Review: Daviess County Bourbon Medium Toasted Barrel Finish
In 2023, Lux Row’s Daviess County brand launched a new series of whiskeys built around toasted barrel finishing. The first, with a Lightly Toasted Barrel Finish, didn’t make a huge impact on us. But the series trudges forward all the same with, of course, a Medium Toasted Barrel Finish expression. Like its Lightly Toasted predecessor,…
Review: 4 Wines from Vouvray, 2024 Releases
Tucked away in France’s Loire Valley, Vouvray is a relatively undersung white wine composed entirely of chenin blanc grapes. While most drinkers have experience with dry table wines from the area, you may not realize that Vouvray also producers sweeter wines, in both the demi-sec and fully sweet styles, the latter akin to Sauternes. (Vouvray…
Review: Maestro Dobel Atelier Tequila Extra Anejo, Trajineras Edition 2023
Maestro Dobel‘s latest tequila is plenty old, but it isn’t a cristalino but a traditional extra anejo, complete with natural color driven from the barrel. This is actually the second release of Dobel’s “Atelier Tequila” Extra Anejo expression, which launched last year — and which you can still find online. The bottles are decidedly unique,…
Review: 2020 Sullivan Rutherford Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation to someone’s lovely home in the central Kentucky countryside to enjoy an evening focused exclusively on wines from Napa’s Rutherford Valley. Quality was not in short supply, with many hard-to-find vintages or bottles attainable in highly specialized shops. However, this particular selection from…
Review: Basil Hayden Malted Rye
Late last year, Basil Hayden dropped its latest edition, which will be a permanent part of the Basil Hayden lineup going forward. Basil Hayden Malted Rye is made with 100% rye grain that has been malted, which partially germinates the grain before it is dried and made into a mash that is fermented. As it…
Book Review: Cowboy Cocktails: 60 Recipes Inspired by the American West
It’s been over a month since his last one, so another book from Andre Darlington is long past overdue. Today we discuss one of two books scheduled to be published by The James Patterson of Cocktails during the first half of 2024. We affix our gaze to the Wild West, to ask the question: what…
Review: Monkey 47 Distiller’s Cut Gin 2023
Every year Germany’s Monkey 47 releases a special edition of its winning gin. Monkey 47 is famously made with 47 botanicals, and these Distiller’s Cut releases add a 48th ingredient. For 2023 (the 13th year of the series), the extra ingredient is Acer Saccharum — better known as maple syrup. Maple syrup is an odd…
Review: 2018 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon “The Lark”
Rob recently brought us a glowing review of Larkmead‘s iconic Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2020 vintage — and now we’re taking a step further up the Napa operation’s lineup with a look at the 2018 bottling of “The Lark,” essentially its reserve to end all reserves. The winery’s top tier wine is made of 100%…
