Review: Ports of Kopke, 2023 Releases
Last year I had a chance to sit with winemaker Carla Tiago and try some extraordinary ports, including 50 year-old white and 50 year-old tawny Ports. Today we swing back around to try Kopke’s more modest offerings, including two 10 year olds, a 20 year old, and a late bottled vintage offering. That isn’t to…
Review: Michter’s Single Barrel Straight Rye 10 Years Old 2023
Last year, Michter’s fans had to settle for only one of the brand’s coveted 10-year-old single barrel releases. Luckily, it was an exceptional rye whiskey, one of Chris’s favorites in the lineup to date, but Michter’s has since emphasized that they are taking steps to avoid that shortfall in the future. The press release accompanying…
Review: Stags’ Leap WInery 2020 Chardonnay and 2019 Petite Sirah
The summertime releases from Napa’s Stags’ Leap Winery are upon us — one ready for the pool, the other for the grill. 2020 Stags’ Leap Winery Chardonnay Napa Valley – No surprises here, with this 2020 chardonnay pouring out notes of green apple and lemon curd, filtered through layers of vanilla-heavy oak. A guava character…
Review: Whiskey Jypsi Legacy Batch 001
And the celebrity whiskeys just keep on rolling. A recent addition to that ever growing category is Whiskey Jypsi, brought to us courtesy of country music singer Eric Church and Outsiders Spirits. Read on for a little backstory. Well, maybe a lot of backstory. The first release, Whiskey Jypsi’s Legacy Batch 001…is based on a…
Review: 2020 True Myth Cabernet Sauvignon
Operating out of the Edna Valley in the Paso Robles region of California, True Myth and its various affiliated labels have been offering up sensibly priced Chardonnays and red blends since the early 1970s. But for now, we’re pouring a glass of its Cabernet for consideration. A blend of 85% cabernet sauvignon, 10% syrah, 5%…
Review: Del Maguey Vida Puebla Mezcal
God bless Ron Cooper and Del Maguey for the instruction of “Sip it. Don’t shoot it.” printed directly on the bottle of his mezcals, the latest of which is a single village version of the entry-level Vida called Vida Puebla. Made in — you guessed it — Puebla, Mexico, Vida Puebla joins Vida Clasico and…
Review: Cameron Hughes 2020 Lot 905 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2021 Lot 887 Petite Sirah
For those unfamiliar with the premise behind Cameron Hughes’ operations, it goes a bit like this: Cameron and company scour the world sourcing a wide range of wines from vineyards, bringing them to market under their own label at financially feasible price points. Today, we’re pouring two reds to complement summer grilling, a Sonoma Valley…
Review: Chicken Cock Double Oak 8 Years Old
Chicken Cock‘s latest — billed as Double Oak on the front label and Double Barrel Aged 8 Years on the reverse — is officially a Kentucky Whiskey, not bourbon or rye. The producer doesn’t do a lot of explaining as to what’s going on here, but some internet research reveals the truth: The first 7…