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: The Glenlivet 12, 15, 18, and 21 Years Old, Nadurra 16 Years Old, and XXV (2008)

By Christopher Null | November 3, 2008 |

After digging Glenlivet’s 25 year old Scotch, the company was kind enough to send samples of the rest of the “core” lineup — the bottles that are available worldwide, year-round, all the time — for comparison. This Speyside giant produces quite a range of whiskys. Some thoughts follow. Glenlivet 12 Years Old (2008) – Your…

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Review: Crystal Head Vodka

By Christopher Null | November 1, 2008 |

Not familiar with Crystal Head, which has been a boozing sensation for weeks now? Watch this… then continue reading the review. So there you go. This is vodka placed in a bottle that is shaped in the form of one of the infamous crystal skulls, which have become far better known now that they made…

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Review: Square One Cucumber Vodka

By Christopher Null | October 25, 2008 |

Ever since declaring the Celery Cup my favorite cocktail at this year’s Slow Food Nation event, I’ve been itching to recreate it. But the lonely sample-size bottle of Square One Cucumber Vodka the company sent couldn’t motivate me to break open the shaker. The recipe’s convolutions also seemed overwhelming. So much easier just to break…

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Review: Crown Royal Reserve

By Christopher Null | October 23, 2008 |

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…

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Review: Drank “Anti-Energy” Drink

By Christopher Null | October 20, 2008 |

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…

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Review: Cherry Heering (2008)

By Christopher Null | October 17, 2008 |

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…

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Bad Red vs. Bad White?

By Christopher Null | October 15, 2008 |

From the inimitable Kingsley Amis, in the tome Everyday Drinking: Faced with a choice between bad or untrustworthy red wine on the one hand, and ditto white on the other, pick the red. That was true back when Amis wrote those words in the early ’70s (when cheap white wine meant one thing: crudely made…

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Review: Tequila Don Julio Blanco, Reposado, 1942, and Real (2008)

By Christopher Null | October 7, 2008 |

Having previously expressed my love for Don Julio’s Anejo tequila, I finally got my mitts on the other four bottles in Don Julio’s line. Some additional thoughts on the products from one of the most reliable, high-quality tequila producers in operation. All are 80 proof. Tequila Don Julio Blanco (2008) – A fresh and creamy…

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Review: The Singleton of Glendullan 12 Years Old (2008)

By Christopher Null | October 6, 2008 |

New Scotch expressions are legion. But Scotch producers making it to the U.S. are pretty rare, considering this country’s love of the stuff. Glendullan distillery presents its first American offering this fall, The Singleton, a 12-year single malt that most Scotch enthusiasts will likely find perfectly pleasant, if a bit entry-level. Produced in the crowded…

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Review: Highland Park 12, 15, 18, 25, 30, and 40 Years Old

By Christopher Null | October 4, 2008 |

It isn’t every day you get to taste the complete lineup of a serious Scotch producer in one sitting… and have a gourmet dinner to go along with it. While I’m still recovering from gulping down six glasses of Scotch in lieu of wine on Thursday night (pacing yourself when you’re thirsty during a meal…

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