Review: Lovell Bros. Georgia Sour Mash Whiskeys

As the story goes, this line of “sour mash whiskeys” — basically liquor made from corn that’s cut with a little malted barley — got its start in Mt. Airy, Georgia thanks to Carlos Lovell, the son of a son of a son of a moonshiner who finally decided to take the 150-year-old family business legit.…

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Review: Bear Republic Racer X Double IPA (2015)

Few seasonals get the kind of love that Bear Republic’s Racer X Double IPA receives — and even fewer actually deserve it. Racer X is a rarity that has wholly earned the love it gets on those rare occasions when it adorns beer shops and tap handles. The big brother to Bear’s equally loveable Racer…

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Review: Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection – Old Fashioned Sour Mash 13 Years Old Experiments

The latest round of experiment bourbons from Buffalo Trace are a return to its roots: using an “old fashioned” method to sour the mash. Wait, isn’t all bourbon made with a “sour mash?” Yes, but as BT explains it, all sour mash is not created equal. I’ll let them take it away: Distilled in May…

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Review: StoneCask Shot Flask

Flasks are convenient for on-the-go mixology, but drinking directly from a flask is both uncouth and unpleasant. Flask-drinking always ends up forcing the spirit straight down your throat, burning the tonsils and robbing it of any actual flavor or nuance. Solution: StoneCasks’s Shot Flask, an innovative product that pairs a standard 8 oz. flask with…

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Review: Guinness Nitro IPA

I can’t blame ’em for trying. The secret of Guinness’s success has long been the nitrogen that is pumped into the beer as it is poured, giving the brew a rich, creamy, and unmistakable body that is beloved the world over. While Guinness has been innovating with other beer styles, it hasn’t done much with…

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Review: Warsteiner Winter Special Edition

Warsteiner has never been my favorite brew, but with Winter Special Edition, I’ve found both a Warsteiner variety I can enjoy — and a “winter brew” release that actually works well. This Munich Dunkel style lager offers ample malt up front but keeps things from turning overtly sweet and cloying. In lieu of that rock…

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Review: Rebel Yell Bourbon, Rye, and American Whiskey (2016)

St. Louis-based Luxco (which also makes Ezra Brooks and Admiral Nelson’s Rum) is behind Rebel Yell, a line of value whiskeys which has recently begun to show up more and more in bars and on store shelves. What’s the haps about “The Yell?” The Rebel Yell line begins with its core product — old-school Kentucky…

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Review: 2015 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau

The freshest of the freshest wine is now in a supermarket near you. Georges Duboeuf’s 2015 Beaujolais Nouveau is here, and for once it’s actually worth seeking out. This ultra-young wine offers a nose of ripe strawberries and candied fruit notes, as always, but finds balance on the body in the form of some chocolate,…

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