Review: Blair Athol 23 Years Old Limited Edition 2017
Diageo’s Special Releases of Scotch whisky for 2017 are here, and as we do every year, we’ll be featuring a review of one each day for the next 10 days. As always, these represent some truly rare stocks, with prices commonly hitting four figures per bottle… of which only a few thousand or even hundred…
Make It a Boozy Christmas with Secret Spirits’ Advent Calendars
There’s no shortage of booze-centric Christmas gifts out there, but short of giving your loved ones a bottle of Pappy, one of the most exciting presents is an Advent calendar full of miniature bottles. The idea, in case you’re not in the know, is to open one little package on each day leading up to…
Review: Bloomery Cre Liqueur
West Virginia’s Bloomery is best known for its SweetShine liqueurs — moonshine infused with various botanicals, fruits, and whatnot. Bloomery’s Cre, the company is careful to note, is something entirely different. Just don’t ask, exactly, what it is: This earthy flavored, bontanical liqueur different in proof and profile from Bloomery’s SweetShines, yet identical in quality…
Review: Wines of Outlot, 2017 Releases
Outlot is a new brand from Accolade Wines, best known for Geyser Peak and novelty brands like XYZin. A trio of initial releases, sourced from the Sonoma area, are now hitting the market. We tried them all. Thoughts follow. 2015 Outlot Chardonnay Sonoma County – Whoa, someone turned up the “oak” dial and forgot to shut…
Peat, Phenols, and ppm: Why Scotch Tastes Smoky
My first taste of peaty whisky was Talisker 10, and like they say with other things, you never forget your first. I wasn’t sure if I liked it, it was like someone had put a bonfire in my whisky. Now, I love it and feel like smoky notes give a complexity to many whiskies, especially…
Review: 2015 Landmark Vineyards Overlook Chardonnay Sonoma County
Landmark’s latest release of its iconic chardonnay has arrived. This year’s is initially a bit overwhelming with oak, this wine settles into a groove driven by dried apples, lemon peel, and fall spices. The finish is almost bitter at times, with sherried overtones, including more pumpkin-esque spice and a touch of gentian on the back…
Review: Tuaca Liqueur (2017)
The last time we heard from Tuaca was back in 2012, when the classic liqueur got an ill-advised brand overhaul, complete with a wholly out-of-place modernized bottle and label. A cinnamon-heavy version called Cinnaster came a year later. Sazerac bought the brand in 2016 and earlier this year relaunched it — not just with the old…
Review: Taylor Fladgate 325th Anniversary Tawny Port
The Port house of Taylor Fladgate celebrates 325 years of operation in 2017, so what better time than to put out a unique expression of Port? This is a tawny port with no age information (though on tawnies, an age statement doesn’t mean much anyway), but the winery does offer some information on its production:…
