Review: Old Bardstown Bourbon and Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
You may have noticed in recent years the new look of Old Bardstown bourbon. Well, the juice inside is entirely different, too. Once a sourced whiskey bottled by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, it is now the company’s entry-level bourbon offering off of Willett’s own still, complete with labels that are reproductions of those in the family’s…
Exploring Nero d’Avola with Allesio Planeta, 2018
In 2015, Allesio Planeta visited San Francisco to showcase the wines of Sicily’s Etna region. Recently he returned to Oakland’s A16 to talk about Sicilian wine from another angle: How the Nero d’Avola grape has grown in popularity, and how it expresses itself differently in Sicily’s various microclimates and terroirs. In the 1980s, 90% of…
Review: Tiki Lovers Rum – White, Dark, and Pineapple
Any guesses who the new line of rums, called Tiki Lovers Rum, is geared towards? Designed with tropical cocktails in mind, these are all blends of various Caribbean rums, with pot still rum a common denominator in all three. We tasted the whole lot. Thoughts follow. Tiki Lovers White Rum – A blended rum that includes…
Review: 2016 Game of Thrones Pinot Noir Oregon
Last year’s Game of Thrones-branded wines were hardly worth blowing up King’s Landing for, but we hoped that this year’s wine — a pinot sourced from Oregon — might light some wildfire. No such luck. Meaty and smoky on the nose, it kicks off more like a syrah, a somewhat brambly character on the palate…
Tasting and Touring at Ravenswood Winery in Sonoma County, 2018
Joel Peterson of Ravenswood is legendary in the Bay Area wine scene. We were recently invited to tour the winery and certain vineyards close the Ravenswood team’s heart. We also dined on the vast patio space that they just opened up near the barrel room and tasting room. We drank Zinfandel while eating BBQ, listening…
Review: Gold Medal Wine Club
Gold Medal Wine Club describes itself as an “old school” wine club, and recently they asked if they could showcase their wares for us. Says a represntative, “Gold Medal Wine Club has been at it since ’92. They don’t bottle bulk juice, slap a label on and call it a winery. They don’t contract with…
Review: Cointreau L’Unique (2018)
Cointreau is a staple of the back bar, “the original crystal-clear orange liqueur” and an essential triple sec for use in any high-end margarita. Made from “a unique distillation of sweet and bitter orange peels,” it’s one of the two French expressions of orange liqueur that lay claim to being the inventors of the stuff.…
Review: Anyday Rose
Ready for something kooky? Like, really kooky? Anyday Rose is not rose wine, but rather a blend: It’s actually 85% cider, 15% rose wine, with the resulting combo flavored with Cascade and Citra hops. So it’s a cider/wine combo, doctored up to taste a little like beer. What? The brainchild of former NFL player Pat McAfee…
