Review: New Belgium Oakspire Bourbon Barrel Ale (2018)
The march of mainstream beers aged in mainstream whiskey barrels continues with New Belgium’s latest, a strong ale aged in barrels from Knob Creek (and denoted as such in large type on the label). Well, it may not technically be aged in those barrels. The company notes that the beer is “aged with bourbon-steeped oak spirals…
Review: White Walker by Johnnie Walker
The final season of Game of Thrones is still a few months out, but the excitement continues to build across a wide array of industries. Case in point: The whiskey business, which is overseeing the arrival of nine GoT themed spirits, including eight single malt Scotch whiskies, one for each of the houses of Westeros (plus one…
Review: Scott Family Estate 2016 Chardonnay and 2015 Pinot Noir
“The unsung hero of the Central Coast,” Arroyo Seco can be found in the heart of Monterey County, and Scott Family Estate (part of the Rutherford Ranch group) calls this region home to its production of classic varietal wines endemic to this region. Today we look at two new releases from Scott Family, both highly…
Review: Caol Ila Unpeated 15 Years Old Limited Edition 2018
Diageo’s annual Special Release series has arrived for 2018, and we’re kicking off our coverage of the ten available in the U.S. by looking at a perennial favorite (and one which is much less expensive than the rest of the field): Caol Ila’s annual unpeated release. This year’s release is 15 years old, aged in…
Review: 2016 Spoken Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon and Meritage
Spoken Barrel produces just two wines in the Columbia Valley, Washington, each adorned with the number 42. Why? Because Washington was the 42nd state to enter the union. Let’s see what it’s learned about winemaking since then. 2016 Spoken Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley – Unctuous, almost gummy at times, this is a lightly sweet…
Tasting Indian Rum and Whisky with Amrut’s Ashok Chokalingam, 2018
Curious where you’ll find the 8th largest rum brand in the world? Look to India, where Amrut has been pumping out the stuff since the 1960s (though the company dates back to 1948). Today, Amrut is probably best known in the U.S. as a whisky distiller, thanks to the efforts of Whisky Innovator and Assistant Distiller Ashok…
Review: Little City Vermouth – Dry and Sweet
Artisan vermouth is on the rise, and this new brand out of New York (Finger Lakes Distilling is the brand’s bottling partner) offers a glimpse of what’s being done. Little City doesn’t offer a lot of information about its production — though check out the huge number of botanicals in each bottling. Thoughts on both…
A Visit to Napa’s Clos du Val
You might have missed it, but something’s been up at Napa’s Clos du Val winery, namely that it’s been moving out of the supermarket and into the high-end. We reviewed some of Clos du Val’s newest releases a few months back, but more recently we visited its revamped, redesigned tasting room on the Silverado Trail.…
