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: Pure Kentucky XO Bourbon

By Christopher Null | January 11, 2009 |

With its big, fat bottle and giant picture of Kentucky on the label, Pure Kentucky doesn’t look from a distance like anything you’d slap an “XO” label on, even as a joke. But this is real, serious bourbon, a whiskey that sweet tooths will love and other bourbon fans can also enjoy. Aged 10 years…

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Review: Glenmorangie “The Original” 10 Years Old

By Christopher Null | January 10, 2009 |

Easy to find and almost as easy to drink, Glenmorangie’s entry-level whisky is a solid and affordable entree into the world of Scotch. Glenmorangie is often noted for its floral character, but here you’ll find a surprising saltiness that interplays in an intriguing way with the caramel and honey notes of from the wood in…

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Review: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select (2009)

By Christopher Null | January 2, 2009 |

Your excitement about getting a bottle of this “single barrel” whiskey may dim somewhat when you read the lengthy alphanumeric code identifying the barrel from which it came. In my case, I’m sampling barrel number 7-4229 from rick number L-35 (warehousing information). So, yes, it’s from a single barrel… but we’re talking about thousands of…

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Review: The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2009)

By Christopher Null | January 1, 2009 |

What a treat to try the distillery-bottled Macallan 18 Years Old after spending weeks with the Kirkland indie version. Here we see what Macallan had in mind — a honey and caramel-infused spirit with the lightest touch of smoke, layered with light fruit notes — apple and pear and a little citrus. The sherry wood…

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Review: Glenfiddich Solera Reserve 15 Years Old

By Christopher Null | January 1, 2009 |

This 15-year single malt is matured in the solera style in three different types of wood casks — sherry, bourbon, and new oak. Despite being bottled at 80 proof, it strangely comes off as hot. Even after adding a moderate amount of water, it’s still got some burn to it. There is sherry here and…

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Review: Johnnie Walker Green Label

By Christopher Null | December 31, 2008 |

For a long time Johnnie Walker Green Label was really hard to find — I ended up buying my bottle via mail order, then drinking very little of it. That all changed relatively recently: Now you can buy Green Label at Safeway. I set out to see what’s up with a good old-fashioned Green Label…

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Fee Brothers Old Fashion Bitters vs. Angostura Bitters

By Christopher Null | December 29, 2008 |

Artisanal bitters are all the rage these days, with no producer more hallowed than Fee Brothers. (I rely on their Orange Bitters religiously, so I’m a devotee.) But I’d never tried Fee’s “Old Fashion Aromatic” Bitters until recently. Angostura’s always worked for me, so why change? Well today I finally put Fee Old Fashion head…

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Review: Sheep Dip and Pig’s Nose

By Christopher Null | December 27, 2008 |

Got samples of my two favorite-named Scotch whiskys, which are now becoming quite widely available in the U.S. market. How do they fare in tastings? Sheep Dip Malt Whiskey – This golden-colored, vatted malt is a blend of 16 single malt whiskys aged between 8 and 21 years, its name arising from British farmers’ slang for…

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Book Review: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bartending

By Christopher Null | December 25, 2008 |

While I was pleasantly surprised to find that the recent Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wine Basics was a credible and well-written introductory guide to the world of wine, another book from the Idiot’s series unfortunately bears little similarity. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bartending, by Amy Zavatto, boasts 1,500 recipes on its cover, but sheer…

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Book Review: The Essential Cocktail

By Christopher Null | December 24, 2008 |

Author and mixologist Dale Degroff was in town recently to promote his new book, The Essential Cocktail, and while I sadly missed the promotional soiree, I did at least get a copy of the book to check out. All in all this is an excellent and accessible introduction to classic cocktails and their newer variants.…

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