Review: Colina Colada Ron con Horchata
Colina Colada is the rum world’s answer to Irish Cream liqueur, a horchata-inspired liqueur that “blends Caribbean rum with fresh dairy cream, cinnamon, lemon, and other unique, natural spices.” It’s made using Don Colina’s recipe, though the product does not include the Dos Ron brand on the label; also, the product is actually bottled in Florida. If…
Review: Farmhouse 2017 White Wine and 2016 Red Wine
Sonoma’s Cline family is stretching its way into natural wines with the release of Farmhouse, a new label of inexpensive blends, one red, one white. While the wines are named and labeled in honor of a Petaluma farmhouse called Green String, where clean farming techniques are taught to Cline’s “interns,” the grapes used in the…
Review: Dos Ron Solera 8 Anos and Solera 16 Anos
Dos Ron is the brainchild of Don Colina, who brought his “authentic Cuban family recipe” to the Dominican Republic, where these two rums are being distilled. Both Dos Ron bottlings are aged in a solera style, though it’s unclear whether the 8 years/16 years of age on the label represents the minimum or the average…
Review: Wines of Edna Valley, 2018 Releases
Today it’s a septet from Edna Valley Vineyards, all whites (and a rose) designed for sipping in the heat as summer continues to bear down upon us. 2017 Edna Valley Rose California – A pale pink mutt made from Tempranillo, Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre. Extremely dry, it offers some floral notes on the back-end, but only…
Review: Shaker & Spoon Cocktail Club
If you’re like me, when you find yourself face to face with an avant garde cocktail menu, you order the thing with the craziest ingredients on the list. I can make a gin and tonic at home just fine. Pickled boysenberry rhubarb shrub… that’s probably not something I’m going to whip up on my own.…
Review: Captain Morgan Watermelon Smash
The latest in Captain Morgan’s hand grenade-styled flavored rums is this, Watermelon Smash, which is exactly what you think it is: Caribbean rum flavored with natural watermelon flavor and color. No need to get too cute with this one: The watermelon flavor is authentic and sweet, closer to the real fruit than to Jolly Ranchers,…
Review: Watershed Distillery Guild Series Chamomile Flavored Gin
We’ve covered the mainline gins of Columbus, Ohio-based Watershed Distillery in the past, but today we look at a special release, part of its so-called Guild Series. This gin has a bit of a backstory to it, which I’ll allow Watershed to tell: Guild Series Gin, a corn and apple-based spirit, is distilled in the…
Review: 2017 Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley
Cliff Lede’s ’17 sauvignon blanc is a very tart expression of the grape — the exact opposite of more approachable styles popular in other parts of the world. Here, intense minerality borders on greenness, with notes of sour apple finding solace in a touch of vanilla that lingers on the finish. A complicated but not…
