Review: Empress 1908 Cucumber Lemon Gin
Empress 1908, the famously fluorescent blue gin colored with butterfly pea blossoms, added a pink companion to its solo lineup last year with the introduction of Elderflower Rose, an expression colored with rose and black carrot that we’ve yet to sample. Now, Victoria Distillers is releasing a third Empress offering, Cucumber Lemon. This one is,…
Review: 2020 Brancaia Il Blu Toscana IGT
Il Blu — denoted by its blue label — is the wine that “put Brancaia on the map.” One would hope so, as it’s the Tuscan winery’s most expensive offering, a super-Tuscan blend of 80% Merlot and 10% each Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon which spends 20 months aging in French oak. Bracing tannins offer a…
Review: High N’ Wicked Bourbon and Rye (2024)
We first encountered Wyoming-based High N’ Wicked with one of its one-off releases back in 2021 — and there have been plenty more where that came from. Today we’re taking a step back and looking at the brand’s two flagship whiskeys — a bourbon and a rye, both sourced (but from different locales). We’ve got…
Review: Austin Eastciders Rico Tepache
I’d imagine anyone that likes hard cider, or alcohol, or has simply been into a gas station, grocery, or bodega in the last decade has at least a passing familiarity with Austin Eastciders’ branding (and font), if not their product. The stuff is everywhere. Given its ubiquity I was surprised to find that, 30-something releases…
Review: Old Line Spirits Single Malt Navy Strength
Baltimore-based Old Line Spirits produces both rye and American single malt, but it’s really their malt that takes center stage. A new addition is Old Line Navy Strength, a 114 proof riff on their core expression that “salutes the traditional strength cherished by both American and British navies.” Never mind that they drank rum. It’s…
Review: La Posta 2022 Pizzella Malbec and 2021 Paulucci Malbec
Closing in on a quarter-century of existence, the La Posta program continues to partner with single-grower, single-vineyard wines otherwise lacking in scale or logistics to reach a wider audience and a reasonable price point. The program continues to expand, with nine offerings available in the portfolio, and today we are revisiting two of the label’s…
Review: The Reverend Sour Mash Whiskey
I thought the name Reverend sounded familiar when my sample arrived, and sure enough, I was right. There’s another Reverend whiskey on the market, and it’s unrelated to this release, a sour mash American whiskey of unstated mashbill, aged for more than four years in a mix of new, charred oak and first-fill bourbon casks.…
Review: Beaulieu Vineyard 2020 Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon and 2023 Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley
A return appearance of Beaulieu Vineyard on this site should not come as a surprise, given our track record of reviewing and enjoying the Rutherford-based vineyard’s diverse range of wines. Today we have the opportunity to try bottles from both ends of the price range: the debut of an accessible and affordable Sauvignon Blanc, and…