Review: Wines of Silver Palm, 2016 Releases
This new brand is another Jackson Family creation, focusing on the sub-$20 segment with wines heralding from the North Coast and Central Coast regions. Thoughts on four of the current offerings from this winery follow. 2014 Silver Palm Chardonnay North Coast – A garden-variety chardonnay, with heavy apricot notes that are heavily buried in brown…
Review: Coppersea New York Corn Whisky, Green Malt Rye, and Excelsior Bourbon
Coppersea, based in upstate New York, has been on a real tear lately with a flood of new (and very young) whiskey releases, running the gamut of American styles. Today we’re looking at three of them. Thoughts follow. Coppersea New York Corn Whisky – 80% corn, 20% malted barley, aged at least six months in…
Review: Diageo Orphan Barrel Project The Gifted Horse American Whiskey
Some time ago at the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville, Ky., a batch of beautiful 17-year-old Kentucky bourbon was accidentally mixed with barrels of much younger whiskey. This error turned out better than anyone could have expected as the older bourbon wasn’t marred, but was transformed into something surprisingly special. Realizing this unique liquid deserved…
Review: Warsteiner Grapefruit Special Edition
A 50:50 blend of Warsteiner Pilsener and “grapefruit flavored drink” is what makes up this special edition concoction — marketed, oddly, as a special edition for winter drinking. The results are largely as expected: lightly sweetened but largely sour citrus notes come in up front, followed by malty, somewhat musty, German beer character. Both manage to…
Experimenting with Beyond Barrels Bottle Aging Staves
Beyond Barrels doesn’t exactly have a new idea: Take whiskey you don’t quite like as is, add a small piece of wood to the bottle, wait a few weeks, then presto, you’ve got extra-aged whiskey for just a few extra bucks. So-called “whiskey sticks” are everywhere these days. Sounds good, but does this all work quite…
Review: Russell’s Reserve Bourbon 10 Years Old and Rye 6 Years Old (2016)
Wild Turkey has been on a rebranding tear of late, updating its labels and corporate design in a push of gentle modernization of its image. We took the opportunity to crack open two new bottles of its Russell’s Reserve line — the 10 year old bourbon and the 6 year old rye, both staples of…
Review: Cannonborough Beverage Co. Sodas and Mixers
Charleston-based Cannonborough Beverage Co. started making its fresh fruit sodas in 2012, where they are sold for drinking soda and for use as cocktail mixers. These all-natural sodas come in 750ml bottles (the crown caps can be a problem unless you’re preparing drinks for a party or a punch bowl), and can be purchased online…
Review: Afrohead Aged Rum XO 15 Years Old
Last year Afrohead Rum, a capable 7 year old, hit the scene. Today we turn out head toward Afrohead XO, a 15 year old blend from the same Bahamas-based distillery (bottled in Barbados) and featuring the same afro-headed mascot on the bottle. As with its forebear, Afrohead XO showcases a somewhat rustic and simplistic style. On…
