Monthly Archives: October 2010

Review: Glenfarclas 40 Years Old

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

One does not often get the chance to use “40 years old” and “value whisky” in the same review, but Glenfarclas 40 is exactly that: The most reasonably-priced 40 year old single malt that you may ever encounter.

The quality here is exceptional: Glenfarclas 40 is intensely sherried, with big orange peel character at play with smooth but heavy oak, and sweetness in the form of nougat and caramel notes. Glenfarclas 40 doesn’t show itself as tired, but rather as a very classic, old spirit, well aged and mellow as could be.

Bottled at 92 proof, it can stand a touch of water to temper a hot and overly woody finish, and a drop or two helps to bring out that exotic incense character that so many very old spirits have. A real winner.

Of course, it’s also quite a deal. At a “mere” $400 a bottle — and even less if you shop around — it’s one of the best old-whisky bargains around. (40-year-old Highland Park runs $2,000 a bottle.) Also of note, Glenfarclas 40 isn’t a special, limited-time release. The distillery has enough old stock that Glenfarclas 40 will now be part of the standard lineup. Put it on your Christmas wish list!

A / $400 / glenfarclas.co.uk

Glenfarclas 40 year old Review: Glenfarclas 40 Years Old

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Posted in Rated A, Reviews, Scotch, Whiskey

Review: Aha Toro Tequila

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Christopher Null| 3 Comments

This Highlands tequila brand — a sister of the much-admired Amigo bf4e — is 100% agave, 80 proof, and comes in strikingly eye-catching bottles. We sampled all three expressions of this heftily agave-infused tequila. Opinions follow.

Aha Toro Blanco Tequila – Peppery and herbal, with huge agave notes and a finish that hints at petrol. A real tequila, with no punches pulled. Touches of fruit in the finish — bananas with cream — but not much can stand up to that agave enormity. Maybe too much of it here. B+ / $35

Aha Toro Reposado Tequila – Aged somewhere between two months and a year, this reposado cuts the bit of the blanco a bit, but not as much as you’d think. Top notes are more muted, with caramel and vanilla at play on this much more buttery-bodied tequila, and these sweet characteristics are heavy on the initial rush on the palate, as well. But you can’t suppress Aha Toro’s spicy agave notes, which come back in force for the finish. Better balance here. A- / $40

Aha Toro Anejo Tequila – Aged over a year. The anejo has a lot in common with the reposado, just with the caramel notes amped up. Less bite here, it’s a sweet and silky tequila sugar bomb with some hints of cocoa. Heat is there on the finish, a bit like a Mexican hot chocolate. Good, but a bit removed from the tequila world, it’s so overwhelmed with sweetness. B+ / $50

ahatoro.com

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Posted in Rated A-, Rated B+, Reviews, Tequila

Review: Bear Flag Wines

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Bear Flag operates out of Modesto, but its grapes come from all over California. The company focuses on four very affordable, non-vintage wines, each with distinct personalities — and eye-catching, post-industrial label designs — meant to invoke a theme and inform you exactly what you’re getting before you ever crack open the bottle.

We tried two wines from the company. Thoughts follow.

NV Bear Flag Bright White Wine Blend – A mix of Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewurztraminer, Bright White offers aromatics plus solid acidity. The body is light and airy, and citrus character is strong. Tart finish brings in more citrus fruit, predominantly lime. Hardly refined, but what are you expecting for 9 bucks? Very pleasant. A- / $9

NV Bear Flag Dark Red Wine Blend – Blend Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Zinfandel, Petit Verdot, and Tempranillo and you have this beast of a wine, a rough and ultra-jammy bruiser that lives up to its name. Chocolate notes are at odds with the fresh wood character here, and the whole affair is a mixed bag, out of balance and too potpourri-like to be as fun as its label would like it to be.  Probably could have stood for more time in oak, but then it wouldn’t be a sub-10-dollar wine. B- / $9

bearflagwine.com

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Posted in Rated A-, Rated B-, Reviews, Wine

TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Brewery Tours

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Christopher Null| 5 Comments

Getting to wander around a brewery and sample a few beers along the way is one of life’s great little pleasures. TripAdvisor recently scoured its consumer ratings to figure out whose tour is best. These are the top ten.

