Review: Severo Tequila, Complete Lineup
Severo is a new tequila brand from Tequilera Don Roberto, imported by San Francisco’s Hotaling & Co. It’s made from seven year old agave plants, growing region unstated. A little backstory on Don Roberto: Established in 1924, Tequilera Don Roberto is one of two remaining Mexican-owned heritage tequila businesses and is still owned and operated…
Review: Viss Vodka – Ballet Blue and Blush Blossom
Remember how we said that fresh, organic infused vodkas were the hottest trend in the category? Well, they say the exception makes the rule, and here it is in the form of Viss, a candy-colored, heavily artificially flavored vodka that’s imbued with a sparkly substance that makes it shimmer in the bottle and in the…
Review: Savage and Cooke Digits Bourbon 5 Years Old
California’s Savage and Cooke continues to crank out odd but engaging whiskeys, its latest being a collaboration between winemaker-cum-whiskey blender Dave Phinney and famed basketball star Scottie Pippen. Curious, eh? Digits is a 5 year old Tennessee bourbon, but beyond that details are elusive. There’s also a photo of a hand on the label. With…
Review: 2019 Scheid Family Wines VDR
This is our second vintage of VDR — Very Dark Red — to review, the first being 2018’s release of this Monterey County blend, predominantly petite sirah and petit verdot — designed to give this an intensity of color that merits its name. To that end, VDR gets things right, its bold notes of extracted…
Review: Bladnoch Pure Scot Signature, Samsara, and Adela
Now more than 200 years old, the Lowlands-located Bladnoch recently revamped its core range, adding a variety of new spirits to its permanent catalog along with numerous special editions. Today we’re looking at a trio of these whiskies, including one of the distillery’s two new mass-market blends, bottled under the Pure Scot label. Bladnoch Pure Scot…
Review: Wines of Ancient Peaks, 2022 Releases
We’re back with Paso Robles’Â Ancient Peaks, with a pair of newly released reds, each intended for wintertime sipping. Let’s dig in. 2019 Ancient Peaks Merlot Paso Robles Santa Margarita Ranch – Very dry, the fruit on this wine feels like a shadow of what it should be. Notes of green herbs and fresh grass are…
Review: Belvedere Organic Infusions Vodka, Complete Lineup
In case you missed it, the big trend in vodka today is more complex infusions that eschew artificial flavors for real botanicals. In the case of Belvedere, it recently dropped a trio of Organic Infusions, each made with “100% organic fruits, spices and botanicals for flavor extraction, relying on the beauty of natural, simple ingredients…
Review: 2017 Ruffino Modus Toscana IGT
Hard to believe we haven’t reviewed this wine since its 2006 vintage, but here we are. Modus is eternal, seemingly unchanging: This year the Super Tuscan is a blend of 37% sangiovese, 32% merlot, and 31% cabernet sauvignon, and the wine is a showcase of black fruit and woody bramble, a touch of currant evident…