Bar Review: Gupshup, Manhattan, New York City
In Manhattan, there’s a four-block stretch along Lexington Avenue many have come to affectionately call “Curry Hill,” no doubt due to the extensive (and diverse) selection of Indian restaurants, cafes, bars, and specialty food shops. While Curry Hill has earned its reputation as a locus of great food and drinks, there’s a spirits-forward highlight ten…
Review: ReBru Vodka, Gin, and Sweetcane
What does one do with leftover beer that’s otherwise destined for the drain? Why, distill it of course. San Diego-based ReBru isn’t the first company to turn beer into hard liquor, but it’s one of the few that only makes it out of “high-quality, out-of-code, and overstock craft beer.” At present, the company is producing…
Review: Wines of A to Z, 2021 Releases
A to Z Wineworks is one of the best-known producers of Oregon wines, and today we’re looking at three of their flagship releases, all dropping in 2021. 2020 A to Z Pinot Gris Oregon – Pinot gris doesn’t get fresher and more effusive than in this wine, a floral and fruity number that starts with…
Review: Barrell Seagrass
You’ve got to hand it to the folks at Barrell Craft Spirits; they come up with some interesting names for their special releases. Then again, most of their products get released into the world as just a batch number, so when they do get a chance to flex some creative muscle, it should be memorable.…
Review: Wines of Portugal’s Alentejo, 2021 Releases
We’ve ventured into Portugal’s southern Alentejo region a few times before and remarked how it’s a solid area that produces a great range of wine styles — over 250 indigenous grape varieties can be found here — invariably at affordable prices. Representatives for the region recently sent us a quartet of wines representing the state…
Review: Tamworth Garden White Mountain Gin and Apiary Gin
New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling produces some unusual products, including Graverobber Unholy Maple Syrup Flavored Rye and The Deerslayer Venison flavored whiskey. They also make gin and, true to spirit, their gins include uncommon ingredients and have their own distinctive character. Today we are sampling two gins, both of which draw botanicals from Tamworth Distilling’s own…
Review: 2019 Bernier Chardonnay
Bernier’s Loire Valley-sourced chardonnay continues to break with tradition by putting the varietal on the label instead of the region. In fact, chardonnay is a relatively rare but not unheard-of grape for this region, and Bernier proves that maybe more should be being done with it here. Fresh and unoaked, this wine offers a heavy…
Review: Basil Hayden Toast
So, while “toast” refers to bread, Basil Hayden’s Toast refers to… rice? This whiskey is composed of a wholly new mashbill for Basil Hayden, one which is built heavily around brown rice. To be sure, Basil Hayden Toast — the first permanent addition to the BH lineup since 2017 — is more clearly a reference…
