Review: Fall 2014 Pumpkin Beer Blowout
October is here, and that means everyone and his sister is putting pumpkin into beer in honor of the arrival of autumn. For some, pumpkin brews are something they wait for urgently all year long. For others, a pumpkin beer is something you enjoy precisely once and quietly wait for the season to pass. For…
Tasting Report: Rosso Montefalco and Montefalco Sagrantino, 2014 Releases
Welcome to Montefalco, “the balcony of Umbria” in the backyard of Tuscany. Montefalco is a relatively little-known wine region in the U.S., known primarily as the birthplace and home of Sagrantino, a grape that thrives in the hills of this area. Sagrantino (from “sacrament,” called thusly because dried Sagrantino grapes have been used by monks to…
Review: Wilderness Trail Distillery Harvest Rum
How’s this for unique? Harvest Rum is made by Kentucky-based Wilderness Trail Distillery from molasses made from cane sorghum grown right on the company’s own farm. The rum is then aged in used Four Roses bourbon barrels for “several” months. It’s tough to imagine more of a “bourbon drinker’s rum,” and Harvest is indeed surprisingly whiskeylike.…
Review: Highland Park Dark Origins
Welcome to the family, Dark Origins. Here’s a new expression from Highland Park that nods (so they say) at the company’s founder, Magnus Eunson. The Dark Origins in question actually refer to the use of sherry casks for maturation. Compared to standard expressions of Highland Park, Dark Origins uses double the number of sherry casks…
Preview: Cognac Lheraud Cuvee 20 and 1974 Vintage
Cuvee Lheraud (lerr-oh) is a family-owned Cognac producer that makes a million bottles of brandy every year all from its estate vineyards. And you’ve never heard of them, because until now they have not sold products in the United States. This fall, Lheraud arrives on U.S. shores, bringing its unique spin on Cognac to our…
Review: Warsteiner Premium Dunkel
Oktoberfest is nigh, and that means Oktober-centric brews are hitting the market in force. First out of the gate is this dunkel from Warsteiner, a Munich-style lager brewed in Warstein, Germany. It’s actually a year-round brew but is aimed toward fall/winter drinking. Roasted malt defines this beer, giving it a toasty, almost smoky character up…
Review: South Bay Rum
Here’s a decidedly unique approach to crafting a rum. South Bay Rum is made from molasses in the Dominican Republic, aged and blended in the solera style. The catch is in the barrels used for the aging: South Bay uses a collection of casks that previously contained bourbon, sherry, port, or single malt Scotch whisky, an approach…
Review: Laphroaig Select
Another step in the “NAS” (no age statement) movement that’s sweeping the whisky world, Laphroaig Select is a new expression from the Islay standby that is deathly devoid of numerics. Laphroaig’s approach with this release is an interesting one, taking a variety of styles of the whiskies in its stable and mixing them all together.…
