A Visit to Moonlight Brewery’s Tap Room, Santa Rosa, California
Moonlight Brewery is located in Santa Rosa, California. While it is a small brewer, the brewery is best known for its beer Death and Taxes. We recently visited its tap room, which is on the brewery site. Unfortunately the brewers were not available to interview. However, the hosts of the tap room were very gracious and friendly,…
Review: Vulson White Rhino Rye
Vulson is a white whiskey. It is also a rye. It is also French. That’s three categories I’ve never ticked off at the same time in our database before, and Vulson, produced by the western Alps-based farm of Domaine des Hautes Glaces, has more in store for us. Vulson uses organic rye that is grown on site…
Review: Smooth Ambler Old Scout Bourbon Single Barrel 11 Years Old
Over the last few years, the craft whiskey world has seen several distilleries criticized for a lack of transparency about the exact origin of the liquid in their bottles. Some of these producers have perhaps been unfairly judged while others deserved their fate (ahem, Templeton), but Smooth Ambler Spirits in Maxwelton, West Virginia has never…
Recipes: Celebrate Sailor Jerry’s 106th Birthday with 3 Cocktails
You can’t have an anniversary without a special anniversary edition bottle — and this one is certainly special, with Norman Collins’ photo on the back. You may know him better by another name: January 14th marks the 106th birthday of the undisputed father of old school tattooing, Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins. Known for his unapologetic…
Review: Fort Point Manzanita Smoked Altbier
San Francisco’s Fort Point Beer Company presents this collaboration with Germany’s Freigeist. Manzanita is a heavily smoked ale made from malt that’s been smoked with both beechwood and manzanita (a common evergreen shrub) branches. The overpowering smokiness on the nose is reminiscent of apple wood smoke, crispy bacon, and mesquite. The palate is quite sweet, heavy…
Review: Double Nickel Brewing Pilsner and Vienna Lager
Pennsauken New Jersey’s Double Nickel Brewing has been open since October of 2015, adding to a very vibrant brewing community in Southern New Jersey. Here are two of their flagship beers. Double Nickel Brewing Pilsner – Brewed with Noble hops, this excellent pilsner has a very clean crisp flavor and the straw color you would…
Review: Martin Miller’s Gin and Westbourne Strength Gin
Very little about Martin Miller’s Gin is done in an orthodox fashion. First is the where. The company slogan — “Distilled in England, blended in Iceland” — should cue you in to the beginnings of that. Distilled (in a single, ancient pot still) in London, it is shipped via boat to Iceland, where it is proofed…
Book Review: Whisky Japan
If you missed the meteoric rise of Japanese whisky over the last 15 years, I hate to tell you this, but it’s too late to catch up. The very best of Japanese whiskies are simply no longer available, replaced by lower-end shadows of their former selves. If you can find a top shelf Japanese bottling,…
