Review: Tomatin Cu Bocan
The newly released Cu Bocan is a bit of a “second label” for Highlands-based Tomatin, with CU BOCAN in big letters up top and “Tomatin” buried at the bottom of the bottle. There’s a good reason for this. Cu Bocan — the name refers to a purported ghost dog that haunts the nearby village —…
Review: Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Sonoma-Cutrer Pinot Noir Finish
Every year, Chris Morris releases a special edition of Woodford Reserve called the Master’s Collection. This November will see the ninth release of the Master’s Collection, and yours truly was the very first person outside of Brown-Forman to sample it. I sat down with Master Distiller Morris last night in advance of this bourbon’s formal…
Review: Havana Club Rum 3 Years Old, 7 Years Old, and Seleccion de Maestros (2014)
For the third time at Drinkhacker we turn our attention to Havana Club, the essential Cuban rum that many an international traveler (including myself) has come to love. Widely available overseas, Havana Club is not available in the U.S. due to trade restrictions with Cuba. Nonetheless today we turn our attention to three of Havana Club’s…
Review: New Amsterdam Orange and Pineapple Vodkas
New Amsterdam’s gin and vodka lines are becoming increasingly commonplace thanks to their very low price point and upscale bottle design. These new flavors are fairly natural extensions to the line, bringing the total number of New Amsterdam flavors up to six. Intriguingly, both represent a major departure from (and improvement over) the more pungent and…
Tasting Report: Pinot Days 2014
Pinot Days 2014 is now behind us, and as usual it offered some of the best Pinot Noirs (and a few Chardonnays) from all over California and Oregon. There was plenty to love at this show, particularly wines from the always-enchanting Sojourn and Dutton-Goldfield, but I also made a huge discovery in the form of…
Review: Beachwood/Heretic/Stone Unapologetic IPA and Stone RuinTen IPA 2014
These days, Stone Brewing Company is a juggernaut of new releases, with new brews sometimes arriving at the pace of one every couple of weeks. Here we have two of Stone’s latest, including a relaunch of one of the company’s most famed IPAs, and a three-way collaboration among some California brewing icons. Thoughts on both…
Review: Ancho Reyes Ancho Chile Liqueur
The ancho chile is a dried poblano pepper. A popular element in both traditional Mexican cuisine and upscale cooking, ancho chiles have a gentle, smoky flavor with hints of chocolate and cinnamon. I use ancho a lot in the kitchen, but never thought about how it would fare in a cocktail. Ancho Reyes is a…
Review: Ardbeg Auriverdes
Earlier this summer, iconic Islay distillery Ardbeg released its annual “Ardbeg Day” limited-edition whisky release, Auriverdes. The name is from Portuguese and refers to the colors green and gold (Ardbeg’s classic color scheme) and is a nod to the Brazilian flag and the just-completed World Cup. The whisky eschews finishes for what is a bit…
