Review: Chisholm Trail/Stölzle Lausitz Jarritos Tequila and Mezcal Glassware
Does glassware make a difference? Whether wine or spirits, you bet it does. And that’s probably why Romeo Hristov has turned his attention to glassware for tequila and mezcal, where aroma plays a key role in a high-end tasting. Hristov explains: Since late 2016 Stölzle Lausitz GmbH (a German glass manufacturer that makes, among other items,…
Tasting Report: Bordeaux and Sauternes, 2015 Vintage
2015 Bordeaux is now hitting the market, which means it was time for a legion of winemakers from all of the areas appellations to descend on the U.S. and show off their new releases. For the first time since I’ve been attending this show, I was actually able to sample every wine being poured (with…
Review: Brewery Ommegang 20th Anniversary Ale
Cooperstown, New York-based Brewery Ommegang has been in the business of making Belgian-style beers for two decades now, and to mark the milestone they released their 20th Anniversary Ale late last year. It’s a Belgian dark ale aged for more than five months in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels. While bourbon barrel aging is a booming…
Review: Copper Fox Peachwood American Single Malt
Many craft distillers today are producing good (if young) whiskey. Unfortunately, too many are bringing nothing that’s really new to the market and asking a hefty premium over quality bottles from the bigger distilleries. It’s perhaps the biggest challenge of America’s craft whiskey movement: to create not just good whiskey but good whiskey that’s also…
Review: Not Your Father’s Bourbon
After giving alcoholic root beer, ginger ale, and cream soda a spin, the “Not Your Father’s” brand has moved on up to hard spirits. Its first product in the category is an obvious one: Not Your Father’s Bourbon, a flavored bourbon which claims “a touch of vanilla” as its only adulterant. Let’s give it a shot.…
Tasting Report: ZAP Zinfandel Experience 2018
First, some housekeeping. ZAP is shorthand for Zinfandel Advocates & Producers, and around these parts they’re best known for a massive showcase of zinfandel wines that happens in January of each year. That showcase is currently called the Zinfandel Experience (though there are additional events), but most attendees just shorthand it as ZAP. ZAP had…
Review: Goodwood Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Stout
Goodwood Brewing Company in Louisville, Kentucky distinguishes itself from most other craft breweries by wood-aging every beer in its portfolio. According to their website, this is done as “an homage to this region’s distilling legacy and to those old barrels out there that still have so much flavor left to give.” With some of the…
Review: Flaviar Son of a Peat Blended Malt Batch 01
Our pals at Flaviar, which operate a cool spirits subscription service as well as owning our affiliate retail partner Caskers, have released their first ever private label whisky: Son of a Peat. The inaugural Son of a Peat (this is technically Batch 01) is a blended malt Scotch comprised of eight single malts from three…
