Crown Royal is no Johnny Come Lately in the whisky world — though I’ve had a vague grudge against the brand since my family was mistakenly and bizarrely charged for 11 glasses of said whisky at Tony’s in Houston, Texas. But who doesn’t love that little purple bag?

Crown Royal Reserve is, obviously, the reserve version of the classic Canadian blend. Re-released this month with a new design (and a fancy little gold bag). Formerly known as “Special Reserve,” the blend also gets a slightly new, less “Special” name. The recipe, however, is the same, a selection of less than 1 percent of the stock available to the company, notably including some spicy rye whisky.

Crown Royal Reserve is a very pleasant whisky, surprisingly easy to drink even without water. The heat is minimal, allowing you to focus on the spicy notes here: cinnamon and incense, and a surprisingly light touch of vanilla from the oak barrels. Finish is short but nicely sweet. Nothing too complex, but really quite compelling… and I keep going back to it.

Now I know how those mysterious guys ordered 11 of these things.

A- / $45 / crownroyal.com

Looking to get a little culture this fall? Check out San Francisco’s La Soiree, hosted by the French American Chamber of Commerce and commencing on November 22, 2008, 5:30 to 9:30pm.

There’s fine food, French wine, a fashion show, and a silent auction — including a $5,500 Club Med vacation and a 15-day Rail Europe pass!

Definitely looks like a good time — some pictures of last year’s event are attached below. Get a babysitter and take the spouse out for a night on the town… Francais style!

Get all the details here. I’ll be there — be sure to say hi!

In case you haven’t been reading your glossy magazines, the venerable Canadian Club is working on a comeback, with retro ads touting the whiskey as what “your dad drank” in a broad appeal to both your machismo and your father complex. Sure enough, though, if you check Dad’s liquor cabinet, he’s probably got a half-consumed bottle of the Club in there, likely bottled around 1974.

Celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, Canadian Club sent a bottle of the Classic 12, (aka just Canadian Club Classic), a step up from the traditional Canadian Club, which is aged for just six years.

80 proof and obviously blended with care, it’s a very light and generally harmless whiskey. The flavor is muted. The finish is very short. What’s there is traditional whiskey notes of honey and some light flower character. Not much to it. Drink it with water and you may feel like you’re sipping iced tea. (Hmmm… maybe that’s why dad drank so much of it.)

That said, who’s going to argue with the likes of Al Capone, who counted Canadian Club as his favorite tipple?

B- / $17 / canadianclubwhisky.com

Eades, makers of the Double Malt series of whiskys (which I’ve not yet tried), has broken ground on its bold new whisky distillery project to be located in… Virginia, USA. The Virginia Distillery Company will grow its own barley, malt it, and use local water to make whisky in the style of traditional Scotch. The single malt whisky will be aged for a minimum of five years, and half the production will be stored for future, longer-aged releases.

We’re many, many years away from that first sample… but here are some photos of the construction, along with some of the equipment (including the stills) being shipped over from Scotland. Looking forward to tasting the whisky… in 2015! (More info available here.)

Yesterday I consumed in two hours more Alsatian wines than I’d had in my entire life up to that point. You’re probably a lot like me: Aside from the occasional bottle of Hugel or Trimbach, you rarely, if ever, encounter wine from the region.

Situated in the mountains between France and Germany, Alsace is known for aromatic, fruity white wine like Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Blanc. Yesterday I had the chance to try 21 different wines from the region, paired with 7 different American cheeses.

The tasting was led by San Francisco Chronicle writer Janet Fletcher, who may very well have the only column on cheese to be printed in a major U.S. newspaper. (It’s a must-read for foodies, check it out here.)

Fletcher used her prodigious knowledge to walk us through seven very different cheeses at The Cheese School of San Francisco, inviting us to pair them with various wines (five flights’ worth) to see what combinations we could find that worked well, and what didn’t.

It was astonishing to see how wine and cheese can complement each other. For example, I didn’t like a soft cow’s milk cheese, Pianoforte from Andante Dairy, at all on its own (too bitter), but when paired with almost any wine from the event it really brought out sweet and salty flavors in an amazing way. With wine it was a favorite of the event.

