Review: Dogfish Head Squall IPA
Dogfish Head’s Squall IPA is a “continually hopped, unfiltered Double IPA that’s brewed with three types of malt as well as dry-hopped with Simcoe, Amarillo and Palisade hops.” It’s naturally carbonated through bottle conditioning, which gives this a much different character than you’re probably used to in an IPA. What you get immediately is how creamy…
Review: 2014 Landmark Vineyards Overlook Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
New wines from Landmark — not just the chardonnay we frequently see, but also the winery’s pinot noir. Thoughts on both expressions follow. 2014 Landmark Vineyards Overlook Chardonnay Sonoma County – Robust on the nose, with an initial body that offers notes of melon and citrus. Notes of buttered popcorn emerge on what fades into…
Review: Usquaebach “Old-Rare” Superior Blended Flagon
We last covered Usquaebach, a Highland producer of blended whiskies and blended malts, in late 2015. Missing from that lineup was the blender’s top-end bottling, “Old-Rare,” most easily recognized by the stoneware flagon in which it is bottled. (“Old-Rare” is in tiny print at the very top of the decanter; the rest of the writing…
Review: The Glenlivet Single Cask Edition Pullman Train Collection
I scratched my head, too: Why would a major producer of Scotch whisky name a series of high-end releases after a train invented in the United States? We’ve got the full story, courtesy of The Glenlivet. The Glenlivet has been a standard-setting luxury brand for nearly 200 years, appealing to whisky connoisseurs looking for a…
Review: Four Roses 2016 Limited Edition Single Barrel Bourbon “Elliott’s Select”
Astute readers might recall that in January 2015, Four Roses discontinued its annual Limited Edition Single Barrel releases, citing a shortage of available stock to produce it. Then beloved distiller Jim Rutledge retired and Brent Elliott got promoted to the job. Somewhere, Elliott found enough 14 year old, lower-rye OESK-recipe bourbon to revive the bottling…
Review: Iichiko Kurobin Shochu and Yuzu Liqueur
We last visited with two of Iichiko’s shochus in 2013. Today we look at a third variety from Iichiko, plus a liqueur made from yuzu fruit. Thoughts follow. Iichiko Kurobin Shochu – No production information available; “Kurobin” means “black bottle.” Heavy melon notes on the nose, with a touch of sugar distinctly sake-like. Nose and palate…
Review: Woodchuck June & Juice Juniper Hard Cider
Woodchuck’s latest “Out on a Limb” cider is this true oddity — June & Juice — a juniper-based cider that takes the gin and tonic as its inspiration. It’s a semi-sweet apple cider made by steeping fresh juniper berries, rose buds, and orange peel into the mix. The results are better than I expected, a light…
Round 2 Review: (Reformulated) LIQS Ready To Drink Cocktail Shots
Last year we saddled LIQS ready-to-drink shots — little single-serve plastic shot glasses sealed with foil — with a bunch of C grades and promptly forgot all about them. Recently the company said the product had been reformulated to use real fruit juice and was anxious to get a fresh review. A few of the products have…
