Review: 2012 Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port
As a reminder, Late Bottled Vintage Port is officially “ruby Port from a single year, chosen for its high quality and bottled after aging for four to six years in wood.” It’s designed to mimic Vintage Port somewhat, but at a far lower price. Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage release for 2012 is extremely mild, a subtle…
Review: Compass Box The Story of the Spaniard
This fall, Compass Box whisky-lovers rejoiced in the news that the distillery had added a new addition to its permanent line-up for the first time in more than five years. With their yearly limited edition releases seeming to outnumber their core range, it was probably about time. The Story of the Spaniard (yes, that’s it’s…
Review: Original Sin Unfiltered McIntosh Cider
Who knew that the Apple Macintosh computer was named after a variety of apple? Well if you’re Canadian, maybe you did, as the McIntosh is the country’s national apple. Did you know you had a national apple? The variety was first discovered by one John McIntosh, growing in his orchard near the U.S. border in…
Review: Saint James Royal Ambre Rhum Agricole
This agricole style rum hails from the Saint James Distillery in Martinique, and it’s the primary entry in the company’s “gold rum” lineup — a middle ground between white rum and the more fully-aged dark rum category. Saint James Royal Ambre is made from fresh sugarcane juice (as all agricole rums are) and is aged…
Review: Sol Mexican Beer (2019)
Eleven years ago I first wrote about Sol, and when a selection of bottles showed up on my doorstep, I figured it was time to revisit the brand. As of 2019, Sol remains as light as a feather, a classic Mexican lager that looks and drinks like a ray of sunshine. Light granary notes mask…
Review: Skyy Infusions Sun-Ripened Watermelon Vodka
It’s 2019. Is it too late to release a watermelon vodka? (Technically this came out in mid-2018, but you get the idea.) Skyy’s watermelon version of its umpteenth flavored vodka expression, and clearly it has the formula down pretty well. Here we find fresh (sun-ripened, perhaps?) watermelon on the nose, though it’s filtered through a…
Review: Wines of Justin, 2018 Releases
Justin is one of the blue chip wineries of the Paso Robles region, and its wines for late 2018 have all hit the market. Today we look at three of them, plus the 2015 vintage release of Justification to serve as a point of comparison. Thoughts follow. 2015 Justin Justification Paso Robles – 52% cabernet franc,…
Review: Highland Park The Light 17 Years Old
Highland Park’s special edition The Dark didn’t make the very best impression on me when it was released earlier this year, owing to an overbearing sherry profile that was the result of 17 long years in first fill sherry casks. But for its follow up, HP flips the switch and the recipe with The Light.…
