Review: 2015 Boen Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
Joe Wagner is not one to shy away from bold and fruit-forward winemaking, and with his latest release, Boen, he is continuing the traditions of Belle Glos and the other wines in the Copper Cane collection. Bold vanilla and fresh raspberry and strawberry notes lead the way into a creamy palate, uncharacteristic for pinot (even…
Review: Mad March Hare Irish Poitin
Mad March Hare is authentic Irish poitin, pot distilled from locally sourced malted barley and bottled without aging — a classic “white” Irish whiskey, albeit one that is festooned with imagery (and a name) drawn from the seminal work of an English writer. Never you mind that contradiction; let’s taste what’s inside. The nose is…
Review: Vineyard Chocolates
Entrepreneur Joe Woerly has an idea: Chocolate bars, flavored with wine. It’s unclear where the flavors come from — actual wine, or just flavors inspired by wine — but the chocolate is from Venezuela and comes in a variety of cocoa levels. In advance of Woerly’s Kickstarter campaign (see link below) to get the word…
Review: Seven Stills of San Francisco Fluxuate Whiskey
Seven Stills of San Francisco‘s next act in its distilled-from-beer whiskey line is Fluxuate, which is distilled from a coffee porter. To pump up the coffee flavor, the finished product is proofed down not just with water but also with a small amount of cold brewed coffee from a company called Flux (hence the name). The…
Review: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon 2016 Edition
The first Limited Edition Small Batch release from Four Roses’ new master distiller Brent Elliott has arrived. This year’s selection is a blend of three whiskies: a 12-year-old Bourbon from Four Roses’ OESO recipe, a 12-year-old OBSV, and a 16-year-old OESK. Per the company, it is the first time in more than seven years that the…
Review: Beers of New Belgium, Late 2016 Releases
New Belgium just doesn’t stop, and today we take a tour through eight new releases from the Colorado/North Carolina-based brewery, including two one offs and six beers that are part of its new “Collabeeration Pack,” comprising five collaborations plus the original from which they are all spun-off. Let’s start with the sextet… New Belgium Fat…
Review: Elation Hemp Flavored Vodka
Switzerland is the unlikely source for this vodka, triple distilled from wheat and rye and then flavored with hemp before being bottled. The company says it’s the “first established hemp flavored vodka (0% THC) to be sold throughout the United States,” but I’m not going to even begin to try to fact-check that. Elation admits that…
Review: Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary Limited Edition Whiskey
Tennessee’s iconic Jack Daniel’s is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and to celebrate the occasion it’s releasing a special edition of Old No. 7. Production on this release is the same, but JD offers some variations on how (or rather where) it was aged, and it’s bottled at 50% abv instead of 40%. No age statement…
