Author Archives: Christopher Null

Review: White Wines of Stony Hill, 2013 Releases

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Stony Hill Vineyard is located in Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain AVA, where it specializes in white wines, particularly its award-winning Chardonnay. We sampled three of its latest releases for the 2013 drinking season. Thoughts follow.

2010 Stony Hill Chardonnay Napa Valley – Lemon, honeysuckle, and intriguing woody notes on the nose lead to a complex body, moderate in mouthfeel with light acidity. Here you find lots of orange and lemon notes, some honey — an almost Sauternes hint — midway through the finish. Don’t worry, it’s not a sugar bomb: The conclusion is dry and inviting, the honey character building on the nose as it warms in the glass. A real knockout. A / $42

Continue reading “Review: White Wines of Stony Hill, 2013 Releases” »

→ Leave a comment

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

Wine & Beer Gadget Roundup

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Lately we’ve received a whole bunch of “stocking stuffer” sized gadgets suitable for wine and beer fanatics. Rather than review them individually, we’re rounding them up here in a mega-gizmo post. Thoughts follow.

Hermetus Bottle Opener & Resealer – Sometimes you don’t want to drink that entire half-liter of beer, but if you’ve pried off the crown cap, what do you do next? The Hermetus is several gadgets in one, but the most noteworthy is that it reseals beer bottles. Just slide the lip of the bottle through the aluminum groove as far as you can: The groove pushes it against a rubber pad and seals it tight. Turn it upside down, shake it up, no worries — the beer won’t come out. It works on both U.S. and Euro bottles, and it includes a standard opener as well as a claw-like opener designed to help with stubborn twist-offs, too. Instructions engraved on the reverse remind you of all of this in case you’ve had too much. A / $9 kaufmann-mercantile.com

Continue reading “Wine & Beer Gadget Roundup” »

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Barware, Rated A, Rated B+, Rated B-, Rated C+, Reviews

Review: The Pink Pigeon Original Rum

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Christopher Null| 1 Comment

Rum is a spirit imbued with exoticism. It comes from places in tour guides like Barbados. Panama. Martinique.

Pink Pigeon puts all of that to shame. It is born in Mauritius, which I guarantee you will never find on a map. It’s here: A speck of an island over 1000 miles off the southeast coast of Africa — out there beyond Madagascar.

Continue reading “Review: The Pink Pigeon Original Rum” »

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

Review: House Spirits Westward Oregon Straight Malt Whiskey

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

House Spirits, the makers of Aviation Gin, has expanded into the whiskey world, and they aren’t messing around. Westward is a very small-batch 100% single malt whiskey made from locally sourced (Pacific Northwest) barley. Westward Oregon Straight Malt is fermented with Scottish and American ale yeasts, then double pot distilled. The spirit is aged in full-size, new American oak barrels for two years.

Continue reading “Review: House Spirits Westward Oregon Straight Malt Whiskey” »

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Rated A, Reviews, Whiskey

Review: Shock Top’s (Unbuyable) Campfire Wheat Beer

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

There’s no picture to this review because this beer is not for sale. You can try it — available on tap only — in extremely limited quantities at beer festivals around the country this year. Want to find this stuff? Try the San Francisco International Beer Festival on April 27, or the American Beer Classic in Chicago on May 11, 2013. Check Shock Top’s Facebook page for more info — and information on two more festival-only exclusive beers coming out later this year.

Campfire Wheat is perhaps the most outrageous beer I’ve ever encountered. An unfiltered ale, it is brewed with graham wheat, chocolate malts, and marshmallow flavor. It is then aged over cocoa nibs before being sealed into kegs. What’s this all mean? Well, if the ingredient list doesn’t tip you off, think harder: It’s s’mores. S’mores beer. S’mores, turned into a beer.

Continue reading “Review: Shock Top’s (Unbuyable) Campfire Wheat Beer” »

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Beer, Rated D/F, Reviews

Review: Mangria

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Christopher Null| 1 Comment

We’ve covered celebrity wine. Celebrity vodka. Celebrity Cognac. Even celebrity tequila.

This is definitively the first and likely the only celebrity sangria that we’ll ever see.

Mangria comes to us courtesy of sangria-lover Adam Carolla, who’s apparently still working the “man” angle on just about everything. Like Mansinthe, it’s a horrible name for a product, but it’s so insane it just might work.

Continue reading “Review: Mangria” »

Posted in Rated D/F, Reviews, Wine

Review: Dry Fly Distilling Triticale Whiskey and Port Finish Wheat Whiskey

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Washington state’s Dry Fly Distilling recently launched a line of specialty whiskeys (and an aged gin) called the Creel Collection. These exotic spirits offer no age statements and are available only in half-size bottles. We sampled two of the five offerings. Thoughts follow.

