Tasting the Wines of Hardy’s Australia, 2013 Releases
Australia’s Hardy’s may be a big producer that competes with the “critter wines” of the world, but considering its wines are this affordable, it keeps quality surprisingly high. Here’s a look at five recently released Hardy’s vintages — bottled under both the William Hardy and Nottage Hill label. Thoughts follow. 2011 William Hardy Chardonnay South…
Review: Wines of Alto Adige, 2013 Releases
The Alto Adige region in the far north of Italy (how far north? two-thirds of its inhabitants speak German) is best known for its most famous son: Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. But there’s a huge diversity of grape varietals grown in this mountainous area — over 20 of them, despite the fact that its size…
Review: Baileys Vanilla Cinnamon
The newest addition to the Baileyverse doesn’t take many pains to hide what’s inside. As the name suggests, this is good old Baileys Irish Cream, plus vanilla, plus cinnamon. Well, Baileys on its own is full of dessert-like flavor, so adding more stuff from the baking cabinet into the mix doesn’t seem entirely called for.…
Review: The Ancient Ales of Dogfish Head
“Not to know what happened before you were born is to be a child forever. For what is the time of a man, except it be interwoven with that memory of ancient things of a superior age?” – Cicero Thankfully, there are modern day custodians of history keeping the past alive and well, presenting long-silenced…
Review: Maurin Dry, White, and Red Vermouth
Vermouth is a beverage on the return, and Anchor Distilling has joined forces with old Maurin (you’ve seen the iconic green devil posters at better French cafes in your neighborhood) to recreate the vermouths once made by Auguste Maurin, back in 1884. The two companies adapted Maurin’s traditional recipe for these new vermouths, which are…
2013 Drinkhacker’s Best Books Guide
Back in February, we dedicated nearly a full month to reviews on books based around alcohol as the main subject. While this post could serve as compendium to that month, here are a few more ideas for last minute stocking stuffers. Read anything not on our list that we missed, or suggestions for alternatives? Drop…
Review: Prairie Fire Hot Cinnamon Flavored Whiskey
A Prairie Fire is actually a cocktail: A shot of whiskey with hot sauce in it. OK, not much of a cocktail, but it’s an alcoholic beverage of some sort. Prairie Fire, the bottled spirit, is made with this cocktail in mind. Eschewing hot sauce for cinnamon, this product from the Iowa Distilling Company wants…
Review: George Dickel White Whisky Foundation No. 1
Just when it seems that everyone who’s anyone in American distilling has launched a white whiskey, well, you realize there’s room for one more. The latest coming out the gate is Dickel, which is bringing its Tennessee Whiskey — bourbon-style mash of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley, but charcoal-filtered before bottling —…
