Review: Signatory Un-Chillfiltered Collection Mortlach 1998 16 Years Old
This beautiful indie bottling of Mortlach spent 33 months of its 16 years in an Oloroso Sherry butt, then was outturned and bottled at cask strength. Gorgeous color here, with deep aromas of sherry, walnuts, oily leather, and some madeira character. At full strength, it’s quite a blazer. Though it’s barely over 110 proof, this…
Review: Four Sigma Foods Mushroom Drinks
You’re reading that right: The newest superfood you’re about to start consuming is the good old mushroom — only this time powdered and served as a hot beverage. This innovation is being brought to you by Four Sigma Foods, which has created no less than 12 different mushroom-infused drink packets, including flavored coffee, flavored cocoas,…
Head to Head: Alcoholic Root Beer! Not Your Father’s vs. Rowdy
Two makes a trend for us today, with a duo of alcoholic root beers hitting the market at the same time, one from La Crosse, Wisconsin-based Small Town Brewery, the other from Stevens Point, Wisconsin-based Berghoff. Both are not root beer soda with alcohol added but rather flavored beers/malt liquors with the spices integrated into the…
Review: Alaskan Brewing Company Imperial India Pale Ale and Pumpkin Ale
Two new brews from Alaskan — another large format IPA in the Pilot Series and, of course, a new, seasonal Pumpkin Ale. Thoughts follow. Alaskan Brewing Company Imperial India Pale Ale – This new Pilot Series offering pours a dusky light brown. Crisp and plenty bitter, it’s got loads of freshly baked bread plus a…
Maker’s Mark Launches Avant Garde Single Barrel Program
Big news for Maker’s Mark fans today: A new Private Barrel program will let you create bespoke Maker’s — but it goes beyond letting you pick a barrel. Maker’s is going to let you choose the exact type(s) of wood to be used as extra staves in a finishing barrel where your chosen whiskey will…
Review: Bib & Tucker Small Batch Bourbon 6 Years Old (2015)
A newer part of the 35 Maple Street collection, Bib & Tucker is sourced bourbon from Bardstown, Kentucky (sorry, Indiana!), in barrel for 6 years. No mashbill information is available. The whiskey cuts a frontier style on the nose, hot and loaded with lumber notes, cut with vanilla and some rye-driven spice. The body follows…
Review: 2013 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay Napa Valley
This latest release from Napa’s Sequoia Grove is classic, buttery Chardonnay, offering an archetypal vanilla-apple core. It features an ample body with plenty of length, but there’s not much in the way of nuance from start to finish. The back end is a bit too lingering with sweetness, that vanilla component lingering for the long…
Review: Santera Tequila, Complete Lineup
Santera is a new Highlands-based tequila, 100% blue agave, and bottled in an understated, classy decanter. We tried all three standard expressions. Thoughts on each follow. All are 80 proof. Available in New York (for now). Santera Tequila Blanco – Unaged. Modest, but present, agave character is backed by earthy, stony, and flint-like notes. Some…
