Christopher Null
Madera County’s Ficklin Vineyards is not just America’s oldest Port winery (established in 1946), it also seems to be the most highly awarded Port winery in the country, too, amassing a large collection of medals and stellar ratings. The company sent its most recent bottling of Old Vine Tinta Port, one of its most affordable…
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We’re back with another round with well-regarded Russian River winery Gary Farrell and its 2019 vintage releases of chardonnay and pinot noir. Let’s dive in. 2019 Gary Farrell Chardonnay Russian River Selection – This chardonnay is always a beautiful bottling and the 2019 vintage is no exception. Bright with fresh apple and a touch of gooseberry,…
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The titular invitation here is less unique than you’d think. It’s basically an invitation to, well, drink this whiskey, again a unique blend of bourbon and rye. What’s in the mix? Four different whiskeys, including: 2-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon 3-year-old 100% malted rye 5-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon 15-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Proportions are unstated, as…
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Alta Colina can be found in California’s Paso Robles region, and recently the winery sent us four of its new releases, overseen by new winemaker Molly Longborg, for review. All were tasted, unusually, from small sample bottles, not commercial bottles, though I don’t think that should overly influence this coverage. 2020 Alta Colina Grenache Blanc…
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Brown-Forman’s King of Kentucky brand is back with its fourth release. and like the 2020 and 2018 releases, it’s a 14 year old single barrel bottling made from a 79% corn, 11% rye, and 10% barley mash. Proof varies among the 33 barrels and 2700 bottles, from roughly 125 to 135. All of this is…
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Aguamiel is the sap of the agave plant. It’s the stuff they actually make pulque out of, not tequila, but let’s put that aside, since it’s still a pretty good name for a spirit. Aguamiel the tequila is made from a mix of Highlands and Lowlands agaves — 100% Weber, of course — from plants…
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Fort Worth’s Firestone & Robertson — aka F&R — is much better known by the branding for its most visible product: the TX Whiskey line. While we previously reviewed TX Blended Whiskey, the brand now has at least nine different expressions of whiskey on the market, most of them bourbon. Today we’re looking at two…
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In 2020 we mentioned how Seattle’s Westland is evolving its special edition whiskeys, expanding its Outpost Range to cover (eventually) three different expressions. At the core of these is Garryana, now in its 6th edition, which has long been an exploration of Quercus garryana, the rare oak indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. (The second edition…
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Two new releases from our friends at Sonoma-Cutrer, both Russian River bottlings from the 2019 vintage. 2019 Sonoma-Cutrer The Cutrer Chardonnay Russian River Valley – An aggressive, classically styled California chardonnay, loaded up with barrel-heavy vanilla, coconut, and baked apple notes. A note of sultry guava emerges as the finish approaches, toasted coconut notes lingering…
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Ready for two new expressions from the cream liqueur masters at Baileys — including it’s first “light” expression? We weren’t either, but we cracked them open all the same. Baileys Deliciously Light – So you want the decadence of Baileys, but not the calories (140 per 1.5-ounce serving, by the way)? You could consider the…
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