Review: Lake Champlain Milk Chocolate Apple Cider Caramels
Whiskey chocolates? Been done. How about chocolates studded with caramel and apple cider? Lake Champlain Chocolates’ latest concoction brings in apples from Happy Valley Orchard and cider from Citizen Cider to create an all-Vermont seasonal confection sensation. These dense caramels start with silky milk chocolate and burst open to reveal intense apple pie flavor inside,…
Review: Caffe Borghetti di Vero Espresso Liqueur
Caffe Borghetti — or just “Borghetti” if you’re hip — is an espresso liqueur made in Italy — you know, where espresso was invented. Made from real, brewed espresso, the base beverage is made from “a blend of 70% Arabica beans grown at a high altitude in South America and 30% Robusto beans from Africa is…
Review: Tequila Herradura Coleccion de la Casa Cognac Cask Finished Reposado, Reserva 2013
Herradura expands its nascent Coleccion de la Casa line of specialty cask-finished tequilas with this 2013 release, which is polished off in Cognac barrels. This release spends 11 months in American oak before being finished for another three months in Cognac casks. This expression doesn’t reach the heights of 2012’s Port Finished tequila, starting off…
Book Review: Whiskey Women
One of the more problematic challenges of historical books is their inability to provide truly holistic, objective testimony on actual events. There will always be omitted perspectives, conflicting stories and incomplete narratives. Facts and figures may contradict oral histories and withering records may not fill in cracks the way one would hope. When it comes…
Review: Mission Brewery El Conquistador and Shipwrecked Beers
Forget your 25.4-ounce Foster’s “oil can.” San Diego-based Mission Brewery is putting its craft brew into 32 oz. “cannons,” enough for two full pints of suds. So grab a friend, because you’ll need ’em to polish off a full quarter gallon of beer. Of course, Mission also does beer in bottles and kegs, but these monsters…
Review: 2012 Assembly Old Vine Zinfandel Lodi
Assembly makes a handful of wine in the Lodi AVA of Northern California. Here’s a quick look at the company’s latest zinfandel release. This is a tough wine, with a tobacco nose and echoes of beef jerky. The body is dense and chewy, with blackberries at the core alongside menthol, leather, and hickory smoke notes…
Review: Shock Top Ghost Pepper Wheat Experimental Beer
Earlier this year, Shock Top didn’t release its experimental Campfire Wheat Beer, a balls-out brew meant to taste like s’mores. Like Campfire, Ghost Pepper Wheat is destined for service at beer festivals only, so you’ll have to keep tabs on Shock Top’s website or Facebook page to figure out where it can be found. Fortunately, unlike…
Book Review: Uncorking the Past
As I took the opportunity to sample the Dogfish Head Ancient Ales collection, it felt appropriate to enjoy a book written by one of the men whose scholarly pursuits inspired and acted as a catalyst to many of the creations. It’s a nice supplementary companion while drinking and enjoying. Dr. Patrick E. McGovern is the…
