Review: NV Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco Valdobbiadene
Good, cheap Prosecco isn’t hard to find, but Nino Franco’s Rustico bottling stands near the top of that list. For 13 bucks, you get an awful lot of nuance: bubbly apples up front, light sweetness on the tongue, and a surprising herbal kick on the back end. It’s not too heavy, just a dusting of…
Review: Cachaca 51
Cachaca 51 is the best-selling brand of cachaca in Brazil, the home of this unique sugarcane-based spirit. That may not sound like a big deal, but according to the producer, they sell 240 million liters of the stuff annually, which makes it the second-biggest-selling spirits brand in the world. (Independent research does not seem to…
Review: Jim Beam Pre-Prohibition Style Rye Whiskey (2015)
Good old “yellow label” Jim Beam Rye was, for many drinkers, their first exposure to rye whiskey. What was it? Aside from something mentioned in a Don McLean song? Beam’s Rye was good enough — cheap, too — like a racier bourbon, but maybe not as sweet. Or you could go for Old Overholt if you wanted…
Review: 2013 Erath “Willakia” Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills
This is Oregon-based Erath’s first wine from its newly-purchased Willakia Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills. Just 238 cases were made. Says Erath: The 2013 Willakia Chardonnay was harvested on October 12, two weeks after a series of rain showers – remnants of Typhoon Pabuk that eventually crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan – passed through…
Review: Rolling River Vodka
Rolling River Spirits is a Portland, Oregon distillery producing vodka, gin, and — soon — a whiskey. Today we look at the company’s vodka, which is distilled from winter wheat in a small reflux column still. Rolling River Vodka is both fruity and floral on the nose, but the body takes things in a different direction:…
Pairing the Sixth Taste: Fat
Bitter. Salty. Sour. Sweet. More recently, umami. The tastes science has blessed. This week researchers branched out, publishing findings in Flavour: Fat is the sixth taste. (Not to be confused with the Sixth Sense, which flattens substantially once the surprise is over.) Chefs and bartenders beat science to the bench — we’ve seen a resurgence…
Review: Kilchoman Original Cask Strength
It’s increasingly difficult to keep up with the flood of whiskies that flow from Islay’s Kilchoman, but this one really is unique: It’s the first official distillery bottling to be released at cask strength. (An ImpEx exclusive was also cask strength, but that was a just a single barrel. This release comprises 9,200 bottles.) Production is…
Recipe: Valentine’s Day Cocktails 2015
We’ve got two days until Valentine’s Day. Much like last year, it appears most of the nation will be in a deep freeze, so here’s the best of the best recipes we’ve received (and we received a record number this year) to warm hearts and souls before you soldier forth to see Fifty Shades of Grey.…
