Review: 2016 Bodegas Faustino Crianza Rioja
“Tradition is not inherited, it is conquered,” remark the marketing folks from Bodegas Faustino, and it’s one of the better taglines I’ve run across lately. It sounds like something Nick Saban would yell at his team before a big game. While not looking to conquer anything when opening this Crianza Rioja (red wine aged for…
Review: Appleton Estate Rum 15 Years Old Black River Casks
Appleton’s latest Jamaican rum expression is a 15 year old bottling, courtesy of Master Blender Joy Spence. The “Black River Casks” in question “pay homage to the Black River in Jamaica’s Nassau Valley, the source of the limestone-filtered water used to create all Appleton Estate rum.” As far as I can tell, there’s nothing unique…
Drinkhacker 2021 Wine Cheat Sheet / Vintage Chart
October is here, which means our wine-centric “Vintage Chart Cheat Sheet” has been updated again. In case you’ve missed past installments, this is a handy document designed to tell you, in general, whether a vintage of wine is particularly good or not. The sheet is designed to be printed out and kept in your wallet,…
Review: Mountjoy Non-Alcoholic Spirits: Ing, Quileta, Yer Hiskwey
Mountjoy is best known for its CBD-infused seltzers, but its latest endeavor is much different endeavor: Non-alcoholic spirits designed to mimic gin, tequila, and rye whiskey. Each bears an anagrammatic name — and 170mg of CBD per 750ml bottle (or about 10mg CBD per serving). There’s not a whole lot of information about what these…
Review: Sagamore Spirit Rye Tequila Finish
Baltimore’s Sagamore Spirit continues its ambitious yet strange finishing program with a new Distiller’s Select release that sees its straight rye whiskey finished in extra anejo tequila barrels. There’ s no word on how long the spirit is finished (or even how old it is before going into the tequila cask), or the name of…
Review: 2019 Tangent Sauvignon Blanc Paragon Vineyard
Edna Valley, where this sauvignon blanc is produced, is just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean in the San Luis Obispo area. While this is a cool climate sauvignon blanc, the bottling is more effusive with the trappings of what warmer California terroirs bring to the grape: instant notes of ammonia and overwhelming floral…
Review: Parker’s Heritage Collection Heavy Char Wheat Whiskey 11 Years Old (2021)
The 15th round of Parker’s Heritage Collection is here, and for the second time it’s a wheat whiskey, which the series first did in 2014 as a 13 year old. This 2021 release is 11 years old, but it also draws on a trick used for the last two years of the Heritage Collection: heavy…
Review: Rias Baixas Albarino Wines, 2021 Releases
The Rias Baixas region of Spain is known for one wine almost exclusively: Albarino, the crisp (and affordable) white wine that is defined by the cool breezes that come off the nearby Atlantic Ocean. Today we look at a trio of new albarino releases, all hailing from Rias Baixas. 2020 Mar de Vinas Albarino Val…
