Review: Compass Box Stranger & Stranger and Flaming Heart 2018
The blending wizards at Compass Box have recently turned out two new products, both wide-ranging blends with not insignificant price tags. Let’s dig in. Compass Box Stranger & Stranger – An especially kooky blend from Glaser and Co., the most bizarro component of this spirit is the use of a small amount of one-year-old grain…
Review: 2017 Cameron Hughes Lot 672 Chardonnay Rogue Valley
Hey, remember Cameron Hughes? This wine negociant made a huge splash in the early years of the century, releasing sourced wines denoted only by bin number, made possible by the huge glut of higher-end wine available in the U.S. And then things went south, because all that excess wine essentially dried up. By 2015, Cameron Hughes…
Review: Bruichladdich Black Art 6.1 and Octomore 9.1 and 9.3
Today we look at a trio of recent offerings from the top of Bruichladdich’s line — the latest release of Black Art and two expressions from the Octomore 9.x series. Details on what’s in each bottle can be found along with the reviews below. Let’s dig in. Bruichladdich Black Art 6.1 26 Years Old –…
Review: 2018 Mud House Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Mud House’s sauvignon blanc is always a classic expression of the New Zealand style, and this 2018 is no exception. Overloaded with tropical fruit, there’s still ample acidity to cut through the sweetness, which helps some lightly grassy, sometimes almost cinnamony, notes to emerge as the wine lingers on the palate. Fresh and invigorating, it’s…
Review: Roe & Co Irish Whiskey
Ready for another contender in the rapidly crowding Irish whiskey space? Roe & Co is a new brand from Diageo, “perfected by bartenders for bartenders,” and devised by five Dublin-based stick men along with Diageo’s own master blender to “craft a unique Irish whiskey blend that would hold its own in cocktails.” A few details:…
Review: 2017 Scott Family Estate Pinot Noir Arroyo Seco Dijon Clone
Scott Family’s 2015 pinot noir was a bit of an outlier, beefy and aggressive. Two vintages later, this wine is exhibiting a much brighter and more iconic pinot noir profile, with bold cherry notes balanced by ample baking spices, particularly nutmeg and cinnamon, and a touch of almond. The finish is a bit drier and…
Review: Savage and Cooke Lip Service Rye
Savage and Cooke, which brought us the delightfully interesting Second Glance and Burning Chair whiskeys last summer, is back with a third installment, packaged in a matching black, opaque bottle and marked by a striking photograph that evokes the whiskey’s name. (This is the first time I’ve ever been approached to review a product by…
Review: 2016 Three Finger Jack Cabernet Sauvignon Lodi
Three Finger Jack is a new brand from Delicato Family Vineyards, with this 2016 release, East Side Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, its inaugural bottling. Who’s Three Finger Jack? “The story of Three Finger Jack is steeped in Lodi’s rich folklore and history. Three Finger Jack was a legendary outlaw who roamed the Sierra Foothills of California…
