Review: Zwack, Unicum, and Unicum Plum Liqueur
Four years ago I covered a line extension from Hungary’s Zwack, which confusingly was launching for the first time a spirit called Zwack. Previously, Zwack’s sole product was the bitter Unicum, and “Zwack” was nowhere to be found on the label. At some point Unicum left the U.S. market, leaving Zwack the company’s sole product…
Recipes: Golden Globe Cocktails 2014
This Sunday two of the funniest women in the history of comedy, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, will be hosting this year’s edition of the Golden Globes. A rundown and reviews of the best movies nominated this year can be found on our sister site, Film Racket. In the meantime, here are a few recipes…
Review: Cabo Wabo Diablo Coffee Liqueur
It seems like just about every premium tequila producer is expanding into coffee liqueurs, and the latest comes from Cabo Wabo, the Sammy Hagar-founded tequila company. Called Cabo Wabo Diablo, this liqueur includes 100% agave tequila laced into an Arabica-based coffee liqueur. A tiger-eye brown spirit, Diablo is less dark in color than you might…
The A-List – December 2013
After several months of excellent and broad-reaching releases, our A-List is a wee bit scant this month. “B+” ratings were in no short supply, but as we all know, “B+” simply doesn’t make the cut. Either way, these are the monsters which earned our seal of approval for the month of December. Related posts: Review:…
Review: Masterson’s Straight Barley 10 Years Old and Straight Wheat Whiskey 12 Years Old
The folks at Masterson’s — made by California-based parent company 35 Maple Street — make what has already become a cult rye whiskey, Masterson’s 10 Year Old Straight Rye. Now the company is back with an even stranger pair of siblings: two well-aged whiskeys, one 100% wheat, one 100% barley. Both are straight whiskeys made…
Review: Liqueurs of Vietnam’s Son Tinh
And now for something completely different… Son Tinh is a liqueur producer based in Vietnam. The company makes a wide range of spirits, including a shochu-style liqueur, bitters, and fruit-based liqueurs. At present the company makes 11 products, 6 of which we (miraculously) got to sample, delivered via an awesome, custom-made wooden crate straight from…
Review: Baron Tequila Platinum
Baron is a new brand of 100% agave tequila, triple pot-distilled from organic agave. (While it’s specifically billed as gluten-free, note that all 100% agave tequilas are naturally gluten-free.) This blanco also boasts of a “zero-zero taste profile,” but it’s actually quite a pungent spirit. The nose is full of vegetal agave notes — a…
Review: The 86 Co. Aylesbury Duck Vodka and Ford’s Gin
The 86 Co., based in New York, is a sort of negociant of the spirits world. crafting spirits in cahoots with other distillers and distilleries from around the world. The company launched a barrage of four spirits in 2012, including the two we’re profiling below. Aylesbury Duck Vodka – Distilled from Canadian winter wheat, bottled in…
