Review: Crown Royal Blenders’ Mash
Crown Royal is launching a new line of whiskies called the Crown Royal Blenders’ Series. The first in that series is this: Crown Royal Blenders’ Mash. Here’s a little detail from the company: As the first offering in the Crown Royal Blenders’ Series, a new line of special whiskies that celebrate the art of blending, Crown…
Review: Bass Note Sangria
Bass Note is a new line of sangrias with a focus on the exotic. Rather than red wine and oranges, Bass Note loads up on combinations of fruit juices and unusual extracts, including herbs and nuts in the mix, all blended into grape-based wine. Three expressions are available. We tried them all (over ice, as…
Review: Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka
It’s typical for a spirit company to describe its product as “smooth,” a meaningless term that is typically used to describe spirits that don’t burn the throat. Actually putting the term on the label is something else entirely. What makes Seagram’s bottom-shelf Vodka “extra smooth?” It’s hard to say without tasting, because Seagram’s notes only…
Review: The Traveler Beer Co. Aloha Pineapple Shandy
The latest in a line of limited-edition seasonal shandies available from this Burlington brewery takes a decidedly non-Vermont twist. Boarding a flight headed west to the land of Gabby Pahinui, Robin Masters, and Laulau, Traveler exchanges the flannel for a floral print with its Aloha Pineapple Shandy. The nose offers a faint note of ginger,…
Review: Tullamore D.E.W. Caribbean Rum Cask Finish
Tullamore D.E.W. has been on a tear with new variants lately, and its latest expression, following up on last year’s Cider Cask Finish release, is here: Tullamore D.E.W. Caribbean Rum Cask Finish. As you might expect, this whiskey consists of “the brand’s signature Irish whiskey, Tullamore D.E.W. Original, finished in barrels previously used to age Demerara…
Book Review: The Dirty Guide to Wine
Ten years ago, writer Alice Feiring told us that she “saved the world from Parkerization,” and now she’s back with this, her fourth book, which continues her unabashed love affair with natural wines. With The Dirty Guide to Wine, Feiring (alongside master sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier) attempts to use soil (hency the “dirty” guide) as the…
Review: Malfy Gin Originale
Gin was invented in Italy? Such is the position of Malfy Gin, which offers a lemon-flavored gin as well as this new release, an unflavored expression called Malfy Gin Originale. Says the brand: Malfy Originale is distilled to a recipe that pays homage to the originators of gin – Italian Monks – who first distilled…
Review: O’Hara’s Irish Stout, Irish Red, and Irish Pale Ale
Hey, Guinness and Harp aren’t the only beers made in Ireland. There’s a growing craft movement in this country, too. O’Hara’s Brewing Company (aka Carlow Brewing, named after the city in which it is based) was founded in 1996 and was one of the original craft operations here; today it’s the largest craft brewery in Ireland.…