Dry Fly Distilling Straight Triticale Whiskey – Triticale isn’t a very sexy name that rolls off the tongue, but this rye/wheat hybrid developed in Scotland in the 1800s is as unique a whiskey as you’re likely to find. The nose is young — grainy and rustic, but far from rough. Those grain notes evolve in the glass to release some fruit flavors on the body — cherry notes, some apple — plus a touch of wood. All the while that graininess hangs on, leaving a bit of cereal on the finish and just a touch of spice, sweetening up as you sip on. 88 proof. B+ / $36 (375ml)

Continue reading “Review: Dry Fly Distilling Triticale Whiskey and Port Finish Wheat Whiskey” »

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Rated A, Rated B+, Reviews, Whiskey

Review: NV Pink Panda and 2007 Naked Rebel Red Wine

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Targeting a clearly younger, more modern, and cost-conscious drinker, Naked Rebel is a new brand that’s offering two wines at launch. One is quite good. Thoughts on both follow.

NV Pink Panda – “Sparkling grape wine with natural flavors.” Say what? There’s really no telling whats in this ultra-fruity concoction — it is reportedly a demi-sec rose of Alexander Valley Pinot — considering how full of strawberry and heavy rose-petal-perfume notes it is. In the quest to come across as playful, those “natural flavors” (a term typically reserved for wines heavily spiked with fruit juice) basically just come across as brutish and juvenile. Not really drinkable beyond a few sips. D / $18

2007 Naked Rebel California Red Wine – Don’t try to sift through the white-on-black-all-caps on the back of the bottle. This blend of Syrah and Oakville Cabernet is fairly delish without the verbiage. Touches of smoke on the nose lead to a plummy, Cab-heavy body that is heavy on the fruit. Now six years old, its tannins have faded enough to make things well integrated and reasonably balanced, though the relatively light body has trouble offering up much in the way of secondary notes. B+ / $20

nakedrebelwinery.com

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Rated B+, Rated D/F, Reviews, Wine

Review: Dogfish Head Aprihop IPA

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Why brewers keep putting apricots in their beers I’ll never know. If asked to choose a fruit to eat, the apricot will invariably be the last on my list. Fresh or dried. Meh.

Aprihop is Dogfish Head’s IPA, brewed using the fruit that dare not speak its name and finished with whole leaf hops. Up front it’s got solid bitterness, with lots of heavy apricot notes on top. Almost overwhelming, these fruity bits blow off after a few minutes and leave behind a more gentle fruitiness.

Still, the sizable hop character and the somewhat sickly sweet apricot notes never quite mesh. The finish is long and ultimately turns sour, coating the mouth. The only cure is another slug, which brings enough bitterness to wash it away. Rinse and repeat.

7% abv.

B / $3 per bottle / dogfish.com

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Beer, Rated B, Reviews

Tagged drinkwire

Review: Indio Beer

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Indio: Not from India, but from Mexico. Born south of the border in 1893, Indio only made it to the U.S. in 2012, courtesy of owner Heineken (which makes Tecate, Dos Equis, Sol, and a ton of other familiar beers in the same brewery). Now that Indio’s here, how’s it taste?

This curious, darker Mexican lager is at first appealing. The body is brisk, mildly bitter but nutty and lightly earthy — corn husks, perhaps? Things go along well enough until the finish, which gets progressively more and more bitter — too much so, really. This finish is not so much hoppy as it is weedy and vegetal, almost acrid in some bottles that I encountered. Quality seems to be erratic and the beer, overall, is just so-so.

B- / $8 per 6-pack / facebook.com/IndioBeer

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Beer, Rated B-, Reviews

Tagged drinkwire

Tasting Report: Whiskies of the World Expo San Francisco 2013

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Christopher Null| 2 Comments

Either Whiskies of the World is getting bigger or I’m getting slower. Looking at the list below you’d think I scoured this increasingly high-quality event from top to bottom. In reality I barely scratched the surface, completely missing tastings from Kavalan, Amrut, Tyrconnell, and more. Note to self next year: Focus!

Brief thoughts on everything I sampled at the event follow.

Tasting Report: Whiskies of the World San Francisco 2013

American Whiskey

Hirsch Small Batch Reserve Bourbon / A / great vanilla, butterscotch character
Old Medley 12 Years Old Bourbon / B / big wood, some spice
Willett Pot Still Reserve Bourbon / B+ / lots of grain influence, dry wood
High West Rendezvous Rye / B+ / interesting dill notes
Lost Spirits Leviathan II / B+ / similar to the original, a monster peat bog
Lost Spirits Ouroboros Cask #1 / A- / crazy, smoke collides with fruit in a big way (full review coming soon)
Corsair Artisan Quinoa Whiskey / B / big grains, fiery nose

