Review: Saison De Frai Smoked Trout Flavored Brandy
New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling, the company behind graveyard tree-sap infused rye, crab whiskey, and a famed venison-flavored whiskey, is back with yet another novelty, this time a brandy, infused with the flavor of smoked trout. Or, more accurately, a trout distillate flavored with apple brandy. No typo. The 2023 Food & Wine Drinks Innovator of…
Review: 3 Wines from The Urban Grape, 2023 Releases
Black winemakers face an uphill battle when it comes to getting their wares in front of consumers, which is why they’re lucky to have The Urban Grape on their side. America’s largest certified Black-owned beverage retailer, The Urban Grape is all about diversity and representation, with its wine operation focused on bringing the wines of…
Review: WhistlePig PiggyBank Rye 10 Years Old 2023
Remember WhistlePig’s PiggyBank Rye, which comes in a glass, pig-shaped decanter that is poured from its rear end? Well now it’s an annual thing. You can tell the difference between the 2022 vintage and the 2023 one by the color of the wax on the stopper. 2022’s is red. 2023 is gold. The label and…
Review: Preservation Distillery – Very Olde St. Nick Immaculata and Old Man Winter
Preservation Distillery + Farm is a sourced whiskey bottler, with a twist. Based in Bardstown, Kentucky, the outfit runs a pot still and focuses on locally sourced ingredients, but all of the whiskeys you will have heard of from the outfit hail from elsewhere, with sourcing in both Kentucky and Indiana. The sourcing focus is…
Review: George Dickel Bourbon 18 Years Old
Old Dickel whiskey has become a regular occurrence in recent years, with ages of 13, 15, and 17 years old hitting the market. Now Dickel’s one-upping itself with an even older expression at 18 years old. It’s important to note that this is marketed as an extension to its Bourbon line — not its Tennessee…
Review: Lighthouse Gin
Foley Family Wines is best known — as the name would suggest — for its wine operations, a vast empire which includes Chalk Hill, Sebastiani, Chateau St. Jean, and many more brands. Recently Foley got into the spirits game, and while we’ll review its first bourbon in short order, today we’re examining its inaugural gin,…
Review: 2020 Domaine Bousquet Ameri Organic Malbec and Red Blend
We’ve enjoyed more than a fair share of vintages from Argentina’s Domaine Bousquet in the last few years, all with different price points and various nuances separating them from one another. This time around we are taking a brief look at two offerings from its higher-end Ameri line: a red blend and a 100% Malbec.…
Review: Mala Mia Mezcal – Ensamble, Cuishe, and Tepeztate
Mala Mia Mexcal launched earlier this year with four expressions: Espadín, Ensamble, Cuishe, and Tepeztate. Traditionally distilled by Saturnino Martínez Méndez in the village of Santiago Matatlán in Oaxaca, the operation uses agave aged anywhere from 6 to 26 years of age, cutting them down whole. (This is the inspiration for the name Mala Mia,…
