Book Review: Cocktails for Book Lovers
Meals inspired by literary works and their authors are popular among home chefs. Now author Tessa Smith McGovern is bringing the notion to cocktails. Cocktails for Book Lovers is a slim volume of 50 original and classic recipes, each paired with an author and a book they’ve written. Some of these are natural matches — Hemingway…
Review: Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2014 Edition
Old Forester’s annual release of Birthday Bourbon — a celebration of the birthday of George Garvin Brown, founder of Brown-Forman — may not have the level of breathless anticipation surrounding it that, say, the year’s Antique Collection or Parker’s Heritage whiskey does. But I’ll say one thing for it: It’s always a well-crafted, worthwhile spirit. This…
Review: Kennedy Irish Whiskey “Spirit Drink” Complete Lineup
Irish whiskey is all the rage right now — it’s the fastest growing spirit category there is — and there’s a mad rush going on in Ireland to build stills, increase production, and otherwise squeeze every dollar out of this market before everyone moves on to something else, probably rum. Kennedy is a new launch…
Review: Uisce Beatha Irish Whiskey
It’s a brave product marketer who chooses “Uisce Beatha” for his new whiskey’s official name. But Uisce Beatha is a name that’s steeped in history. The term is Gaelic for “water of life.” Uisce (pronounced ISH-kah) is of course where the word “whiskey” originated. Uisce Beatha — “Real Irish Whiskey” — is the latest launch…
Review: Wild Turkey American Honey Sting
Is the honey-flavored whiskey thing coming to an end? Now, Wild Turkey is releasing a limited edition flavored flavored whiskey: American Honey Sting, a crazy expression of the classic American Honey that is spiked with the infamous ghost pepper, the hottest chili pepper in the world. No relation to this guy. Honey-flavored whiskies have rapidly…
Review: Grand Marnier GM Titanium
You’re the maker of one of the most prestigious orange liqueurs on the market. For your next trick, what do you do? Release a heavily spiced, orange-flavored Cognac in a Terminator-hued, club-friendly bottle! “Red ribbon” Grand Marnier is distinguished from most orange liqueurs because it uses Cognac as the base spirit instead of grain neutral spirits.…
Bordeaux Review: 2010 Chateau de Viaud-Lalande & 2012 Chateau du Bois Chantant
When’s the last time you ordered a bottle of Bordeaux with dinner? The folks in France’s ancient wine region realize the answer to this is probably never for most people, so they’re out to change things and freshen up their image. Today’s Bordeaux (motto: “It’s not that expensive!”) is embracing fruit and lower-cost wines. Sure, Mouton and…
Review: 2013 Mirabeau en Provence “Classic” and “Pure” Rose Wines
This Provence-based rose wine producer is making its first appearance on U.S. shores with two pink wines, the traditional “Classic” (which does not actually say “Classic” on the label) and the more modern “Pure” (label). “Different but the same,” these two wines are made in the same basic style, but incorporate slightly different grape varietals…
