Buy It Now

Our Buy It Now category digests wine and spirits which you can purchase directly through one of our affiliates. You’ll find the “buy it now” link after the rating and price of the product.

Review: St. George Botanivore Gin

By Drew Beard | September 3, 2023 |

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to interview St. George Master Distiller, Lance Winters. I learned that whiskey got him into distilling back in the 1990s, but gin has since become a real passion, as much as any other spirit in his distillery’s wide-ranging portfolio. St. George offers not one, not two, but a…

Read More

Review: Riedel Cocktail-Specific Glassware

By Drew Beard | September 2, 2023 |

Over a decade ago, Riedel made us believers in the power of quality glassware to enhance our wine drinking experience. We should have expected nothing less from a centuries-old Austrian crystal maker whose motto is “The Wine Glass Company.” Fast forward to the present, when Riedel is applying its glassmaking expertise to a new line…

Read More

Review: Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Batch Proof 2023

By Christopher Null | September 2, 2023 |

While Woodford Reserve’s Batch Proof has been an annual release since 2018, we’ve reviewed it only once, in 2020. The whiskey isn’t designed to change dramatically from year to year, however. It’s a mingling of standard Woodford Reserve barrels all pulled into a single batch, then bottled at barrel — or, in this case —…

Read More

Review: Martell Cordon Bleu Cognac

By Christopher Null | September 1, 2023 |

While we’ve regularly covered Martell‘s various special edition Cognacs, we’ve never taken a stroll with Cordon Bleu, which sits just below Martell XO on the quality and price band. It’s made with a high proportion of Borderies eaux de vie, but otherwise Martell doesn’t offer a whole lot of information about the product. We won’t…

Read More

Review: 2021 Textbook Cabernet Sauvignons – Napa Valley and Paso Robles

By Christopher Null | August 28, 2023 |

When people say something’s a “textbook” example, we know exactly what they’re talking about — especially in the wine world. It’s a genius name for a wine brand, with Jonathan Pey and Abi Horstman blending California fruit with European-inspired winemaking to produce “textbook” examples of the most popular California varietals — with a particular focus…

Read More

Book Review: Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2024

By Rob Theakston | August 27, 2023 |

Unless you, gentle reader, are wearing workman’s overalls or carrying a bag or purse, fitting Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book anywhere on your person is a mildly amusing notion. Now in its 47th year of publication, this guide is incredibly comprehensive, checking in at over 300 pages. It is dense and immense with information on…

Read More

Review: Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2023 Edition

By Christopher Null | August 24, 2023 |

The release of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon — now 23 years running — marks the unofficial start of whiskey season (never mind Four Roses sneaking into the schedule a couple days early), and today’s release of OldFo Birthday Bourbon 2023 is no exception. As has long been the case, this is a 12 year old…

Read More

Review: Maestro Dobel Diamante Tequila (2023)

By Christopher Null | August 23, 2023 |

Fifteen years ago, Maestro Dobel did the unthinkable, coming from nowhere and creating a whole category of spirit — cristalino tequila. Maestro Dobel Diamond, as it was called at the time, was aged tequila (a blend of reposado, anejo, and extra anejo) that was filtered back to clear. It was different and exciting — and…

Read More

Review: Dewar’s The Champions Edition 19 Years Old (2023)

By Christopher Null | August 22, 2023 |

Dewar’s “Champions Edition” scotch continues its celebration of the 19th hole of golf — the bar, in case you didn’t know — with another annual release of this 19 year old blended Scotch, produced in collaboration with the U.S. Open. This is our third year running with the blend, following the 2022 and the inaugural…

Read More

Book Review: A Booze & Vinyl Christmas: Merry Music-and-Drink Pairings to Celebrate the Season

By Rob Theakston | August 21, 2023 |

At a previous place of employment, I was tasked with cataloging and reviewing the upcoming season’s wave of holiday albums in the middle of summer. It was a rather mind-numbing assignment, but as the lowest rung on the editorial ladder, it felt like a weird rite of passage. Nearly 15 years later, I find myself…

Read More