Review: Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish Blend
When Beam Suntory’s Legent hit the scene it immediately became one of my favorite new whiskeys, and I was over the moon excited to hear about the brand’s first extension to the line, a limited-edition whiskey called Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish Blend. While purists groused over whether the original Legent was officially a bourbon due…
Review: Square 6 Wheated Bourbon
Heaven Hill’s micro-brand Square 6 expands with the launch of its Wheated Bourbon, joining its High-Rye Bourbon and High-Rye Rye. Like the other members of the Square 6 family, this one’s made at the artisanal distillery located at 528 W Main Street in Louisville, “just steps from the site of Williams’ original distillery founded in…
Review: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Special Release 2023 – Twice Barreled Heritage Barrel Rye
Jack Daniel’s whiskey is hardly ever difficult to find, but the brand’s annual Single Barrel Special Release collection is so highly allocated and fervently sought after that it defies those expectations. It also treads the road less traveled in that, aside from their Distillery Series, Jack Daniel’s Special Releases have represented some of the wildest…
Review: 2021 Post & Beam Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
This second label of Far Niente will surprise no afficionado of the Napa cabernet style, plump with notes of currants, backed up by cherry cola notes. Silky chocolate notes evoke a wine that might pair better with a cream pie than a filet mignon, though there’s a gently beefy quality that builds with time in…
Review: Patron El Cielo Tequila
Patron’s latest ultra-luxe tequila launch is El Cielo, a silver tequila that stakes its claim that it is “the first four-times distilled prestige tequila on the market.” There’s not much more of a twist on the theme than that, so let’s just dive into the tasting. Slightly yellow in hue, but only faintly. The nose…
Review: Green River Bourbon Full Proof Single Barrel
Green River made welcome waves last year in the world of affordable bourbon with the launch of its first eponymous, house-distilled offering, a rye-heavy mashbill, five-year-old bourbon costing all of $35. At Drinkhacker HQ, we were impressed. And apparently, we weren’t the only ones, as Bardstown Bourbon Co. acquired the distillery that summer. For 2023,…
Review: 2019 Barone Montalto Ammasso Rosso Sicilia DOC
Ammasso is a curious blend of Nero d’Avola, Nerello Mascalese, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, all grown in Sicily in the vineyards of Vinicoltori Contalto. As hearty as any pure-Nero Sicilian wine you’ve probably encountered, this brooding bruiser takes its time to come into focus, letting dark fruit notes of overripe plum, currants, and dark chocolate…
Review: The Balvenie Madeira Cask 15 Years Old and Pedro Ximenez Cask 18 Years Old
Earlier this year, we had the chance to review Balvenie’s new French Oak 16 Years Old aged in Pineaus des Charentes casks. That bottle is actually part of a trifecta of new cask-finished releases launched in the spring of 2022. Two others, a 15-year-old expression finished in Madeira wine casks and an 18-year-old expression finished…