Check out TripAdvisor for more sudsy travel goodness.

1. Beechwood Best: Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour, Saint Louis, Missouri

In addition to offering free tours that take in the legendary Budweiser Clydesdale Stable, Beechwood Lager Cellars and historic Brew House, true hop-enthusiasts can also opt for the more exclusive “Beermaster Tour.” This behind-the-scenes look at the brewing of Budweiser even offers travelers the opportunity to taste samples directly from a finishing tank. Tour tickets are $25 for over-21 year-olds and $10 for 13- 20 year-olds.

2. Revolutionary Pour: Samuel Adams Brewery, Boston, Massachusetts

All of the senses are put to good use on this hour-long tour, as travelers taste their way through the special malts used to brew Samuel Adams beer, smell the hops and discover the secrets of the entire brewing process – from start to finish. Tours run every 45 minutes or so and are free of charge, although a voluntary donation of $2 is suggested, with all proceeds going to local charities.

3. Rocky Mountain Merriment: Coors Brewery, Golden, Colorado

Founded in 1873, Coors’ Golden operation is today the largest single-site brewery in the world. Visitors can enjoy a complimentary, 30-minute self-guided tour of some of the site’s highlights, accompanied by an audio device which details the malting, brewing and packaging processes. Once the walking is done, thirsty travelers can cool off in the “fresh beer room,” and sip a cold sample while resting on ice-cube benches in a refrigerated room.

4. Waterside Libations: Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Founded in 1987, Lakefront Brewery believes there is a direct correlation between attention span on beer tours and drinking beer. As a result, travelers visiting this inventive microbrewery can expect to sample an array of brews right from the get-go, including what was the first beer to be certified organic in the U.S. Tour tickets are $7 and include a souvenir pint glass, four pours of beer and a coupon for a complimentary beverage.

5. Beer on the Banks: Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co., Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Boasting a picturesque riverside-setting, travelers visiting this old-world Germanic brewery can enjoy spectacular scenery and award-winning flavors. Free tours take in the history of the company, which dates back over 140 years and has been led by five generations of Leinenkugels, in addition to the brewing process. Travelers can round off their visit at the historic sampling bar, or enjoy an al fresco taste on the covered patio.

6. Rocking Refreshments: Stone Brewery, Escondido, California

Travelers seeking a thirst-quenching experience just north of San Diego can enjoy a complimentary, 45-minute guided tour of Stone Brewery – a 55,000 square foot working brewery, founded in 1996. After a journey to the heart of the operation to learn about the craft brewing industry, visitors are invited to participate in a guided tasting of a selection of year-round and special releases.

7. Hop-Filled Flavors: Terrapin Brew Company, Athens, Georgia

For travelers seeking to soak up some sweet sounds with their cold brews, Terrapin Brew Company offers live music and a festive atmosphere. The brewery, which introduced its first beer in 2002, runs educational tours and tastings Thursday through Saturday evenings, offering visitors a sneak-peek at the 40,000 square foot brewing facilities. Entry is $10 and includes a souvenir pint glass and tasting tickets.

8. Mass Malts: Harpoon Brewery / Mass Bay Brewing Co., Boston, Massachusetts

Located within minutes of downtown Boston, travelers visiting this historic city can add extra flavor to their trip with a hop-tastic tour of Harpoon Brewery. Complimentary weekday tastings are held in the Tasting Room, overlooking the brewery – while weekend tours, conducted when Harpoon is not brewing or packaging beer, give beer-lovers the opportunity to join a guided walk through the brewery. Tour tickets are $5 and include a glass and tasting.

9. Delicious Draughts: New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, Colorado

Boasting a Belgian brewmaster, New Belgium Brewing adds a dash of continental flair to Fort Collins. Free tours, which operate Tuesday through Saturday, offer visitors a 90-minute tasting and a stroll around the brewery, which has been creating imaginative blends since 1991. Seven years later, the operation became the first wind-powered brewery in the U.S. – and with sustainability integral to the company, this is an interesting spot for “green” travelers.

