Review: Owl’s Brew Tea-Infused Mixers
Tea and booze? They mix, and surprisingly well — in fact, if you look at any number of classic punch recipes, you’ll see that tea is a popular ingredient. Owl’s Brew is a line of various bottled teas designed as cocktail mixers, each with a flavor or sweetener added (sometimes minor, sometimes a lot). The…
Review: Booker’s Bourbon “Booker’s Bluegrass” 2016-01
Booker’s Bourbon is on a tear of small batch releases, with six limited editions arriving in 2015. The first release in this line for 2016 is here: Booker’s Bluegrass batch. Says Beam’s Fred Noe: “The first batch of Bookers [sic] for 2016 is made up of barrels that were stored in 7 different rack houses. 61%…
Review: Peak Organic Holiday Saison
A late December arrival makes for a late February review, but you can still find this holiday release on shelves if you look for a bit. This is a light saison designed for winter consumption — an unusual combination in the world of holiday brews. It offers a malty and fruity combo up front that…
Review: Woodford Reserve Distillery Series – Frosty Four Wood
The third edition of Woodford Reserve’s Distillery Series (which are available for the most part only onsite at the Woodford Reserve facility) is here: Frosty Four Wood. If you remember the 2012 Master’s Collection release, Four Wood (which had three different finishing barrels applied to it). You may also remember the infamous polar vortex, which hit…
Review: Not Your Father’s Ginger Ale
Like Not Your Father’s Root Beer before it, this creation of Small Town Brewery is an alcohol-infused rendition of ginger beer. This is now a surprisingly large category, and standing out is becoming difficult. Not Your Father’s Ginger Ale isn’t really able to do that — a flavored beer product that manages to work some spicy…
Review: Tullamore D.E.W. Trilogy 15 Years Old Irish Whiskey
Tullamore D.E.W.’s latest release continues to up the ante — and the price — in the world of Irish. Tullamore D.E.W.’s Trilogy is a 15 year old whiskey that undergoes — you guessed it — three different barrel treatments. It starts in the traditional ex-bourbon casks, then spends time in Oloroso sherry butts, and finally…
Recipe: National Margarita Day Cocktails 2016
For reasons beyond understanding, the powers that be who invent these drink-idays decided it would be a good idea to plant National Margarita Day — February 22 — during the darkest weeks of winter. Perhaps it’s a “light at the end of the tunnel” situation where these recipes will help us all get through the miserable…
Review: Highland Queen Blended Scotch 3 Years Old
Produced by the same parent company that owns the Tullibardine single malt distillery, this young blend drinks right about where you’d expect, considering its sub-$20 pedigree and obvious youth. The nose is initially a little odd — hot, but — and stick with me for this — with a funky yet crystal-clear tomato sauce character. It…
