Review: 2013 Humble Pie Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast
Our final Tony Leonardini wine of three is this humbly named humble cabernet from the humble Central Coast of California. It tastes a lot better than it should at this price point, offering a nose of fresh berries, with the palate taking things into a blackberry jam-and-chocolate arena. Quite sweet at first, it settles down…
Review: Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon 22 Years Old (2015)
When we first reviewed the entry-level Blade and Bow a few months ago, we noted that a second expression existed with a whopping 22 year old age statement. It wasn’t available to us at the time, but now we’ve obtained samples and can cover it in full. As a refresher, it’s a wholly different bourbon…
Review: Westland American Oak Single Malt, Sherry Wood, and Peated Whiskey
American single malt whiskeys get a bad rap, and that’s usually for a good reason: Many of them are borderline undrinkable. Seattle-based Westland is trying to change that perception with it offerings, all single malts, and all produced in the style of their Scottish inspirations. Westland makes its whiskeys from five different malts, including a…
Review: 4 Centre-Loire Wines, 2015 Releases
The Loire Valley is a sprawling wine region in northwest France — and the Centre-Loire (named because it is located in the geographic center of France) is the home to some of its most renowned wines, including the widely beloved Sancerre. Today we’re looking at four Centre-Loire wines, all composed of sauvignon blanc grapes and…
Review: Radeberger Pilsner, Clausthaler NA, and Schofferhofer Grapefruit (2015)
No fancy intro needed on this one. Here’s a collection of three semi-random beers from the U.S. distribution arm of Germany’s Radeberger Gruppe — including the company’s newly-available grapefruit-flavored hefeweizen and our first-ever review of a non-alcoholic beer! Can any of these be worthwhile? I smell a roundup brewing… Radeberger Pilsner – Simple at first,…
Review: Bacardi Ron 8 Anos
Bacardi’s 8 year old reserve rum is one of the few rums in the regular Bacardi lineup that carries an age statement. “Bacardi Ocho,” as it’s nicknamed, is Bahamian rum that is often called out as Bacardi’s best offering. That may indeed be the case, and it’s a large step away from Bacardi’s otherwise staid, traditional structure. Bacardi…
Review: WhistlePig “Old World” Rye Whiskey 12 Years Old 2015
Every year WhistlePig — the acclaimed 100% rye whiskey — puts out a special edition. For the last three of those years the whiskey has been a spin on the original WhistlePig, generally getting older every year and/or bottled from a single barrel. For 2015, WhistlePig has something different in store: A whiskey that’s been finished…
Review: Tamdhu Batch Strength #1 Single Malt Whisky
The newly revived Tamdhu Distillery is back with its second expression, this time an overproof whisky known (curiously) as Batch Strength. Aged entirely in sherry casks (predominantly first-fill) for an unstated amount of time, it is bottled at cask strength. The nose offers rich cereal, caramel, and notes of grilled fruits. On the body, heavy alcohol…
