padro & Co. – Complete Lineup

Vermouth Padro & Co. — sometimes styled inversely, as Padro & Co. Vermouth — is a Spanish operation that dates its winemaking production back to 1846. Today, Padro makes not one, not three, but five different vermouth products, each with its own distinctive character. Let’s dig into the entire lineup and see how they acquit themselves.…

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Review: Empress 1908 Gin

First things first: That vibrant blue liquid is gin — not violet liqueur, not sloe gin, not something from the planet Zebulon. It’s a straight gin colored to be blue, thanks to the addition of butterfly pea blossoms to the distillate. Why make a blue gin? The British Columbia-based distillery explains: Victoria Distillers introduced Empress…

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Review: Gabriel-Glas StandArt and Gold Edition Wine Glasses

Gabriel-Glas may not roll off the tongue the way Riedel does, but if you’re not familiar with this brand, you’re missing out on some exception glassware. The brand is the brainchild of Rene Gabriel, a former wine critic who developed this glass to be a uniform — yet ideal — glass for tastings. He spent…

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Review: Mezcal Union Uno and El Viejo

The latest mezcal to hit the market comes to us not from a globetrotting celebrity but from a group of Mexican farmers going it alone: Mezcal Unión is an artisanal mezcal brand & co-op built with the intention to unite indigenous farmers and family producers from different communities of Oaxaca. The goal of Mezcal Union…

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Review: Rampur Select Indian Single Malt (2019)

Rampur is the flagship product of Radico Khaitan, which makes Jaisalmer Gin, which we recently reviewed. Rampur’s line of single malts currently stretches to four expressions, with Select being the most readily available. There’s no age statement or production information (including cask data) available, but judging from the color it’s a fairly youthful bottling aged…

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Review: The Rum Cooperative Blended Rum Vol. 1

The Rum Cooperative isn’t really a cooperative but rather a bottled product from Bully Boy Distillers, the Boston based craft spirits distillery. The Rum Cooperative has just 10% of its own rum in this blend; the other 90% comes from Central American and the Caribbean. Officially denoted as Vol. 1, it remains to be seen…

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Review: Stone Jagermeister Arrogant Bastard Ale

Stone Brewing’s latest collaboration is perhaps its wildest to date, teaming up with Jagermeister to create one of the most unusual beers I’ve had all year. Officially Jagermeister Arrogant Bastard Ale, unofficially “Jagerbastard,” it’s a crazy combination of high-test strong ale and Jagermeister spices. Some deets: Jägermeister continues to travel down a path of innovation…

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Touring and Tasting at Chalk Hill Winery, 2019

Chalk Hill is a Sonoma County winery widely known for its white wine production, particularly chardonnay. Founded in 1972 by Fred Furth, a litigation attorney best known for his involvement with the plaintiffs in the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the winery was sold to the Foley family in 2010, which now operates it. During a…

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