Review: Chase Vodka, Smoked Vodka, Orange Marmalade Vodka, and Elderflower Liqueur
Chase is a vodka, gin, and liqueur producer that focuses on “field to bottle” production from its farm in Herefordshire, England. Somehow this has resulted in about a bazillion products, and though the primary crops here are potatoes and apples, Chase’s products range from raspberry liqueurs to marmalade vodka — four of which we are looking…
Bar Review: White Cap, San Francisco
In San Francisco’s Outer Parkside district, one often gets the feeling that one has reached the literal end of the line. This is a beach community, but the water is so cold and the wind so brisk that spending much time on the beach is reserved only for die-hard surfers and masochists. (It’s so cold…
Review: Kentucky Owl Straight Rye (Batch 1)
Kentucky Owl was once known only to a truly dedicated set of whiskey drinkers who paid exorbitant retail prices (and worse on the secondary market) for the brand’s extremely limited bourbon releases sourced from an undisclosed distillery or distilleries in Kentucky. You may still have never heard of Kentucky Owl, but after its sale to…
Review: 2014 Brancaia Tre Rosso Toscana IGT
This blend of sangiovese, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon is already showing with a bit of an oxidized character, which adds some bite to its core of tart cherry, raspberry, nutmeg, and clove notes. The finish is on the sour side, peppery at times, and perhaps a bit unbalanced, with some green notes enduring. B /…
Review: Little Book Blended Whiskey “The Easy” (2017)
Booker’s bourbon has been a phenomenon for years, despite the fact that its namesake and creator, Booker Noe, died in 2004. Fred Noe, Booker’s son, has been running the show ever since, and the Noe dynasty continues to grow, with Fred’s son Freddie, releasing his first-ever product under the Jim Beam banner. That whiskey is…
Review: Stone & NOFX Punk in Drublic Hoppy Lager
If you’re old enough to drink, well, you’re old enough to remember NOFX, an LA-based punk band that was in its heyday in the ’90s. For some reason, Stone Brewing connected with these guys — still performing, by the way — to produce a special edition brew. Named after its most successful album, Punk in…
Review: Simple Vodka
This potato-based vodka, column-distilled in Idaho and bottled using water from the Snake River, could very well be the most humanitarian spirit ever. With the motto of “one drink, one meal,” Simple is devoted to fighting hunger in America. For each bottle produced it donates 20 meals to the hungry through local and national relief organizations.…
Review: Beachwood Brewing Citraholic IPA
Beachwood Brewing is a Long Beach-based outfit we’ve covered before, a BBQ restaurant that recently moved into bottling its own brews. Citraholic is its west coast IPA, focused on Citra hops but also including Warrior, Columbus, and Simcoe in the mix. Despite the heavy use of Citra, the beer isn’t particularly citrusy. Rather, an intense earthiness fills…
