Review: Wines of Citra and Ferzo, 2018 Releases
Here’s an Italian wine brand that’s been around since 1973, but which is little-known in the U.S.: Codice Citra, which is based in the Abruzzo region in southern-central Italy (just south of Umbria). Before the wines, first some education: Codice Citra wines are estate grown and bottled from a collection of family-owned vineyards in the…
Review: O.R.E. 118 Raw Vegan Gin
Is gin usually not vegan? Not raw? I’m not aware of many distilleries using animal by-products in their production process (perhaps with the exception of gelatin and maybe honey), but I suppose it’s possible. If veganism is your bag, you probably want to know that your gin is free from animal involvement. As for the “raw” claims, well,…
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…
