Review: Texas Heritage 2019 Petite Sirah and 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Texas Heritage Vineyard can be found in the wine-soaked reinvention of Fredericksburg, Texas, where I’m told they have a dazzling tasting room. I haven’t seen it, but I have tried a couple of their wines, though none of their most renowned bottlings, which revolve around Italian grape varietals. 2019 Texas Heritage Vineyard Petite Sirah Paka…
Review: Willow Creek Malt ‘n Oats Whiskey
Willow Creek Distillery is one of those rare operations that’s an offshoot of a winery: Specifically, Paso Robles-based Opolo Vineyards, which we have covered regularly over the years. Willow Creek got going in 2013 with the intent of producing spirits to accompany their wines; as you can imagine, the operation focuses heavily on brandies (grape…
Review: Cappelletti Aperitivo
People seem to love a little something red in their cocktails. Aperol, the beloved, ruby-colored Italian liqueur, has been having a moment for a while now. If you disagree, try finding a respectable bar that doesn’t offer their eponymous spritz. The gin boom of recent years has also fueled a Negroni craze, meaning Campari, that…
Review: Calirosa Tequila Extra Anejo Cinco Anos
Calirosa, which ages its tequila in red wine barrels from California, is back with a new expression. No, it’s not a reposado — though the company finally now makes one — but an extra extra anejo, aged for five years, roughly three times the length of aging of the anejo offering and two years longer…
Review: Caperdonich Peated Single Malt 18 Years Old
File this one under “Random Whiskies I’ve Found While Traveling Internationally.” This single malt from the dearly departed Caperdonich Distillery comes from the Chivas Brothers Secret Speyside Collection. The line launched in 2020 without too much fanfare, featuring a handful of single malts from four obscure distilleries whose whiskies have traditionally found their way into…
Review: Whiskey in the Wild Flavored Whiskeys – Original and Orange
An introduction to the origins of Whiskey in the Wild sounds a bit like the opener to the standard bar joke: “a food chemist, pro hockey player, biotechnician, and physician walk into … er… the woods.” And they start a whiskey company. Or rather, they start a whiskey-centered lifestyle company catering to like-minded consumers with…
Review: Westward Single Malt Whiskey Sauternes Cask
Portland, Oregon’s Westward Whiskey recently unveiled its first whiskey for 2023 for its Whiskey Club members, an expression of its single malt which has been finished for 14 months in French Sauternes dessert wine casks. This limited edition won’t be widely available, but at press time it’s still showing up on Westward’s website — so…
Review: Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey Diamond Peak Extra Anejo Tequila Cask Batch 2 (2023)
Last summer Monica brought us coverage of the first edition of a curious combo from Colorado’s single malt purveyor Stranahan’s, a Distillery Exclusive bottling finished for 2 1/2 years in extra anejo tequila barrels. Now this expression is back and bottled as a second batch under the annually released Diamond Peak line — though it…