Review: Yagara Shuzo Kabosu Liqueur
“The refined fruit liqueur” may look like it has a trio of limes on the label, but that’s no lime, it’s a kabosu (often incorrectly translated by Google as kaoru). Kabosu is a fruit that is related to the yuzu, looks like a lime, and is said to taste (in its natural state) somewhere between…
Review: Heaven Hill Barrel Proof Bourbon 27 Years Old
Sooner or later, it seems that every distillery burns down. They pretty much always get rebuilt, but invariably those with tears in their eyes will insist that it’s just not the same. Heaven Hill experienced a massive fire — one of the worst in modern history — in November 1996, when a warehouse caught fire in…
Review: Sugarlands Appalachian Sippin’ Cream Strawberry Dream, Pumpkin Spice Latte, and Eggnog
Sugarlands Distilling Co., in the Great Smoky Mountains, now proclaims to be the most visited distillery in America. It’s also moved well past its flavored moonshines, now producing a flavored rum, whiskey (review coming soon), and numerous cream liqueurs with names like Electric Orange Sippin’ Cream. There are now six members of the Sippin’ Cream…
A Visit to the Don Julio Tequila Distillery
It’s the stuff of a Hollywood movie, or a novel about rags to riches. Except it’s all true. In 1940 in the town of Atotonilco El Alto in Jalisco, Mexico, 15-year-old Julio Gonzalez-Frausto Estrada lost his father. Julio became head of the family, and worked as a farmhand for nine pesos a week to help…
Review: NV Danzante Prosecco DOC
This “extra dry” expression of Prosecco is a new introduction to the U.S., from Shaw Ross Importers. Biscuity with notes of lemon and melon, it has plenty of fruit and an ample fizz, but is indeed as dry as a bone, almost salty at times. That pairs well with a finish that runs to notes…
Review: Seagram’s 7 Crown American Blended Whiskey
Though it is a definitive classic, I haven’t exactly been itching to review this, “a blind of distinctive character” that hails from Norwalk, Connecticut. And yet it merits our coverage, because Seagram’s 7 Crown — aka Seagram’s 7 — is as close to an essential whiskey as there is. It’s one of just a handful…
Review: Wines of Veramonte, 2018 Releases
Veramonte is a well-known producer of all manner of varietals in Chile, Here’s a look at four new releases, every one of them 11 bucks at most. 2017 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc Casablanca Valley – Fresh and delightful, this is sauvignon blanc at its most balanced — briny, acidic, lightly fruity, and just a touch sour.…
Review: Savage and Cooke Second Glance American Whiskey and The Burning Chair Bourbon
A project that’s been years in the making, Savage and Cooke (alternately Savage & Cooke), recently opened its doors in Mare Island, California, a quirky stretch of land in the East San Francisco Bay area. Its proprietor is Dave Phinney, whose Orin Swift Cellars has a minor, but visible and vocal, cult following. Now he’s…
