Review: Belle de Brillet Pear Liqueur with Cognac (2023)
We’ve written about Belle de Brillet twice before, first as a standard Poire Williams and more recently as a “Pear & Cognac Liqueur.” Now owner Rémy Cointreau has reformulated and relaunched the brand once again, billing it as a “Pear Liqueur with Cognac.” Reportedly revamped “from bottle to liquid,” it is currently a blend of…
Review: 2019 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Founded in 1983, this Saint Helena-based operation makes classic, Napa-style chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, and it’s the 2019 vintage of its cab to which we turn our attention presently. Built with ample legs upon which to stand, this cab leans on an iconically Napa-fueled backbone melding tar and currants, balancing this all out by notes…
Review: Mount Gay Master Blender Selection – PX Sherry Cask
We’re up to edition #6 for Mount Gay’s Master Blender Selection rum release, which returns to a familiar finishing cask type: Pedro Ximenez sherry. This particular release is a blend of column and pot distillate aged in ex-bourbon barrels for 20 years before spending an extra year in PX sherry casks. Old rum, made even more…
Review: GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 10
Batch 12 of GlenDronach’s Cask Strength is about to hit the shelves, but before we get to that review, let’s back up a bit. Since Chris was so impressed with Batch 11, I decided to shell out some of my hard-earned Drinkhacker cash on a bottle of Batch 10 (yes, we actually pay for bottles…
Review: Supergay Vodka
June is LGBTQ Pride month, and I can’t think of a brand of spirits that announces its pride more audaciously than Supergay vodka. The brand opened in 2018 and donates a percentage of the profits from every bottle to organizations benefiting the LGBTQ+ community. Their vodka, distilled in a copper pot still in upstate New…
Review: Booker’s Bourbon “Charlie’s Batch” 2023-01
Booker’s first batched release for 2023 is here, dubbed Charlie’s Batch, in honor of Charlie Hutchens, the craftsman behind the signature wooden box that each Booker’s bottle comes in. (With all due respect to Charlie, as the Booker’s box is indeed awesome, but are we running out of batch name ideas?) This bottling is a…
Review: Broken Barrel Los Angeles Distillery Collaboration Collection
Broken Barrel keeps cranking out expressions, but this latest offering marks a particular first: It’s the first time it’s collaborated with another distiller — Los Angeles Distillery, in this case — together producing a cask strength wheated bourbon whiskey finished with Tokaji and single malt staves. For those unfamiliar, the approach is to use finishing…
Review: 2018 Castiglion del Bosco Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
A classically styled Brunello, this decidedly dense wine unleashes lashings of anise, tanned leather, and notes of raspberry en route to a core that is equal parts balsamic and black cherry. Semi-sweet but tempered with notes of rhubarb and thyme, the finish shifts its focus toward semi-sweet chocolate notes, layered with leathery earth. Complex and…