Review: Arome True Rum 28 Years Old
When you’re sipping on a 7 year old rum, you’re feeling pretty good. 14 years? 21? Fuggedaboudit. Now comes Arome: A limited edition rum that’s 28 years old, just 500 unique bottles produced by yacht broker cum spirits maven Andrew Troyer. How about some details about Arome: The ARÔME 28 Founder’s Reserve is a limited…
Drinking the Bottom Shelf Vol. 3: Gin – Seagram’s, Dover Strait, New Amsterdam
Good liquor can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. This review continues our project of considering bargain bottles by looking at three inexpensive gins. For those on a budget who want to drink well, the results are promising — at least, better than when we looked at whiskey (here and here)! Since gin…
Review: Copper & Kings Apple Brandies – Deep Hearts Cut and Floodwall
Copper & Kings, purveyors of some of the most interesting grape brandies made in America, has spread out to that other classic brandy-making fruit, the apple. The company recently launched two apple-based bottlings, an unaged expression (unusual ’round these parts) and a more traditional barrel-aged bottling called Floodwall. Thoughts follow. Copper & Kings Un-Aged Apple…
Review: Wines of Amazon’s Next, 2017 Releases
If you know Oregon wine, you probably know King Estate, which has been producing quality (but not outrageously-priced) wine since 1991. Now the King family has launched a new brand: Next, “the first wine ever developed from conception to release with Amazon Wine.” (Four more new labels are also in the works.) So, don’t call…
How Is Brandy Made?
“Claret is liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.” – Samuel Johnson So you understand what different kinds of whiskey are called and why, and you can name the aromatics used in gin without a second thought, but brandy is still a spirit that eludes…
Review: Stone Ghost Hammer IPA and Farking Wheaton w00tstout 2017
Two new releases from Stone — one a spin in an IPA with an unusual hop strain, one a revival of the mother of all collaborations, the last version we encountered way back in 2013. Stone Ghost Hammer IPA – This unfiltered, seasonal IPA features Loral hops, a strain which lends a distinctly floral character…
Review: Wolfburn Single Malt Whisky and Aurora Sherry Oak
Located on the extreme northern tip of the Scottish mainland, Wolfburn is one of the youngest distilleries in Scotland, getting its start in 2013 on the site of an old distillery from the 1800s located outside the town of Thurso. The distillery ages in a combination of bourbon casks (of various sizes) as well as…
Review: Chateau Montelena 2014 Zinfandel and 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Calistoga
Some of the first big reds of the season are here — here’s a look at two new wines dropping from Napa icon Chateau Montelena, including the winery’s flagship estate cabernet release. 2014 Chateau Montelena Zinfandel Calistoga – A dry expression of zinfandel, with notes of cassis and black cherry, with a peppery nuance to…
