Review: Kahlua Salted Caramel Liqueur
Don’t think caramel (particularly the salted variety) is still the It Flavor to contend with? Consider Kahlua’s latest limited edition expression: Salted Caramel. This seasonal release is an extremely sweet one, but that’s not unusual for the brand. It all starts off with intense, brown-to-almost-burnt sugar on the nose. This vanilla-studded, caramel syrup character is…
Review: Charbay Blood Orange Vodka (2015)
Charbay says it takes six months to infuse the flavor into this golden-orange-colored vodka, which is distilled from American corn and rye, then flavored with 100% California-grown blood oranges. The nose and body of this vodka both veer more toward tangerine than classic blood orange, which has a bracing bitterness to it. On the nose…
Here’s How To Make 20 Year Old Rum in One Week!
My piece on Bryan Davis and Lost Spirits just hit Wired this morning. Check it out! Davis has come up with a method of producing spirits that taste like they’ve been aging in the barrel for 20 years, but his process only takes six days. Davis doesn’t accelerate the aging process like so many of the…
Review: Vodka Mariette
Made in Bordeaux, Vodka Mariette is as striking on the palate as it is in the body. How’s it made? Not unlike many a vodka on the market today. To wit: Vodka Mariette is distilled 5x in Bordeaux using only French, GMO-free whole wheat and water from the Ambes Spring. Volcanic rock from the Eocene Era…
Review: Chivas Regal Extra
Chivas? Yes, Chivas! And the brand is back with its first new blend in the U.S. in eight years: Chivas Extra. Extra is made from Chivas’s collection of traditional malts and grain whiskies — including Strathisla single malt — that is finished in Oloroso sherry casks. The resulting spirit, positioned as a step up from the…
Review: 2009 Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port
With this 2009, Dow has crafted an affordable late bottled vintage port that’s perfectly quaffable right from the gate. Pure raisins on the nose, with just a touch of baking spice — particularly cloves — laced in. On the tongue, there’s pure dried berries, some caramel and chocolate sauce, and a strawberry glaze. It’s lacking…
Review: Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey (2015)
Old Overholt’s been making rye since well before rye was cool. Part of the Beam Suntory empire, the brand claims heritage back to 1810 and was reputedly the whiskey of choice of Doc Holliday himself. Old Overholt is commonly used as a mixer — and is a frequent denizen of the Sazerac cocktail — but…
Review: Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey Batch #121
It has been many years since we visited Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey in a formal capacity. Batch #33, in fact, back in 2009. Since then, Stranahan’s has become a bona-fide phenomenon, one of the stalwarts of craft whiskeymaking and the recipient of a cult following. Today we look at the 121st batch of Stranahan’s — still…
