Review: 2013 Kalfu Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
Kalfu is a new Chilean wine brand hailing from the Leyda Yalley on the country’s coast. Here’s a look at two of the winery’s inaugural releases. 2013 Kalfu “Kuda” Chardonnay Unoaked Leyda Valley Chile – Engaging, tastes expensive. Quite neutral, apple notes on the nose, with light creme brulee, kumquat, and some light tropical character on…
Review: Manhattan Moonshine
Moonshine connotes hillbillies cooking up corn in a crude oil drum still tucked away in the woods, high-test hooch bottled in a ceramic jug. And then there’s Manhattan Moonshine, made “using a unique blend of four premium New York grains [including rye, spelt, and oats — but not corn] and innovative, modern production methods,” bottled in an…
Review: LIQS Ready To Drink Cocktail Shots
LIQS looks like the ultimate expression of laziness — single-serve shots in a foil-covered plastic cup. And yeah, LIQS is designed for the beachgoer who can’t figure out how to get his blood orange kamikaze into a water bottle, but there’s a surprising level of gourmet sensibility under the hood. Billing itself as the “world’s…
Kentucky Derby Recipe: Grandstand Julep
Looking for a mint julep that isn’t blown out with tooth-aching sweetness? Try this version, which subs in bitter Cynar for about 2/3 of the bourbon and adds some fresh fruit juices to give it a little citrus character. It’s quite a fun spin on the Derby classic and the only julep I know that works…
Review: Global Vodka
Global? Well, Italian. So, pretty global. This vodka is triple distilled from organic wheat and blended with spring water from the Dolomites, and the results are… not entirely distinguishable from any number of well-crafted but largely anonymous vodkas. The nose is heavily medicinal, with some woody notes giving it some backbone. The body is indistinct…
Review: Highland Park Valhalla Collection – Odin
The final expression of Highland Park’s four Valhalla Collection whiskies is here — Odin, “the Allfather” of the Norse pantheon. Odin follows Thor, Loki, and Freya (the lattermost was not readily available in the U.S. and we never reviewed it in depth), rounding out the collectible series. 16 years old and higher in proof than any…
Review: 2010 Mesa Cantina Buio Buio Isola dei Nurachi IGT
2010 Mesa Cantina Buio Buio Isola dei Nurachi is produced in Sulcis, on the southwestern tip of Sardinia. Produced from 100% carignano (the Italian name for carignane), it’s part of a vanguard of wines from Sulcis that are just now making their way to the U.S. Buio Buio is restrained and almost floral on the nose,…
Review: Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka
I love that Austin-based Deep Eddy makes flavored vodkas that look like flavored vodkas, all bright colors, with nothing to hide. The latest expression, Deep Eddy Lemon, looks like a glass of fresh lemonade, translucent and golden and flecked with just a tiny bit of pulp. The nose plays it cool. Light, slightly sour-smelling lemon plus…