Rob Theakston
King of Kentucky returns just in time for the beginning of Big Bourbon Season (aka “autumn”) and like its 2019 sibling, arrives aged 15 years. The mashbill remains the same (79% corn, 11% rye and 10% malted barley), but the good news is they’ve increased the output from 2700 bottles in 2021 to 3500 this…
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Camper English’s Doctors and Distillers can be construed as a history book. However, the problem with that designation is that it invokes imagery of starched-shirt history teachers hell-bent on the recitation of dates, names, endless quizzes, essays, and obscure characters on the peripherals of history. English does an excellent job diving deep into the symbiotic…
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Nestled in the Uco Valley region of the Mendoza province of Argentina, the legendary Paul Hobbs has quietly delivered one pleasing bottle after another under the Viña Cobos moniker. Much like siblings Bramare and Felino, Reptil promises to hold attention and offers some of the best the region has to offer. Let’s find out. Complex…
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On one of my first press jaunts as a doe-eyed, aspiring whisky scribe, I sat on a bus next to Chuck Cowdery, someone whom I regard and respect as a true statesman of the profession to this day. We were discussing Kentucky (I was fairly new to the Commonwealth at the time), and he leaned…
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For his second book of 2022, Andre Darlington takes a detour from the pleasurable Booze & Vinyl series, taking the dominant focus off making cocktails for a few hundred pages, and examining the possibilities of how higher-end bar food can enhance a proper night in while mixing drinks. Obviously, a few cocktail recipes are included…
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Earlier this month, Robert took an in-depth look at three recent offerings from Banfi, an Italian producer offering a variety of wines at a wide range of price points and styles. For an encore, we’re pouring a glass of the 2017 Banfi Brunello. Bright and lively, the nose provides a perfect balance of earthy and…
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Aimed at the beginning or aspirational mixologist who can sort of craft an Old Fashioned or G&T, Zoe Burgess’ The Cocktail Cabinet offers up a comprehensive orientation to some of the most fundamental cocktails, plus with a few refreshing twists along the way. Burgess takes time, about a fourth of the book, to explain the…
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As I write this review longhand during a summer heatwave-induced power blackout, it is quite uncomfortable outside. The heat index surpassed triple digits before noon, humidity is swamp thick, and there is zero sign of relief until well into the evening hours. I’m sure this is a scene familiar to many, and it is another…
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We are big fans of Chalk Hill around these parts, and with good reason: It’s one of the more engaging and consistent vineyards in the Sonoma region. But don’t just take my word for it: Chris has been shouting about their greatness for years now, most recently with its 2020 Estate Sauvignon Blanc. Today we…
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2Hawk swoops in (sorry) via the Rogue Valley of southern Oregon, 81% Malbec, 19% co-fermented Cabernet Franc & Merlot, aged 21 months in 29% new, 30% 2-year old, and 41% neutral French oak. Like other Malbecs originating stateside, this is quite fruit-forward up front with notes of plum and raspberry and a secondary layer of…
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