Another fave was the Bayley Hazen raw cow’s milk blue cheese from Jasper Hill Farm; the saltiness was great with most of the wines, but then again I’m a sucker for blue cheese of all types. I had less luck with wine and the raw cow’s milk Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese: This cheese was phenomenal on its own, a buttery, mellow, and nutty aged cheese… but no wine would work with it and my palate. (A server whispered to me that I should try it with beer.) Really amazing to see how some cheese works only on its own, some only with a little vino.

Other good matches: crumbly Redwood Hill Farm Crottin (goat milk) with Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris; a tart Carr Valley Cave-Aed Marisa (sheep milk) with Gewurztraminer; cheddar-like Bravo Farms Silver Mountain (raw cow milk) with Pinot Blanc; and the brine-aged, mushroomy Meadow Creek Dairy Grayson (raw cow milk) also with Pinot Gris.

As for the wines, tasting them both alone and with cheese was a really unique and enjoyable experience. I’ve tried to offer ratings based on the wines’ own merits… but of course that’s tricky with 20 plates of cheese surrounding you. As always, I’ve tried to be as honest and fair as possible and apologize for typos.

Some general thoughts: Alsace’s sparkling wine, Cremant d’Alsace, is a solid, very dry wine that any sparkling fan should enjoy. Lucien Albrecht’s was my favorite, with more fruit than the others. Favorites popped out here and there in the five flights (spaces indicate flights below), with Albrecht’s buttery Pinot Blanc and Martin Schaezel’s Riesling both impressing. But it was Domaine Roland Schmitt’s Pinot Gris that really won the day, a perfectly balanced wine with acid, fruit, herbs, and flowers all in harmony — a steal at 21 bucks a bottle.

Things went downhill a bit from there. The Gewurztraminers were all disappointing (Schlumberger’s was palatable at least), and I am happy now to say that I’ve tried Alsatian red wine, if only so I need not try it again.

Alsatain Wine / American Cheese - Complete Tasting Report

NV, Domaine Ehrhart, “Cremant d’Alsace, Cuvee Prestige”, $17.00 / B+
NV, Lucien Albrecht, “Cremant d’Alsace, Blanc de Blancs Brut”, $17.00 / A-
NV, Rene Mure, Cremant d’Alsace, $19.00 / B

2007, Gisselbrecht, Pinot Blanc, $15.00 / B
2006, Lucien Albrecht, Pinot Blanc Reserve Balthazar, $13.00 / A-
2003, Andre Kientzler, Pinot Blanc, $13.00 / B
2003, Albert Boxler, Pinot Blanc Reserve, $25.00 / A-
2005, Dirler, Sylvaner Cuvee Vielles Vignes, $26.00 / B+
2006, Meyer-Fonne, Muscat, Vignoble de Katzenthal, $22.00 / B+

2006, Martin Schaetzel, Riesling Cuvee Reserve, $21.00 / A-
2006, Huber & Bleger, Riesling, $17.00 / B
2005, Trimbach, Riesling, $18.00 / B+
2004, Domaine Welty, Riesling, $16.00 / A-

2007, Domaine Roland Schmitt, Pinot Gris, $21.00 / A
2004, Cave de Ribeauville, Pinot Gris Grand Cru Gloeckelberg, $40.00 / B+
2002, Domaine Eugene Meyer, Pinot Gris, $23.00 / B-
2006, Hugel Pere & Fils, Gewurtztraminer, $22.00 / C+
2005, Dirler, Gewurtztraminer Bux Reserve, $35.00 / C+
2004, Domaines Schlumberger, Gewurtztraminer Fleur, $21.00 / B

2005, Domaine Klingenfus, Pinot Noir Cuvee Elodie, $28.00 / D
2004, Domaine Allimant-Laugner, Pinot Noir, $18.00 / D+

Each year the distilling masters and Buffalo Trace release limited-release whiskeys that connoisseurs will want to seek out. This year’s five whiskeys, rarities that may not see store shelves come 2009, are all worth exploring in depth.

Some notes on each of the five (all officially 2008 releases) follow. (They are pictured in the order reviewed below, from left to right.) Each has a suggested retail price of $65 (though prices will vary based on demand). They are NOT sold as a set.

Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old - Classic, super-spicy rye, with a sugary kick. Too hot to drink straight (though a “mere” 90 proof in this lineup), it goes down a little too easily with a splash of water. Not as complex as I’d hoped, 18 years might be a little too long in the cask for a rye. Hard to say. Still, it’s a compelling spirit — definitely a good rye for the bourbon enthusiast. B+

Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Bourbon - An extremely appealing bourbon, 90 proof, showing sweet honey laced with very light wood notes. Smooth finish, especially with water. About as perfect as it gets, I can’t really say anything else about it except to go get some. Now. A

George T. Stagg Bourbon - At 141.8 proof, this bourbon, aged 15 years, is a hunka hunka burning love. Emphasis on the burning. The nose is heavy with molasses and lots of wood. The wood follows over to the glass, so if oak is what you’re after, Staff should be in your glass. The darkest spirit in the bunch, this bittersweet bourbon has more complexity than most, with a complicated, lingering finish that always harkens back to the wood. A-

William Larue Weller Bourbon - Another appealing, super-hot wheat-based whiskey, this one aged 11 years (and two months) and topping out at 125.3 proof. (The last 0.3 is the killer!) Loaded with vanilla and Christmas spices, it’s maybe the sweetest bourbon in the lineup, though I preferred the Eagle Rare’s balance just a touch more. A-

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac - One last rye, this one far younger than the Sazerac 18 Year at just six years, five months in cask. Proof is another blazing hot one: 127.5, too alcoholic to sip straight but immensely approachable with water. Warming and smooth, it’s got less whiskey-ness, for lack of a better word, but this would be an amazing spirit for cocktails, particularly its namesake Sazerac. B+

greatbourbon.com

Leave it to folks in my home town of Houston to buck the trend and introduce the opposite of what everyone else is doing: Drank’s tagline is “slow your roll” and it’s an anti-energy drink. Instead of caffeine, guarana, and taurine, it’s loaded with Valerian Root (10mg), Rose Hips (10mg), and melatonin (1mg), all designed to slow you down and make you sleepy.

I tried a can last night. I’m not sure if it was the stuff inside or the fact that it’d been a long day, but indeed my roll had been slowed. After finishing about half the can I was nodding off after 20 minutes. I woke up in the middle of the night at about 3am, but finally got back to sleep soon after. This morning I’m feeling pretty good, relaxed and energetic. Whether it’s legit or all psychosomatic I don’t know, but I’m keeping another can on standby just in case I need a legal, non-alcoholic downer.

I love the idea of Drank, but I’m unsure on the execution. The day-glo purple beverage tastes a lot like energy drinks (I’d hoped for something a little more sedated), but with more grape soda character (and maybe some flowers?). It is also loaded with 27 grams of sugar: That can’t help you sleep, can it?

The can is also enormous. While typical energy drinks come in 8 ounce cans, Drank is in a 16 ounce tall boy. Polishing off this entire can was a simple impossibility in my trudge toward bedtime.

Of course, this ain’t drankhacker… and I’m willing to accept I may not be in the target market for beverages targeted at gangsta culture. But hey, if it’s good enough for Three 6 Mafia, it’s probably good enough for all of us. Those guys have Oscars, after all.

B+ / $3 (16 oz. can) / drankbeverage.com

It takes guts to name your vodka after a shape.

This 84-proof spirit hails from Austria, where it is distilled from wheat using a patented process that makes it, per the company, “the only structured vodka worldwide.” My understanding of this “structuring” system is limited, but Oval says it’s an entirely new way of making vodka that involves mixing alcohol with water in a special way. There is a 3-D chart on the website and a video explaining this, so it must be true, right?

The company also actually suggests Oval not be consumed ice cold but at 57 to 59 degrees, saying that freezing temps “hide all its aromas and repress the taste receptors.” (The company also says “you should not mix Oval with anything else,” which will unfortunately lock out about 95 percent of the vodka-drinking universe. If you must have something with it, the company recommends water… in a separate glass.) UPDATE: Oval writes to note that this advice appears only for the benefit of Oval drinkers on its European site and that U.S. drinkers are welcome to mix and drink it ice cold!

I tried it both ways, of course.

