Sake Tasting and Mac Pairing with Sake Social, 2018
Mac and cheese is such an U.S. staple that it has its own one syllable moniker. Like Cher or Elvis, we also have Mac. I recently went down a sake/shochu/mac rabbit hole and damn, it was delicious. I first spoke with Marc Smookler, the owner/founder of Sake Social, by far the largest online retailer in the…
Review: Firstleaf Wine Club
Firstleaf isn’t all that unusual of a wine club, but it does promise one thing that few others can claim: Its goal is to tweak the wines it sends you, learning from your preferences and using them to send you wines you like better and better. Firstleaf asked me to try out its club, first…
Review: Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky – Madeira Finish, Myth, Celt, and Legend
It’s been years since Penderyn, the most noteworthy of the whopping two whisky distillery in Wales, has made a major showing in the U.S., but thanks to importer ImpEx, that might be changing. ImpEx is bringing in four expressions of Penderyn’s single malts, a new expression finished in Madeira wine casks, plus three installments of…
Tasting the Wines of Murrieta’s Well, 2018 Releases
We’ve encountered the wines of Murrieta’s Well a few times in the distant past, but this is the first time we’ve sat down with winemaker Robbie Meyer to walk through the whole collection. A little info on Murrieta’s: Located seven miles east of the marine-influenced San Francisco Bay in Livermore Valley, Murrieta’s Well was established in 1884…
Review: 1571F Beer Caramelizer
Ever wanted to combine your love of beer with your love of burning things? Now you can, with the strangest booze-related product to hit the market all year: The 1571F Beer Caramelizer. Think of the Beer Caramelizer as a cattle brand for your IPA. You place the collapsible/extensible brand in a hot fire — preferably…
Review: Heeet Hot Cinnamon Vodka
That’s not a typo there. Heeet is so hot it neeeds threee eees. The brainchild of MerryGo Spirits in Rigby, Idaho, Heeet (aka Blazing Heeet) is a Fireball alternative for those who really want the essence of cinnamon Red Hots in their drink. While cinnamon schnapps are a common sighting, cinnamon vodka is a rarer…
Review: 15 Single Barrel Tequilas from the New Hampshire Liquor Commission
Drinkhacker and the state of New Hampshire go way back. That’s because the Granite State is a control state, and it also buys a ton of liquor — rarities, single barrels, and the like — to sell at its state-run stores. The Hampshirites then send us samples of these spirits for us to taste and review…
Review: Pyramid Coast Day Dry-Hopped Hazy Lager
“Coast Day” seems like a weird name for a beer — until you realize that in Pyramid’s backyard of Washington and Portland, it’s a euphemism for Beach Day. There aren’t any beaches in these states, just cold, rocky shores that they call “the coast.” Hazy or no, it’s got a fairly traditional west coast style…
