Review: Ingenium Dry Gin
Portland, Maine-based New England Distilling presents this avant garde “new western” gin, made from a triple pot-distilled mash of 2-row barley with a bit of rye added. Botanicals include juniper, lime zest, lemongrass, bay leaf, mace, and rose petals — plus some other oddities. That description alone gives you plenty to think about. Pour a…
Review: Wines of CrossBarn by Paul Hobbs, 2014 Releases
Once called “the Steve Jobs of wine,” Paul Hobbs is a NorCal bigshot that makes wines under his own label as well as importing stuff he really likes. CrossBarn is his new, lower-cost label. We sampled three wines (two Pinots, one Chardonnay) under the CrossBarn label. Thoughts follow. 2013 CrossBarn by Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Sonoma…
Review: 2013 Charles & Charles Rose Columbia Valley
This Washington state rose, part of the Trinchero empire, is made from a blend of 86% syrah, 6% cinsault, 4% grenache, 2% counoise, and 2% mourvedre. Restrained, this wine has some herbal notes on the nose — rosemary, perhaps — with the fruit creeping out a bit slowly on the palate. Strawberries, for sure, and…
Review: Wigle Rye Whiskey Deep Cut and Barrel-Rested Ginever
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Wigle (aka Pittsburgh Distilling Company) is an up-and-coming craft distiller that makes loads of products including, in a page taken from the Tuthilltown/Hudson Distillery playbook, a wide range of different whiskeys — seven of them at current count. Today we look at two of the company’s products, a rye and an aged “ginever,”…
Review: NV Zardetto Prosecco DOC Treviso Brut
This nonvintage Prosecco is a bit chewy and bready — more so than is typical of the style — with notes of lemon confit, peaches, and white flowers. A shortish finish doesn’t make the very best companion for the bigger body, and while it’s enjoyable enough (particularly at this price level), it could use more…
Review: 2013 Bodegas Terras Gauda Abadia de San Campio and O Rosal
Today we look at two white wines (both Albarino-based) from Spain’s Terras Gauda winery, based in the Rias Baixas region. You may have to look closely for the parent name, but both are bottled under the Bodegas Terras Gauda umbrella. Here’s a look at two very good — and quite different — white wines. 2013…
Review: McAfee’s Benchmark Peach Liqueur
This has been sitting on the shelf of a local store for a bit and at a price of $13, I thought it was worth dropping the coin to give it a spin. Benchmark Peach is marketed as an offshoot of the venerable Benchmark whiskey brand, but it’s not a flavored whiskey: It’s a liqueur.…
Review: 2012 Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon California
How good can an “everyday” Cabernet Sauvignon that costs 12 bucks possibly be? Not bad at all, actually. Avalon, courtesy of Purple Wine Co., is a very straightforward wine, but it avoids the problems of being overly sweetened and overly alcoholic (at 13.8% abv). Instead what we get is a slightly peppery, slightly chocolatey wine…
