Review: Wild Turkey Longbranch
It’s no secret that Matthew McConaughey and Jimmy and Eddie Russell have been collaborating on a new whiskey, the culmination of McConaughey’s two years working as the “creative director” for Wild Turkey. Now it’s here: Longbranch, a straight bourbon with a slight twist. It is charcoal filtered twice, once through American white oak charcoal and…
Review: Wines of Columbia Winery, 2018 Releases
Woodinville-based Columbia Winery is a reliable producer of affordable but well-crafted wines from the Washington wine world. Today we look at Columbia’s 2018 releases, including three reds and a white, all well under 20 bucks a bottle. 2016 Columbia Winery Chardonnay – Mild on the whole, this chardonnay shows notes of vanilla, light coconut, and…
Review: Jefferson’s Presidential Select Twin Oak 16 Years Old
It’s been a few years since Jefferson’s released a new addition in their Presidential Select line. While Jefferson’s has a considerable lineup of bourbon and rye, the Presidential Select bottlings have always been the most glamorous, owing to the fact that the first releases, like the now legendary Jefferson’s Presidential Select 17 Years Old, included…
Review: 2016 Barossa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
This Aussie cabernet shows some of the classic trappings of the grape: blackberry and currants, with a sweetness that approaches pie filling at times. As the fruit mellows out in the glass, the wine evolves to show notes of clove, mint, and graphite, a modest acidity balancing a touch of vanilla. The racier back end…
Review: Ardbeg Grooves
Ardbeg’s latest Ardbeg Day Committee Release is here (or at least it will be in June): The funkily named Ardbeg Grooves. If you’re thinking music has something to do with it, you’re not wrong, as the whisky is inspired by the life and times of livin’ on Islay in the 1960s. Says Ardbeg: From the…
Review: Allagash Belfiüs
Allagash Brewing Company has been busy of late creating new beers with unique profiles. Belfiüs is particularly adventurous, labeled as a Saison Ale Blended with Spontaneously Fermented Ale. The bottle provides a helpful description: This bottle contains two of Belgium’s well-known beer styles: a spontaneously fermented ale and a saison. The spontaneously fermented ale is…
Review: Crown Royal
We’re filling in some of the back catalog today, kicking things off with a long overdue review of Crown Royal, the Canadian whisky classic with the motto “An Unmistakably Smooth Taste.” The original Crown Royal — the one in the purple bag — is officially known as Crown Royal Deluxe (or “Fine de Luxe” if…
Review: 2016 Landmark Vineyards Damaris Chardonnay, Grand Detour Pinot Noir, and Overlook Pinot Noir
Today it’s a trio of 2016 vintage wines from Landmark Vineyards in Sonoma — a chardonnay and two pinot noirs — including a few expressions we’ve never seen before. 2016 Landmark Vineyards Damaris Reserve Chardonnay Sonoma Coast – This standby chardonnay finds a moderate to heavy wood profile giving its underlying fruit a slathering of…
