Review: Speyburn 15 Years Old
Speyburn’s 10 year old single malt is a reliable and incredibly affordable Speyside whisky, to the point where its reputation rests largely on this fact. But if you haven’t been paying close attention, you might have missed Speyburn’s quiet move upmarket, with bottlings like Speyburn Clan Cask making for some of the spirit world’s finest…
Review: Dos 2016 Albarinos from Altos de Torona and Morgadio
Holiday dining often finds drinkers reaching for red wine, even with lighter meats like chicken and turkey. But white can work, if you find a bottle that has a bold enough profile to stand up to the main dish. Why not albarino, a big crowd-pleaser that many will mistake for pinot grigio. Here’s a pair…
Review: Chase Vodka, Smoked Vodka, Orange Marmalade Vodka, and Elderflower Liqueur
Chase is a vodka, gin, and liqueur producer that focuses on “field to bottle” production from its farm in Herefordshire, England. Somehow this has resulted in about a bazillion products, and though the primary crops here are potatoes and apples, Chase’s products range from raspberry liqueurs to marmalade vodka — four of which we are looking…
Bar Review: White Cap, San Francisco
In San Francisco’s Outer Parkside district, one often gets the feeling that one has reached the literal end of the line. This is a beach community, but the water is so cold and the wind so brisk that spending much time on the beach is reserved only for die-hard surfers and masochists. (It’s so cold…
Review: Kentucky Owl Straight Rye (Batch 1)
Kentucky Owl was once known only to a truly dedicated set of whiskey drinkers who paid exorbitant retail prices (and worse on the secondary market) for the brand’s extremely limited bourbon releases sourced from an undisclosed distillery or distilleries in Kentucky. You may still have never heard of Kentucky Owl, but after its sale to…
Review: 2014 Brancaia Tre Rosso Toscana IGT
This blend of sangiovese, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon is already showing with a bit of an oxidized character, which adds some bite to its core of tart cherry, raspberry, nutmeg, and clove notes. The finish is on the sour side, peppery at times, and perhaps a bit unbalanced, with some green notes enduring. B /…
Review: Little Book Blended Whiskey “The Easy” (2017)
Booker’s bourbon has been a phenomenon for years, despite the fact that its namesake and creator, Booker Noe, died in 2004. Fred Noe, Booker’s son, has been running the show ever since, and the Noe dynasty continues to grow, with Fred’s son Freddie, releasing his first-ever product under the Jim Beam banner. That whiskey is…
Review: Stone & NOFX Punk in Drublic Hoppy Lager
If you’re old enough to drink, well, you’re old enough to remember NOFX, an LA-based punk band that was in its heyday in the ’90s. For some reason, Stone Brewing connected with these guys — still performing, by the way — to produce a special edition brew. Named after its most successful album, Punk in…