Review: Mahon Gin (2021)
Chris first reviewed Mahón Gin back in 2015, just as it started to finally hit American shores. A new packaging upgrade inspired me to revisit this one to see if anything has changed in six years. Admittedly, the packaging isn’t terribly different. The bottle itself, green glass with a unique jug handle, is still the…
A Glenmorangie Retrospective, 2021
Recently, we enjoyed a survey of the Glenmorangie core range while chatting about giraffes. With this in mind, the time felt appropriate to clean off the shelves, empty some bottles, and engage in a quick survey of other Glenmorangie expressions, both recent and past (as of 2021). Glenmorangie “A Tale of Cake” – A 10-year-old…
Review: 2019 Sosie Red Blend Rossi Ranch
The new Rossi Ranch Red Blend from our friends at Sonoma’s Sosie is here. This year the Rhone-style wine is a blend of 51% grenache, 34% mouvèdre, and 15% syrah, all sourced from the organic Rossi Ranch vineyard. Let’s dig in. Hugely fruity, almost pruny at times, this is a bold expression from Sosie, loaded…
Review: 1911 Established Hard Cider – Shandy, Tropical and Blueberry
1911 Established is the spirits project of Beak & Skiff, a five-generation family-owned and operated apple orchard in upstate New York. It was founded by George Skiff (originally an onion farmer) and has since become a destination with a full service tavern and music festivals hosted on premises. The distillery has become prolific, experimenting and…
Review: Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Bourbons 5 Years Old and 6 Years Old
Kentucky’s Willett Distillery continues to periodically release cask strength, single barrel bourbons under its Family Estate label, with some releases now approaching 8 years of age or older. Last year, we reviewed the earliest of these, an impressive 4-year-old bottling available only at the distillery (and not for very long). Today, we’re checking in on…
2 Texas Wines Reviewed: Aire y Sol and Bent Oak Winery, 2021 Releases
How far has Texas come as a wine producer? Let’s find out with these two recently released bottlings. 2018 Aire y Sol Viognier Texas – Not immediately recognizable as viognier; I probably would have suggested a funkier, greener sauvignon blanc had I tasted this blind. Fairly astringent with ammonia notes, the wine is pungent with…
Review: M&H Elements Red Wine Cask, Elements Peated, and 3 Single Cask Whiskies
We’ve covered the whiskies (and gin) of Israel’s Milk & Honey (aka M&H) several times. Now we’re back with a look at five new expressions, including a pair from the Elements Series which we hadn’t previously seen and two single cask, barrel-proof releases. Let’s dive in. M&H Single Cask STR – Aged in bourbon barrels…
Review: Berry Bros & Rudd Glen Keith 24 Years Old 1993
Berry Brothers & Rudd is another venerable independent bottler which curates a wide variety of spirits beyond single malts (wine, gin, Cognac, etc). This timely review takes us back to a 2018 release and Speyside’s Glen Keith distillery. A bit of historical background via Berry Bros. website: Glen Keith (a.k.a. Glenkeith), was established on the…