Scotch

Arran Sauternes Finish / A- / big almond influence, malty
Bruichladdich The Sixteen / A- / chewy, nougat, slight woodiness
Chieftain’s Miltonduff 1989 22 Years Old / B+ / huge fire, citrus notes
Chieftain’s Craigellachie 1991 21 Years Old / B+ / relatively easy/simple
Glenglassaugh North American Exclusive 27 Years Old / A / a big whiskey, tons of power, depth
Glenmorangie Ealanta / A- / unpeated 19 year old whiskey that’s spent its life in virgin, unused casks; lots of Bourbon and vanilla character, chocolate
Douglas Laing Dailvaine 28 Years Old / B+ / lots of smoke of front, some tobacco, wood
Douglas Laing Inchgower 30 Years Old / A- / huge cotton candy, caramel notes
Gordon and MacPhail Ledaig St. Joseph Finish 1993 / B+ / smoldering, chewy, dry finish
Gordon and MacPhail Speymalt Macallan 21 Years Old / A- / big, chewy Mac
Gordon and MacPhail Old Pulteney 21 Years Old / A / great balance, some fruit, vanilla, cookies
Muirhead’s Silver Seal Speyside 1992 Limited Edition 20 Years Old / B+ / big grain character
Samaroli Bunnahabhain 1978 / C+ / sweaty, not drinking well
Samaroli Caol Ila Selezione Samaroli Top Class 1980 / B+ / big, peaty, chewy
Samaroli Glen Garioch 1990 / B / minty, a bit odd
Samaroli Evolution Selezione 2011 / A- / not feeling the usual awesomeness tonight
Samaroli Glen Scotia 1992 / B / leathery, coal fires
Samaroli Isle of Jura 1997 / B+ / fiesty, gritty
Samaroli Tomintoul Selezione Samaroli Top Class 1967 / A- / malty, surprisingly light; gingerbread finish
Old Pulteney 17 Years Old / A- / 17 years all in sherry casks, intense citrus and nuts
Old Pulteney 21 Years Old / A / great body, rich nougat character
Old Pulteney 30 Years Old / A / lovely and rich, a standout
Talisker 30 Years Old / B+ / smoke and sweet, well-melded
Tomatin 30 Years Old / B+ / silky, then a brooding finish

Other Whiskeys

Bushmills 21 Years Old / B+ / lots of grain influence
Nikka 15 Years Old / A- / light, delightful smoke and sweetness

Posted in Reviews, Whiskey

Review: Lovoka Caramel Liqueur

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

In its minimalist, narrow, aluminum bottle, the immediate assumption is that this is water for your bike ride, not a kooky liqueur — based on vodka and flavored with caramel.

Available in three flavors (including chocolate and “silk”), Lovoka (la-vah-cah) is an incredibly popular South African “vodka liqueur” that recently expanded distribution internationally. It’s now also being made under license in Fairfield, California (noteworthy as the home of the closest Chick-fil-A to San Francisco), the base for its U.S. distribution. While the dessert theme may throw you, be advised these are not cream-based liqueurs. The caramel (the first to be sold in the U.S. and the only one we tasted) is the color of light whiskey. Which is to say, caramel colored.

Continue reading “Review: Lovoka Caramel Liqueur” »

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Liqueurs, Rated B, Reviews

Tagged drinkwire

Review: Cheribundi Cherry Juice Mixers

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Forget acai and yumberries. Cheribundi is doubling down on good old fashioned cherries as a juice and a cocktail mixer. We sampled a flotilla of cherry juice-based concoctions. Thoughts follow.

Cheribundi Cherry Juice – 100% juice (mostly cherry, with a bit of apple juice added for sweetness), so you better prepare your palate for the tart rush of authentic, smashed cherries. (The company says there are 50 cherries in an 8 oz. mini-bottle. Sour-sweet, authentic, and a big rush of fruit. Use sparingly as a mixer. 130 calories. A- / $12 for four 8 oz. bottles

Continue reading “Review: Cheribundi Cherry Juice Mixers” »

→ Leave a comment

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

Tagged drinkwire

Review: Harvest Spirits Core Vodkas, Liqueurs, and Brandies

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Harvest Spirits Farm Distillery, in Valatie, New York, focuses like so many other operations in this region on using local fruits to produce artisinal, farm-to-bottle spirits. The lineup below represents a full farmers’ market of goodies. Thoughts on the bulk of Harvest Spirits’ production follow.

Continue reading “Review: Harvest Spirits Core Vodkas, Liqueurs, and Brandies” »

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Brandy, Flavored Vodka, Liqueurs, Rated A-, Rated B+, Rated C+, Rated D/F, Reviews, Vodka

Review: Absolut Hibiskus Vodka

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Hibiscus flowers are the improbable Next Big Thing in spirits flavoring, and now Absolut is getting into the business with this new vodka, continuing the succession of equally improbably-spelled liquors.