10. Froth-Filled Fun: Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, Missouri

No one wants to get left out in the cold, when there’s beer to sample – so TripAdvisor travelers recommend booking a free tour of the largest specialty brewery in the Midwest, plenty of time in advance. After taking in the sights and soaking up Boulevard’s history on a 45-minute, guided walk-through, visitors can enjoy a tasting of an array of beers, including seasonal specialties and year-round brews.

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Posted in Beer

Review: Darnley’s View Gin

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

darnleys view gin Review: Darnleys View GinWemyss (pronounced “WEEMS”) is well-known for its line of Scotch whiskys, and now the Wemyss family is taken an enormous leap into the world of white spirits, offering its first ever gin.

Darnley’s View is a London Dry Gin, flavored with just six botanicals, a scant number in a world of gins that commonly see 15 or more ingredients in the mix.

Darnley’s View is largely traditional, with juniper, lemon peel, coriander seed, angelica root, and orris root in the mix. The one big addition: elderflower, practically a weed on the Wemyss estate. It’s quite evident here, with that sweet lychee character giving the gin a charming, exotic character without being overpowering. What’s missing? Some orange peel — a traditional element in gin — would have added more balance — and frankly, Darnley’s View could benefit from a bit more juniper.

With its clean and light finish and sweet overtones, this is a great mixing gin, particularly in cocktails that use fruit juices in the mix. A martini wouldn’t be out of line, either.

On the whole, this is a solid workhorse of a gin, one that has just a little bit of uniqueness to keep things interesting and alive.

80 proof.

B+ / $40 / darnleysview.com

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Posted in Gin, Rated B+, Reviews

Review: Michael-David Incognito Wines

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Miachel-David is a winery in California’s Lodi region, where it produces wine under a half-dozen or so labels, especially the Zinfandels for which the region is so well-known.

Incognito is a label with two wines, both oddball blends. We tried both of the wines from the latest vintage, which have seen new labeling and branding.

2009 Incognito White is a blend of 58% Viognier, 19% Chardonnay, 9% Malvasia Bianca, 7% Roussanne, 4% Sauvignon Blanc, and 3% Symphony grapes. That Viognier character dominates the blend, with fresh peach and nectarine notes, but the apple and tart lemon character of some of the other grapes — particularly Sauvignon Blanc — come around as well. I like the balance here, and served cold this is a crisp and easy-drinking white. A- / $18

2008 Incognito Red is created — so they say — in a Rhone style, with 21% Syrah, 18% Carignan, 18% Cinsault, 13% Tannat, 11% Souzou, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Mourvedre, and 3% Petite Sirah. Very, very smoky, the core is plum and cherry, but it’s got almost a charred wood character to it. And yet the body is surprisingly light. The finish is on the rustic side. It grows on you, but it doesn’t have the weight to back up the more exotic elements it’s throwing out. B / $18

lodivineyards.com

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Posted in Rated A-, Rated B, Reviews, Wine

Review: U’Luvka Vodka

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

You’ll see U’Luvka from a mile away, its oversized bottle looking a bit like a nearly-frozen water droplet just about to fall from a tree branch.

Perhaps that’s romanticizing things. This is, after all, a big bottle of vodka. Hailing from Poland and distilled from rye, wheat, and barley grains, it’s 80 proof and finally available in the U.S. after a long-simmering launch in England. It’s also one of the most expensive bottles of vodka on the market.

Make no mistake: This is old-world vodka. The nose is pungent with medicinal character, and the body is moderate in weight, neither light nor very creamy. The grains lend an awful lot of character to the spirit, lending it the feel of a kind of antiseptic tonic. The bite on the finish has serious teeth, although it avoids being harsh or overwhelming.

A complicated, tricky spirit. Certainly overpriced at $60, but an intriguing detour for the vodka connoisseur who’s otherwise seen it all.

B+ / $60 / website currently reported as hacked

ULuvka Vodka Review: ULuvka Vodka

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Posted in Rated B+, Reviews, Vodka

Review: 2008 Soave from Rocca Sveva and Cantina di Monteforte

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Of all the wine regions due for a comeback, who’d have thought Soave would be next in line?

