Review: Skyy Infusions Passion Fruit Vodka
Did you know: Skyy is the #4 vodka brand in the U.S.? I always thought Skyy was a west coast thing (they’re based here in S.F.), but I guess they’re really a powerhouse in the biz. With products like this one, it’s easy to see why. Passion fruit, as flavors go, is invariably a big…
Tasting Report: Sonoma in the City, May 2008
Sonoma County’s vintners threw an enormous event in a far-too-small and wholly-unorganized ballroom at San Francisco’s Four Seasons this week, showcasing some of the areas wines (in fact, all 13 Sonoma County AVAs were represented). I only managed to taste a small fraction of the more-than-100 wineries pouring at the event, but some truly inspired…
Review: New Amsterdam Gin
Even old New York was once New Amsterdam. However, New Amsterdam gin is made in good old Modesto, California (not Constantinople). It’s also a surprising twist on gin as you might know it now. Why they changed it, I can’t say. Maybe they like it better that way. OK, enough tomfoolery. New Amsterdam has the…
Review: 2005 Barossa Valley Estate E Minor Chardonnay and Shiraz
Created from grapes grown throughout Australia’s Barossa Valley, Barossa Valley Estate’s E Minor bottlings are real mutts of a wine, the product of labors of some 60 growers. Can a wine created from grapes from dozens of vineyards be any good? Let’s find out. 2005 Barossa Valley Estate E Minor Chardonnay is a new world…
Review: Corazon Tequila, Complete Lineup (2008)
I find that tequila creates the strongest difference of opinion of any straight spirit. While people tend to agree on what makes a good gin, a good vodka, or even a good bourbon, when it comes to tequila, opinions on a given bottle tend to fall all over the map. One case in point is…
Papa, Where Does Rosé Come From?
I had to laugh at a press release sent today from Hardys, the “no. 1 wine brand” in the UK, which stated that although wine is the “drink of choice” for 2/3 of British drinkers, almost a quarter of them thought that rosé was made from mixing red and white wine together. I probably shouldn’t…
Review: Sergeant Classick White and Gold Rum
Rum is just about the only spirit I don’t regularly drink straight (some superpremium dark rums excepted), but it’s also the one that makes for some of the most delicious cocktails. Funny, eh? Sergeant Classick is one of the only rums that claims to come from the state of Hawaii, as it’s made from molasses…
Review: NV Seven Daughters Red and White
My dad once asked me what would happen if you took a bunch of different wines and mixed them together. Would they taste very good? The result would probably be something like Seven Daughters, curious and not entirely unsuccessful. Two wines — a white and a red, both labeled nonvintage “California” wines, which means the…
