Review: 2021 The Calling Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles
The Calling was founded by Jim Nantz and Peter Deutsch, and the brand’s wines are made by veteran winemaker James MacPhail, who primarily makes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon with grapes sourced from Sonoma, Monterey, and Paso Robles, California. The wine we are trying today, a Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon, is made with 100%…
Review: The Glenlivet Rum & Bourbon Fusion Cask Selection
The Glenlivet continues its parade of unusual and unexpected whiskies with its new Fusion Cask Selection, which it describes as “a category-first innovation,” selectively finished in “bespoke casks that are uniquely crafted by fusing dismantled first-fill rum and bourbon barrels.” If this sounds at all familiar, you might be recalling Amrut’s Fusion release, which has…
Review: Dewar’s Double Double Aged 21 Years Old Mizunara Oak
Dewar’s Double Double Aged has been a standout from the brand for years, with all of its expressions — the youngest 21 years old — earning solid marks here. With this new release, Dewar’s is releasing its first specially finished expression, a version of the Double Double 21 year old with an extra Japanese mizunara…
Review: 1953 Tequila
1953 is a new tequila brand with a single expression — anejo. The tequila is “an ultra-premium, additive free anejo founded, farmed, distilled, and led by women.” To that end, the name of the product marks the year that women gained the right to vote in Mexico. Founders and friends Shivam Mallick Shah, Lindsey Davis…
Review: Savage & Cooke Core Whiskeys 2024 – American Whiskey, Cask Finished Rye, and Cask Finished Bourbon
At the end of 2023, Savage and Cooke rebranded its permanent lineup, revamping its core whiskeys, ditching the avant garde photography, and formally changing its name to Savage & Cooke instead of Savage and Cooke. I already miss Margaret Pattillo‘s remarkable label pictures; the new text-only labels are about as far from the original designs…
Review: Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series Tennessee Whiskey Finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks
The next Distillery Series release from Jack Daniel’s has arrived, and it’s one of the most surprising I’ve seen from the brand to date. The spin with this release — an experimental release that will only be sold in Tennessee for a limited time — is that after its initial aging in new charred oak barrels,…
Review: Pilot House Distilling Painted Lady Gin
Astoria, Oregon’s Pilot House Distilling makes a huge range of spirits, but we’ve never reviewed any of them until now, with a look at Painted Lady Gin, a New American style gin that’s crafted with botanicals that include juniper, lavender, rose hips, chamomile, orris root, coriander, lemon zest, peppercorns, and cucumber. That botanical bill may…
Can the Keepers of the Quaich Grow Scotch’s Most Valuable Market?
As liquor industry organizations go, the Keepers of the Quaich is the top of the pyramid for Scotch. Its founding partners — multinational giants Pernod Ricard, Diageo, and Edrington — and other member companies represent a huge chunk of the country’s whisky production. Its twice-yearly, decadent galas are FOMO-inducing events, when select professionals “who work,…