Soave has a bad rap. Hailing from the Veneto region of Italy northwest of Venice, Soave wines are made almost exclusively from the Garganega grape. Young and uncomplicated, Soave was popular in the 1970s Blue Nun/Black Tower/Lancer’s era, with Bolla Soave the standard-bearer of the time. Of course, none of these wines were any good, and that popularity sunk Soave as an oenophilic joke for decades.

Now the winemakers of Soave have regrouped and refocused their efforts on quality, and while Soave remains extremely affordable ($15 is about the most you’ll ever pay for this wine), it’s no longer the rotgut you might remember it as.

We had the opportunity to taste two Soaves from the new 2008 vintage, both proving that today’s Soave is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about.

2008 Cantina di Monteforte Re Teodorico Soave DOC – Crisp and full of citrus flavor. Reminds me of good Albarino. Some light vanilla notes in the finish. Really pleasant, fragrant, and easy drinking, and with a grapefruit kick to close things out. Give it a try. A- / $NA

2008 Rocca Sveva Soave Classico DOC – Woody, with a muted, more mellow character. Fine on its own, but compared to the Re Teodorico, it’s clearly the lesser wine. There’s mild tropical fruit and some perfume notes, but it’s lacking in power, and the acidity isn’t enough. Not bad, but not great. Probably what most people think about when they think about Soave. B / $15


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Posted in Rated A-, Rated B, Reviews, Wine

Review: Southern Comfort Lime

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Christopher Null| 8 Comments

It says on the bottle: “The classic reinvented.”

I suppose Southern Comfort is a classic. It’s got its own well-established nickname — SoCo — and the peach liqueur is called for in more cocktail recipes than you’d think.

What then to make of Southern Comfort Lime? Take some sweetened lime juice (like Rose’s) and add it to SoCo and you’ve got SoCo Lime. Imagine that SoCo sweetness plus the overwhelming tartness of lime juice.

It tastes like it sounds: Not really pleasant at all.

OK, I’m being charitable. The aroma alone is nauseating, and in your mouth it tastes like jet fuel. The lime is over-the-top, and that saccharine SoCo burn is overwhelming, redolent of menthol and gasoline. SoCo suggests drinking this on the rocks, but that’s a fool’s errand. Perhaps with lots of soda or ginger ale this could be palatable, but even that sounds like madness when much better mixing spirits are available. SoCo Lime is simply a bad idea. I don’t want to heap insult atop injury, but, seriously, if you need lime-flavored SoCo, I’m begging you: Buy a lime.

55 proof.

D- / $18 / southerncomfort.com

Southern Comfort Lime Review: Southern Comfort Lime

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Posted in Liqueurs, Rated D/F, Reviews

Review: DonQ Cristal and Anejo Rum

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Christopher Null| 5 Comments

DonQ is an unsung hero in the rum world, producing both some extremely inexpensive spirits as well as some highly-regarded, well-aged rums. Based in Puerto Rico, you’ll find these 80 proof rums just about everywhere.

Today we took a look at two of the less expensive, more widely-available offerings from the company.

DonQ Cristal Rum is a hot little number, produced in a Cuban style — aged for a year or more, and then filtered to remove the color and leave it clear. The rum is clean-tasting but quite hot, with a good bit of burn on the finish. The aroma offers wood and a little smoke, and the body is only minimally sweet with the aforementioned characteristics as secondary notes. If you’re a fan of simple rums without overwhelming sweetness — but which are nonetheless perfectly palatable on their own — DonQ Cristal is a winner at an amazing price. B+ / $10

DonQ Anejo Rum is aged from three to five years and is left with its color intact. The nose is sweet vanilla with wood backing it up. Still hot, though, but it’s mellowed out by the sweetness that the Cristal lacks. Hardly complicated but easy enough to sip on or mix with, it’s nonetheless a solid rum at this price level. B / $16

donq.com

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Posted in Rated B, Rated B+, Reviews, Rum