Review: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon 2015 Edition
With Jim Rutledge retiring from Four Roses and Brent Elliot succeeding him as master distiller, Rutledge has just overseen his last edition of the Four Roses Small Batch, his final release from the distillery. The 2015 Limited Edition Small Batch is comprised of a 16-year-old Bourbon from Four Roses’ OBSK recipe, a 15-year-old OESK, a…
Review: Deschutes Brewery Jubelale Winter Ale 2015
It’s the time of the season for Jubelale, Deschutes’ highly regarded winter sipper. This year’s Jubelale has a familiar profile, with notes of Mexican coffee, baking spices, fresh hops, and a mildly earthy and woodsy core. 2015’s installment has a nice balance among its constituent components, playing up the coffee the most this year while tempering…
Review: Maloney’s Irish Country Cream
Like your Irish Cream with a double helping of sugar? You’ll love Maloney’s, another entry into the incredibly popular dessert liqueur category. Something’s immediately off with Maloney’s from the moment you sip it. First there’s the heavy butterscotch notes, then the lengthy brown sugar and creamy, light whiskey character. The butterscotch is a little odd,…
Review: S-NAC Hangover “Game Changer”
Another in a long line of purported hangover curatives, S-NAC is a “pre-game” supplement (taken in the form of two big, orange tablets) with just two ingredients. Per the company, here’s what they are and what they do: Sulbutiamine is a highly bioavailable, lipophilic form of thiamine that works as a cognitive enhancer by increasing glutamatergic…
Review: Jose Cuervo Tradicional Tequila – Silver and Reposado (2015)
Cuervo’s cheapest 100% agave tequila — Cuervo Tradicional — has been with us for a few years now, but we’re only just now getting around to reviewing the original — the reposado bottling. We first looked at Tradicional Silver four years ago, now we’re hitting it up for a second review, plus a first review…
Review: Carpano Dry and Carpano Bianco Vermouth
The company that makes Punt e Mes and Carpano Antica also makes some more pedestrian vermouths, including these two white styles — both made from ancient, secret recipes. Let’s try both! Carpano Dry Vermouth – Classically dry, sourly winey nose, with notes of dried, savory herbs (absinthe notes are described in the tasting notes, but…
Review: The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve (2015)
Back in 2010, Glenlivet released its Founder’s Reserve expression — an extremely rare, wooden-crated, nearly $400 bottle of some of the best malt whisky I’ve ever had. In 2015, Glenlivet is also releasing Founder’s Reserve. Which is a completely different thing. Completely. The new Founder’s Reserve is an entry-level whisky, a no-age-statement expression of this single…
Review: HoneyMaker Dry Mead
Is mead going to be a thing again, for the first time since the 1200s? Maine’s HoneyMaker is the latest company making a go at making honey-based wine, and this Dry Mead is just one of nearly a dozen offerings. “Dry” meaning exactly that: almost no residual sugar makes this a much different experience than…
