Review: Lawson’s Finest Liquids Hopcelot and Super Session #8
These two brews from Vermont’s Lawson’s Finest Liquids can be tough to find, with Hopcelot often selling out within weeks of its distribution to beer stores across the northeast. (2020 marked the first year it appeared in cans.) Another fan-favorite called Super Session #8, brewed with Mosaic hops and canned at a low abv, is…
Review: The ImpEx Collection Edition One – Glen Elgin 2006, Orkney 1999, Caol Ila 2008, and Springbank 1993
Folks, there’s a new independent spirits bottler in town… sort of. ImpEx has been importing whisky for as long as I’ve been writing about it, but for the first time it is starting an indie bottling label under its own name, fittingly called The ImpEx Collection. The ImpEx Collection (alongside Single Malts of Scotland) fills…
Visiting and Tasting the Wines of Chalk Hill, 2021
We review pretty much everything Chalk Hill puts out, so it may seem redundant to take a visit to this prized winemaker in person. But on a warm summer day before Covid mask requirements were about to begin again, I couldn’t imagine a more bucolic and pleasant way to spend a couple of hours than…
Review: Mathilde Poire, Framboise, and Cassis Liqueurs (2021)
It’s been almost a decade since we last reviewed several of Mathilde’s liqueurs — and at the time our thoughts weren’t overwhelmingly favorable. The situation appears to have been improving based on Mathilde’s showing in our peach liqueur roundup, so we figured it was time to check out some of the other entries in the…
Review: 2017 Les Cadrans de Lassegue Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
The 2017 of this affordable Bordeaux is a dramatic step up from the 2012 vintage, the last expression we saw of this wine. The second label of Lassegue, its damp, earthy character remains intense, but it finds balance in notes of brambly blackberry, semi-sweet licorice candy, and milk chocolate notes on the finish. The vegetal…
Review: Armagnacs of Castarede, 2021 Releases
Castarede isn’t a household name in the U.S., but it actually lays claim to being the oldest Armagnac in existence, dating back to 1832. The house makes the full range of standard expressions, from blanche to XO, as well as various reserve bottlings and single vintage expressions of its spirits — the oldest dating back…
Review: Wines of Famiglia Pasqua, 2021 Releases
We’ve spent time with the Veneto-based Famiglia Pasqua in the past, and for 2021 we have a lineup of four new releases, representing a range of varietals and styles. Let’s dig in. 2020 Famiglia Pasqua Prosecco Rose Extra Dry DOC – The only miss in this collection, and it’s a minor one. A rather doughy,…
Review: Dry Gin XII
Distilled in Provence, France, Dry Gin XII is the latest addition to the portfolio of Distilleries et Domaines de Provence, reputable for its absinthes, liqueurs, and a pretty tasty peach wine (Rinquinquin). Twelve (hence the Roman numeration) plants and spices are used: juniper, coriander, sweet almond, thyme, angelica, grains of paradise, iris, cardamom, basil, rosemary,…
