Review: Stone Jagermeister Arrogant Bastard Ale
Stone Brewing’s latest collaboration is perhaps its wildest to date, teaming up with Jagermeister to create one of the most unusual beers I’ve had all year. Officially Jagermeister Arrogant Bastard Ale, unofficially “Jagerbastard,” it’s a crazy combination of high-test strong ale and Jagermeister spices. Some deets: Jägermeister continues to travel down a path of innovation…
Touring and Tasting at Chalk Hill Winery, 2019
Chalk Hill is a Sonoma County winery widely known for its white wine production, particularly chardonnay. Founded in 1972 by Fred Furth, a litigation attorney best known for his involvement with the plaintiffs in the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the winery was sold to the Foley family in 2010, which now operates it. During a…
Review: Five & 20 Spirits Rye Whiskey
Five & 20 is a distillery and brewery in western New York state, and it doesn’t take more than a sip of its Five & 20 Rye to see that the distillery and the brewery are brothers in arms. First, some backstory: Five & 20 Rye Whiskey is crafted to be smoother and more approachable…
Review: Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 Years Old
Recently, Glenfiddich dropped its latest expression with minimal fuss or fanfare, though it’s got quite the pedigree: A 23 year old single malt finished in “French cuvee casks,” which I’m told is the barrel that holds the wine before it goes into the bottle to become Champagne. I’ll let Glenfiddich do the introductions: Today, Glenfiddich,…
Review: Psagot 2016 Peak and 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon
Psagot is one of the blue chip wineries of Israel, where it produces a variety of high-end wines largely made from international grape varietals. Today we look at two bottlings from Psagot, a red blend and a cabernet sauvignon. 2016 Psagot Peak Jerusalem – A blend of 47% syrah, 39% petite sirah, and 14% mourvedre.…
Review: Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19 Years Old Batch 1 (2019)
Hot on the heels of An Oa, Ardbeg‘s latest addition to its permanent lineup is here: Traigh Bhan (pronounced tri-van). Not only is it Ardbeg’s oldest permanent bottling, it’s got an honest-to-god age statement, a “guaranteed” 19 years old. Aging is completed in a combination of bourbon casks and oloroso sherry casks. Per the company: This…
Review: Ilegal Mezcal Joven (2019)
It’s been nearly ten years since our introduction to and first review of Ilegal Mezcal, a small-batch, Oaxaca-based brand that produces a range of mezcals, both unaged and aged in oak. We started off with a look at batch #1 in 2010. Come 2019, we find batch #80 of the joven mezcal on our desks,…
Review: Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey 7 Years Old (2019)
If you’re drinking wheat whiskey, there’s a good chance you’re drinking Bernheim Original. This brand, part of Heaven Hill, has been on the market since 2005 — we reviewed it in 2009 — and in 2014 the labeling was updated to include an age statement — 7 years old — a rejection of the more…
