Review: Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Line – Ambrato Vermouth, Rubino Vermouth, and Bitter Liqueur
Martini & Rossi is a staple of the mass market vermouth world, and now the brand is moving upmarket with the launch of its Riserva Speciale line. The collection includes two vermouths — Ambrato Vermouth, a dry white vermouth, and Rubino Vermouth, a sweet red expression — and a red, bitter liqueur in the Campari…
Review: Mountjoy CBD Sparkling Water (2019)
Last year we reviewed a series of flavored sparkling waters from Mountjoy, notable because they are infused with 10mg of CBD (with a couple of versions infused with THC). Recently Mountjoy wrote to let us know they’d “refined their process,” and thus refined the finished product. Would we like to take a fresh look at…
Tasting the Wines of Cartograph, 2019 Releases
If you find yourself in the quaint town of Healdsburg on the northern end of Sonoma County, you’ll find the tasting room of Cartograph Wines in a primo spot just a block off the town’s lovely main square. Cartograph is a brand established by Alan Baker & Serena Lourie in 2008, and it’s been quietly…
Review: 2016 Forever Young Malbec Reserva Mendoza
This affordable Argentine malbec (100%) is initially quite unassuming, a quiet wine with notes of peppery grilled beef, fresh cherries, and currant notes evident at the start. Over time, the wine develops more fully in the glass to reveal a spicier edge (beyond black pepper, that is) with hints of thyme and rosemary. Tannins are…
Review: Michter’s US-1 Barrel Strength Straight Rye 2019
We last encountered Michter’s US-1 Barrel Strength Straight Rye, the overproof version of its US-1 Single Barrel Rye (it in turn a single barrel version of Michter’s US-1 Rye), in 2016. This 2019 expression is a classic rendition of overproof rye and the Michter’s style — as much as such a thing exists — with a…
Review: Citizen Cider bRose
Silly me. I thought the “bro” in bRose meant this was rose for bros… not that it was made with blueberries along with the apples in the fermentation. This pink number is certainly berry-forward. While not immediately evident as blueberry — if you told me this was made with raspberry or blackberry I may well…
Tasting Report: Whiskies of the World Expo San Francisco 2019
That’s two years in a row with no major injuries – woo! Whiskies of the World 2019 is in the books, at least its San Francisco installment, and that means another spring evening of Scotch, bourbon, and fettuccine alfredo has come to a close. My American whiskey love affair of WotW 2018 reversed itself for…
Review: Ullo Florence Decanter and Wine Purifier
I’ve written at length about why you should not be afraid of sulfites in your wine, but that hasn’t stopped people from taking measures to remove them. Ullo is a new brand that combines sulfite removal with an aeration system and a nice-looking decanter. It’s everything in a single product. Let’s look at each piece…