Absolut Hibiskus is infused not just with hibiscus flower but also with pomegranate, a wise choice that gives this vodka some much-needed sweetness. Absolut’s flavored vodkas, bottled at 80 proof, tend to be a bit burly and rough around the edges, making their flavor components somewhat difficult to perceive well.

Continue reading “Review: Absolut Hibiskus Vodka” »

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Flavored Vodka, Rated B, Reviews, Vodka

Tagged drinkwire

Review: Angel’s Envy Rye Whiskey

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Angel’s Envy is one of the best affordable Bourbons on the market, and now its mad master distiller, Lincoln Henderson, is raising expectations again with Angel’s Envy Rye, one of the best rye whiskeys on the market.

The mashbill will likely sound familiar to regular readers — 95% rye and 5% malted barley — the signature grain blend you’ll find in ryes from Bulleit, Dickel, and just about everyone else in the business who’s sourcing whiskey from LDI in Indiana (though AE will not confirm this). But as with AE Bourbon, Henderson has tricks up his sleeve to make this otherwise commodity whiskey his own. To wit: He finishes six-year-old rye (older than most already) for 18 additional months in Caribbean rum casks. (Those casks in turn began as Cognac barrels, making Angel’s Envy stop #3 on the road to boozedom. The Cognac is originally from Ferrand; the rum is a 10-plus year old bottling from Barbados, part of Ferrand’s Plantation Rum XO 20th Anniversary release.)

Continue reading “Review: Angel’s Envy Rye Whiskey” »

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Rated A, Reviews, Rye, Whiskey

Review: Three Olives “Loopy” Vodka

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Not getting enough froot in your diet? Now you can up your intake with one of the nuttiest vodka flavors to hit the market yet: Three Olives’ “Loopy” Vodka.

Designed specifically to taste (and look) like a certain breakfast cereal, Loopy is unmistakable when you crack open the bottle. The aroma of sugared, berry-flavored cereal is dead-on uncanny as you pour out a glass. Whoever concocted this flavor (it’s natural, people!) deserves a medal.

Continue reading “Review: Three Olives “Loopy” Vodka” »

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Flavored Vodka, Rated B-, Reviews, Vodka

Tagged drinkwire

Review: Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Sammy Hagar conquered rock music. Then he conquered tequila. Then Mexican food. Now: Rum.

The liquor mogul is expanding into the rum business courtesy of this tropics-friendly bottling, a white rum made from first-press Hawaiian sugar cane that is pot-distilled in small batches. It’s aged for two years, then filtered to remove color.

Continue reading “Review: Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum” »

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Rated B, Reviews, Rum

Review: Four Roses 2013 Limited Edition Single Barrel Bourbon

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

This year’s Single Barrel release from Four Roses trots out the OBSK (high-rye) recipe at 13 big years of age.

Slightly older than the usual Single Barrel bottlings (typically 11 or 12 years old), this release is a monster whiskey. If you’ve been waiting for something incredibly bold from Four Roses, wait no longer.

Four Roses 2013 Single Barrel is a bruiser, punchy with cinnamon, big wood notes (particularly heavy on the nose), and a long, sweet, applesauce finish. Bold and spicy on the finish, this whiskey doesn’t let up. Moments after the sweetness starts to fade, a big, Bing cherry note jumps out at you, leaving this whiskey, woody up front, with a distinctly fruity finish. Unique and lots of fun, it’s altogether another winner in a long string of outstanding spirits from Four Roses.

Sample bottles were bottled at a fiery 120 proof — water was a huge help in coaxing out the Bourbon’s most interesting notes. Actual bottle proof will be considerably lower: 100.6 to 114.4 proof, depending on the barrel. 4000 bottles will be released this April.

A / $80 / fourrosesbourbon.com

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Bourbon, Rated A, Reviews, Whiskey

Review: Belaya Rus Vodka

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

This Belarusian vodka dates back to 1993, and hails from a 100-year-old distillery in Minsk. Distilled six times “for your pleasure” from a blend of 75% rye and 25% winter wheat, this budget brand offers lots of quality plus Eastern European street cred.

Belaya Rus (literally “White Russian”) is surprisingly easy, especially considering its birth in a former Soviet nation. The nose offers a bracing medicinal character balanced with sweetness — more like a sweet cream than typical sugar. On the tongue, more of the same, but leaning more toward the sweet side. The finish brings in some vanilla notes, and some slight nuttiness.

Those anticipating a bracing, Stoli-like character will find this a far different experience, milder, sweeter, and easier to both sip on and mix with. At all of 11 bucks a bottle, that’s a tough value to ignore.

80 proof.

A- / $11 / belayarusvodka.com

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Rated A-, Reviews, Vodka

Tagged drinkwire