How to Read a Sake Label, Part 1: Ginjo Explained
Sake is a captivating beverage. For me, part of its allure lies in its diversity of style: sake can taste rich and savory or delicate and fruity, can be served chilled or piping hot, and is equally at home in a crystal wine glass or an unassuming ceramic tumbler. It can even be aged (called…
Review: Wines of Rodney Strong, 2019 Releases
Five new offerings from Rodney Strong, which you’ll find in Healdsburg in the heart of Sonoma County. 2016 Rodney Strong Chardonnay Chalk Hill – Some restraint has been exhibited with this chardonnay, which shows notes of apple, lemon, and a bit of coconut. The expected vanilla and fresh cream butter notes appear but are well…
Review: Beefeater Pink Strawberry Flavored Gin
No, the bottle’s not pink, the gin is: This is Beefeater Gin, flavored with strawberry. Still with us? Beefeater Pink begins with the traditionally distilled Beefeater dry gin base, fusing it with natural strawberry flavors, citrus and classic juniper botanicals to deliver a delicate, finely balanced gin. Its transparent glass bottle was created to showcase…
Review: Boulard Calvados Pays d’Auge VSOP Bourbon Cask Finish
The apple barons at Calvados Boulard have launched a new limited-edition expression that spins their widely available 4+ year old VSOP Calvados by finishing it in bourbon barrels. (Calvados is primarily aged in new oak or, more commonly, previously used Calvados barrels.) This expression is the first release in Boulard’s new 12 Barrel Collection, which…
Review: Eight & Sand Blended Bourbon Whiskey
MGP continues to expand its in-house portfolio with the addition of yet another brand, Eight & Sand Blended Bourbon Whiskey. While we were fans of MGP’s rye releases, we were less enthusiastic about their initial efforts at an entry-level and premium bourbon. What then to make of this somewhat unusual blended bourbon? For starters, this is…
Review: Domaines Barons de Rothschild Legende 2016 Bordeaux and 2015 Pauillac
Domaines Barons de Rothschild is part of the Chateau Lafite empire, and these “Legende” wines represent the entry level for the brand, hitting the shelf at prices that start at under $20 a bottle. If you can’t afford a $1000 bottle of the first-growth real stuff, well, Legende isn’t a reasonable substitute — but at…
Tasting Report: 2017 Burgundy from Bouchard Pere & Fils and William Fevre
The first wines of Burgundy’s 2017 vintage are just now starting to trickle out, and the Henriot family brought their two Burgundy operations — Bouchard Pere & Fils and William Fevre — to the U.S. to show off how things were coming together. (Some of the wines reviewed below — particularly premier cru and grand…
Bar Review: Berber, San Francisco
Berber is a new restaurant in San Francisco that specializes in the cuisine of Northern Africa. Open for about 3 months, Berber hosts live performances on the weekends — belly dancing, acrobats, and the like — that diners can enjoy in between courses. While we didn’t have reservations for the show (this takes place in…
