Review: Thump Keg Rye IPA and Agave Amber Ale
Diageo recently came up with a nutter of an idea: Brew beers using some of the ingredients in its spirits. These aren’t aged in spirit barrels — they aren’t aged at all — nor do they contain any actual spirits. They are just, the story goes, made using some of the raw components that go…
Review: Far North Spirits Solveig Gin and Alander Spiced Rum
You’re a Minnesota-based craft distiller that names its products after Scandinavian words. For your first two products, what do you release? You nailed it: Gin and spiced rum, just what our friends from the north are known for! Kidding aside, Far North (technically Får North, which would be pronounced “for north,” but never mind) produces craft spirits…
Review: Amaro Montenegro
Made in Bologna, Italy, Montenegro (“the liquor of the virtues”) dates back to 1885. Amaro Montenegro is on the sweeter side of amari, with a character that folds lots of citrus, spearmint, honey, and licorice into its classic, bittersweet body. Light on its feet, it offers lightly salted caramel up front, then moves toward some subtle…
Bar Review: John Colins, San Francisco
John Colins is a bit of a wacky place, located in the heart of San Francisco’s South of Market area. One wall beyond the bar shows off a moving beach scene. Upstairs there’s a sushi bar with 20 seats. Gourmet coffee is also available. And no, the name isn’t misspelled. John Colins has a (mild)…
Review: Red Jacket Orchards Joe’s Half & Half
Here’s an Arnold Palmer with a twist: Guayusa tea mixed with Red Jacket’s custom lemonade, one that’s made with New York apple juice instead of sugar. So half and half and half? This is a pleasant enough concoction, with the apple and tea components the clearest part of the beverage. The tea has a green…
Review: 2013 The Federalist Zinfandel Lodi
Ah, at last — a Zinfandel with balance! This lively blend starts with red berries and some cherry notes, then pushes into some notes of tea leaf, cinnamon, and touches of blueberry. Nice balance, with pleasant acidity and some oakiness on the back end. Very easy drinking on its own, and it pairs beautifully with…
Reporting from the 2015 Taste of Yountville
Like wining and dining? There’s another way to do it aside from booking a table at a restaurant and driving from one winery to another. Event’s like the Taste of Yountville, part of the Yountville Live! extravaganza, give you the chance to nibble and tipple in the confines of a few city blocks. Recently I…
Tasting the Wines of Gerard Bertrand, 2015 Releases
Gerard Bertrand is a producer in the Roussillon region of France… just next door to the Languedoc, nestled between the Pyrennes mountains (and Spain) and the Mediterranean Sea. But Gerard Bertrand is also a man, an imposing Frenchman who was eye to eye with me at a solid 6’4″ and with the uncanny resemblance of…