Review: Avery Brewing Anniversary Edition “Twenty Five”
Colorado’s Avery Brewing celebrated 25 years of brewing in 2018, and to commemorate the milestone, they did not release any kind of anniversary beer. Just kidding! They definitely released a celebration beer, named rather uncreatively Twenty Five. It’s a Belgian style dark ale that was oak aged with honey, dates, and raisins. According to their…
Review: Batch Signature Gin and Industrial Strength Gin
Anthem Imports brings Batch Gin, a line that includes more than a dozen different gin products, into the U.S. Batch Brew Limited is based in Lancashire, England, where at cranks out all manner of mostly-white spirits, and even offers a sort of “gin of the month” club for UK residents. We received Batch’s two most…
Review: Sazerac Rye 6 Years Old
The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection has plenty of younger siblings: Eagle Rare, Stagg Jr., and the entire Weller line. One of the lesser known little brothers, at 6 years old, is Sazerac Rye, the 18 year old version of which is one of the rarest annual releases in the entire Antique Collection (while the cask…
Review: Spirit Lab Distilling Single Malt Whiskey (Batch 3)
There’s plenty of debate about what defines a “craft” distillery. Production volume tends to be the most common measure, but plenty of “craft” distilleries argue the purity and proximity to their ingredients, the farm-to-glass element, is an important distinction, as well. Plus, there’s how you distill, with less automation often equating to a more handcrafted…
Review: 2009 Screaming Eagle Second Flight
I’ve been writing about wine for 20 years, but one label has long eluded me in tasting after tasting: Screaming Eagle. Tonight I had the opportunity to tuck into a full bottle of Screaming Eagle Second Flight — the “cheap” version of this top-of-the-top cult California cabernet sauvignon wines, although a bottle of this 2009…
Review: American Freedom Distillery Horse Soldier Bourbon – Complete Lineup
Horse Soldiers? American Freedom? If you’ve pegged a military connection to this new whiskey brand, you’ve got your finger on the pulse. The distillery was started by a group of Special Forces Veterans who were the first soldiers in Afghanistan after 9/11. Horse Soldier is a reference to the Green Berets who were featured in…
Review: The Balvenie Stories – American Oak, Week of Peat, and Dark Barley
Here’s a quirky oddity of sorts to come from The Balvenie, a trio of whiskies called The Balvenie Stories, designed to “tell a story” about the origins of this beloved single malt and the people behind it. The three whiskies are spins on past releases — some larger, some smaller — but all essential Balvenie…
Review: Single Prop Original Rum
Single Prop is a new rum brand with a new way of doing things: Rather than proof its rum with regular water, it uses coconut water, inspired by a popular cocktail combo (coconut water and rum) among Caribbean locals. Single Prop is careful to note that this is not a flavored rum a la Malibu:…