Review: Legent Bourbon
The whiskey-drinking world had a small orgasm when Beam Suntory announced earlier this month the release of a new whiskey called Legent, “a unique bourbon that brings together the best of the East and West in a way no other whiskey producer can.” The whiskey — pronounced “lee-jent” — starts as standard recipe Beam family…
Review: 3 Wines from Lodi – Klinker Brick, Markus, and Fields, 2019 Releases
It’s always easy to forget about Lodi, nestled in the valley south of Sacramento and east of San Francisco, which is probably why the region’s reps are always sending us new bottlings of wine from this warm area to try out for review. Here’s a look at three current Lodi releases from the 2014 and…
Review: Dorothy Parker Gin
If you want to hijack a dead celebrity’s identity to brand your booze, you could do a lot worse than Dorothy Parker, the caustic wit of the Algonquin Round Table and, by all accounts, a legendary drinker (with a taste for martinis later in life). Dorothy Parker New York Gin (formerly Dorothy Parker American Gin)…
Review: Flaviar Son of a Peat Blended Malt Batch 02
Last year, our friends at booze merchant Flaviar took a stab at blending their own heavily-peated Scotch whisky, Son of a Peat. This was a blend of eight single malts from three regions on Scotland, and while it wasn’t my favorite ultra-peated whisky, it did at least deliver on its moniker. Now, Son of a…
Review: Tomatin Cu Bocan 1990 Limited Edition
Tomatin’s Cu Bocan line has an interesting provenance. Much like Balvenie, the otherwise peatless Tomatin devotes just one week a year to producing peated whisky. That (very) lightly peated new-make spirit goes into a first fill bourbon, ex-sherry, and virgin oak casks, where it is eventually bottled under the Cu Bocan brand. Some of these…
Recipe: Patron’s Dynasty Margarita
Patrón Tequila recently launched the 2019 edition of its annual Margarita of the Year Competition, designed to “showcase unique twists on the iconic cocktail created by bartenders from around the world.” Eight finalists were recently announced, and this year fans can vote for their favorite on MargaritaoftheYear.com. The winner will be announced on Cinco de…
Review: Freeland Spirits Gin and Bourbon
You’ll find the woman-owned and -operated Freeland Spirits in Portland, Oregon, where distiller Molly Troupe has been turning out gin since 2017. A second spirit, Freeland Bourbon, came along only a few months ago in November 2018 — a sourced product while Freeland builds its in-house whiskey production. We had the opportunity to taste them…
Tasting the White Wines of Alto Adige-Suditrol, 2017 Vintage
Alto Adige, also known as South Tyrol, or Suditrol, is a region in the far north of Italy, and a real hodgepodge of wine is made here, drawing from Italian styles to the south and, especially, German and Austrian styles to the north. Alto Adige is arguably at its best when you’re drinking a crisp,…