Finally to the tasting! There’s a strong almond nuttiness to the flavor and the nose, and both are indeed more pronounced when it’s a little warmer in the glass. Lightly sweet on the palate, it gives way to a pleasantly light finish, vaguely medicinal but quite easy going down. Drinking it warm vs. cold? Frankly I’d go with it cold, the old-fashioned way, though it isn’t bad after several minutes warming up, either.

A final word on the bottle, which is a unique, oval-ish pyramid. It looks cool (and was designed by LUCY.D), but I was sad that a few hours in the freezer caused my bottle to develop a large hairline crack. Nothing is leaking thankfully, but for a company that stakes its reputation on “structure” (and is accordingly priced), that’s decidedly unfortunate.

B+ / $40 / ovalvodka.com

Cherry Heering has always been one of cocktaildom’s most puzzling spirits. Bartending books regularly call it either Peter Heering or Cherry Heering, sometimes in the same tome, leading novices to wonder if there is more than one kind of Heering out there. To compound matters further, the bottle itself just reads “Heering.” Beneath that you’ll find “Original Cherry Liqueur… bottled by Peter F. Heering.” Neither of the common names for the liqueur actually appear on the label!

Cherry Heering (which is what the company calls it, so we’ll call it that too) has been around since 1818 and stakes its claim as “the original cherry brandy.” The Danish concoction is regularly called-for as a branded ingredient in cocktails, and it’s really the best way to add both red coloring and cherry flavor to a drink recipe. I daresay it’s the best cherry liqueur you can get: The clear Maraschino liqueur has a strange minty flavor to it; though since it’s clear it works well in many cocktails where you don’t want color. Kirschwasser, at its typical 90 proof, is far more burn than Bing.

Heering is a mere 48 proof and a lovely shade of crimson. The aroma of Heering has more in common with Port wne than it does with cherry elixir, and that wine-like character extends into the flavor. It’s all due to the dark Stevens cherries used for the juice and the oak-aging of the liqueur for up to five years before it’s bottled. Smooth and less sweet than you’d think, it’s not medicinal at all, and really plays to the strengths of the fruit. Heering is even palatable on its own (try it chilled), though sipping liqueurs solo is a fool’s game. Really, Cherry Heering is most impressive in cocktails, and I’m now even pondering whether to replace it in my cherished Casino recipe, color be damned.

The weird thing is that Heering says it is reintroducing the brand in the U.S. this fall to take advantage of the classic cocktail craze and jump-start sales again. I’m told the packaging has been redesigned… so I put the new bottle against one that’s been in my collection for years. The new bottle is on the left. If you can spot any differences (color variations are due solely to lighting conditions), you’re a better man than I am. (UPDATE: Turns out the old bottle, shown at the top of the post, was used from introduction through 1995.) The good news, I’m promised, is that the recipe remains unchanged. Cherrs! I mean cheers!

A- / $25 / heering.com

Wine in a box doesn’t have the most savory reputation, and for good reason: Most of it is awful plonk.

Boho Vineyards is a welcome change to that equation, offering a three-liter box of not-at-all-bad Chardonnay that you can stow in your refrigerator so it’s always at the ready. The sell: three liters equals four bottles of wine, and in a box it takes up far less space and uses far fewer natural resources to create. The 20 glasses of wine inside also last much longer than bottled wine since air can’t get in: Boho promises six weeks of freshness, vs. the spare day or two you’ll get with an open bottle stuck in the fridge.

I tried the company’s 2006 Central Coast Chardonnay (it’s not some anonymous blend of random grapes) and found it quite palatable, so much so that we’re still sipping from the cask a week after tapping it, and it tastes just as fresh today as it did back then. The wine itself is not going to blow your doors off. It’s a crisp, lightly oaked California Chardonnay, vibrant grape and apple acidity with a mild finish. It’s overall a very simple wine for sipping before dinner or with a lighter meal.

At $24 per box, that’s the equivalent of $6 a bottle. And while there are a few palatable $6 Chardonnays out there, Boho’s enviro-sell might very well seal the deal, especially if you need a lot of wine for a big event or, say, to make a white sangria. Give it a try.

B / $24 / bohovineyards.com